Messages

1376

Nintendo Gaming / Re: The 3rd Party Wall of Shame

« on: February 06, 2010, 11:18:06 PM »

You want growth?  I'll give you GROWTH

No need, your boys in the OP have got it covered.

1377

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon questions

« on: February 06, 2010, 11:09:44 PM »

I'd like to second all of Maxi's questions. In addition: What lessons did you draw from developing and releasing Fragile?

1378

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (WiiWare)

« on: February 06, 2010, 11:05:50 PM »

Actually, Sega has been complaining for years that they "can't" make a Sonic game with just Sonic running from one end of a level to the next because "players would complain that the game was too short."  By making this an episodic WiiWare release, they can basically make as many of those style of levels as they want because expectations are different for digital download releases.  They can also, for that matter, make the game as long as they want just releasing the WiiWare equivalent of "map packs."

I remember them claiming this post-Unleashed. I didn't buy it then and I don't buy it now. Their hypothetical level was essentially a straight shot, and their Sonic was faster than he ever was in the Genesis games. Basically, they're basing this presumption on a flawed understanding of what fans of the Genesis games were looking for. This is what happens when you drink too much of your own Kool-Aid...

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General Gaming / Re: Mass Effect 2

« on: February 06, 2010, 11:01:40 PM »

Great game, albeit one with some serious flaws. I hate the new ammo system, for starters, and it's weird how little interactivity your squadmates had with each other. Also, the plot sucked. Other than that though, it was a great ride, much improved over the original.

1380

Nintendo Gaming / Re: The 3rd Party Wall of Shame

« on: February 06, 2010, 10:56:22 PM »

I'm calling it. Unless Nintendo moneyhats extensively, the Wall o' Shame is just going to grow even crappier.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Blaster Master confirmed for VC

« on: February 06, 2010, 10:55:13 PM »

So...who's excited about the WiiWare sequel? I'm excited!* And thanks to Johnny, we know that hovering is back, that it's harder to screw up, and that you can permanently increase your hover meter (maybe other attributes as well?).

In honor of that, I pledge to finally beat World 8. Tips, anyone? I get past the first big room, and then encounter nothing but Death Rooms. I don't know where to go!

*This is the first Blaster Master sequel to ever exist. If you think otherwise, shut up.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (WiiWare)

« on: February 06, 2010, 10:42:04 PM »

The idea that 2d games belong on download only services "where they belong" sickens me.

I know how you feel. Some people said that New Super Mario Brothers Wii should have been on WiiWare, which is kind of depressing. I hope the huge sales of that game taught them something.

According to certain circles* all it has taught them is that Nintendo is both greedy and lazy.

*You know who I mean.

I wonder what lead them to choose WiiWare instead of retail? Dothey think it has a greater chance of sales as an episodic downloadgame? Or is it just less of a financial risk?

Probably the financial risk part. Unleashed underperformed, and Black Knight bombed. I get the impression they're scaling Sonic way back. Which may be a good thing in the long run, even if I doubt Sega will get it right this time either.

1383

Nintendo Gaming / Re: New Wii Zelda

« on: February 06, 2010, 02:16:51 AM »

It would look weird when he restores his hearts though.  It would magically repair itself.  That only really works one way, unless we buy another tunic everytime it gets damaged.

It's a maaaaaagic tunic! 

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General Gaming / Re: Torchlight

« on: February 06, 2010, 02:13:04 AM »

All Rize said was he'd rather play Diablo II than Torchlight and you felt the need to tell him that his opinion was wrong.  What are we arguing about anyway? 

That wasn't my intention at all, and I apologize to Rize if I came off that way. All I meant to say was that maybe the reason he doesn't like Torchlight much is that he was expecting the game to be something it never wanted to be, i.e. This Isn't The Game You're Looking For. *Jedi handwave*

And why not argue? It passes the time!  :

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Fatal Frame IV

« on: February 05, 2010, 01:59:14 PM »

Well, I'm pretty sure it voids your warranty.

As long as the hack doesn't interfere with the hardware, I don't see why it would.

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General Gaming / Re: Torchlight

« on: February 05, 2010, 01:57:58 PM »

Torchlight is a $20, low budget, rushed game. It's consciously smaller in scope and ambition than Diablo II.

All fine and dandy, except at this point you can get Diablo II for under $15.  Torchlight is deliberately trying to cater to Diablo fans, so if the game isn't as good as a 10-year old game I can't see much reason to play this unless you've already sunk hundreds of hours into Diablo II and are looking for a different experience.

Yes, but that low price came many years after the game's release: Diablo II didn't come out as a budget title from the get go.

What you're saying is that because you can find Diablo II on sale for less than Torchlight now* Torchlight should be as good as, if not better, than Diablo II. But Torchlight never once tries to be Diablo II. The two Diablo games themselves are quite different experiences (and yes, II is better in almost every way). You're essentially comparing a $1 million/year batter to Alex Rodriguez. It's no surprise that Torchlight is found wanting.

*For the record, I still see Diablo II selling for $30 at Fry's, $40 if you include the expansion pack. That's still more than Torchlight debuted at.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #11 Discussion: Super Mario RPG

« on: February 05, 2010, 01:50:01 PM »

Well I am at Bowser's Keep. I will tackle it after I finish the sidequests. I am missing the fertilizer item. I don't recall where it is at the moment. Does anybody know where it is? I need it for the Lazy Shell. I have the Seed already.

It's in the cloud town. After you beat the boss for that area, try walking at the edges of the town (I can't remember the exact location). There's an invisible walkway that will take you to a small platform. You'll find it there.

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General Gaming / Re: Torchlight

« on: February 04, 2010, 07:39:16 PM »

The problem you have is that you're comparing it to Diablo II. The original is a much more apt comparison.

Why's that?  He can buy either game, so shouldn't he compare it to the one he likes best?

Not at all. Torchlight is a $20, low budget, rushed game. It's consciously smaller in scope and ambition than Diablo II. In fact, it's deliberately aping the smaller breadth of the original Diablo. If he's looking for Diablo II, then this really isn't the game he should be trying.

The problem Torchlight has is that I'd rather be playing Diablo 2.

More power to you. Your options are surprisingly limited though. As you probably noticed.

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General Gaming / Re: Torchlight

« on: February 03, 2010, 07:06:51 PM »

The problem you have is that you're comparing it to Diablo II. The original is a much more apt comparison.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: The 3rd Party Wall of Shame

« on: February 03, 2010, 07:04:28 PM »

Yeah, it's does have the advantage over DDR in terms of pricing but really what does it do that watching MTV doesn't?

Play music.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Radio Free Nintendo: Episode 181

« on: February 02, 2010, 05:06:07 PM »

Glad to see you're liking Silent Hill, Jonny, though I'll never understand how anyone can call this game creepy or scary (especially compared to the other Silent Hill games) at any point in the entire game.  The stuff you find in the investigation sequences (with the exception of some of the stuff in the woods) is just...well...normal, nothing you couldn't find just walking around town in real life.  Combine that with a fairly bland (and oddly upbeat) musical score and a total lack of danger aside from the ice sections, and you have a game that spends most of its time being much ado about nothing.  I can tolerate that because the eventual payoff is so good, but I really hope they bring back the horror in the next SH game.

It may not be horrifying, but there were plenty of moments that were unsettling and chilling. One of my favorites is the overhead projector in the chem lab. The message isn't obscene, there's no horrific image, and yet I got some goosebumps when I read it. The same goes for the writing the monsters scrawl on the car when you're underwater, and the moment in the movie theater.

 I'd even argue that the normalcy contributes greatly to the effect: 95% of what you see IS normal, so where is everybody? Why are there these completely inappropriate things scattered about? Why do the few folks who flit in and out keep changing and acting like nothing happened? Calling numbers only heightens this: there's clearly a world out there, just beyond your sight, yet things around YOU are subtly off-kilter. Johnny's correct: the feeling that something is slightly off is what makes the game so disturbing, in a Jacob's Ladder-esque way.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Monondo:Begining of the World (Xenoblade)

« on: February 02, 2010, 04:57:59 PM »

most of the mods admit to not visiting this part of the forum very often, so you would have better luck asking Maxi himself.

Hey!  I read almost every word posted on these damn forums!

You have my condolences.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Mistwalker's new RPG "The Last Story" coming to Wii in 2010

« on: February 02, 2010, 04:57:21 PM »

i thought Mistwalker was too small to handle more than one project, so that's no surprise. What is surprising is that translation, which I hope was severely borked.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #11 Discussion: Super Mario RPG

« on: February 02, 2010, 04:56:08 PM »

I forgot how much I loved Booster. He fits the tone so perfectly: a goofy villain that's hard to take seriously, but he still makes life troublesome. Plus, his tower was fantastic. Not only did it have so many fun toys to mess around with (8-bit Mario FTW!), but the design change to vertical rather than horizontal levels was a nice way of mixing things up. The isometric perspective worked against me when trying to land on that stupid seesaw, though. :-/ Again, mixing platforming with this view was a mistake.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: The 3rd Party Wall of Shame

« on: February 01, 2010, 02:24:22 PM »

Wow. Activision's list is pretty terrible. I don't own any of those, but there are a few that I have interest in. The 007 game, for one.

No you don't. Believe me, no you don't.
 

Pro's talking about brand mistrust and why your discerning Wii gamer will stick to Nintendo.  If he made a "Nintendo Wall of Glory" You'd see most of their games aren't "garbage" even when they are low budget.  Nintendo's games aren't "90% crap."  Some may not be your cup of tea, but none of them were foisted onto Wii owners like "Space Camp" or another Wii Sports ripoff as late as October 2009.

I believe someone else pointed this out already, but to really compare we must see those companies' output on the HD twins as well. I'm fairly certain that the list would be much more flattering, but then I didn't know 80% of the listed games even existed, so I'm not exactly qualified to judge.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #11 Discussion: Super Mario RPG

« on: February 01, 2010, 01:35:24 PM »

I'm surprised to hear folks talk about the need for grinding. The only time I encountered an enemy that needed grinding to prep for is the optional boss, and even then you're better off with choosing the right team and equipment than grinding to level 30. Personally, I felt that the difficulty curve was spot on, certainly better than Partners in Time.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: GhostSlayer - M+ Wiiware Swordslasher

« on: February 01, 2010, 01:32:45 PM »

Spiritual sequel to Dragon Quest: Swords?

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

« on: February 01, 2010, 01:31:43 PM »

I'm playing it and I'm also in love.

What I don't like is that it seems is going to end soon, it sucks  is so short. I hope they get to make an official/spiritual sequel, because there are many great gameplay elements that should be explored more deeply.

The good news is that it's definitely worth a replay, which essentially doubles the gameplay time.

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TalkBack / Re: Monster Hunter Tri to Support Wii Speak

« on: February 01, 2010, 11:10:02 AM »

Between this and adding online play for the Western release of TvC, it's nice to see Capcom putting forth some effort into their Wii titles. Imagine how much better things would be if others followed suit!

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Monondo:Begining of the World

« on: January 30, 2010, 04:55:16 PM »

Agreed BlackNMild.

There has been a few RPGs for the Wii that standout as good.

I'm a bit unfamiliar with the Xenosaga series. Anybody here play those games?

Long cutscenes. Approaching Metal Gear Solid territory here. Hopefully, someone at Nintendo will have the grace to make them edit the things to under 2 minutes each, max.