Topics

26

Nintendo Gaming / Which SINGLE 3DS Title Would You Like To See Sequel To?

« on: January 17, 2014, 10:32:40 AM »

Retail or eshop. Please only pick one so we're not just making lists. I'm more interested in why you picked what you picked and what you'd like to see in a sequel.

Seriously, kytim, ONE.

Anyway, I've been playing a lot of Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D lately. I didn't put much time in it when I originally bought it then a friend suggested co-op on a whim a few weeks ago. It's hardly my favorite 3DS game, off the top of my head, I think Resident Evil: Revelaitons and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate share the top spot.

I've previously said I liked Raid Mode in Revelaitons better, but I've gained a new appreciation for The Mercenaries 3D. I think both modes are really appropriate for a handheld because most of the stages can be completed in under 20 minutes. Revelaitons split the game into fairly short, more easily consumable chapters with plot recaps because it was on 3DS though I also like not having to pay attention to a story, partly because Resident Evil's overall plot isn't that great though mostly because taking that aspect out allows me to focus on a quick match.

I wouldn't mind a mash-up of Raid and Mercenaries in a sequel where some stages have players working toward a central goal/end point while others have players mowing through waves of enemies, trying to reach a high score. I think that would give a sequel more variety as the original felt light in actual content though there was tons of replay value.

Obviously, I want more content: more characters, enemies, stages, skills, loadouts etc. I think a sequel (like most others) would greatly benefit from the developers' greater understanding of the hardware. The Mercenaries 3D definitely had areas that required more tweaking. If you performed a Melee move while an enemy was getting up, it got cancelled out entirely (I believe the hit detection was handled better in the bonus Mercenaries modes in both Resident Evil 4 and 5). Additionally, melee moves often moved the camera awkwardly. Ideally, I'd like to see a sequel pull from the entire series, not just Resident Evil 4 and 5. That would mean Capcom would, for example, have to create Mercenaries/Raid mansion and Raccoon City stages.

I realize this could be done on a console, but The Mercenaries 3D was a 3DS title so you know, here we are.

27

Nintendo Gaming / Pick One Dormant Nintendo IP

« on: December 19, 2013, 02:12:03 PM »

1. Would you reboot it or make a sequel?

2. Which platform: Wii U or 3DS?

3. Who would you want to develop it?

4. What do you want to see (e.g. gameplay, characters, stages etc.)? Anything goes, but try to be reasonable.

To make this a bit more interesting, please only choose an IP that has been dormant for at least FIVE years. That means no Metroid, for example. Also, I want to stress that we each pick only one. That way we can discuss without repeats. And as always, don't be a dick.

I'll go first. I'll let others take Star Fox and F-Zero.

NBA Courtside

1. Reboot.

2. Wii U.

3. Next Level Games with Mark Turmell as a consultant.

4. On the surface, it's an NBA Jam clone: two on two, ridiculous dunks, three unanswered buckets and you're on fire and so on. I think it can get really fun and original once you start adding Nintendo characters, power-ups, and special modes to the mix. Link can shoot an arrow to block a shot. When Mario is "on fire," he can throw fireballs. Or you can pick up a fire flower to get an instant on fire for 10 to 15 seconds. There would be Nintendo themed courts with different hazards. So, for example, Bowser's ship has Bullet Bills fired at the court occasionally or Kamek shooting magic or making things appear. The way I envision one of the special modes is Daisy dunking on Dwight Howard after mauling James Harden using an invincibility star while the citizens of an Animal Crossing village cheer and KK Slider plays in the background.

Getting Tim Kitzroy as the announcer is an obvious choice so I'll go with Kristen Schaal instead. Just imagining her say, "Boomshakalaka!" fills me with great joy. Or maybe they could have an announcer team of Kristen Schaal and... it almost doesn't even matter who.

So, essentially, it's NBA Jam meets Super Smash Bros. It can still be played as an NBA licensed arcade game without all the Nintendo craziness, but for those special modes, it goes way further than Mario Sports Mix did.

28

Nintendo Gaming / Something Something Wii U Successor Somethng

« on: December 07, 2013, 03:29:08 PM »

There's been a lot of talk lately about what Nintendo has done wrong so I've been thinking lately of how to improve things for Nintendo's next home console.

I'm hoping this can start a nice discussion. A few things before we get started:

1. Please keep negativity to a minimum. If you hated motion controls, we've probably all heard it before. This is not the thread for that. Just accept that every future hardware from Nintendo is going to have it for legacy support.

2. Explain why you think something should be and why you think it would work.

3. Don't be a dick.

There will be a lot of blocks of text so I separated them into sections and put the main idea in bold.

Pick A Boring Name
Ideally, Nintendo would be wise to pick a name that doesn't start a discussion. It doesn't need a convoluted philosophy behind it. And don't confuse people. The name should exist just so people have something to call it. Honestly, I would just call it "Nintendo." If it really needs an identifier, put a 7 at the end of it. Nintendo 7. Or M for Machine. Nintendo M. Something simple.

The Operating System Shouldn't Be Slow Ever
Especially on day one.

Deep And Immediate Integration With 3DS' Successor
This should be done day one. We're already kind of seeing this with Nintendo combining their console and handheld teams and Miiverse being brought over to 3DS. They need to "talk" to each other. I would even go as far as having "4DS" function as a controller. That means it requires near parity with the new console's controller. Also, it means Nintendo must...

Unify The Virtual Console Between Handheld And Console
This is on everyone's wish list and it never should have been a issue to begin with. Since it is, here's how I propose handling it:

1. All Virtual Console games are tied to your Nintendo Network ID which are then transferable from Wii U and 3DS to their successors and their successors' successors. For free. And forever.
2. If a customer bought multiple versions of the game, they get 1/2 credit returned to their Nintendo Network eshop account on what they paid for the lowest priced version. For example, say someone bought Super Mario Bros. for $5 on Wii U and $3 on sale on 3DS. They would get $1.50 in credit.

I know some people will say that full credit for each additional version should be given, but I counter that with the fact that no one forced them to purchase more than one copy so getting something back is pretty fair.

Transition To x86-64
Nintendo is currently the only console maker that isn't on this instruction set. That is pretty much the best reason to drop PowerPC. Also, it means Nintendo can use off-the-shelf parts though I could see Nintendo having Intel or AMD customize the CPU for their purposes. There are many implications of this transition. For example...

Drop Hardware Backwards Compatibility
This means no previous discs or peripherals (namely the GamePad and Wii Remotes) will work on the new console at all. Put down the torches and pitchforks. It's for the greater good. Nintendo would need to include the Wii U chipset in the new console which ultimately would drive up the price. Nintendo will want to keep costs low for everything that's not directly affecting new software. I'm getting to that. Software emulation is key.

Start Writing Emulation Software Today
There should be full support on day one for every single legacy Nintendo platform. No exceptions. The emulation software should be universal instead of per game. Honestly, it would be ideal for Nintendo to have universal emulation software for other platforms ready as well, but Nintendo definitely needs to get their **** together on their own legacy platforms.

Digital Downloads Of Wii U Games Can Be Downloaded On The New Console For Free
It's only fair.

People Who Bought A Physical Copy Of A Wii U Game And Registered The Game On Club Nintendo Get A Discount On The Digital Version
Why only a discount? Because they can resell the physical copy and no one is forcing them to sell their Wii U. I feel like this would be a nice gesture. It's a privilege, not a right. Sony and Microsoft didn't and couldn't do this. And if they bought the discounted digital download, it would be tied to their Nintendo Network ID forever.

Of course, this would lock out most third party games, but you know, what third party games? There would be a silver lining I'll get to later.

Drop Discs Entirely, Use Cards Instead
This way no one is trying to ram a Wii U disc into the console since it won't have a disc drive. If Nintendo isn't ever going to support Blu Ray/DVD playback, they aren't taking advantage of the main benefit of a disc based system. Discs are cheaper, but we are moving into a digital future whether or not people, such as myself who prefer having physical copies, want this to happen so physical media is, unfortunately, becoming less important. Moving forward, I think cards are a better choice and prices for higher capacities are dropping even if they'll never match discs. There are additional benefits to adopting cards: faster loading, no moving parts (the fan notwithstanding), and studier media (plus whatever else I'm forgetting). If people want a physical copy, it's available, but the digital version should always be available the same day as well.

My understanding (and I admit, I could be wrong) is that PS4 requires users to install the entire game onto the hard drive which makes the game faster than reading it off the disc, but you still need the disc even though it's running off the hard drive. It's more like a digital download that allows easy lending which I guess is nice (even though they also need to install). It just seems like the Blu Ray Drive is mainly there for movies. I think it would be better for Nintendo to nix it.

Include A User Replaceable 4TB Hard Drive
Overkill? Maybe. We're entering a digital future. The price of such a hard drive should not be that expensive by the time a successor launches. Don't leave this up to consumers.

GamePad Pro
The new console needs to be able to support four of these simultaneously and at 60 frames per second. That means it's essentially functioning as splitscreen multiplayer in our hands. The console also needs to be able to run video streaming software like Netflix and any game simultaneously which shouldn't be a problem because Netflix isn't that taxing.

Naturally, improving battery life and shaving off as much weight as possible are givens.

And it should work as a universal remote. That's for you, BlackNMild.

Make All Controllers And Peripherals As Cheap As Possible
This is especially integral if no Wii or Wii U peripherals are compatible. This also means there would be no issue with consumer confusion. People would know what to buy and no one would ever think the new peripherals were for Wii U.

More importantly, Sony (and Microsoft) gained market share from Nintendo by changing the rules. Nintendo should consider doing the same. It's tempting to turn a major profit on controllers because people need those to play the games. Instead, take a smaller profit. Nintendo makes most of their profits as a publisher. Any way they can get more consoles into people's homes ultimately means more games can be sold. Nintendo likely priced the Pro Controller for parity with Sony and Microsoft's controllers even though it actually includes and does less. I think they can improve consumer perception by keeping costs low. It helps them stand out. What's more important is how the actual console is perceived which brings us to...

Ian's Favorite Topic: Specs
In a previous post, I mentioned that Nintendo traditionally chooses hardware they sell in the $200 to $250 range. If you do the math, that's pretty much where Wii U is when you take the GamePad and selling at a loss into account.

Let's say Nintendo launches a successor in 2017, five years after Wii U. While I'm not sure how true this is, I've read that PS4's specs are the equivalent of a mid-tier 2012/2013 PC. It's not cutting edge technology for its time like PS3 was. The bill of materials is estimated at $380 so they're losing money but a far more modest amount. That said, I'd like to see Nintendo's next console in the range of a mid-tier PC in 2017. That would be noticably more powerful than PS4/One. I'm not a spec whore and I'm content with how games look today. I thoroughly enjoy my Wii U so this isn't a commentary on its specs. However, I am going to suggest something in the next section that makes better specs more of a priority.

Before that, here's how I'm going to justify a $400 Nintendo console in 2017 with a greater loss per unit than Nintendo has ever taken: I'll be 30 next year. So? This means I've been a Nintendo fan and have been playing Nintendo games for most of my life. While my parents, who didn't really have videogames growing up, would have laughed at the idea of spending $400 on a videogame console, I might not. It may take some time to save that money, but for Mario and Zelda, I'd probably find a way. I feel like Nintendo hasn't completely considered the fact that people who were raised on Nintendo games most likely still play Nintendo games as adults. They can buy their own consoles and games now. And when they have kids, even if their kids want Halo, the kids always have exposure to Nintendo games. Nintendo fans have shown themselves to be a pretty devoted bunch and what people are willing to spend on videogames has increased over the years. I like saving money, but I also like Nintendo games. The latter usually wins eventually. Nintendo likes keeping prices down, but they can probably get away with a more expensive machine based almost entirely on the fact that they're Nintendo. The key is that people have to think the hardware is worth the money. Many people didn't buy into the idea that 3DS was worth $250. If Nintendo ever launched a $400 console, it has to be worth $400.

I would never advocate Nintendo take the several hundred dollars worth of losses on hardware that Sony and Microsoft did last generation. I'm a little apprehensive about suggesting they take a larger one than they did on Wii U, but since they've taken a loss before, maybe this is not such a bad idea. Hiroshi Yamauchi once said that people "do not play with the game machine itself. They play with the software, and they are forced to purchase a game machine in order to use the software. Therefore, the price of the machine should be as cheap as possible." The hardware should be affordable for what it is and the types of games people are trying to play. As previously stated, Nintendo makes most of their profits as a publisher. When a consumer buys Nintendo hardware, 100% of the time they're buying it for Nintendo software (and maybe something like Monster Hunter). Nintendo will make that money back and will do so sooner if they sell more consoles. Of course, they're going to have to find a way to make the console more attractive to a greater number of consumers. They need better public perception which comes from having a wider selection of games. How do they get that?

Run Steam
Hear me out. And I understand that this is easier said than done. I don't know how they would implement it though I would think it would involve SteamOS somehow. It would require Nintendo to do a lot of things they either have been too stubborn to do or haven't figured out how to do effectively.

There has been talk of some kind of Steam support in the past, rumors before launch and that Toki Tori 2+ thing. The way I imagine it is that consumers link their Steam account to their Nintendo Network ID and access a joint Nintendo-Valve developed eshop. The only way this works is if it's under one umbrella. It can't be like Wii U's Wii Mode where you have to access it separately. This brings with it a few implications:

1. Nintendo's OS always runs in the background. The console automatically and seamlessly recognizes a Steam game.
2. Steam games on the eshop are labelled "Brought to you by Steam." Nintendo games are labelled "Only for Nintendo."
3. "Steam on Nintendo" functionally performs as Steam on anything else. All sales and bundles are available. Steam users can download any game already on their account as well as new games on their Nintendo console. Any controller compatible with Steam can be used with Steam games (compatibility with Nintendo's controller is, of course, imperative). Steam users who buy a Steam game on their Nintendo console can also download the same game on any other device they own that can play Steam games.
4. Steam games can be played using off-screen play.
5. Not sure if third parties would support this, but it would be awesome if a third party digital download (including Virtual Console) was purchased on Wii U and it's also available on Steam, linking a Steam account will allow that game to be downloaded on any other device they own that can play Steam games.

There would be one notable and obvious caveat: Nintendo's own games are not sold through Steam. They will always only be available and playable on Nintendo hardware which is what Nintendo wants. The reason why they have their own hardware is so they can control their software. There would be two stores for digital downloads masquerading as one store.

Essentially, Nintendo would be building a lower tier Steam Machine that also plays Nintendo games. That's why they should transition to x86-64 and include more powerful hardware. Better specs alone is not going to bring third parties back to Nintendo consoles. That could involve months of negotiations and possibly payouts and incentives. I think Nintendo can just skip that process by having a machine that can run past and current Steam games. More importantly, it would be beneficial if it was powerful enough to run future games decently. Eventually a few years down the road, games won't run as well on it, but isn't this still better than what Nintendo has now? They would have a wealth of content right from the beginning. Not every third party game on PS4/One comes to Steam, but this improves Nintendo's selection of games exponentially and perhaps more third party PS4/One games would come to Steam sooner rather than later.

This also brings Nintendo up to speed with the rest of the industry with what Steam provides as long as voice chat and stuff like that is also integrated into their own games.

Third Parties
Let's get this out of the way: Nintendo MUST reach out to third parties and keep them informed. That has to change.

If Nintendo adds some weird new thing, let them know as early as possible. That way they can do something about it. I'm curious what it could be since Nintendo's additions such as touch, motion, second screen, and 3D are all based on ideas they wanted to implement earlier but couldn't due to technology not being where they needed it to be. Maybe 3rd parties wouldn't use it, but they should know it's there.

The most obvious question is: Why would third parties ever pay Nintendo licensing fees or for physical media when they could just release a game on Steam? The short answer is: the vast majority of the time, they wouldn't. Nintendo would be taking the stance of "Make games for us if you want and we'll support you in any way we can. If not, also fine." Technically, third parties wouldn't really have to deal with Nintendo directly; they would be under Valve's terms and conditions. Perhaps some third parties would like to take advantage of Nintendo's own exclusive features like Miiverse or GamePad support. Or they could be trying to reach the strictly physical media people, but realistically, that would be Ubisoft and Activision if they would even do it at all. Otherwise, through Steam, a metric ****-ton of third parties' games would be available on a Nintendo console without them technically paying Nintendo a dime. Maybe Nintendo could get a cut through a deal with Valve.

The second most obvious question is: Why would Nintendo ever do this? Besides "they probably wouldn't," they stand to benefit greatly through Steam implementation. The more consoles they sell, the more software they sell, the more money they make. Third parties could pay Nintendo to advertise their games available through Steam on Miiverse. This enables a lot of possibilities. Nintendo still gets to keep complete control of every aspect of their hardware and the distribution of their own titles by relenting control on what third parties do. The hardware just needs to be capable of running Steam. Nintendo would get third party support without really having to deal with them. They lose out on licensing fees, but how is that really different from today when support is so anemic? Sure, sometimes PC games are released late. So what? Most of the time, Nintendo isn't even getting those games. Ultimately, I think Nintendo can live with all of that. What Nintendo would really be doing is continue to exist in their bubble while letting everyone else do whatever they hell they want but doing so on the same console.

Origin
No.

-----

Do I think Nintendo would ever do all of this? Absolutely not. They're too worried about total control and policing how people use their products (e.g. Swapnote). Still, I find it fun to think about.

29

Nintendo Gaming / My 3DS XL broke

« on: November 02, 2013, 06:10:32 PM »

I played Mario Kart 7 Thursday night and it was fine. I tried playing Mario Kart 7 about an hour ago and the L button was pressed in and wouldn't come up on its own. There was no "clicky-ness." I could lift it back up, but it just sticks if I press it.

I tried cleaning my 3DS even though it wasn't dirty and I don't use it with dirty hands. When I'm not using it, I leave it in the Club Nintendo pouch. I called Nintendo and ultimately, I was told that the system could be sent in to be repaired for $144. The warranty doesn't cover physical damage. I laughed then said, "No, thank you," before hanging up. I called back to ask why the cost was so high and they explained that they read it a bedtime story or something (in addition to repairing the damage, they do a full service check and its given a new 12 month warranty). They pulled up my Club Nintendo account and I ended up getting the price reduced to approximately $70. I'm pretty sure I could have held out for more because first they said they could drop the repair cost $35 then $50. I got it cut in half so I'll just deal with it.

I have no idea how this happened. I haven't dropped it between Thursday and today. There's a chance that I might not get my original unit back, but she made it sound like that would only be the case under extreme physical damage. Instead, I could end getting a blue refurbished 3DS which would be kind of lame considering how long I waited for the all black 3DS. All in all, a pretty crummy day. The lady I spoke to on my second call was nice albeit kind of scatterbrained. If nothing else, at least she wasn't being a dick.

30

Nintendo Gaming / Big Octos Wind Waker HD

« on: October 20, 2013, 02:54:03 PM »

I swear I never had this much trouble getting the Big Octos to appear in the original. I know you have you follow the seagulls flying in a circle and it's supposed to show up automatically, but nothing happens. I've only been able to get the one that frees the Great Fairy who grants double magic. I really just want the two that give heart pieces.


Am I missing something?

31

Nintendo Gaming / 3DS SD Card Help

« on: August 31, 2013, 04:50:24 PM »

Back story: when I did the system transfer to my 3DS XL, I didn't backup my SD card and I thought I lost everything on it. I ended up re-downloading everything and I lost my Swapnotes.

Anyway, today I Streetpassed a friend I've been Streetpassing for over two years now and I only had like five Puzzle Swap panels which was weird because when I Streetpass my brother's 3DS, it shows all the puzzle pieces I've collected from all the panels. Basically, I'm missing a ton of panels, but people can still collect puzzle pieces from all of my panels. I looked it up and apparently, that has something to do with the SD Card (not 100% on this).

I put my old SD card into my XL and it seems all of my old data is still on there. I went into Data Management in the System Settings and under Extra Data, all my data was still in there. When I put the 2GB SD Card into my MacBook Pro, my brother's data and my data were in separate folders. I suppose it got partitioned when I set up my original 3DS for my brother. I know which one is my data on the 2 GB SD Card because I put the 4 GB SD Card into my MacBook Pro and the folder name is the same as one of the folder names on the 2 GB SD Card. Hopefully, I'm explaining this well enough. Here are my questions:

1. Can I get all that old data onto my new 4 GB SD Card that came with the XL? If so, how? I looked it up and Nintendo has instructions on their website, but I wanted to ask here so I can bounce questions off you guys so I don't mess anything (else) up.

2. The old 2 GB SD Card has all the data pre-XL and the new 4 GB SD Card, naturally, has data post-XL. I don't know how to reconcile that. Won't there be duplicate data? I don't know how this stuff works. Does the new 4 GB SD Card have to be cleared out, reformatted or whatever if I want to put the old data on it?

3. I've completed Find Mii I again and also Streetpassed my brother a bunch of times since doing the System Transfer; will that data be lost if I want the old data on the new 4 GB SD Card? I don't think it will because all the people I've previously Streetpassed were still in my Mii Plaza as well as my place in the Find Mii games after the System Transfer.

Since doing the System Transfer, I might have maybe three Swapnotes from Eddie (who, I swear, is the only person who sends Swapnotes), a really early save in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (as in I got the sword from the beach), and a few puzzle pieces using Play Coins when I was trying to figure out what was happening earlier. Really, I just have no idea what specifically goes on the SD Card and what doesn't. The Puzzle Swap thing is kind of bothering me. That's the main thing I'm trying to fix.

32

Nintendo Gaming / Ubisoft working on a prototype of a prototype of prototype of a sequel to ZombiU

« on: May 14, 2013, 04:50:58 PM »

ZombiU sequel being prototyped by Ubisoft

No, it's not that ridiculous. When asked on Twitter about a sequel, Ubisoft creative director, Jean-Philippe Caro, said that "the team is working hard on a prototype" but "it's too soon to tell you more." So, no, a sequel is not confirmed. However, I think the fact that Ubisoft is thinking about one is encouraging. Wii U owners could use some good news... unless it is somehow a PS4/Xbox Infinity exclusive in which case, boo/hiss.

Semi-related, I'm sure NWR staff will most likely post this news story soon and we should talk about it separately in two or more topics. Right, pokepal?

33

General Gaming / Ex-Metroid Prime Staff, Armature Studios, was working on Maverick Hunter

« on: April 09, 2013, 10:07:11 AM »

Here's the article

It was basically Mega Man Prime. Doesn't look like a bad game per se, just a bad Mega Man game. The style worked for Metroid Prime because the series wasn't full of wide-eyed anime characters. Even Fusion and Zero Missions anime-esque designs were grittier and more realistic than Mega Man ever was. It worked for Metroid; it doesn't really work with Mega Man.

It looked like an interesting take on the character, but I'm glad it was canned. Hopefully, Armature Studios can use some of those ideas for an original IP... or maybe even Metroid...

34

General Gaming / Resident Evil 6 is Apparently as Bad as Operation Raccoon City

« on: October 01, 2012, 02:07:54 PM »

Is anyone planning on getting this?

I decided to pass for now since Wii U is launching next month and I'm convinced that it will see a port eventually. It's currently getting mixed reviews from most reviewers. Kotaku says it's getting "mauled" by critics though I wouldn't go that far by some of the reviews I've read. If there are major issues, hopefully they'll get ironed out when/if a Wii U version comes out.

It's kind of strange how Revelaitons had a much smaller budget and development team yet managed to get near universal praise while RE6 is the McKayla Maroney Not Impressed face across the board. I wonder what happened there. The only thing I can think of is the lack of Jill Valentine in RE6. It has to be.

EDIT: Sorry, posted this in the wrong place. Hopefully, a mod will move this to the General Gaming discussion. My bad.

35

General Gaming / Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2

« on: June 01, 2012, 07:33:02 AM »

I just watched the trailer. DO NOT WATCH IT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE SPOILERS OF THE ORIGINAL. The trailer gives away a major part of he ending though, it's kind of hard to make a sequel without doing so. Anyway, the trailer looked entirely CG. I'm still excited about it because I loved the original.

A few things:
- It looks like it takes place after the Resurrection DLC meaning, among other things, Gabriel is a vampire, but before the epilogue which is kind of disappointing. Maybe the game takes place in different eras like Mirror Of Fate.
- Gabriel obviously doesn't have the Combat Cross but seems to make due. This excites me because the Combat Cross was used for most of the original's puzzles so MercurySteam seems to be thinking outside the box. Gabriel showed some of his new moves. Maybe Cox and co. got tired of their game being compared to God of War... And wanted to be compared to Force Unleashed.
- Gabriel looks like he gets younger after he does that thing that vampires do.
- I'm pretty sure the character teased at the end of the trailer is the Lords of Shadow canon version of Alucard.
- There was no Wii U logo at the end. Boo-urns. That doesn't necessarily mean it won't come to Wii U. I'm just pointing out that it wasn't there. With Mirror of Fate coming to 3DS, I expect everyone who interviews David Cox at E3 to ask him if Lords of Shadow 2 (and the original for that matter) will be ported to Wii U. That question has to be expected at this point.

36

General Gaming / Lollipop Chainsaw

« on: February 10, 2012, 11:19:14 AM »

I just watched the Valentine's Day trailer for this game and I'm really looking forward to it. Lollipop Chainsaw looks just as off-beat as Suda51's other games. I'll probably wait 2 months and watch the price drop exponentially. Is anyone else looking to this? Has anyone else even heard of it? I just found out it existed yesterday and a new trailer came out today.

37

Reader Reviews / Lost in Shadow: Review and discussion

« on: August 14, 2011, 07:53:00 PM »

I bought this game a couple weeks ago at Best Buy for $15.

The short version: buy this game.......... for $15.

It took me about 17 hours to beat this game with 100%. That's less than $1 per hour of gameplay. Not bad, except the game was actually too long. The gameplay isn't varied enough to justify its length. More on that later. You don't get the first weapon until like half an hour into the game. And based on the story, there was no reason you shouldn't have been given the best weapon in the beginning of the game. If the mysterious knight and the fairy stripped the boy's shadow from him for the sole purpose of having him traverse the large tower to destroy the giant shadow monster, why wouldn't they just make it leagues easier for him and give him the ominous Shadow Cutter right from the get-go instead of making him stumble upon it 45 minutes before the end? They placed 2 other swords all over the tower for the boy to find. Why put the strongest weapon so far out of reach? No reason is given. Comparatively to say Zelda (which Lost in Shadow borrows a lot from), the plot usually explains why you don't just get the Master Sword immediately and start smiting evil left and right. Lost in Shadow's non-explanation managed to be worse than Other M's permission based system.

That's another issue. The minimalist story is confusing. Lost in Shadow's storytelling is intentionally vague, but it's not simple enough to get away with it. Let's compare its plot to Ico, a game Lost in Shadow desperately wants to be in more ways than one, including and especially its method of storytelling. In Ico, soldiers from a nearby village escort a boy, Ico, to a mysterious castle and regrettably seal him in a sarcophagus. He escapes, stumbles upon a princess, Yorda, who speaks a language he doesn't understand. Because Ico is a pimp mack daddy, he resolves to take her along and find a way out. Ico meets Yorda's mother, the Queen, who admits her plan to extend her life by possessing her daughter's body. Ico finds a magic sword; vanquishes the Queen. Evil is punished. The end.

There are a lot of unanswered questions in Ico. Who's the Queen? Is Yorda her real daughter? And many more. However, the story is structured in a way that none of it matters. Ico has no idea what Yorda or the Queen are saying to him. His goal is to escape. The player identifies Ico as a good-hearted person because he chooses to save Yorda for no reason other than it's the right thing to do. The game is telling the player not to worry about the other stuff because it's not important. It tells you what you need to know. Lost in Shadow begins in much the same way with a singular goal: the boy wants his body back. A few chapters are littered with a short series of still frame images that reveal some plot but not enough to actually say anything of concrete or substantial. Unlike Ico (and worse for it), Lost in Shadow keeps hinting at something greater, but without the payoff. More tidbits are revealed in random, mostly emo "memories" that the boy finds along the way. Again, not enough to say anything of value. Some are "too blurry to read" which makes me wonder what the hell the point of that was. Collecting things in videogames is annoying.

The memories aspect is actually kind of cool, despite their aforementioned emo-ness. Health is measured in the boy's shadow's weight and through the memories that are found scattered around the tower, you eventually collect up to 21 grams which, in case you didn't know, is based on a theory of how much the soul weighs according to an old study of weighing dying patients right before and right after death (they apparently lost an average of 21 grams upon death). So, the story likens the shadow to the soul and thus, Lost in Shadow is, in a way, about reuniting soul and body. Deep stuff. If I understand correctly, the memories are from past shadows of the boy who failed to progress. The game over screen hints at this as well. Every time you die, the knight and fairy send another shadow to complete the task of destroying the Shadow Monster trapped/wreaking havoc in the tower. Too bad everything else makes no sense or requires way too much interpretation to be enjoyable. There's also a major plot hole: At one point, the fairy hovers idly as the boy (in light form) gets dragged into a portal/doorway which then closes. The boy is now separated from the fairy, yet the fairy appears in the next level. Don't get me started on the ending.......

But enough about the story, the main problem with the game is that the you do pretty much the same thing the entire game, aside from 3 or 4 "race to finish" style levels. Solve the same kinds of puzzles, avoid the same traps, kill the same enemies (there are maybe 10 or so varieties in the game). About 3/4 of the way through Hudson decided to add a completely new gameplay mechanic which is foreshadowed within the first half hour of the game. Through special gates, the boy is granted a body made of light and can interact with the real world. These short segments are played on a 3D plane (while the majority of the action is played in 2D on the shadows of structures along the walls). The switching of planes mechanic worked surprisingly well. I just wished it was introduced sooner. When it is introduced, the game forces you to go back down the tower on a fetch quest. It's similar to Metroid Prime's Chozo Artifact quest except in Lost in Shadow, everything looks the same and backtracking isn't as easy.

Additionally, there are 40 mini side levels called "Shadow Corridors" that use many of the same gameplay mechanics as the tower (using the fairy with the Wii remote to adjust light to change the height/width of shadows, move gates/platforms etc.). Some, however, include an additional Shadow Corridor-only gameplay mechanic where the stages can be turned left or right in a 90 degree angle to open a new path. Think along the lines of Echochrome on PSP.

The controls are serviceable, but sometimes they don't play nice. You have to be in an exact spot to trigger a context sensitive action like hitting a switch or grabbing a box. In the game's real world, you have a limited time before the boy's body of light dissipates. Wrestling with finicky controls is even more frustrating on the clock. For the most part, however, they work well.

The graphics are a mixed bag. The textures are blurry and they went with an Ico-esque color palette and lighting. It gets the job done, but it's hardly original. Ico, despite being almost 10 years older, managed to look better. The art style in Ico also trumps Lost in Shadow. Despite its fairytale-esque story, the boy is dressed in a hoodie and jorts. What? Why? That seemed completely out of place. Additionally, Lost in Shadow couldn't decide how it wanted to present its story. There are a few CG cutscenes and others are told through text and still frame images. Was an all CG approach to costly?

I know most of this review seems negative, but I did enjoy Lost in Shadow. It's important to note that I probably would have enjoyed it far less had I paid more than $15 for it. Saving 70% on something makes it easier to handle its shortcomings. The game is a hodge podge of ideas from a variety of much better and more original games: Zelda series (shadow/light theme, fairy companion), old school Prince of Persia (platforming and traps), and, obviously, Ico (everything...) to name a few. The game doesn't take a lot of chances and I wish it did. The problem with sticking too close to an inspiration is that they did it first and if you don't do it as well or better, it shows. I feel like a much better game could have been made with the concept presented.

38

General Gaming / God of War: Ghost of Sparta

« on: November 06, 2010, 08:55:27 PM »

So I bought Ghost of Sparta on Tuesday and beat it relatively quickly (for me anyway) with the intention of trading it in towards Donkey Kong Country Returns when I traded in all of my Wii remotes on Thursday (to put towards a Wii Remote Plus), I found out I only get $15 in store credit. Fail. I'll be keeping this instead. The point of that story is that I wish I took my time with Ghost of Sparta as it's a fairly short game. Longer (and better) than Chains of Olympus, but still short.

Through no fault of its own, the game suffers from simply coming out after God of War III and in the same year no less. There is absolutely nothing in this game that wows as much as the opening of God of War III though, to be fair , even the rest of God of War III wasn't able to top the Posiedon boss fight (more on that later). Ghost of Sparta, however, sh*ts all over the original God of War. More polished, no Hades level, better story, and so on.

Speaking of story, the game addresses 2 of the special secret endings in the original God of War while God of War III addressed the 3rd and essentially nullified it (more on that later). Kratos visits his mother and she tells him a secret then turns into some monster through a curse while the other mentions Kratos' then unnamed brother, who coincidentally, had long hair and wings thus is inconsistent with the new design. Not a big deal. What is a big deal is that Deimos is barely in Ghost of Sparta at all. He's strictly a MacGuffin which is a shame because giving him more depth would ultimately give Kratos more depth, depth Kratos sorely needs because he's a one-note character (i.e. revenge... two if you count anger). It's hard to care about Deimos or Kratos' attachment to him, when Deimos does next to nothing besides appearing in a few flashbacks and the end. Additionally, Deimos goes from utter hatred and rage to "Let's fight together Kratos. Love you, bro." In Ghost of Sparta, there is one fight with Deimos at the very end of the game which is then immediately interrupted by the final boss, Thanatos, who is literally one of the lamest characters not only in the God of War series, but most modern videogames. Once he's mentioned early in the game, it was pretty obvious that he would inevitably be the final boss, but without appearing until the very end, it's hard to care. He's "feared by men and gods alike" but when he shows up, all I could think of was that he looked like a homeless man. That said, Ghost of Sparta suffered at the end. Thanatos is such a minor figure in Greek mythology that him showing up at the 11th hour, right after Deimos is introduced felt unsatisfying. Who the f*ck is this guy, seriously? For comparison's sake, Persephone herself shows up very late in Chains of Olympus, but the story revolves around the mystery of who is responsible for kidnapping Helios, freeing Atlus, and plotting the end of the world so it works. Unlike Thanatos, Persephone is far more well-known figure and her motivations in the game's story, while simplistic, are fitting and justified. It never felt rushed.

It's a shame really. Ghost of Sparta's story serves as a much more important part to the series' lore than Chains of Olympus. While Kratos loses his daughter for good in Chains of Olympus, the Olympians are not as directly responsible for Kratos' loss as they are in Ghost of Sparta. Chains of Olympus, while leagues better than the original God of War in every way, adds almost nothing to the series (though the stakes in the series' world only ever felt greater in God of War III), whereas Ghost of Sparta serves as an important supplement to the God of War II and by extension, God of War III (it basically explains and, more or less, justifies why Kratos has shunned the gods as shown at the start of God of War II).

As for the gameplay, nothing new here. Kratos has a new tackle move which is just a different kind of grab though you can be knocked out of it. The new weapon, the Arms of Sparta, is kind of neat, just useless like most other alternate weapons in the series. It doubles as a replacement for Typhon's Bane/Apollo's bow, but is still pretty useless. The only alt weapons in the series I found interesting and useful were the Gauntlet of Zeus from Chains of Olympus and the Nemean Cestus from God of War III and they were kind of the same weapon. Usually, I just stuck with the Blades.

Side-notes from earlier: the 3rd secret ending in God of War was the fate of Cronos. His corpse is found in the desert in modern times with the Temple of Pandora still chained to his back. Obviously, God of War III rendered that non-canon. The Cronos fight was cool and the only thing that came close to matching the awesomeness of the Posiedon fight. However, I recently saw a video where Stig Asmussen, director of God of War III, admitted that they sacrificed the epic final boss three way between Zeus, Gaia, and Kratos to focus on the Posiedon and Cronos. That explains why the final boss fight in God of War III was a total letdown so I totally disagree with that choice. Well, Posiedon no, but Cronos yes. First, if Sony Santa Monica (and Ready at Dawn) declared 2 of the 3 secret endings in the original canon, why not all of them? The Cronos fight, while awesome, was extraneous and was part of the most illogical part of the game. Hephaestus sends Kratos on an errand to find some stone (in Cronos' stomach) for a special weapon, proceeds to make said weapon after Kratos retrieves the stone, then attacks Kratos after giving him the weapon which also happens to be the only way Kratos can kill Hephaestus. What the F, man? Second, the final boss should have been more of a priority since it's the last major part of the game.

Anyway, I recommend Ghost of Sparta. Nothing new for God of War fans, but if you are a fan, it's definitely worth it. Total missed opportunity with Deimos though.

39

Nintendo Gaming / What are the chances of a 3DS HD and would you buy one?

« on: October 18, 2010, 11:42:02 PM »

I think we all expect Nintendo to redesign 3DS at least once. While I'm more than satisfied with the DSi, I was pretty pissed when XL was announced less than 6 months later. I don't actually treat my handhelds as portable on-the-go devices (I know, it's backwards... whatever). They're all consoles to me because I only play videogames at home or at a friend's house. I justify their existence as long as they have games I want to play.

Anyway, I think a 3DS XL is a given. The final 3DS model doesn't really lend itself for a more compact redesign as it's pretty packed as is so a model with larger screens seems like the most likely scenario. However, my question is: do you think Nintendo would not only increase the screen size, but the screen resolution as well, something they didn't do with the DSi or XL? This would undoubtedly drive the price up even more, but the games would sure look prettier. Nintendo would probably also have to include better cameras as pictures would look like crap on anything but the 3DS'sesses native resolution.

I think it's an interesting concept and certainly a possibility (I'm sure Nintendo thought about increasing the resolution for the DSi XL). I'm leaning toward "very slim chance of happening," but honestly, I'd totally buy it.

40

Nintendo Gaming / Reggie says some things about Friend Codes again. Internet explodes.

« on: April 05, 2009, 12:36:58 PM »

So, here's the part from the Wired interview

Fils-Aime: Friend codes are about making sure, in a connected experience, that a consumer has a great experience. What we mean by that is that when you're playing with a friend, you are provided full functionality with the WiiSpeak microphone, you can talk to your friend, or in a game like Animal Crossing you can invite friends into your town — but there's a recognition that for players that you don't know, what we don't want is a situation where either consumer is having a negative experience. The trash-talking that happens now online is a prime example. For us, friend codes are about making sure that the consumer has a.

I've come to terms with the fact that Friend Codes are here to stay. I wonder, though, if Nintendo really believes in this system or if they support it because it's too late to offer an upgrade/alternative (this generation anyway).

I generally avoid playing online with the Wii and DS mostly because the experience ranges from okay to horrible though I blame the servers more than Friend Codes for that one. I've used both Xbox Live and Playstation Network and the only thing I really miss on Nintendo Wi-Fi is a persistent friends list that tells me what others are playing. I guess that also negates the game to game Friend Codes. I don't think that compromises Nintendo's vision of a "great, positive, connected experience."

41

Nintendo Gaming / The Controller Topic

« on: March 29, 2009, 02:37:29 PM »

Instead of continuing to derail other threads with the controller debate, I thought I'd just start a new topic. It's seems this isn't going away....

Continuing from the latest topic to be derailed...

I don't know Adrock, have you seen the Wiimote prototypes? MANY of them had multiple buttons in place of the single A button.

Everytime this argument about needing more face buttobns pop up, I think back to those prototypes. I think Nintendo probably had very good reason to abandon those multiple button configurations when those were in fact so abundant in their testing.

Are you referring to the one with the 4 controller prototypes, the most extreme being the big orange one with the big win game star button on it? Or the "traditional" controller that pulled apart? I've seen them all, but that doesn't change a thing. Every console has fundamentally flawed design choices. Need I remind you that it took Nintendo nearly 2 and a half years to introduce a storage solution?

See, this isn't simply about adding more buttons. Consider that consumers have to pay over $200 to play every game available on the system: Wii remote, Nunchuck, Balance Board, Classic Controller, Motion Plus, and Gamecube Controller. Consider that the Wii is the first backwards compatible enabled console that forces consumers to have the previous generation's controller. If you have the controllers already, why not just use the Gamecube? Who wants to pay for something that's more of an inconvenience to use?

Point is, aren't the numerous controllers confusing to consumers too? The Balance Board is the only peripheral that couldn't be combined into a single controller option.

42

General Chat / Quality Wireless Router

« on: February 19, 2009, 07:37:30 PM »

Okay, so I need one, a good one. I ordered a modem already so I don't have to lease Comcast's crummy modem.

Also, apologies to Kairon and others who I added to the Wii ages ago when I planned on originally getting high speed internet but never played against online. I guess we'd actually need some games to play online. Am I right? Hahahahahahahaha.... okay.

43

Nintendo Gaming / Dead Space Extraction

« on: February 03, 2009, 06:10:42 PM »

Dead Space Wii Announced

Awesome.

Not really.

44

Nintendo Gaming / New Logo... Thoughts?

« on: November 26, 2008, 06:03:00 PM »

Not really a new logo, just gray, not red

Not that this really changes anything... I just find it an odd choice. Why go through the trouble? I prefer the red logo over the gray one, but it's still the same logo.

45

Nintendo Gaming / Who should produce Super Smash Bros. 4?

« on: July 04, 2008, 05:37:04 PM »

Let me start by saying that I don't want Masahiro Sakurai to be in charge of the next Smash Bros. title. Not that I think he's a bad game designer or did a bad job (clearly I don't, if I play his games). Rather, I feel that if Brawl was as far as he could take the series with Nintendo giving him every resource they could and no clear deadline, the series should be handed off to someone else who can take it into a fresher direction than Sakurai could. My choices:

1. Shigeru Miyamoto.... because he's Shigeru Miyamoto. He also pressed Sakurai to focus on multiplayer, something Sakurai clearly did not do. Most people would have a harder time coming up with reasons why that wouldn't be a good idea.

2. Suda51. May be too weird for something as mainstream as Smash Bros., but I think he's certainly talented enough to tackle a project like this. It upsets me that No More Heroes did not perform as well as it should have. I think he has a very sharp game designer's mind. With NMH, he is the only game designer who has put considerable thought into how else the Wii Remote could be used and he created a game that is completely unlike anything else on the Wii. I think that kind of thinking would be perfect for making a series like Smash Bros. feel fresh again.

3. Yoshinori Ono. Who? He's in charge of Street Fighter IV. He would be my absolute personal pick though he's the one I would imagine that most Smash Bros. fans would be opposed to. I think that most would, understandably, fear a more complicated game under Ono, but I think Miyamoto and Nintendo would keep him focused on keeping Smash Bros. accessible so I don't think anyone has anything to worry about in that regard. Also, he pitched SFIV to Capcom with the intent on making it more like Street Fighter II, admitting that SFIII, a game he worked on, was too complicated even for many Street Fighter fans. Working on a sequel to Street Fighter is a big deal and a tremendous amount of pressure is on his shoulders to deliver a sequel worthy of its namesake and from the looks of it, SFIV is set to deliver. He knows fighting games, especially how extremely difficult it is to properly balance one since being off even a few frames of animation could wreck the harmony of the entire game. If nothing else, that's the main thing he has in his favor.

If I had to pick any developer for the game, I'd pick EAD Tokyo. They have 2 games under their belt: Donkey Kong Jungle Beat and Super Mario Galaxy. What's not to like about that?

46

Nintendo Gaming / Castlevania Judgement... not what anyone expected ever... EVER

« on: June 26, 2008, 05:26:52 PM »

3D fighter... seriously.

47

Nintendo Gaming / Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

« on: May 14, 2008, 09:51:17 PM »

Well, it's official now.... though Konami did a terrible job keeping it a secret. Those leaked screens from January of a supposed mystery Castlevania game were, in fact, real (as if there was ever any doubt). This also basically confirms a Castlevania game for the Wii.

48

Nintendo Gaming / The Subspace Emissary Sucks

« on: March 09, 2008, 07:21:44 PM »

Let me start by saying that I've had the game since Thursday and that I've completed 100% of the SSE in 10 hours and 6 minutes (and that's only because I couldn't find 1 trophy box in one level so I re-played it at least 6 or 7 times).

It's just dull. Really, really dull. The levels are overly simplistic and boring. The flaw is that they're designed so that every character can complete them which makes sense since there are a variety of different characters. At the same time, the entire mode fails at being fun and/or interesting. Nothing about it is especially original (i.e. choose-the-correct-door-to-proceed-puzzles, hit the switch to open a door, find the key which is is often right next to the locked door). They even recycled parts of the older levels to make the last level. That's just plain laziness. Additionally, none of the levels really take advantage of specific character attributes. For example, characters with extended jumps (i.e. Kirby, Peach etc.) never need to use them to advance. I found plowing through levels with Ike to be the easiest way to get through the mode which I completed just to get all the characters.

The enemies too are poorly designed which I don't understand. Game Arts has excellent artists (i.e. Lunar, Grandia). More importantly, they're all pretty easy to defeat even on higher difficulties. Some of the bosses offer some challenge, mainly the final boss (who has 1 super cheap instant kill move and a couple other super cheap almost instant kill moves) and Meta-Ridley.

The story... well, there isn't really a story. The characters are all kind of just there and nothing really makes sense or gets explained. Some sh*t goes down and they all just decide to team-up. But, there is a ton of CG which gives the illusion that there is a coherent plot behind it all because why would they have put all those cut-scenes in there otherwise?

Seriously though, my problem with all the CG is that it hogs disc space which is the reason the game is dual-layered which, then, is the reason why load times are so frequent. Maybe I'm spoiled, but when Melee had minimal load times, I'm having a hard time understanding why Brawl, developed some 6 years later, has so many.

I know I'm ranting, so I'll end this soon. I remember months and months ago when Smash_Brother wondered why the development team spent so much time on the adventure mode when Smash Bros. is primarily a multiplayer game. While I always wanted an expanded adventure mode, I have to agree with Smash_Brother which proves that there's a first for everything. The idea was better on paper or maybe it was just poorly executed here. Either way, think of all the characters and stages we could've gotten instead.

By the way, the game is still near perfect because Smash Bros. is inherently a multiplayer game and they did get that part right though maybe its a little too slow (maybe).

49

Nintendo Gaming / Sequel?

« on: February 03, 2008, 05:31:02 PM »

Not to get ahead of ourselves since the game hasn't been released outside of Japan, but do you believe that Brawl will be the last Smash Bros. game? Personally, I'd say yes and no.

I expect Brawl to be the last Smash Bros. game, but I doubt Nintendo will let the concept die. Bringing a bunch of recognizable characters together in any genre is Nintendo's bread and butter. Smash is Sakurai's baby and he seems ready to let it go and move on which is why he left Hal Labs in the first place. And due to Iwata immense respect for Sakurai, I can see him obliging Sakurai and laying the Smash Bros. series to rest.

Still, I can see Nintendo making a spiritual sequel to Smash Bros. I'd bet a Nintendo vs. third parties kind of game. It might sound like wishful thinking, but honestly, everyone knows how much money that would make and that'd really be the motivation behind the whole thing. A new series with similar gameplay to Smash Bros. handled by a new director is entirely possible and probable.

50

Nintendo Gaming / Clones

« on: November 08, 2007, 05:55:15 PM »

Do you want to see clones in Brawl?

As I mentioned in the other thread, Brawl already has more individual newcomers than Melee and chances are there will be more. Melee had 14 newcomers (including Sheik), 6 were "clones" of which 5 were clones of veterans from the original. Brawl, alternatively, has 11 newcomers (including both Zero Suit Samus and fake-Ness aka Lucas) thus far (or 12 if you count the previously unofficially announced Ganondorf).

I wouldn't mind seeing "clone" characters, though I say so cautiously. Artificially inflating the roster is a concern though that may not be a problem. I'm assuming that every non-clone character (plus a brand new non-clone Ganondorf) will be in Brawl. That sets the roster at over 30 so far which isn't bad considering none are clones. Additionally, I expect a few more individual, unique newcomers. Since there are more newcomers, I don't feel as if the roster is deceptively larger than it actually is.

I think clones can work if they actually feel significantly different. Adjusting weight/speed/size/strength is one thing though also changing a move or two could work at making similar movesets feel a bit more unique. If the "clones" were more along the lines of Luigi to Mario as opposed to Dr. Mario to Mario, I think it'd work better. I wasn't very satisfied with how "clones" worked in Melee.

On a side note, I think Tails and Knuckles could work as "clones" of Sonic. Adjust attributes and moves such as the up special move (Tails-->fly, Knuckles-->glide) for example, and there you have 2 additional characters. I know some people aren't fans of Sonic or his pals, but I still wouldn't say no to more characters, especially if balanced correctly. With Brawl having a a good number of unique newcomers, I wouldn't mind "clone" characters at all.