Comments 599

Re: Japanese Virtual Console list - August 2010

JebbyDeringer

I played Clock Tower for the first time about a year ago and surprisingly for SNES game it's still creepy. I would have thought a SNES game could have been creepy at the time of release but never thought it would hold up. I usually avoid this type of game but it's actualy really well done.

Spinmaster isn't a bad arcade platformer though it's been years since I've played it.

Re: MundoRare Shuts Down After Losing Faith in Rare's New Direction

JebbyDeringer

Well Microsoft didn't mess up RARE though they did damage them indirectly. If you read their history you will see that some members left I believe before the purchase and some left when they were purchased. I think their reign ended with the N64. Star Fox Adventures probably would have been better if Nintendo didn't push the Star Fox franchise onto the game though it's hard to say. I own almost all of their N64 games with boxes and manuals. I'm only missing Killer Instinct and Donkey Kong.

Part of RARE's problem was their development time. Their games were good because they took a long time to make (much like Blizzard) but the transition from N64 to Gamecube messed them up as did the transition to Microsoft. A lot of their games in production had to move consoles which creates an even bigger delay and rush to release them. Kameo/Perfect Dark Zero both had to be launch titles and both were originally Gamecube games switched to Xbox and then finally changed for a 360 launch. Star Fox Adventures was originally Dinosaur Planet and well underway for the N64 when it was changed to the Gamecube.

Re: Review: Aero the Acrobat (Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)

JebbyDeringer

The score is perfectly fair. I played it the other day for the first time in years (on the snes I wouldn't buy it again) and it is a pretty poor platformer. I think when it came out it would have deserved a 7 but now a 6 is about right. There are platformers that hold up well today and there are those that don't. This one has you hunting all over the levels for objectives which are pretty boring. Jump on a platform 3 or 4 times until it disappears and then go find the next one.

The funny thing is that Sunsoft used Aero as part of their brand logo for a few years and it showed up in other games.

I think there needs to be a Bubsy vs Aero 2nd rate mascot battle to the death.

Re: Netflix Launching in Canada This Fall

JebbyDeringer

@Pegasus They've only announced streaming at least for now.

Why do people watch Netflix on multiple devices (if they are on the same TV). Wii doesn't do HD so I'd probably choose a different device though I'm sure the HD Netflix streams are barely that. I heard about 3GB for a 2 hour movie in HD.

Re: New Metroid: Other M Footage Looks Intense

JebbyDeringer

I wouldn't have a problem with them doing a completely 2D game it's this wishy washy 2.5D that bothers me. I like consistency whether that's completely free roaming or locked to one perspective. I don't like movie cameras or perspective changes on a whim. This is one of the reasons I didn't like the modern Ninja Gaiden games and why I've been worried about this game from the start. The other issue though is the graphics. Even if the game were 2D it would still have that cheap NSMBW look which is completely devoid of character and atmosphere much like a PS1 game. Actually perhaps even more sterile than that because the grainy low res 320x240 graphics made you think more detail was actually there.

I'm not sure what's up with this game and it's certainly too soon to judge (though too late to expect big changes). I'm not really impressed with the direction though I'm a huge fan of all the previous Metroid games. Metroid Prime was engrossing and believable. It felt like you were actually in the game. Super Metroid & the GBA incarnations had attractive 2D graphics and an interesting atmosphere. Metroid: Other M looks to be blocky 3D corridors with everything so well defined it looks like a bunch of objects just placed in front of a backdrop. I can go on and on about how I despise this graphic direction. Just look at this game and then look at Mario Galaxy. One of the games looks and feels seamless while the other looks like a cheap wiiware game.

Re: Hey Square Enix, Let Obsidian Develop a Chrono Trigger Sequel

JebbyDeringer

Chrono Cross wasn't bad it just wasn't anything like Chrono Trigger. As a stand alone game it wasn't bad. I think I even played through it twice.

That said as talented as a lot of western developers are these days most wouldn't be able to pull off a decent story if they tried. I'm not saying Japanese developers are original (they've been doing the same thing for decades) but american developers tend to just rip all their ideas from movies.

Re: Review: Jett Rocket (WiiWare)

JebbyDeringer

I don't care about the price but Wiiware should provide a decent gaming length. When you can buy an insane back catalog of video games from a variety of systems for cheap these games need to stand out and offer something new if not at least solid for your $5-$10.

On another note in no way is World of Goo a ripoff. It has more hours and replay value than almost any other game on the service and is much better than a ton of full priced Wii games.

Re: Iwata: Nintendo Looking to Improve Online Efforts

JebbyDeringer

Great as long as they do still focus on offline like he says. This is the one way that the Wii kills the competition. Both the 360 & PS3 support up to 4 players but both systems really neglect that feature and focus on single player or multiplayer online. Some games do 2 player split screen but they mostly dumped 4 player offline gaming this generation.

Re: Turns Out Shigeru Miyamoto Does Like Donkey Kong Country

JebbyDeringer

Donkey Kong Country was awesome though the gameplay is a bit dated today. The graphics were amazing back in the day and they still actually look good today as long as you are playing on a smaller low res screen.

GX was pretty meh for me too. I wanted to like it but the difficulty made it frustrating at times and the courses were all about memorization some of them were extremely hard. The graphics were excellent the music was barely passable. There were way too many unique (not actually unique) cars and the car editor was just silly.

Re: You Can Play the Tron Wii Game with this Tron Wii Controller

JebbyDeringer

Looks cool but one thing I never like about game themed or movie themed items is that it has the name right on it. I understand the branding but it bothers me. Even worse though are sequel branded items like the Halo 3 Xbox 360. Why can't it just be Halo? Why does it have to be tied to that specific game rather than the Halo universe? Rant over.

Re: E3 2010: First Impressions: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

JebbyDeringer

It's too early to tell. From the shots the graphics look fairly washed out (low contrast). There's almost nothing in shadow and the character shadows are quite faint. I imagine this will change by the time of release. I liked Wind Waker's graphics and that game still looks very goodt. The animation was stunning as well which added a lot to the game. I also found that it could be dark when it wanted to be despite Link being "cute". I agree that the environments look stale in this. I also agree that this game is starting look like Mario in terms of graphical look. I wouldn't be surprised if the environments get an overhaul or if some of these are just test environments. Link looks very polished though.

Re: E3 2010: Donkey Kong Country Returns This Fall

JebbyDeringer

Very cool but like past 3D retro recrations of this generation it seems to lack atmosphere. NSMBW had the same problem. The graphics are just too clean and everything is too well defined. A couple of the shots look cool though. It's a bit too early to tell but the game has a lot of potential.

Re: Review: Illusion of Gaia (Super Nintendo)

JebbyDeringer

Awesome game. Whenever I go back to play it after many years I'm always surprised how good it is. It would definitely be in my top 5 or 10 SNES RPG's though it would drop down lower if the Japan only RPG's were also in the list.

Re: The Nintendo Era is Over, Tweets Former Final Fantasy Scribe

JebbyDeringer

I don't think it's the end, far from it. It's more likely the end for the PSP. I do see some sales being taken away from Nintendo. A lot of people have iPads, iPhones, iTouchs, and if the games are good enough some of those people won't buy a dedicated gaming system. While everyone has a PC and many still buy a game console that has more to do with accessibility which the PC is not when it comes to gaming.