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[The post-E3 impressions fest begins with the latest Star Wars title on GameCube from LucasArts and Factor 5.]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike

« on: May 19, 2003, 04:32:35 PM »

The post-E3 impressions fest begins with the latest Star Wars title on GameCube from LucasArts and Factor 5.

Most of us who played Rogue Leader loved the game but agreed that the formula was starting to get a little stale.  Factor 5 promised that they wouldn’t make another Star Wars flight sim unless they could offer significant new experiences with it.  Rebel Strike attempts to do just that, although the new features aren’t as jarringly different as they might seem at first.    

The biggest addition to the series is on-foot missions.  The one or two examples playable at E3 were promising but still very, very early.  Characters control on foot pretty much like they do while flying the game’s many vehicles.  What this brings to the table is simplicity of controls; you don’t have to learn a new layout for every situation.  The downside is that running around on foot feels suspiciously like piloting an X-Wing, i.e. not exactly natural.  The main differences are that the R trigger makes your character jump (the demo levels didn’t seem to ever require jumping), and the L trigger lets you lock onto enemies to aid in shootouts.  Exactly how well the lock-on works is hard to say; it’s certainly inconsistent at this point, but there’s time to fix that.  The real problem is the camera, which is obviously far from finished.  In the demo, the camera sticks to fixed angles while your character (somewhat blindly) runs around and shoots things.  We’re told that the final camera will actually be much different, but it remains to be seen just how it will work and how it will respond to the lock-on mechanic.    

Regardless, the on-foot missions are fast-paced and quite fun, if still extremely buggy.  The characters are nicely rendered, but some of them move awkwardly, as if they are still using placeholder animations.  Your blaster’s target reticle simply faces ahead of the character, and there is currently no way to move in one direction and shoot in another.  The lock-on just makes your blaster fire towards the nearest enemy; if you turn away too far in any direction, you’ll lose the lock and just start firing straight ahead.  Again, this system may be improved or may prove to be more functional once the camera system is fully in place.    

The flying missions seem largely unchanged from Rogue Leader, other than their new settings and objectives.  The first level I played took place during the Empire’s invasion of Yavin IV, which was offered as a bonus mission in the last game.  If anything, the mission seems to be much easier than before; I completed it and nabbed a silver medal on my very first try.  I’m good at these games, but not that good.  Otherwise, the level is nearly identical to the Rogue Leader version, except with improved graphics.    

Another flying level takes place in the asteroid belt above Geonosis, some thirty years after the events of Episode II.  The asteroids are certainly numerous and smoothly rendered, though some of the larger ones could use better textures.  Even with hundreds of asteroids, TIEs, and a few capital ships all on the screen at once, the framerate was more than tolerable.  Factor 5 plans to have the entire game running at 30 frames per second by release, and they’ll try to reach 60 fps if possible.  This mission was just as easy as Yavin IV, as all I had to do was shoot down an Imperial frigate.  A few TIE Interceptors were giving me trouble, but the frigate itself was nearly helpless against me as long as I stayed near its rear engines.  It’s likely that the difficulty of these missions is still being tweaked or was toned down for E3, but if the final game is this lightweight, fans of the series will be disappointed.    

I also got to try out the two-player cooperative mode.  To really put the demo through its paces, I chose Razor Rendezvous, one of the most graphically taxing levels in Rogue Leader.  The results were quite impressive.  The game has no problem rendering the massive Star Destroyer on both halves of the screen simultaneously; in fact, I couldn’t tell that the graphics had been simplified or toned down at all.  The two-player mode focuses on splitting mission objectives between the players.  In Razor Rendezvous, one player is supposed to attack the Razor while the other protects the Rebel frigate.  The difficulty on this mission has actually been cranked up so that you pretty much have to play it with some kind of cooperative strategy.  The frigate now withstands far fewer hits than before, and the Razor’s shield generators can take much more punishment before going down.  If the other missions are as solid and even improved as much as this one, Rebel Strike is going to have one hell of a memorable two-player mode.  There are also going to be deathmatch and capture-the-flag modes in newer levels, possibly for up to four players, but those were not playable at E3.    

So far, Rebel Strike has a lot of potential, especially if it comes through on its promise of totally open missions in which you can switch vehicles and even fight on the ground as you choose.  The graphics, while still a bit rough in some places, are clearly an improvement on the previous game.  Factor 5’s new DivX video tool is used to great effect, with high-quality FMV from the movies seamlessly spliced into the gameplay and real-time cinemas.  I’m hoping to see the controls, camera, and difficulty polished up before the game’s release.  Look for more Rebel Strike coverage in the near future.

[Sure, it was the most graphically impressive game at the whole show, but how did it play?]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader

« on: May 31, 2001, 06:43:49 PM »

Sure, it was the most graphically impressive game at the whole show, but how did it play?

Anyone who tells you that they played Rogue Leader a lot at E3 is lying or did nothing else.  On the first day, the first day, I waited in line for thirty minutes to play this game.  In my two years at E3, I have never experienced a wait even half as long as that one just to play a game.  It was rather funny...people all around in line were spouting random cuss words of wonder while watching the lucky lads in the front play it, and people were actually making friends while waiting in line and talking about the game and the sweet new system it was running on.    

But you don't care about all that.  You just want to know how the game looks and plays, I know.  ~sigh~  :-D    

The good news is that Rogue Leader is some sort of sweet, mutated lovechild...a wonderfully impressive mixture of the console-friendly gameplay of the original Rogue Squadron on N64 and the epic stylings and wicked space missions of my favorite PC game of all time, TIE Fighter.  Heh, you old-school TF fans are drooling right now.  It's true though; while Battle for Naboo's "space" missions were more like planetary missions with planetary control and a black background, Rogue Leader's amazing graphics engine and tighter control just give you an utterly pure sense of awe and total belief that you're flying a bonafide space sortie.  I'm referring, of course, to the Star Destroyer mission, whose playable environment was stunningly huge and just teeming with TIEs everywhere.    

Not surprisingly, the Bespin (Cloud City) level at E3 was much more reminiscent of the old Rogue Squadron.  The control felt very familiar, and dodging buildings was once again a prominent gameplay feature.  You also have turrets firing at you from all directions, which generally isn't the case in space unless you're flying right over a Star Destroyer.    

The Death Star level was equally awesome.  Unfortunately I didn't get to play the surface part of that mission, so I can't say anything about it.  The trench run is so straight-forward that it really presents its own, third style of gameplay in addition to the two described above.  It reminds me a lot of old-school twitch games...your normal flying skills mean jack in that trench.  It's all about being fast and precise.  A couple really cool situations presented themselves, and I think I should mention them.  First, sometimes enemy ships will creep up behind you, which makes the view zoom out to where they are visible, and they'll fire upon you until you can hit the brakes and get behind them.  That happens in all the levels, but the linear nature of the trench run makes them all the more perilous and awesome.  Vader and his custom TIE also come in that way, and believe me, he is very hard to evade, especially for all three or four of his attack runs.  When you slam on the brakes, there's the very real possibility of backing up into one of the bad guys and exploding, so you have to have really good timing and some degree of luck.  The other incredibly sweet thing about the trench run is that you can't really go up out of the trench, for practical reasons.  You see, once you get up and into the open, the surface turrents will blow you to smithereens.  It's an amazingly cool sequence to watch, since about twenty lasers will converge on you AND the Death Star's surface is full rendered in your view, just like it was in the previous section of that mission.    

Rogue Squadron fans will be glad to know that the E3 demo had all the extreme difficulty that we've come to expect and love in Factor 5's games...most players could fly around and experiment with no problem, but if you actually tried completing the mission objectives, it very quickly became clear just how hard this game is.    

Unfortunately, I didn't get to hear Rogue Leader much at all.  It's pretty much impossible to hear any game out on the floor, and while there was a curtained-off surround sound booth for RL, people were literally sardined in there so bad that there was overspill out onto the general areas of Nintendo's booth, which says to me: "Don't even try it."  So I didn't.    

Of course you want to hear about the graphics, and yes, they're unprecedented.  What's funny (and somewhat disturbing) is that the game looks SO good that I actually found myself distracted, which made for some unnecessary collisions and such.  Surely that won't be a problem with practice and desensitization though.  ;-D  It's true: the framerate is solid as adamantium, and my numerous attempts to break it were totally futile.  What impresses me most about Factor 5's awesome visuals in this game is that they use them to enhance the gameplay.  Bespin is just PACKED with buildings, and while yes, that looks really great, it also makes you fly very carefully and with anxiety not experienced in the N64 games.  Another great example is the targeting computer...F5 has applied some sort of radical cel-shading technique, and it's just so hella cool.  Designed especially for space battles where TIE Fighters blend in with the black background, going into the cockpit view and then pressing X will drop down the targeting computer showcased originally in Star Wars, when Luke opted not to use it in favor of the Force.  (Though I didn't experience it myself, I heard that if you turn on the targeting mode towards the end of the trench, Obi-Wan's voice will come in telling you to "Use the Force, Luke...")  The computer shades everything with a light orange hue, draws a thick, scraggly white outline around all ships and targets, colors the enemy units purple, and makes your immediate objective targets gold.  I think friendly units are a different color, didn't check to be sure.  It makes TIEs much easier to shoot down, but you lose a lot of the game's graphical splendor and you're forced to be in cockpit view, which makes it easier to lose track of your orientation and fly right into other objects.  It's just a fantastic idea that is flawlessly executed and balanced.    

Will the rest of the game be like that?  I sure hope so, and I didn't see anything at E3 to make me think otherwise.  Like some other GameCube games available for play, Rogue Leader doesn't make huge leaps and bounds beyond its predecessors except in graphics, but Factor 5 is obviously incorporating some significant gameplay tweaks and new features, and of course the level of refinement is beyond words.  To think that this game will be out at launch just takes my breath away.

[How much difference can one year make? Not much, judging by Jonny's hands-on impressions of the so-called "new and improved" Dinosaur Planet.]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Star Fox Adventures

« on: May 28, 2001, 02:22:39 PM »

How much difference can one year make?  Not much, judging by Jonny's hands-on impressions of the so-called "new and improved" Dinosaur Planet.

Being one of the few PGC staffers who has now played both the original N64 and new GameCube versions of Dinosaur Planet, I think my perspective on it is a lot different.  As I've said many times, Dinosaur Planet on N64 was a technically impressive, Rare-ized Zelda 64 clone.  It was sharp, fun, and intriguing.  Many people had asked Rare for years to dip into the RPG genre, and Dinosaur Planet was and still is the closest they've come since the old Ultimate days.    

Now the game is Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet, and I can find little merit in either the system change or the new character license.  Some of the playable areas in this year's E3 demo are exact lifts from last year's game.  For instance, there is one boss battle, I think his name is GuardClaw.  Not only does the whole segment play EXACTLY like it did last year, but it looks like an N64 game!  The giant creature appears to have been retextured, but his geometry and animations are at least too similar to the old version for me to notice any difference.  That's pretty pitiful with a whole year of development and an exponentially more powerful system.    

Luckily, the new areas are a lot nicer looking, with much texture skinning and light sourcing thrown about.  Fox McCloud, who looks eerily close to the original DP hero, is well animated and nicely rendered.  His Arwing, however, is way too rounded for my tastes.    

The gameplay hasn't changed much, although it comes off as less Zelda-like for some reason.  Fox appears to have a few more attack animations than I saw last year, and there is one nice feature where he uses his "magical staff" to vault up to higher platforms.  Other than that, the main addition seems to be the space combat missions, which were not playable at E3 and reportedly will only be a small part of the final game.    

Perhaps what is most disappointing is that SFA was one of the least polished demos at the show, when it should have been the most.  Odd and distracting jitters, presumably from loading, occurred every few seconds, while the tempting "secret area" was actually just a very buggy level deemed too unstable to fully show off to attendees.    

Fox himself looks downright misplaced in these lush jungle-like environments, especially wielding a big staff, shooting magical fireballs, and commanding around a little baby Triceratops.  I'm not opposed to established characters expanding their appeal through new types of games, but Rare has a long way to go before they convince me that Star Fox characters belong in a game once named "Dinosaur Planet".  SF Adventures has the potential to become GameCube's first Zelda-style adventure game, and a great one at that, but Rare has a lot of work left to get the game polished up to the standards set by everything else I played at Nintendo's booth.

[See what Jonny thought of the upcoming GBA Spidey title, from the same developer as the amazing handheld version of Tony Hawk 2.]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Spider-Man: Mysterio's Menace

« on: May 26, 2001, 05:59:05 PM »

See what Jonny thought of the upcoming GBA Spidey title, from the same developer as the amazing handheld version of Tony Hawk 2.

Although I was only in Activision's booth for a few minutes, I did get my hands on a couple of their GBA games.  Spider-Man: Mysterio's Menace looks and plays much like the various 16-bit games starring the radioactive webhead.  As far as I can remember, B threw a wimpy-looking punch (they need to extend the range on that thing), A jumped, pressing A twice started a webswing (even without a ceiling), and the shoulder buttons shot webbing horizontally as a weapon.  Sticking to walls is a simple as jumping towards a surface and holding the D-pad at the surface until Spidey sticks.  It might feel a bit odd if you're used to games where he automatically sticks to walls, but this way really gives you more control.  While on a wall, you can still punch and shoot attack webbing, and unlike Metroid II's spider ball, turning a corner requires changing directions on the D-pad.  Hopefully Vicarious Visions will fix that, because I found it annoying.    

Although the area I was in didn't have any enemies, I did get familiar with the control and graphics.  Spidey appears pretty big on screen, which is nice, and the level and background art is what you'd expect from GBA.  The best part was swinging...it works great, and you don't need to be under a roof to do it.  (Just like the comics!)    

Wish I could say more about the gameplay, but I just didn't have any time to check for other levels or anything.  So far the game controls pretty well, and that's always of paramount importance in a Spider-Man game.  Let's hope the rest of the game turns out just as well.

[See the new Robotech game through the eyes of someone who's never seen the show even once.]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Robotech: Battlecry

« on: May 23, 2002, 03:28:29 PM »

See the new Robotech game through the eyes of someone who's never seen the show even once.

I was looking forward to playing Robotech: Battlecry at TDK's booth today, if only because EGM's preview of it a couple months ago looked so promising.  Well, the game is truly beautiful in person.  The so-called "cel-shading" is really more along the lines of the new Zelda game, so there aren't any thick black lines around polygon models but rather pastel colors and clever lighting that make it look more like a real cartoon.  Except this cartoon has lots of guns and missiles and explosions.    

You control a mech that can transform among three shapes.  One is the typical robot form and in the game's current version, both of his attacks are just guns.  Apparently one of the guns is specially made for taking out oncoming missiles though.  The robot form can jump/fly to some extent with his jetpack, but overall he is the slowest form.    

The Guardian form is halfway between a robot and a jet.  He can fly around more easily than the robot form, but he isn't as fast as the jet.  However, he can shoot missiles...tons of them.  You can even hold down the missile button over multiple targets and you'll shoot out dozens and dozens of them at all the targets.    

The jet form seems to have the most potential, but it was heavily crippled in this E3 demo by artificially small environments.  When you fly into any object, including invisible stage borders and ceilings, you'll just automatically turn back into the robot form and start falling; the TDK rep assured us that the final game will have much larger environments to let you use the jet all you want.  The jet naturally moves forward automatically and at a very high speed, and it too can shoot missiles.    

It seems that utilizing the three different transformations is a major part of the gameplay, and developer Vicious Cycle seems to be doing a good job of balancing the forms so that you really need to use them all.  For instance, the Guardian form can shoot many more missiles than the jet, but they aren't as powerful.  The jet is extremely fast but also harder to control, and its use is limited in cramped environments.  The robot form is slow but very proficient at taking out enemies on the ground, which can be tough for the other two forms.    

TDK says the final Robotech: Battlecry will have over 40 missions, and some can be completed in different ways for added replay value.  The GameCube version is due out a little later than the PS2 and Xbox versions, but it should still be out this year.  So far I'm intrigued by the transformation aspect, and I love the graphics and especially the awesome missiles.

[It's colorful! It's French! It's Rayman!]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc

« on: May 23, 2002, 03:47:11 PM »

It's colorful!  It's French!  It's Rayman!

I stopped by Ubi Soft's booth twice today to check out Rayman 3.  The GameCube version is definitely the earliest one; only two levels were playable.  However, what was available was quite polished and representative of the Rayman style and quality that I loved so much in the last game.    

The graphics aren't vastly superior to Rayman 2's at first glance, but there are a few cool effects going on, and again, the GameCube version is still early.  Rayman can still hover by holding down the A button, and he still shoots little balls of energy to attack.  In the levels I played, the balls bounced off walls and homed in on enemies slightly.  New gameplay additions are Globox interactions and Rayman's superhero transformations.    

The former refers to Rayman's best friend, a tall blue guy who, as per the storyline, is acting very weird.  Not only does he follow around Rayman and do lots of funny stuff, but he also factors into puzzles.  In one level I played, you can get him drunk on grape juice and he'll burp out big purple bubbles; Rayman can then jump on those bubbles to shoot down an object that was floating high in the air.    

The superhero powers come into play when Rayman rescues wizards and is granted with special cans of...something.  Maybe spinach?  Regardless, getting such items will change Rayman's appearance and give him new powers.  The two transformations I saw only gave our limbless hero more powerful shots, but hopefully the final game design calls for additional powers that are a bit more compelling.    

The second level I played didn't have Globox and was set in a large house.  Apparently the mansion's owner doesn't like Rayman, because he started hunting me down with his gun.  At various points in the house, he would corner me and I'd have to fight him for a while.  The rooms have plenty of furniture to hide behind, and this guy's gun shot very slow spear-like projectiles, so he wasn't too hard.  After fighting him in three different rooms, I finally depleted all of his life bar and the house was (more or less) safe to explore.    

Art direction has always been a big part of the Rayman series, and what I've seen of Rayman 3 fulfills that legacy.  The architecture is quite varied and interesting, and there are many rooms and situations that will focus on particularly beautiful lighting or a great texture map.    

The game's control at this point feels responsive but very simple...in fact, I would have liked more moves.  However, there may be more still left to add before its release, and the series has always been pretty inventive in terms of combat.  At one point I was fighting five or six enemies, all of whom were up on stilts and firing missiles down at me.  I couldn't jump up high enough to hit them; the trick is to stand under one enemy and let the others shoot at you.  Then jump out of the way and their missiles will destroy the first one's stilts.  Once he's on the ground, you can eliminate him easily.  If that sort of creative combat is present throughout the game, maybe Rayman doesn't need a lot of complicated moves and powers.

[Olimar is back, and this time he’s got a new friend, new kinds of Pikmin, and new powers. Jonny played the game quite a bit during E3, so check out his hands-on impressions.]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Pikmin 2

« on: May 20, 2003, 01:12:14 PM »

Olimar is back, and this time he’s got a new friend, new kinds of Pikmin, and new powers.  Jonny played the game quite a bit during E3, so check out his hands-on impressions.

Like its predecessor, Pikmin 2 is not an ideal game to demo at E3.  It’s best experienced over a long period of time, and with fully realized level design, neither of which is possible during the show.  But the demo did give me a good idea of what to expect from Pikmin 2’s new features, most notably the second character and two-player mode.    

In the normal Story Mode, Loozy acts as a backup character.  He normally walks around with Olimar as a team, but by pressing X, you can separate the two.  At any time, you can switch from one to the other with the Y button.  It’s not yet clear whether the two characters have any differences in their abilities, but the main reason for having them both is that you can now control two parties of Pikmin.  That means you can have Olimar stick around and build up an army while Loozy heads out to explore.  Or you can have one group attack a boss from the front and the other attack from behind.  There are tons of new strategies possible, and I’m sure the level designs will take advantage of this new gameplay dimension.  The only downside is that you have to leave one group idle while controlling the other…so one of your teams is always vulnerable to attack, and you won’t even know until you switch back.  The people at Nintendo’s booth gave conflicting reports as to whether the Story Mode can be played with two players, each one controlling one of the captains.  I’m certainly hoping that a true co-op mode will make it into the final version.    

The two-player feature was only available at E3 in the form of a Challenge Mode.  Rather than trying to make as many Pikmin as possible, you and a friend are given a certain amount of money to collect.  Various items (“treasures" include jewels and rubber ducks, for instance) are littered across the levels, which appear to be randomly generated.  Finding each level’s key will open up a tunnel to the next floor down.  This is where the Challenge Mode gets really interesting.  Once underground, you can still collect items and beam them back up for money, but you can’t collect newborn Pikmin without climbing back up to the surface.  This limitation fundamentally changes how you play the game, because you have to be extremely conservative with your Pikmin troops.  As you find more keys and dig ever deeper underground (we reached sub-level five just in the demo), the danger of running out of Pikmin increases steadily, because you’re that much farther away from the surface, and the enemies only get harder as you climb down.    

Other than the two-character and two-player features, Pikmin 2 plays almost identically to the original, which certainly is not a bad thing.  The E3 demo automatically shut off after about ten or fifteen minutes, but the completed game will apparently have no time limit at all, other than the periodical setting of the sun.  Nintendo reps manning the demo station told me that Pikmin 2 would have far more levels than its predecessor, which is great news if true.  I also learned the nature of the two new kinds of Pikmin, although neither was available in the demo.  The tiny white Pikmin are poisonous; you can intentionally feed them to an enemy, and it will soon keel over and die.  The purple Pikmin are extremely strong, even moreso than the red type.  There will probably be certain objects that only purple Pikmin can carry or manipulate.    

Captains Olimar and Loozy also have new powers.  By harvesting certain objects, you can collect black and red spray powders.  The black powder, which is used by pressing up on the D-pad, turns nearby enemies into stone.  They can then be easily crushed by your Pikmin, but there will be no carcass to take back to the onions.  The red powder (down on the D-pad) is sprayed onto your Pikmin, making their stems glow red.  Pikmin energized in this way become much stronger, so they can defeat enemies, destroy walls, and carry items more quickly.  The effect only lasts for a few seconds though.    

Pikmin 2 is looking like a considerable upgrade for the series, although it’s not exactly a huge departure from the formula.  It’s still a pretty far cry from your average game though, and the many new features and elements should make this adventure longer and more varied than the last one.

[See what j00ny Metts thought of Miyamoto's newest creation, the adorable Pikmin.]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Pikmin

« on: May 21, 2001, 01:30:18 PM »

See what j00ny Metts thought of Miyamoto's newest creation, the adorable Pikmin.

Ahh, Pikmin.  What a crazy, cool game.  Shiggy told us that he got the idea for Pikmin while gardening, and the game definitely brings across that feeling of being one with nature.  You collect little Pikmin (Okay, the official plural form is "Pikmins", but that looks bad and sounds worse.) and lead them around the world, which is filled with large rocks and plants and critters and feels very much like a garden.    

The Pikmin are a lively species with lots of personality as they go about their various jobs.  I've heard a lot of talk about their AI, and it is indeed very impressive.  It's like they're individuals, but at the same time they work as a group and follow your orders.  I didn't see it, but one person said that he saw two Pikmin lift up a third one and start to play catch with it.  That's what's amazing...they're all individually animated, and even if you drag half the group over a rock, they'll all stay in one tight little formation because those that need to will climb over the rock.    

Control is really simple, unlike the scheme for Luigi's Mansion.  Just call Pikmin with A and toss them with B.  The camera control is simple but effective, and I very much like that you can zoom in and out for different views.  The far-out view lets you see the gorgeous textures better, but the close-up view really shows off the Pikmin animation.    

All that's well and good, but is Pikmin any fun?  Of course!  It feels a lot like a real-time strategy game, but the demo we played was simpler than that.  At the same time, it has a Lemmings appeal with getting all your Pikmin to do the right task.  Watching hordes of the little guys beat on big ladybug-like creatures is nothing short of hilarious, but later on I got my ass kicked by a giant spider.  Hats off to Rick Powers, Scott Fink, and whoever else had the wits and patience to kill that thing.    

The spider is significant though.  Honestly, the E3 demo of Pikmin was very, very limited.  It had three whole "stages" (actually days in the Pikmin's world), but it seemed there was little to do except beat down some ladybugs and drag their carcasses back to home base.  (Yes, that's funny too!)  I want to see some of the deep and complex strategy that I can already sense hiding underneath this cute, silly exterior.  We see three different colors of Pikmin, but what do they mean?  Will my red Pikmin knock down a wall faster if he has a flower on his head instead of just a leaf, or does that mean something else?  These questions had no answers at E3, and I think they will eventually contribute to this game's true depth.    

It's not that Pikmin wasn't impressive...far from it.  I was simply unsatisfied with the demo they chose to present, and part of that is because of the type of game it is.  Stuff like Smash Bros. Melee and Rogue Leader is really easy to love at E3...you can play it for three minutes and get a great feel for the overall gameplay, know pretty much what to expect once the final game comes out.  Pikmin has a much higher learning curve, and I can see that its gameplay starts out simple and eventually gets a lot more complex.  As much as I enjoyed what little we were allowed to see, Pikmin is a game that will take several hours of playing to truly evaluate and describe.

[Hands-on with Nintendo's new baby.]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Nintendo DS

« on: May 13, 2004, 11:34:08 AM »

Hands-on with Nintendo's new baby.

The way I felt after playing Nintendo DS for the first time, and I think the way most people have felt, is “That was pretty cool."  The system has so many new features that it’s hard to process all of them at once, and you end up walking away with a very holistic but somewhat vague feeling of satisfaction and anticipation.    

It’s hard to say how the DS feels in your hands, since the E3 demo units are attached to a kiosk.  The system is certainly very thin, comparable to the original GBA, and slightly wider and taller than that system.  It’s thicker when closed up, of course.  The D-pad is slightly loose and much taller than the one on GBA SP, and it’s lacking the characteristic depression in the center of the cross.  Playing a free-roaming game like Super Mario 64x4 feels stodgy with a digital D-pad, and it makes me wish Nintendo had included a small analog joystick in addition to the digital controls.    

The face buttons are labeled Y, X, B, and A, and they are the same height and feel as the D-pad, while being smaller than any Game Boy face buttons.  The L and R triggers are circular, placed directly on the upper corners.  I honestly don’t like the feel or placement of these buttons.  Maybe I could get used to them over time, but my initial reaction to them has not been very good.  They fit into your first finger joints as opposed to under your fingertips, so the tactile response is not so good.  The triggers also don’t have a very deep give, and they don’t click satisfactorily when pressed.  I’m really hoping Nintendo will make some changes to them before releasing the system.    

The touchscreen is just fantastic.  At first I was very tender with the stylus, afraid I would scratch the screen or rub off the coating, but a few games of Wario Ware DS dissolved my anxiety.  This thing is tough, and some of the game demos at E3 encourage heavy abuse.  You can play with your fingertip, an included stylus, even a cotton swab (as Miyamoto says he likes to use), but your choice of implement probably can’t give you any unfair advantages, as most or all of the current demos translate your touchscreen input into a very fine, mouse cursor-like point.  The actual accuracy and ease of use for the touchscreen seems to vary from one developer to another, so hopefully all the game creators will figure out make the feature very intuitive for users.

[Ooh, she shoots where you tap the screen.]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Metroid Prime: Hunters

« on: May 13, 2004, 11:59:00 AM »

Ooh, she shoots where you tap the screen.

Metroid Prime: Hunters is the kind of game that many people won’t “get" the first time they play it.  The controls are truly weird, and there’s a significant learning curve.  But once you get the hang of it, the game is really fun and surprisingly robust.    

You play by moving Samus forward, back, and side-to-side with the D-pad.  You can double tap the D-pad to jump in that direction.  You turn by dragging a stylus across the screen, and yes, it feels really strange.  Luckily, you don’t need to turn once you have locked on with the L-trigger, but the lock-on does not automatically aim your shots for you.  The aiming is manual at all times; simply tap the screen where you want to shoot, and that’s where Samus will shoot.  Thanks to this odd little feature, the shootouts in Hunters are arguably more tense than those in Metroid Prime 2, because it takes more effort to hit your opponent, even at close range.    

Rounding out the demo’s move set are missiles, which are turned on and off by clicking the missile icon on the right side of the screen, and the Morph Ball with bombs.  Missiles are very powerful but in short supply in the level shown, and they do home in with limited effectiveness.  The Morph Ball is activated by clicking on an icon on the left side of the screen, and then it’s controlled entirely by the D-pad.  Tapping anywhere on the screen will drop a bomb under Samus, and you can still do bomb jumps and roll up hills, etc.    

What’s so impressive about Hunters is that the game looks exactly like Metroid Prime.  The character models, textures, and architecture are immediately familiar, even though the multiplayer deathmatch gameplay and the playable level are completely new.  Even the Morph Ball physics behave just like they do in the GameCube titles.    

The game is quite addictive and definitely fast-paced.  There are currently some problems with how Samus turns in response to your dragging, and you always fire at the start of a turn – the game doesn’t yet differentiate between tapping and dragging.  Hopefully these small problems can be ironed out, because the game is shaping up to be a total blast.  It’s one of my favorite games at E3, and we haven’t even seen the single-player mode.

[Samus in first-person…can it work? Hell yes.]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Metroid Prime

« on: May 22, 2002, 11:24:48 AM »

Samus in first-person…can it work?  Hell yes.

Metroid Prime has surprised the hell out of me.  Retro Studios have gone out of their way to make it much different than your typical first-person shooter, mainly in minor control features and just an incredible overall Metroid atmosphere.    

We had heard prior to the show that strafing wasn’t possible in the current Metroid Prime burn, but that turned out to be completely false.  Just hold down the L trigger and you can strafe left and right with the control stick.  L also locks on to a target if one is near (available targets depend on which visor mode you’re in).  Holding R causes Samus to bring her left hand up to steady the right arm blaster, and it hold her in place so you can use the control stick to aim.  This works exactly like the aiming in Goldeneye 007, and since you generally use the mode to aim up or down, having her hand stabilize the arm immediately evokes the Metroid series.  Tapping A will fire a standard shot, and in one of the tweaks that separates the game so much from other FPS’s, you have infinite shots of all your main weapons.  This takes the focus off ammo management and puts it onto smart, quick targeting and evasion.  You can also hold A to charge up a shot (again, for free), and any type of beam can be charged.  Hitting Y once will enable missiles, which are of course expendable, and hitting Y again will fire one.  I also learned that you can charge up a regular beam shot, then press Y instead of letting off A to shoot a special shot.  It’s very slow to fire and appears to use up more than one missile per use, but the effects are extremely powerful and cool.  Using the Ice Beam’s super shot covers the enemy and the surrounding environment in ice, whereas normally just the enemy itself is frozen.  By the way, enemies can now die while being frozen, so attacking with the Ice Beam doesn’t necessarily translate to twice as many shots to kill each enemy.    

B jumps.  Yes, B jumps.  I wasn’t sure if Samus would even be able to jump, but sure enough, it’s as simple as tapping B and works exactly like jumping in Turok…though the E3 demo thankfully doesn’t exhibit any signs of having Turok’s infamously frustrating jumping challenges.  So far jumping is just a quick way to get up ledges; you can also bomb up to them.  Pressing X will make Samus morph into the “Morphball" and the camera to pull out into a third-person view.  At that point, you can roll around freely and set bombs with A.  Bombs are infinite in keeping with the series, but no more than three can be out at a time; a simple graphic in the upper-right corner indicates how many more bombs you can set before the previous ones go off.    

The D-pad switches among Samus’s visor modes, and if the demo is any indication, you’ll be using that feature a lot.  The currently available visor modes are Combat, which is the default one in which you can shoot at enemies, and Scan, which lets you examine objects, switches, etc. and also lets you look for enemy weakpoints.  If you try shooting while in Scan mode, the Combat mode will automatically return, although you won’t be able to actually fire until it’s fully engaged.  I’d say the lag is about one second; nothing major, but if you anticipate trouble, you can react much more quickly if you’re already in Combat mode.  A graphic in the lower-right corner of the screen shows a map of Samus’s visor modes and which direction on the D-pad you need to press to activate each one.    

On the other side of the controller, the C-stick switches among Samus’s weapons (which are all just different modes of her arm blaster).  Switching takes maybe two seconds, so you don’t want to do it in the heat of combat if possible.  The available weapons in the demo are the Power Beam, which is the standard shot that Samus has always had as default, and the Ice Beam, which should be pretty self-explanatory.  The weapons also have a map for easy reference, this one in the lower-right corner of the screen.    

Unfortunately there is only one level open in the E3 demo, but it is moderately long (my completion time was 13 minutes) and gives a pretty good look at all of Metroid Prime’s various features and gameplay styles.  Rolling around as the Morphball is quite fun and it seemed to be a very popular feature judging from how other people were reacting.  On foot, Samus is a bit slower, but of course she is better equipped to deal with most enemies and situations.  Walking around in first-person felt a bit awkward at first, just because it doesn’t seem to mesh with the Metroid concept at first, but I got over that rather quickly.  By the end of my time with the game, I was switching back and forth between first-person and the Morphball often and with great ease, and the two forms feel totally balanced.    

The demo starts out on a loading dock in space, outside a large space complex.  There are no enemies, but Samus will have to use her targeting system and Scan visor mode to activate several switches and gain access to the space station.  It felt very much like a tutorial area to teach you about the targeting and Scan mode, both of which are quite vital to working with the station’s inner workings and space pirate inhabitants.    

The station interior is a series of tubular corridors (which are extremely fun to roll around in) and a few large rooms with enemies and elevators.  Scan mode is necessary to activate some machines; in other situations, its use is optional.  For instance, when you’re escaping from the station after beating the boss, you can use Scan mode to deactivate some of the gun turrets.  That’ll save you some energy and time spent fighting the turrets, but it also uses up some several seconds, which are in short supply during the escape sequence.    

Most of the regular enemies present in the station are space pirates, the insect-like guys that have were so annoying in Super Metroid.  They’re pretty easy cannon fodder in Prime, but you can bet that later levels will have more advanced versions of them, likely immune to certain weapons.  There are also a few little critters on the ground that will pretty much leave you alone, and during the escape sequence, there are hundreds of small parasites that crawl along the ground and will damage you upon contact.  I found it better to simply roll past those guys than try to shoot them down; they attack in swarms and will quickly surround Samus.    

The boss is a queen parasite who hides behind rotating energy shields. The first thing to do is turn on Scan mode and examine her body; you’ll find a weak spot that will make the battle much more fair. While the shields are moving, you can only shoot rapidly and hope the odd lucky shot makes it through to hit her.  (Her big green beam attack, of course, miraculously goes right through the shields.)  Every fifteen or twenty seconds, the shields will slow down significantly, and you’ll be able to fire at the boss through a large window.  This is a good chance to unload a charged up shot, or even a super shot as described above.  Once she’s finally dead, you’ll begin the aforementioned escape sequence.    

Metroid Prime is probably on visual par with Legend of Zelda GC, although in a completely different style.  Prime sports lavish sci-fi environments, with wildly angular architecture and numerous effects constantly going on in your field of vision.  One particularly cool part has various space junk floating in a corridor until you activate the re-pressurization device, at which point the junk will drop straight to the floor.  Sweet.  Prime’s music is also very moody and dark, and it dynamically picks up in creepiness at just the right moments.  The ambience and low-key music have always been a huge part of Metroid’s atmosphere, and so far I’m impressed with how Metroid Prime continues that legacy.  In fact, I’m just plain impressed with everything I saw and played of Metroid Prime.  I was really worried about the game and actually not even all that excited about it going into today’s show, but now I’m as pumped up about it as any of Nintendo’s first-party games.

[They could have called it Ultra Mario Baseball Simulator 1.000.]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Mario Superstar Baseball

« on: May 19, 2005, 04:54:01 AM »

They could have called it Ultra Mario Baseball Simulator 1.000.

I tend to enjoy the Mario sports games, but Mario Baseball is even more fun than I expected.  Maybe it's that it has both the flashy dynamics of Mario Golf and the one-on-one competitive spirit of Mario Tennis.  It could be that it shows off many of the more obscure characters from the Mario series.  Or perhaps it’s the hitting and pitching antics worthy of that SNES classic, Ultra Baseball Simulator 1.000?  Yeah, that's it.    

The biggest draw of Mario Baseball is undoubtedly the array of wacky pitches and hits you can make, many of them unique to the character you are currently controlling.  But Namco has learned from Camelot's mistake, keeping the special effects in pace with the gameplay so it doesn't feel like you're stopping to watch a tiny cut-scene every time you use a special move.  Mario Baseball also has a better method of rationing the power moves, thanks to the star point system.  You can use specials at any time, but each one uses up a star point.  The only way to refill your star points is by winning a randomly chosen "Star Chance" match-up.  For instance, let's say Mario is pitching and Dry Bones comes up to bat.  The game announces that it's time for a Star Chance.  That means that Mario will get a star point if he strikes out (or fields out) Dry Bones.  But if Dry Bones gets on base or scores a home run, he will get the star point.  It's a great system in that it makes those match-ups extra tense, which has a real psychological effect on your choice of pitches or your timing with the bat.    

The special moves themselves are as ridiculous as you'd expect from a Mario sports game.  For instance, one character throws a bullet bill special pitch that flies up into a loop-the-loop somewhere between the mound and plate, and it may even accelerate once leveling out again.  One of the few special hits I’ve seen is Waluigi's move, which causes a pop fly to shoot off a garlic bomb that looks almost exactly like the real ball.  If the fielder tries to catch the decoy, not only will he have missed the easy fly out, but he'll also be stunned for a while thanks to the overpowering smell!  Special moves are always surprises, because there's no charge-up required to perform them.  Just hold down the R trigger while you throw a pitch or swing the bat, and the fireworks will go off just in time for your opponent to react.    

Perhaps to compensate for the very simple batting controls, most pitches are completely controllable even after the ball is thrown.  Yes, we're talking insane, remote-controlled curve balls.  The fast ball and changeup pitches are just straight shots, at least once you release the ball, but they can still be highly effective.  Both pitches and hits can be charged up, a la Mario Tennis, and each character has a "sweet spot" in the charge timing that will result in an extra-powerful "Nice!" action.  I found that charged changeup pitches are most effective, because it looks like I'm going to throw something really fast, and then it comes in like Jabba the Hutt.    

At least in the current demo version, games are only five innings long, and they move along quickly, so you can definitely play a whole game in five minutes or so.  The demo contains three fields (with several more shaded out), one is normal and the other two are souped up.  The fantasy fields are chock full of hazards for base runners and outfielders, and some of them even have mystery blocks overhead that cause things to happen if hit by the ball.  Unfortunately, baseball doesn't lend itself to four-player games, but Namco is including some baseball-themed mini-games that do support four players at a time.    

Mario Baseball is sure to be a huge hit at E3 this year, because it's hilarious and very easy to pick up for a few minutes.  Aussie Ben and I will definitely be reviving our Mario sports rivalry, which began all the way back at E3 2000 with the N64 version of Mario Tennis.  I'll see you on the sandlot, Mr. Kosmina!

[The original kart racer is headed to Nintendo's next-gen handheld, and j00ny Metts got to play it a bit at E3.]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Mario Kart Super Circuit

« on: May 27, 2001, 09:13:37 PM »

The original kart racer is headed to Nintendo's next-gen handheld, and j00ny Metts got to play it a bit at E3.

I'll admit it: Mario Kart Advance didn't exactly blow me away at E3.  It was impressive and quite fun, but nothing close to, for instance, Tony Hawk 2 or Diddy Kong Pilot.  Perhaps it's just that the playable stuff in the E3 demo was very, very similar to the Super NES version, which I've played fairly recently.    

MKA sports some nice Mode-7 graphics, and as you've probably read already, everything is somewhere between SMK and MK64.  The characters and item boxes are modeled just like Mario Kart 64, but the courses themselves (including flat coins) are straight up retro Super Mario Kart.  Nothing wrong with that of course, but graphically, MKA brings nothing new to the table because of its unique position between predecessors.  I should note that each course has a detailed and very beautiful background.    

The gameplay is again standard stuff.  It's fun, but still the same game that we've already played twice with apparently no new features implemented.  The one thing I really badly wanted to be included was not, at least in the E3 demo: powerslide smoke boosts.  They added so much skill and strategy to Mario Kart 64 that I'd be very disappointed not to have them in the final burn of what is essentially MK64's sequel.    

Now here's some good news for you: the game controls well.  A is gas, B is brake, R jumps/powerslides, and L fires your weapon.  Each character has a different feel to him/her, and getting used to that unique handling style is critical to your success.    

It's impressive to see such a complex racing game running on a handheld system, but until I try the multiplayer and see some cool new features, I can't be very excited about Mario Kart Advance.  The battle mode in particular will be of utmost importance in my purchasing decision, and only time will tell if that works out.

[Honey, I think we're just driving in circles…]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Mario Kart DS

« on: May 19, 2005, 04:56:18 AM »

Honey, I think we're just driving in circles…

With a system as unique as the Nintendo DS, it's always fun to see what form classic series will take when they arrive on the new handheld.  Mario Kart DS looks great, certainly better than the sprite-based N64 version, although it shares more in common with that game than with Double Dash, since there is only one character per kart and (so far as I've seen) no type of cooperative racing.    

Although very early and strictly limited to eight-player wireless races, the version I played has a good sense of speed and virtually all the features expected of a Mario Kart game: weapons, power slide hops (with orange smoke boost), and dramatic turns of fate.  In my first race, I was in dead last for two and a half out of three laps, thanks to some initial confusion over the button layout.  But the handicapping item boxes gave me an invincibility star followed by a golden mushroom, and I ended up blasting my way to first place in only half a lap.  In my next race, my fortunes balanced out, as I went from being the leader to almost finishing last after a deadly blue shell.  Yeah, the DS version feels like a true Mario Kart game, that's for sure.    

Wireless play works great and is clearly the game's key feature, although it's unclear how much, if anything, will be available as a single-card download.  I can't help but feel disappointed in the game's current form, though, because it adds wireless multiplayer and literally nothing else to the series.  The gameplay is a carbon copy of every Mario Kart since MK64, an impression not helped by the fact that most playable tracks in the demo are direct remakes from previous games, or that the eight-player mode randomly chose our characters and the track…yes, just like the lame Double Dash LAN mode.  As of now, Mario Kart DS has not been named as an online title, even though everyone wants it to be.  Nor are there any details on battle mode, a perennially disappointing feature that could be so awesome if Nintendo would just give it more options and more balancing.    

I love the Mario Kart series, and the DS version is certainly a faithful adaptation that captures the multiplayer madness of past games.  Will it offer anything new, though?  The demo version I played honestly does not, but there is plenty of the game yet to be revealed, and Nintendo has a few more months to pack in more.

[So what does Luigi's Mansion play and feel like? Check out Jonny's impressions for details on the controls, different kinds of ghosts, and the depth of gameplay.]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Luigi's Mansion

« on: May 18, 2001, 06:41:47 AM »

So what does Luigi's Mansion play and feel like?  Check out Jonny's impressions for details on the controls, different kinds of ghosts, and the depth of gameplay.

By the time I finally made it over to the enclosed Surround Sound booth for Luigi's Mansion, I was very, very ready to give it a whirl.  The footage we saw Wednesday was nothing short of incredible, and everyone was already saying how cool it is to play.  I'd have to agree.  ;-)    

The demo lets you choose to watch the intro or skip it, and I decided to skip it and get to the goods.  A short cinema scene still plays, showing the weird doctor guy giving you some instructions on what to do.  Then you see the mansion, as the camera view flies over the grounds, through the big iron gate, and up to the stairs.  Luigi then appears and cautiously enters the front door.    

From there it's playable, and it feels great.  There are two control schemes currently available; you can aim Luigi with the main analog stick and move him with the C-stick, or vice-versa.  I tried both and found it easier to move him with the main stick, but both are very Turok-feeling and will require some getting used to.  Luckily, both of the joysticks are fully analog, and your degree of control over Luigi is great in either scheme.  The A button opens doors and presumably performs other basic actions.  Your flashlight is out by default, but it gets put away when you press the R-trigger for the vacuum.  The analog triggers are absolutely perfect for something like the vacuum, as you have utter mastery of its power.  Push the trigger farther, the vacuum sucks harder.  You can add even more power by moving Luigi away from the target ghost as he sucks it up.  The L-trigger activates the water hose, but that feature isn't included in the E3 playable demo.  Finally, you can activate a map to help you get around the mansion, and the map is actually integrated into Luigi's Game Boy Color.  When you hit start, you see him reach down and pull out the GBC, then the view zooms in towards the screen and you're in map mode.  It's all quite cool.    

So far, the gameplay is very tight and enjoyable, although not terribly deep.  Controlling Luigi takes a lot of dexterity, and you also have to apply different strategies to the different ghosts.  Small rat and bat ghosts seem unaffected by your flashlight, but they're easily sucked up.  Most ghosts are frozen in their tracks by light (Can the incredibly reflective mirrors be used to shine light around corners?), and then you simply suck them up.  Easier said than done when you're being approached from three ghosts, all in different parts of the room and therefore impossible to stun together.  Our old friend Boo and his lookalikes seem unaffected by the flashlight except at point-blank range.  The coolest ghosts are what I call character ghosts...one of them is an old man sitting in a rocking chair near the fireplace.  He won't try to hurt you, but you have to suck him up to complete the room (and turn the lights back on, get the key and many coins, etc.).  These fellas are really hard to catch too -- as soon as you look at them, they disappear!  The NOA rep at the demo showed me how to do it though.  Just turn your back to them and they'll appear.  Then wait for the animation to change; for instance, the old man falls asleep briefly.  At that exact moment, spin around really fast and he'll be caught in your beam.  Then just suck him up.  Aha, but that's not easy either!  Each ghost has a number that basically represents hit points, and it ticks down as you suck them up.  Most ghosts have a number less than ten, but this old man is a fifty.  If you just stood there sucking, your vacuum would blow before you finished him off, and then he'd probably be quite pissed.  The trick is to back away as you vacuum, and he'll be Hoover chow in no time.    

And that's the extent of what Nintendo has playable.  I found two character ghosts, about a dozen rooms (each of which must be totally cleared of ghosts), and a few locked doors which are opened Resident Evil-style via keys that you get from clearing rooms.  It's great fun and technically stunning, but I have to agree with Andres: it doesn't feel like this whole game is going to involve ghostbusting.  What we're seeing is elaborate and fun as hell, but it has neither the depth nor variety that we all expect in a Mario launch game.

[Hands-on info from all four demo levels!]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

« on: May 18, 2005, 03:09:40 PM »

Hands-on info from all four demo levels!

The E3 playable demo for Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is broken up into four levels: Toaru Village, Horse Battle, Forest Temple, and Forest Temple Boss.    

Toaru Village:    

This level takes place very early in the game.  It starts with "Cowboy Link" (more like a shepherd) needing to round up some goats on a farm.  You walk over to a special plant with horseshoe-shaped leaves and blow "Epona’s Song" from Ocarina of Time to call the horse (which can be named whatever you like in the final game, but is called Epona in the demo).  Then a mini-game follows, in which you steer the goats back into the barn by riding around and "whooping" to motivate them forwards.  I found this task to be oddly frustrating, because the goats will often turn to the side instead of running directly away from you.    

After the goats are rounded up, you learn that Link is getting ready for a journey into neighboring Hyrule to attend a friendship ceremony that helps keep the peace between the village and the kingdom.  From there, you are given free reign to roam around the village.  Talking to various people leads to tasks such as rescuing a drifting baby basket for a pregnant woman and snatching the sword off an old soldier, which is how you earn your first weapon.  Eventually, you meet Colin, whose sister Ilia has run away into the forest with her horse (which you were riding earlier).  The search for Ilia leads to the start of Link’s adventure.    

The village area is a bit story-intensive for an E3 demo, but it shows off the game’s impressive graphics engine, which does a fantastic job with the complex environment and extended draw distance.  The village also gives you an idea of the sweeping art style of the game, as some characters are slightly deformed (like Wind Waker), especially if they are meant to be humorous characters.  Other villagers are rendered in the same "realistic" style as Link, with normal face proportions.  Several events in the village show off the game’s sense of humor, which doesn’t seem to have taken any hits in the move to a more realistic style.    

Horse Battle:    

This level can be beaten quickly, but it is really fun and is a glimpse into a style of gameplay that we’ve never seen in the Zelda series.  The goal is to defeat a large boss character who is riding around Hyrule Field, but there are many henchmen trying to distract Link with fire arrows and melee attacks.  You can press A to get a speed boost on the horse, up to six before the meter has to refill with time.  One thing about mounted fighting that I found surprising, though it shouldn’t be, is that Link’s left-handedness has a significant effect on his combat abilities.  When approaching an enemy from behind, it’s much easier to land a hit if you ride up on the enemy’s right side, so Link won’t have to swing over himself to reach the bad guy.    

The gameplay is fast and at times chaotic, as the lesser enemies approach from all sides, and the boss character rides erratically all over the field.  After hitting him several times, the boss escapes into a nearby castle’s walls, and Link chases afterwards.  They meet on a narrow stone bridge, with the sun setting in the background and the opponents left with no choice but to joust.  This boss battle is very easy if you ride straight and juke to the right at the last second, swinging your sword in the process.  Just a couple of hits will send the boss flying off the bridge, and then Link and his horse pose for the camera.    

Forest Temple    

The only dungeon on display at E3 is probably quite large, but the demo times out after fifteen minutes, so it’s hard to say.  I did make it as far as the mini-boss, which traditionally happens half-way through a Zelda dungeon.  The dungeon is obviously based on a botanical theme, and in fact certain rooms look extremely similar to the forest dungeon in Wind Waker.  One big difference is the presence of monkeys, who are locked up in certain rooms and can help Link once freed.  Monkeys can hang onto ropes strung across chasms; if you jump across the pit, the monkey will grab Link’s hands and swing him across the rest of the way.    

The dungeon item is the Gale Boomerang, which is found near the entrance and is used in a variety of ways to solve puzzles and defeat enemies.  The boomerang can be charged to generate a small tornado, which runs turbines among other things.  Yeah, just like the leaf in Wind Waker.  The boomerang function is improved, because you have to press R to acquire a lock-on after passing the aiming cursor over a potential target.  That means you can set up more specific target sequences.  In the dungeon (and the subsequent boss battle), the ability is used to pick up a far-off bomb and then carry it to hit the boss.    

Forest Temple Boss    

The boss for the dungeon is separately selectable, since the dungeon takes more than fifteen minutes to complete.  The boss is a giant, three-headed plant monster that emerges out of a pond.  Plant bombs grow in various places in the room, and you defeat the boss by using the boomerang to target a bomb and then the boss.  The boss’s side heads slam into the ground at Link, while the boss spews toxic liquids all over the place (but they can be avoided if you’re quick).  Once a bomb hits the middle head, it falls forward onto the ground, and Link can slash it a few times with his sword.    

After a while, bombs stop growing out of the ground, but a monkey comes out who is holding his own bomb.  He starts to swing from one side of the room to the other, so now you have to acquire a moving target for the boomerang.  Much of the challenge of the boss battle comes from the fact that the side heads will come down and smash Link if you take too long to aim the boomerang.    

Overall, Twilight Princess lives up to my expectations in terms of graphics, control, and gameplay.  The game feels more aggressive and fast paced, as Link has some new sword moves.  For instance, you can be running and slash the sword and keep running…Link never even slows down.  It’s a lot like fighting on horseback, since you get the feeling of moving and fighting at the same time.  Graphically, the game seems to excel with large, complex environments.  The modeling generally outshines the textures, which tend to be sort of low-resolution and grainy looking.  However, the large flat screens Nintendo uses in its E3 booth may be making the textures look worse than they would on a normal TV, as is often the case with these demos.  In terms of game design, this Zelda game feels just like all the others…but some of what I learned yesterday indicates that Twilight Princess will have some very interesting features that are not being shown in the E3 demo.  Look for preview updates with all of that information!

[PGC's resident (and evil) ED fanatic goes hands-on with the flowing liquid creepiness that is Eternal Darkness.]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Eternal Darkness

« on: May 21, 2001, 08:00:56 AM »

PGC's resident (and evil) ED fanatic goes hands-on with the flowing liquid creepiness that is Eternal Darkness.

As I'm sure you all know, Eternal Darkness was confirmed as a GameCube title during Nintendo's pre-E3 2001 press conference video.  What we saw was a very short video of real-time game cinema, zooming around a Roman Centurion's detailed face and body.    

The next day ED was playable on the show floor.  The demo available is almost exactly the same as the one shown on N64 during E3 2000...right down to the insanity effect where the female character's body parts start falling off.    

First off, the game looks very nice.  SK was pointing out a lot of ray-tracing (not real-time), bump-mapping, rolling volumetric fog, and head-tracking.  Though the old version had everything rendered in real-time, it still used static camera angles in most places.  That has now been changed; the camera generally sits up in the ceiling of a hall or room and follows you around as you navigate that area.  There are still camera switches around sharp corners and through doors though, so now the game has sort of a combo of static Resident Evil and normal third-person camera styles.    

Control has gone largely unchanged.  The joystick moves your character relative to the camera, and there are no problems with losing control as the camera pans and shifts around.  The A-button attacks with your weapon, the B-button performs context-sensitive actions like opening doors and dealing the final blow to fallen enemies, and Start still brings up your subscreen.  The L-trigger makes you run (no click function that I could discern), while R is used to target.  Unlike the N64 demo from last year, targeting different parts of a monster involves a highlight effect, so it's very easy to tell if you're shooting at a zombie's head as opposed to his left arm.    

The demo can pretty much be summed up from the info in our huge ED preview, so I won't regurgitate it for you.  There is obviously a LOT more to this game than SK is showing, and I think this E3 demo was mainly intended to show off some graphical effects and introduce the game to passers-by.  My only gripe is the animation: right now it's jerky and has some bugs to be worked out.    

It looks like Eternal Darkness will be a great launch title for GameCube.  It's still the same game I fell in love with last year, now with much better graphics and some other additions that we're not being told about.  I can't wait to experience the full game!

[Jonny played DKP with the tilt sensor and loved it! Check out his hands-on impressions from the floor of E3.]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Diddy Kong Pilot

« on: May 18, 2001, 01:24:06 PM »

Jonny played DKP with the tilt sensor and loved it!  Check out his hands-on impressions from the floor of E3.

Having never played Kirby's Tilt 'N Tumble, I was especially curious to check out this cool flying game, which I'd heard used the same technology.  The game can be played either with the D-pad or the tilt sensor, so the fancy technology isn't going to ruin the game for anyone that doesn't like it.    

The first thing I noticed was the Mode-7 graphics engine...it's just excellent.  Very colorful, very fast, and Rare even has some sweet background art for each level.  When the race starts, your chosen character flies directly at the camera, and then everything rotates around (very quickly) so you can see ahead to the track.    

You use the A-button for gas, and I was using the tilt thingy for control.  B shoots off a weapon, if you have one.  It's really odd to play the game without your left thumb doing anything, but the sensor picked up everything very well.  It was all quite smooth, much more so than I expected.  I played the game two or three times with the tilt sensor, and it felt like I was getting better with it each time.    

The gameplay is pretty standard kart racing fare, just in airplanes.  There are items scattered around in the air, and to keep you from just skipping giant chunks of the track, there are Wave Race-like buoys which you have to navigate around.  The enemy AI was pretty good, at least better than me.  ;-)    

I must say that DKP surprised me.  It's really fun and much easier to pick up and play that you'd think for a tilt game.  Also, maybe it's just the lighting in that area or the GBA's screen, but I had no problems with glare or darkening when I tilted the unit.  It's pretty sensitive anyway, so you actually don't have to move the unit very far out of direct light.  The game just feels like it's very far along in development, so don't expect to wait too much longer for this little gem.

[Advance Wars: Under Fire has a new name, but how much has changed under the hood since last year?]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Battalion Wars

« on: May 19, 2005, 04:57:36 AM »

Advance Wars: Under Fire has a new name, but how much has changed under the hood since last year?

I liked the new real-time, 3D Advance Wars game shown at last year's E3.  It seemed unpolished but fun, like a quality third-party title, and I had plenty of hope that it could be given the Nintendo touch before its release.  Nintendo probably felt the same way, pushing the game's release way back and going so far as to change the name, which is probably a smart move considering the backlash from Advance Wars fans when they saw this radically different approach to the Wars series.    

The new demo of Battalion Wars doesn't look drastically different from the last time I played the game, but it's still fun, and it combines action and strategy in a very promising way that can't easily be conveyed at a press event.  The level I played in the new demo is based on the old demo, at least from what I can remember from last year.  You start out with a small group of soldiers and a couple of tanks, and the first task is to advance upon a bridge held by the enemy.  Along the way, you may liberate a group of (armed) POW flamethrower troops, which is useful against the next wave of enemies.    

Battalion Wars feels like a third-person shooter, and it is to some extent, with goofy jumping controls and all.  But a clever C-stick menu system lets you command friendly units even while shooting and rolling around in a confrontation of your own.  The A.I. units seem to be quite intelligent, with smart pathing and survival instincts that will let them defend themselves and pick up nearby health items.  You can take direct control of any friendly unit, at any time, through the C-stick menu.  I can't wait to see how these features are put to good use in more complex missions or multiplayer, neither of which is on display at this time.    

The most fun units to control are the vehicles.  The jeep is fast (almost uncontrollably so, at times) but lightly armed.  Tanks are slow and difficult to control, but their cannons pack a lot of firepower that is much more satisfying than the weenie machine guns of ground troops.  There are also multiple types of flying units later in the game.    

With an Advance Wars-style storyline and a cartoonish graphic style that still manages to look militaristic, Battalion Wars has an interesting presentation to match its ambitious blend of action and strategy.  Whether these elements will mesh together or not still remains to be seen.

[Now you can play PSO Episodes I & II and type on the same controller...but how well does it work?]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: ASCII Keyboard Controller

« on: May 24, 2002, 10:46:40 AM »

Now you can play PSO Episodes I & II and type on the same controller...but how well does it work?

I still don't know jack about Phantasy Star Online, but I did get to try it out with Ascii's hilarious yet intriguing GameCube/Keyboard hybrid controller.  Honestly, the thing is smaller and lighter than I expected.  It places your hands about nine inches apart (as opposed to maybe three with the normal controller), but I found it rather comfortable to not have my wrists turned inward like usual.  The normal GameCube controller parts on either side are exactly the same as on Nintendo's first-party controller; the sticks and buttons and triggers are 100% unchanged, which is certainly a welcome change from your typical third-party products.  So obviously I'm completely satisfied with the controller part of this crazy contraption...what about the keyboard?  Honestly, it's tiny.  The buttons are about half the size of my fingertips, meaning I can't accurately type while still looking at the screen.  After a few unsuccessful tries, I resorted to looking down at the keyboard and "hunting and pecking" in order to hit the right keys, and even then I had to occasionally use Backspace to correct an error.  Obviously space is limited, but I can't help but wish all the extraneous function keys and other non-character keys would just be left off.  Then there would be plenty of room to make the letters and numbers bigger and actually usable.    

So far I love the feel and aestetics of the keyboard controller, but the keyboard itself is just awful to use with my relatively large fingers and fingertips.  Maybe kids and those with small, thin fingers will have more luck, but I can probably type faster with the control stick and on-screen keyboard than with this controller's tiny little layout.

[Read all about the new real-time Combat mode.]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Advance Wars Dual Strike

« on: May 19, 2005, 04:52:00 AM »

Read all about the new real-time Combat mode.

Of all the upcoming DS games Nintendo has announced, Advance Wars DS may be my pick for the best.  Not only is it built upon an extremely solid gameplay foundation, it also features tons of modes with single-card wireless multiplayer across the board.  Perhaps the biggest new addition is Combat mode, which was the focus of my time playing the game.    

Combat is reminiscent of Atari's classic game of the same name, but the Advance Wars version packs in a lot more strategy.  This mode is completely real-time, and you directly control one unit at a time, so it feels like an action game.  But there is an important planning stage before the battle starts, in which you use your limited funds to the buy familiar AW units you'll be controlling later.  Loading up with infantry or mech units will force you to play very differently than if you buy tanks or artillery.    

The gameplay is fast and more action-oriented than what you're used to in the AW series and it's definitely a lot of fun.  You can press A to fire in the direction your unit is facing, but using the touch screen is the more useful option.  By touching the screen to fire from your current position, you can move in one direction and shoot in another, although it takes a bit more coordination.    

The goal in Combat is the same as in a normal AW game: take over the enemy's headquarters by moving a unit over it until the seize countdown is complete.  On the way, you'll have to deal with the fog of war, terrain obstructions, and enemy units.  The games I played still went quickly though, partly because it's hard to play both offense and defense with just one unit.  I'm hoping the final game will include friendly bots that can be told to patrol or stake out targets, or perhaps different victory conditions that don't leave you so open to random HQ takeovers.  On the plus side, you can use CO powers and do pretty much anything else that can be done in the normal, turn-based game.  The variety of units is welcome too; the more the merrier.    

The best part of Combat may be that it can be played with up to seven other people with only one copy of Advance Wars DS.  Downloading the game takes about thirty seconds, and then everyone groups into up to four teams.  Lopsided teams are penalized to make it fair for anyone going solo, but you can bet that having two players working together opens up a lot more strategic opportunities.    

Hardcore AW fans may balk at the idea of real-time strategy being mixed into their beloved series, but trust me, Combat mode is much different than the GameCube game (which is now no longer even named Advance Wars), and it's a great way to introduce the AW gameplay to friends who might be intimidated by all the rules and menus.  Plus, Combat is completely separate from the turn-based modes, which still make up the vast majority of AW DS.  But from what I've played, it may turn out to be my favorite part of this upcoming game, which has plenty to love any way you look at it.

[The best Zelda ever is also one of the best games ever. Read the spoiler-free import review.]

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TalkBack / REVIEWS: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

« on: December 20, 2002, 12:36:01 PM »

The best Zelda ever is also one of the best games ever.  Read the spoiler-free import review.

What makes a Zelda game different?  If you released a new Zelda game without all the familiar names and characters, would people still recognize it?  There are definitely certain gameplay elements that run throughout the series, but these can be and have been duplicated in other games (with varying degrees of success).  However, what really separates Zelda games is an intangible sense of adventure, a thrill of exploration, and the feeling that what you do has epic proportions.    

The Legend of Zelda: Kaze no Takuto embodies all of those qualities, while refreshing and often revamping the actual mechanics of the series.  In one sense, this game is an oddball for the Zelda series, not unlike Majora’s Mask before it.  Kaze no Takuto isn’t set in the traditional Hyrule, its progression definitely doesn’t follow the usual pattern of eight-dungeons-and-beat-Ganon, and its visual style is obviously a big step from the norm.  But in spite of treading so much new and different ground, this Zelda has everything that makes the series fantastic, and many of its innovations will become cornerstones for the franchise’s future.    

The biggest real change, and it is a drastic one, is that Kaze no Takuto has taken on a stronger RPG design than any of its predecessors.  While battles are still real-time and there are no experience points or “leveling up", the story takes a far more prominent role than Zelda fans are used to.  It’s not that the game’s design has been compromised to account for more plot, but rather that the same amount of story progression always infused into the series is now much more effective.  To put it bluntly, the story is great.  It’s creative, motivating, and unpredictable.  It looks at the Zelda mythos from an entirely new perspective, and longtime fans of the series will be delighted to see a new take on the legend.    

The other RPG-like difference is the overworld.  Technically, every Zelda game has had an overworld, but Kaze no Takuto takes the concept more in line with traditional RPGs.  Regular adventuring areas are of similar size to those in any Zelda game, but instead of major dungeons being separated by five or six “screens" or a relatively small stretch of land, they are now separated by an immense span of water.  Link and his boat have an unbelievably huge world to traverse, and travel becomes a major new theme for the game.  For the most part, it works wonders.  The sea is literally full of things to do, monsters to defeat, and places to explore.  If your favorite part of Final Fantasy games is exploring the overworld for secret places, you will have many, many hours of fun in Zelda’s nautical landscapes.  The sea and its often lengthy voyages further add to the epic feel of the game, and for the most part, this enormous overworld both fits and adds to the Zelda magic.  The excitement and overwhelming freedom of sailing such an expanse is nothing short of thrilling for much of the game.  Eventually, travel becomes more of a chore, especially once you’ve thoroughly explored the sea and found most of its secrets.  By that time you’ll have learned ways of getting around more swiftly, but even by the end of the game, it can take five or ten minutes of sailing to reach your destination.  It can be pretty frustrating by that point, but the designers should be applauded for keeping the sea interesting and mysterious for a great majority of the game’s length.    

Kaze no Takuto sets a new standard for charm and emotional involvement in a video game.  Naturally, people will have different reactions to the game’s attempts to pull on your heartstrings, but no one could deny the steps Nintendo has taken to give a special kind of personality to the entire game.  Simple, almost silly details, like making Link’s eyes very large to show emotion, are surprisingly effective.  Funny and endearing characters are practically everywhere, and even the meanest bad guys have their moments.  It might seem like giving the game such a light-hearted style would take away from the serious moments, but the opposite is actually true.  You become attached to these characters, and when misfortune befalls them, you feel sad, worried, upset.  It feels almost bizarre when you realize that they’re just characters in a game.  This might be the first video game in which the characters are actually characters, in the literary sense.  The effect is subtle and honestly hard to describe, but it’s undoubtedly there, and it makes this review quite difficult to write, as I try to separate my observations from my emotions.  Consider yourself lucky that you won’t have to.    

Mechanically, Kaze no Takuto is heavily based on the 3D gameplay of Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, but with numerous and very welcome improvements.  Link’s movement is now more fluid, and previously complex tasks such as pushing blocks and navigating the subscreen have been simplified.  A new “free" camera mode allows for customized views, which can be both functionally useful and creatively enabling.  When you’re on the open sea and sailing at full speed, finding the most beautiful camera angle is almost its own mini-game.  Best of all, the new camera freedom comes at no cost to the gameplay; the N64-style camera is still the default, and you can switch back to it at any time with the L-trigger.    

Even better is the heavily reinforced combat system.  Link’s swordplay is now more varied than ever, while still being very simple to execute.  The new evasive/offensive moves are a brilliant addition, and some of the tougher enemies all but require them.  The game seems to delight in throwing more and more monsters at Link, often in large groups that definitely won’t be taking turns.  If you’re not careful, it’s easy to be surrounded and beaten to a pulp.  The extremely impressive enemy AI adds a ton of variety to the fights, and even baddies from early in the game can surprise you.  In short, combat has become a more interesting, more prominent, and more challenging aspect of the Zelda gameplay.    

If you’re not already convinced that this is an excellent game, let me sum things up: Kaze no Takuto is a brilliantly designed, brilliantly balanced, and brilliantly innovative game.  No other game I know of has its mix of style, charm, and deeply refined gameplay.  No, it’s not perfect; the incredible dungeons are sometimes separated by lengthy and arguably uninteresting adventuring bits, especially late in the game.  The change of pace is nice, but it’s taken too far, especially in one case.  But that’s a minor complaint amongst a host of compliments that I could never finish listing.  This is the best Zelda game yet, the best GameCube title yet, and definitely one of the greatest games of all time.

Pros:
       

Uh, pretty much everything  

Okay, I’ll give it a shot  

Revolutionary graphics, amazing sound, perfect control, involving story, intense combat, long and satisfying quest, immense overworld ripe for exploration, fantastic dungeons and boss battles

       Cons:
       

Progression slows down too much towards the end  

Travel by sea is occasionally tedious

               Graphics: 10.0
       This is one of the best-looking games ever made.  The characters and environments are packed with so many polygons that they often look soft and round, which fits perfectly with the style.  The art design is astonishing and complete, consistently affecting every single aspect of the game.  Amazing little details are literally everywhere, from the constantly shifting clouds to the glow of lava cast on nearby objects.  The framerate is extremely solid, and the draw distance is made even more remarkable by the in-game depth-of-field blurring, which I don’t think has ever been done before.

               Sound: 10.0
       The Zelda series continues to provide some of gaming’s most memorable music.  Kaze no Takuto combines sublime remixes of classic Zelda songs with many excellent new ones, and all are tuned perfectly to the action and emotion on-screen.  The sound effects are great too, especially the strange but very cool musical notes that play with each sword hit.  Character voices are still quite limited, but they are distinct enough to support and enhance each personality.  I detest the large bird’s crying sound, but you get the sense that it’s probably some kind of inside joke among the development team.

               Control: 10.0
       More fluid and intuitive than ever, and that’s compared to one of the best control schemes around in the N64 Zelda games.  Adding the R-trigger as an extra context-sensitive button works beautifully, and previously cumbersome tasks like manipulating blocks and changing weapon modes are now streamlined.  The D-pad is now used to bring up the map, which greatly simplifies the subscreen on Start.  Basically, everything has been rethought to make the game easier and more intuitive to play.  It’s Nintendo quality all around.

               Lastability: 10.0
       Easily one of the longest single-player experiences on GameCube, Kaze no Takuto is also one of the most satisfying throughout.  You could get through it in perhaps twenty hours if you went straight from one objective to the other, but who could resist the wonders of the open sea?  The massive overworld is full of side-quests, mini-dungeons, and other fun diversions.  An innovative connection with the GBA provides some multiplayer, although it’s not extremely useful and may prove unexciting for player two.  It’s nice to have though.  Finally, a very cool feature opens up after beating the game…

               Gameplay:  9.5
       All of the classic Zelda mechanics are back, most with considerable refinements.  Combat in particular has been expanded with more moves and more strategy than ever, and the change is very welcome.  The ridiculously large overworld is at times too spread out for its own good, but generally it provides a wealth of exploration and a boost for the game’s epic scale.  There are a moderate number of true dungeons, less than Ocarina of Time but more than Majora’s Mask.  There are also many tasks between dungeons, most of them fun but one in particular not so great.  The dungeons themselves are as good or better than any in the series, with very cool new items and old ones being used in fresh new ways.

               Final: 10.0
       No, it’s not absolutely perfect, but The Legend of Zelda: Kaze no Takuto is as close as anyone could hope for.  This isn’t just a great new entry into the Zelda series; it redefines what a Zelda game is and should be, and it introduces an emotional factor that brings gaming ever closer to a true art form.  Most importantly, it’s fun…as in smiles on your face at every turn, sheer exhilaration at the promise of the open sea, and utter delight at the ingenious puzzles and boss fights.  This is adventure gaming in its purest form; Nintendo has once again set a standard that few others could hope to approach, much less surpass.      

[The import review you’ve been waiting for is here. Don't worry, no spoilers!]

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TalkBack / REVIEWS: Super Mario Sunshine

« on: July 28, 2002, 03:35:43 PM »

The import review you’ve been waiting for is here.  Don't worry, no spoilers!

I’ve been wearing these shorts for three days now.  I used my last spoon this morning.  Empty Dr. Pepper cans are everywhere.  My apartment is in shambles.  Mario has arrived.    

Super Mario Sunshine came in five days ago, and everything else since then is just a blur.  This game has taken over my life, and soon it will take over yours.  Hopefully I can justify my obsession and delight over this game and explain why Sunshine is such an incredible game.    

It all starts with the gameplay.  Everyone said that Super Mario 64’s best accomplishment was that it successfully brought the Mario experience into three dimensions.  Sunshine will make you see how silly and pompous that conclusion was.  In retrospect, SM64 was actually not much like a Mario game at all in terms of gameplay and game design.  Many of the objectives were more about adventuring than action, and Mario’s vast array of jumps was rarely utilized.    

Now Sunshine comes out, and stylistically, it’s even further from the old Mario formula.  There isn’t a single Goomba or Koopa Troopa to be found, plus Mario’s running around with this crazy water pump on his back.  Despite all this, Super Mario Sunshine is the truest Mario platformer since SMB3 on NES.  The game requires you to master all of Mario’s moves and use them with expertise time after time.  Its difficulty hearkens back to the days of 2D gaming and makes you realize just how easy most 3D games have become.    

Sunshine’s level of difficulty is sure to become a hot topic as the game is released worldwide.  To be blunt, it’s fricking hard.  Hard like banging your fists on the floor.  Hard like WaveBirds flying across the room.  Hard like spending fifteen lives and over an hour just trying to beat one puzzle level.  And yet, even when I’m cussing the game out, I can’t help but be thankful for the challenge.  The frustrating parts are actually few and far between; for me, the difficulty is such that I can usually scrape by after two or three tries...just barely.  It makes for an exciting game that you can’t just breeze through.  Furthermore, Mario Sunshine is so much fun that you’ll be encouraged to improve your skills and keep trying so you can see whatever’s next, because you know it will be awesome...and the game doesn’t disappoint in that regard.  The end result is that you get better and better as you go, forced to master the moves and think hard about how to tackle problems, and you appreciate the game so much more than if it were easy.  Anyone who complained about beating Luigi’s Mansion in two days should thank their lucky stars that Sunshine is a thousand times more challenging.  Though it was off-putting at first, the difficulty has become one of my favorite aspects of the new Mario.  It’s a brave, bold move on the development team’s part, and it works out beautifully.  Casual gamers will be motivated to become far more proficient than they ever have with a game, and serious gamers will be relieved to finally have a game that challenges their skills.    

The biggest new addition to Mario’s gameplay is the water pump, which is named “FLOOD" and speaks with one of the more annoying voices I’ve heard lately.  Anyway, one concern I had and I’m sure many of you had is that the water pack, particularly the hover function, would make jumping too easy.  Although hovering does provide a fudge factor of sorts, you can tell that a great deal of care went in to keeping it from taking over the game’s mechanics.  Most of the jumping tasks require a combination of using Mario’s jumps extremely well and applying the water pump in a certain way.  The hover function is also taken away frequently, either by Water Mario stealing your backpack or by being replaced with another nozzle (both conditions are temporary, of course).  In other words, anyone who relies too heavily on hover is going to be in a lot of trouble once they find themselves without it.  By the time I was halfway through the game or so, I found myself rarely using hover at all unless absolutely necessary.  Most of your normal jumps simply don’t need it, and using hover gratuitously will slow you down and use up a lot of water, both of which can become critical factors for getting certain Shines.    

The other pump functions have less impact on the basic gameplay, but all are balanced wonderfully.  The spray nozzle is handy for all kinds of tasks, but the game design only calls for its heavy use in a few cases.  In other words, don’t expect every level to be drenched in sludge, which you have to spray off.  That particular scenario is used so seldom that, when it showed up late in the game, I had a blast running around and cleaning up.  The “cleaning up" theme isn’t overused at all, at least not via gameplay.  The Super Jump nozzle is hard to master, but you can do some really cool stuff with it once you’re experienced.  The dev team seems to have realized the limited uses of such a function though, and Super Jump is thankfully not abused.  The propeller nozzle is sure to become a fan favorite, and in fact it seems to have been included almost as a bonus rather than as a serious gameplay element.  You won’t need the propeller to obtain many Shines, but it’s always there to play with for fun, and you’ll definitely be doing that.    

Plenty of fuss has been brewing over Super Mario Sunshine’s graphics.  It seems that some people think it looks awful and others think it’s gorgeous, and that schism probably isn’t going to change.  I personally fit into the latter category; while there are a few nasty textures, most of the game is simply breathtaking.  The character modeling for Mario and Yoshi is excellent, the draw distance is unrivaled, and the water is the best I’ve ever seen in any game.  Simple but charming special effects are everywhere, from the little ribbons of light sucked into level entrances to the impressive motion blur applied sporadically.  Then there’s the sludge.  I don’t even want to know the technical mayhem behind applying these wonderful dynamic sludge textures.  There’s something magical about spraying water at this colored goop and seeing it realistically be washed away.  The effect is magnified when you meet enemies later in the game that actually leave trails of sludge behind them.  I can’t see how anyone could not be impressed with the level of interactivity and life that these graphic achievements provide to the game.  I can put up with any bad textures if the rest of the game is this beautiful, this lively.  Unfortunately, one visual flaw I can’t so easily forgive is the slowdown.  Although it is rare and hasn’t affected the gameplay for me, it’s kind of sad to see any stuttering in such a naturally fluid game.  We’re not talking about anything as heavy as the slowdown in Banjo-Tooie or Perfect Dark, but I thought it was worth mentioning.  I’ve noticed the game chugging probably five or six times in my forty hours of playing.  Those players more sensitive to framerate might notice more, but it’s still nothing to get concerned about.    

Meanwhile, the sound is practically flawless.  Every song is beautiful, from the completely original tunes to the very innovative remixes of old favorites.  If you haven’t heard the a cappella Super Mario Bros. theme that plays in puzzle levels, you haven’t lived.  (We have it for download at our SMS game profile, by the way.)  Billy and I both agree that the beat of that song helps our timing for the puzzle levels...how cool is that?  The music is sometimes exciting, sometimes soothing, but always very well done and quite smile-inducing.  Sound effects are also great, especially the many water sounds associated with your backpack.  I’m a bit torn on the voice acting...it’s pretty cheesy and childish, but I can’t really expect anything high-caliber from voice in a Mario game.  There are two specific gripes with the voicing though: FLOOD is absolutely grating and, worse, hard to understand.  Secondly, Mario doesn’t talk enough in the cut-scenes, and when he does, his voice is mixed very low so it just sounds like he’s mumbling.  I don’t understand why Nintendo wouldn’t want you hearing what he says...Mario has never been portrayed as a silent character like Link.  NOA actually brings Charles Martinet to E3 so he can talk as Mario to all the showgoers!  There’s no sense in mixing Mario’s voice so low that you can’t make out his words.  On the bright side, his in-game exclamations are a joy to behold.  When Mario nabs a Shine and says “Ya-hee!", I just can’t help myself from imitating him.  He sounds so damn happy and that glee is infectious.    

Playing this game makes me happy.  I guess that’s the most important thing when all is said and done.  I can’t remember when I had so much plain old FUN while playing a game, and not just in certain places but almost non-stop.  Super Mario Sunshine is a triumph of game design.  It is the best single-player experience I’ve had in ages.  It’s easily the best GameCube title yet, and arguably the best Mario game ever.  The wait was worth it...oh man, so worth it!  Get this game and fall in love with it just like I have.

Pros:
       

Incredibly polished gameplay is both challenging and remarkably satisfying  

Tons of retro touches will have old-school Mario fans going nuts  

The biggest, longest, most satisfying single-player experience on GameCube  

Beautiful graphics, excellent music, perfect control  

Hidden secrets galore...the sense of discovery is amazing

       Cons:
       

The final boss fight isn’t as exciting as I would have liked  

Rare but noticeable slowdown  

Propeller nozzle is underused

               Graphics:  9.0
       I never would have believed I’d give Sunshine such a high graphics score back at E3, but it deserves it.  You can’t appreciate how gorgeous this game is until you’ve played it in depth, partly because some of the best visuals have never been exposed in screens or movies...spoiler stuff, you know.  The dynamic texturing, special effects, and water modeling are all primo.  A few poor textures and occasional slowdown are the only detractors from this otherwise beautiful game.

               Sound:  9.5
       This may be the best Mario soundtrack yet.  The new songs are soothing and wonderfully tropical, while many old songs have been reincarnated here with great success.  Sound effects are clear and extremely varied, and Mario’s exclamations are perfect.  The voice acting is only decent, but it rarely comes into play.

               Control:  9.5
       Take the Mario 64 controls, streamline them, add water pack functions, and then make it all about three times as smooth.  You’ll be pulling off U-turn jumps and wall jumps like crazy.  There are a surprisingly large number of hidden techniques too.  The camera has to be micro-managed often, but controlling it with the C-stick is fluid and quickly becomes natural.  My one complaint is about the automatic camera angles...some of them are annoying, when I could get a much better view if only the game would let me take over the camera.  It’s a minor issue though.

               Lastability: 10.0
       What?  Yes, Sunshine is very lengthy...a huge improvement over Luigi’s Mansion to say the least.  The challenging gameplay will draw out the experience even more (although not gratuitously so).  It will take even a serious gamer over thirty hours to beat the game, and probably over fifty hours to get every last Shine.  Even then the fun’s not over, because the game is packed with places to explore and play around in, even if you don’t have a specific goal to accomplish.

               Gameplay: 10.0
       I have nothing to say that isn’t in the main review body.  Mario is a sheer joy to play, and the difficulty level is high but very motivating.  Once again, Miyamoto and his talented team of developers have redefined what a platformer should be.  If this gameplay isn’t perfect, I don’t know what is.

               Final: 10.0
       Super Mario Sunshine is simply one of the best games I’ve ever played in my entire life.  Any statement I make about it sounds like hyperbole, but the game really is superb in every way.  It has exceeded my wildest hopes and dreams, and I honestly can’t imagine what EAD could do to top this achievement.  You must own this game.      

[From the creators of Lumines, Meteos proves that the DS is good for more than just mini-games.]

4274

TalkBack / REVIEWS: Meteos

« on: June 05, 2005, 08:35:54 AM »

From the creators of Lumines, Meteos proves that the DS is good for more than just mini-games.

Q Entertainment's puzzle game for DS isn't really very puzzling at all.  In fact, it's more of an action game, despite looking much like Puyo Pop, Tetris Attack, and numerous other puzzle games.  The difference is that the gameplay in Meteos proceeds so fast that you don't really have time to plan out big, complex moves…and even if you did, the game's design doesn't allow for such heavy thinking.  No, playing Meteos involves putting together simple triplets of tiles, and you have to do it in rapid succession.  So it's easier to understand Meteos as an action game, because it has to be played that way.  It is undeniably addictive, and you'll likely get to the point that you see tiles blasting off even with your eyes closed, but this is not a game that will ever let you zone out and play on some other plane of consciousness.  You have to be quick and alert at all times.    

Even then, it takes a lot of play time before you'll get good enough to last longer than three minutes or so.  Even an expert player will soon reach a point at which the game won't allow columns to reach the ceiling even for a second before declaring "game over".  In Meteos, defeat comes quickly and often, no matter how good you are.  That might make the game unsatisfying to play, except that even a terrible performance will yield tiles that can be used to unlock all kinds of stuff in the game's "merge" store.  The constant accumulation of tiles, and the huge volume of things to buy, gives the game a strong collecting aspect that goes beyond the tiny scope of any particular gameplay session.    

The main items to buy are new planets, which you can select before starting most of the game's modes.  Each planet has its own physics and tile set, so not only do you get a new challenge that will teach you a new style of playing, but you also have a new source of tiles with which to buy more goodies at the store.  Most planets only have a few of the game's ten colored tiles, and a new item's cost may call for a ton of one particular color, so eventually you learn to mix up the planets to get a balanced inventory of tiles, and then you can go to one particular planet if you need to stock up on a specific color.  The physics, meanwhile, are sufficiently unique to each planet that the gameplay is dramatically affected.  On one planet, the gravity may be light, but its effect slow, so that flicking up single tiles is an ineffective measure.  On another planet, the gravity may be so powerful that you have to chain two explosions just to get a block headed upwards at all.  On another, the gravity is so miniscule that blocks seem to disappear instantly when a triplet is formed, but there are so many different colors of tiles that it's hard to find three that match up.  All of this variety lends Meteos a longevity that it would have otherwise sorely lacked.    

Other modes stir up the formula even more, such as the timed mode that tests how many tiles you can clear within five minutes, or how quickly you can clear 1000 tiles (if you can even survive that long).  Then there's Star Trip mode, which takes you through a sequence of planets that are set up like two-player battles against an A.I. opponent, eventually leading to a boss level and a neat, zoomed-out bonus level during the credits.  Beating Star Trip can unlock certain items in the store, and it's also a great way to earn rare tile colors until you can buy the planets that will let you earn those colors more easily.    

Meteos also packs a full-featured multiplayer mode, with multi-card and single-card download play (you can even send a single-player demo to a friend) and support for up to four players at a time.  In this mode, your cleared tiles are sent as junk tiles to other players, and there are special items (bought in the store) that clear out swaths of tiles from your screen or do nasty things to your opponents.    

Being from Q Entertainment, you'd expect Meteos to incorporate music into its gameplay, but that's not really the case.  There are a ton of songs, some of them very cool and/or hypnotic, and depending on the planet, you'll hear sound effects when triplets are formed that blend into the music.  The music also changes and speeds up as tiles pile up closer to the top of the screen.  That's as far as it goes, though.  There is no gameplay benefit to playing in rhythm or in "composing" interesting sounds through your playing style.  Music fans should find something they like in the soundtrack though, and the game includes a sound test, although songs for it must be purchased at the store.    

The last thing I have to mention is the game's control method.  You can play Meteos with the D-pad and buttons, but this method is so slow as to be nearly useless.  The only realistic option is to use the touch screen.  Just drag tiles up or down to the desired location (you can't move tiles side to side, ever).  At first, I had trouble putting the stylus on exactly the tile I wanted, but the problem went away with practice.  You may have heard that it's possible to "cheat" by frantically dragging the stylus all over the screen.  There is some truth to it, but it doesn't break the game.  Basically, if you suck at the game, this "cheating" may let you last longer and clear more tiles than if you just played normally.  Then again, it may not…depends greatly on luck and the planet's unique physics.  More advanced players will usually be able to perform better by making discrete moves and using what strategy the game's pace allows for.  The whole issue is roughly equivalent to the C-stick smash issue in Super Smash Bros. Melee.  It may be bothersome to beginners and even intermediate players, but advanced skill will win out almost every time.    

Hopefully this review has shed some light on the intricacies of what initially appears to be a shallow puzzle game in which there aren't really any puzzles at all.  In actuality, Meteos is a highly original action game that takes quite a while to master, and it has tons of modes, multiplayer features, and unlockables to keep you playing until you do reach a level of mastery.  Meteos can be played for just a few minutes at a time, but it's so addictive that sessions will often stretch out much longer, despite your best intentions.  Highly recommended!    

Meteos is due out in North America later this month, but you can order the Japanese version immediately from Lik-Sang.  There's not much text to deal with, except in one part of Star Trip mode where you have to play according to special rules.

Pros:
       

Frantic, addictive, deceptively deep gameplay  

Tons of unlockable items that roll out slowly to keep you playing  

Great multiplayer features, including single-card download play

       Cons:
       

Puzzle fans may be tricked by the game's appearance  

The "cheating" method seems to unbalance the game until you reach a certain skill level

               Graphics:  8.0
       The game opens up with a very pretty FMV intro.  Weird tile patterns change depending on the planet, but they're usually recognizable for their standard color affiliation.  The rocket blasts are convincing and aid in the feeling of satisfaction when a group of tiles lifts off.  Backgrounds and cinematic stills look great, but you won't notice them much.  The top screen just sits there, but at least it's not forced into an unnecessary role.

               Sound:  8.0
       The menu music is straight out of Smash Bros. Melee.  The rest of the songs are wildly varied and tied to particular planets, which helps to make you feel like you're playing in a different location every time you change planets.  Sound effects lean towards the realm of bizarre, such as the screaming sound of clearing tiles on an otherwise serene planet, or the sound of a galloping horse that signifies victory on one level.

               Control:  7.0
       Forget about using the D-pad and buttons…it's a throwaway feature.  Meteos is a touch screen game, and it functions well in that capacity.  There's a bit of a learning curve, but things get under control pretty quickly.  Even very good players may find themselves missing tiles when under pressure, though.

               Lastability:  9.0
       I've put more hours into Meteos than any other DS game I own, including Mario 64, and that's even without much multiplayer.  The game's staying power is propelled by the hidden depths of its gameplay model and by the wealth of unlockable items, including the planets that open up completely new ways to play.

               Gameplay:  9.0
       Go into Meteos expecting an action game, not a puzzler, and you'll discover its charm much sooner.  It's fast, it's intense, it's really difficult, and when you start to get the hang of things, it's deeply satisfying.  The more you play, the more you'll come to understand and appreciate the subtleties and strategies.  That's the mark of a great game, though maybe not one that everyone will like at first blush.

               Final:  8.5
       Meteos is a quirky, great action game that every DS owner should try.  It seems strange and insanely hard at first, but once you get, it, you get it.      

[Don’t pass this game off as a neat little experiment. Four Swords rocks, whether you’re playing alone or with friends.]

4275

TalkBack / REVIEWS: Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

« on: May 10, 2004, 10:52:29 PM »

Don’t pass this game off as a neat little experiment.  Four Swords rocks, whether you’re playing alone or with friends.

What if Nintendo made a direct sequel to Link to the Past?  What if they created a multiplayer Zelda game that worked, despite its implausibility?  What if they kept 2D console gaming alive with a fantastic new 2D Zelda game?  Four Swords Plus is the triumphant answer to all three questions.    

You probably know that this game brings multiplayer gameplay to a Zelda console title for the first time.  What you may not expect is that Four Swords Plus is a surprisingly great single player adventure.  I played through the entire quest by myself before hooking up GBAs for multiplayer kicks.  The Hyrule Adventure mode is very lengthy and showcases some excellent level design, with many new ideas plus some others adapted from the 3D Zelda games.  Controlling four Links at once is easy.  Usually one leads and the other three follow behind, invulnerable but also useless.  The four available battle formations increase your fighting power but also make you more susceptible to damage.  You can also split the Links up and control them one at a time, which is handy for many puzzles.  Considering that the levels and enemies were really designed for multiple players, Hyrule Adventure works remarkably well as a solo experience.    

…but the best way to play is with friends.  The same puzzles and bosses take on a whole new meaning when you’re faced with the challenge of playing a very real, authentic Zelda game while strategizing, arguing, and probably laughing like crazy at your friends.  The game is heavily cooperative, but the many competitive elements (which go unappreciated during solo play) make Four Swords Plus as much a party game as it is a serious test of teamwork.    

Aside from the extensive Hyrule Adventure mode, Four Swords Plus also offers Shadow Battle and Tetra’s Trackers; the latter will not be included in the U.S. version.  Shadow Battle is a huge surprise.  What could have been a dry, pointless deathmatch is instead a chaotic, hilarious deathmatch that my friends have enjoyed even more than the main adventure.  Thanks to the wide assortment of special weapons and excellent battle stage design, this mode draws many favorable comparisons to Smash Bros.  We have played Shadow Battle for hours on end, laughing hysterically the entire time. The only thing keeping it from being its own classic experience is the limited number of levels: five, with a less-than-exciting modified version of each one to be unlocked.    

Tetra’s Trackers is also better than I was expecting.  This cute little scavenger hunt can be very amusing at times especially once everyone figures out the basic strategy and people start screwing each other over.  The mode’s big weakness is that it is too repetitive, and new level maps do little to shake up the simple formula.  It’s a nice diversion but not nearly as satisfying as Hyrule Adventure or as wacky and addictive as Shadow Battle.  As much as I hate to see any game abridged during localization, the loss of Tetra’s Trackers is not a huge issue.  It will be missed, but not sorely.    

This game is the first truly great use of connectivity.  There’s nothing gimmicky about it – playing with a GBA is built into the very fabric of the game’s design.  If you’re playing with a normal controller, you even get a Super Game Boy style pop-up showing the GBA action over the main screen.    

This is my second import Zelda game, and the experience was once again challenging and thoroughly rewarding.  I know not a single Japanese character, but I was able to solve every puzzle but one with little or no help.  It’s a testament to how intuitively these games are designed.    

Four Swords Plus is such a wacky mixture of ideas and modes, I don’t know how Nintendo churned it all together into such a beautiful game.  Like practically every Zelda title before it, Four Swords Plus has become one of my favorite video games.  Whether you decide to import or wait it out, whether you plan to go it alone or already have a playgroup ready, do not miss out on this wonderful game.

Pros:
       

Hyrule Adventure is a full 2D Zelda sequel!  

GBA connectivity actually makes sense and makes the game possible  

Shadow Battle is a riot  

Plenty of gameplay even for the solo player

       Cons:
       

Tetra’s Trackers gets old pretty fast  

Five levels of Shadow Battle isn’t enough

               Graphics:  7.0
       It’s not going to win any graphics awards, that’s for sure.  Other than a few high-detail special effects, the graphics on the TV screen look like a very busy SNES game, done so the game looks very similar on both TV and GBA screens.  I would have liked sprites that don’t get so pixilated when the “camera" zooms in.  Gotta love the GBA screen emulator for single-player.

               Sound:  8.0
       Classic sound effects are in full effect, and there are some new ones too.  Each Link has his own voice for shouting and grunting, apparently the same samples run through a voice modulator.  The music is very nice, though the soundtrack is not as memorable as we’ve come to expect from a Zelda series.  Tons of voice for Tetra’s Trackers.

               Control:  9.0
       I have no complains; the game controls mostly like Link to the Past.  Formations are handled very well, especially in single-player, where you can quickly snap to and among the formations with the C-stick.

               Lastability:  9.0
       The very long Hyrule Adventure (32 big levels) is highly replayable, since playing with different people yields a very difference experience.  Tetra’s Trackers is a mere diversion, but Shadow Battle is good for many hours of party fun, despite the limited level selection.

               Gameplay: 10.0
       Puzzle-based Zelda gameplay has been seamlessly fused with cooperative/competitive multiplayer action.  There are no long-term gameplay commitments, i.e. the game practically resets itself between levels, so it’s easy for friends to join or leave during the adventure.  Shadow Battle is perfectly balanced, an instant hit for parties.

               Final:  9.0
       Four Swords Plus is every bit as excellent as we Zelda fans demand.  It’s also a great multiplayer title, and it even works as a party game.  That’s a lot to like.