When Adventure Island II or Super Adventure Island drops by (or La Mulana...or that futuristic racer by Shin'en whose name I'm forgetting), I'll care about downloading something on Wii again.
Arcade racers > Sims. Always has been, always will be. Forza and GT can blow it out their respective . Ridge Racer has never been criticized for not becoming that ; if anything, people have been waiting for Ridge Racer to pick up it's game against the likes of NFS, Trackmania, Burnout, Split/Second, etc.
But while RR is definitely not evolving to keep with the pace of NFS or Burnout, it is rather timeless. Ain't nothing wrong with Ridge Racer (except for super linear tracks; it always paled in comparison to San Francisco Rush back in the day); it's like Pokemon. You're not supposed to keep up with the series; drop out of it, wait out a few sequels and then hop back onboard sometime down the line. Last RR I've played was ....jeez, Ridge Racer 64 or RR V. And I'm actually feeling pretty nostalgic right about now;) Thinking it's time to hop onboard again this year, with RR3D and Unbound.
Although, I'll admit: Burnout or NFS 3DS sounds pretty good to me too.
"One refreshing and immediately noticeable feature is that this game does not simply re-hash the movie"
The only way that's refreshing is if you've been ignoring Avalanche's excellent work with Disney's movie tie-ins for years. Chicken Little Ace In Action and Bolt are great examples of this. Also, I'm fairly sure that Heavy Iron has been doing that with Pixar movie tie ins.
"People are stupid and blow stuff out of proportion" is not news. This is just sad. It's a silly minigame collection; except this time, there was actually a hook to it instead of just cheaply ripping off Nintendo. Too bad. And it is crazy to think that shooting people is more socially acceptable in entertainment than anything REMOTELY resembling relationships.
No wonder the divorce rate here in the 'states is so high.
I am pumped for Adventure Island II. Interested by the Super Adventure Island games. But, now that you mention Wonderboy, I gotta wonder - where's Monster World IV? The last "Wonderboy" game for Genesis (even though it starred a charming, cute anime girl?), I could've sworn it was announced to be coming to SOME region via rating leak... EDIT: OFLC leak; it's coming to Australia sometime. Hopefully then, it should hit the other western countries. Cuz that game is rad! I want it in the 'states for sure!
@nite2727: stop buying games at Gamestop; tons of stores on the internet - including Amazon - has them cheaper new. And buying new=supporting developers. Buying stuff at Gamestop=supporting Gamestop and screwing developers.
And man you puke alot:) You gotta watch that, mans!
Already have it on PS3, but were i to get a 3DS now (instead of waiting a year for a hardware revision and price drop), I'd pick this up. I like having moves on buttons on the touch screen, because it's difficult to pull off moves consistently using the dual shock 3's dpad or left stick. SSFIV is great, but those controls just don't recognize moves consistently enough.
Okay, this is sweet! The 2nd and 3rd NES Adventure Islands look like some of the best platformers for the system. I remember one of them added ridable dinosaurs? Something that, post-Yoshi, people thought was impossible on the NES - we were such stupid kids:) And Super Adventure Island? Well, if you need to know if this is good or not, than all you need to see is this episode of Continue?: http://www.gamervision.com/users/hey_nick_murphy/articles/continue_super_adventure_island
Well, High voltage talked about this a bit on IGN Game Scoop awhile ago, when they were on to talk about Conduit 2. They said that, while they didn't lose money on Gyrostarr and High Voltage Hot Rod show, that it wasn't an avenue worth pursuing going forward unless Nintendo expands awareness for it. It was a cool little bit about Animales after they talked about Conduit 2 - I'm surprised that Daemon Hatfield brought it up:) But it's worth a listen. It was from a couple weeks ago; I believe they also talked about Explodemon for PSN, so maybe that can narrow down the week.
As a multiconsole owner though, I don't care. I also don't care about top down shooters unless they're REALLY something special, y'know? This looks like it could be one, but ...eh. There's SO MANY of these on XBL and PSN already! Not to mention, HVS is also working on the Grinder, which is ALSO a top down shooter on PS3 and X360. It's kinda hard to drum up enthusiasm for it now.
Iwata's right; all you have to do is look at Zynga's garbage to justify his statements. The problem is when you have publishers actually look at it and deem it worthy of supporting because it makes money. that. And great for Nintendo for ignoring it.
Social games are the equivalent of reality tv. Terrible, cheap to make and easy to make money off of. So everyone's going to rush to make bank on it right now. That doesn't mean Jersey Shore is a good show, . If Nintendo's wrong about this, than "gamers" 15 years from now are just going to be idiots wasting their time on crap like Mafia Wars 6. And that would just be the death knell to the gaming industry.
Everyone has been saying these things for awhile. Iwata's just the first one to say it out loud, and he gets criticism for it? - he should've been applauded.
It doesn't look that bad, but is it worth putting up with Nintendo's jacked up prices and unfriendly digital store to acquire it? Probably not. If this were a PSX Bomberman game, it would only be 5 bucks on PSN AND it would just be easier to get. Not having to put in credit card info every time, y'know?
Wiiware/Virtual Console ...why do you hate us? Why are you so unfriendly?
Both Kirby Epic Yarn and Disney's Epic Mickey are better games than Retro's overrated disappointment, DKC Returns. Way to let me down UK. You must hate fun. In that case, enjoy the unrelenting cheap shots DKC Returns throws at you constantly - I have yet to see someone play that game and actually enjoy it. Something that is NOT a problem for Kirby's Epic Yarn or Disney's Epic Mickey.
Oh my god, please, please, PLEASE be true! And come to the US, also, please! Monster World IV actually came to the west before. In the US, there's this online store called Gametap. But before it became a generic Steam competitor, it was an online service where you could stream tons of retro games (as well as some exclusive original games, like Telltale's Sam & Max Season 1). Anyway, SEGA provided a ton of games for the thing, and one of the import titles was Monster World IV. Having never heard of it before, but seeing the charming anime art for the box, I gave it a whirl and found it to be one of the coolest games I've played for the Genesis.
If this comes out to the VC, I'll download it in a heartbeat. That's a promise, SEGA and Nintendo! @Tony: That's Nintendo's fault. They managed the Virtual Console/Wiiware service, and they don't seem to give two craps about what anyone else does with their (much better managed) online stores. Don't hold that against Sega though.
@NFreak007: Only the one in front looks terrifying. The one in the back looks perfectly happy. His buddy though? That look screams, "I'm gonna do something to you, and it's going to hurt". Why does he have angry eyes!?!
Looks really cool. I'm a sucker for charming, SNES-style visuals. But I gotta say; if this has been in development for over 2 years, than they're entirely missing the point of developing for digital platforms. This'll tank the company for sure unless it drums up a whole lot of sales - something very hard to do on the super badly promoted Nintendo digital stores. But man, it's be a charming little addition to Wiiware.
Never heard of Robotude before this story, however I must say this. The Robotube mascot dude is pretty frickin' cute:) I wouldn't mind seeing him pop up in an old school puzzley-platformery-arcadey game. Something similar to Bubble Bobble or New Zealand Story or something.
Ridge Racer is rad. It has just not evolved - at all- since, what? RR Type 4? The good news it that nostalgia should be kicking in for some people right about now. Like me, for instance:) I think RR3D looks awesome. Colorful, fun, stylized. Although some of it looks a bit janky. There are some blurry textures in those screenshots...which I'm sure don't matter in 3D, come to think of it. But still, I'm just happy to see Ridge Racer still kicking around. There are still no racers with this series' sense of style and music choice. Until Burnout or Split/Second hit the 3DS, than RR is unopposed king of the racers here.
Weird timing...with WWE All Stars just around the corner, you'd figure all eyes would be on THAT game. Well, if you're in the market for a super fun arcadey wrestling brawler - the NFL Blitz to Smackdown VS. Raw's Madden. There was a time when I wanted stuff like Saturday Night Slam Masters on the VC, but now, I'm just gonna get WWE All Stars. I can't wait for that game to come out
@MeloMan: SNK Arcade Classics Vol.1 for Wii, bro. You can find it for like $15. And it's got a good chunk of those games you mentioned there. The VC Neo Geo store is a ripoff. So's the Neo Geo Station on the PSN, for that matter. Top Hunter is awesome in 2 player co-op.
This is weird. It's just plastic. This is like those stupid guys who buy loud, expensive, powerful cars just because they think they're "sexy". You DO know that you're just going to use it to drive to work, right?
Silliness. But, at least, very professionally done.
Faxanadu eh? That seems worthy of "down-losion". I wish they'd get Crystalis up there...who has the rights to it anyway? I know SNK made it, but Nintendo remade it for Game Boy Color - one of NST's two EXCELLENT GBC remake/sequels (the other being the underrated Bionic Commando: Elite Forces).
At any rate, who even cares about the company called "Rare" nowadays? While Kameo was great, and Viva Pinata has its fans, they're not going to be putting out anything good from here on out. They're MS's Kinect/family friendly studio now.
They've lost the Stamper bros. awhile ago, they recently let go of all their non-contract artists, and they've been hemorrhaging employees since the Gamecube era. Free Radical (Crytek UK), 4J Studios or Eurocom bares a greater resemblance to the Rare of yesteryear nowadays. Hopefully, the artists who were let go recently will start up a brand new studio and we'll have yet another studio with ex-Rare talent. The guys responsible for Conker, Jet Force Gemini, Goldeneye, Diddy Kong Racing, Star Fox Adventures and Kameo are no longer at Rare. So let's just let go of the memory now - all "Rare" is now is a name. The talent will go on though. And hopefully, they'll put games out on 3DS, Sony NGP, PS3, etc. I'd imagine they'd be PRETTY bitter at Microsoft after having them mishandle the studio so badly for the past decade.
When will Square/Taito just throw BOTH Bust-A-Move and Bubble Bobble into one "Puzzle Bobble" game? And Rainbow Island for that matter. By themselves, I always find it hard to justify buying these games in retail. They're more suited for downloadable platforms if you ask me. But if Square were to announce a 3DS game with 3 campaigns - a full on, all new, Bust-A-Move, Bubble Bobble, and Rainbow Island - I'd buy that in a heartbeat.
Stop splintering the series guys. This is like when Legacy of Kain had the Blood Omen and Soul Reaver games and then Eidos finally brought them together in LoK: Defiance.
I like the idea of THQ busting this thing out whenever they have games for it. It sure as sh** is a better way to support the peripheral than Nintendo did with the Wii Motionplus. Or the Wii Fit Balance Board. Or the WiiSpeak mic. Or Microsoft's Kinect (see - I wasn't just hating on Nintendo).
And Wayforward can do no wrong in my mind. Plus Spongebob was awesome - the "Doodlebob" episode from Season 2 was a PERFECT excuse to do the Drawn to Life Spongebob game. I suspect it's the basis for this game too, and bring it on I say. Spongebob hasn't had a really good game since Heavy Iron were making those games for THQ. I'm certain that if anyone can do a sweet 2D Spongebob, it's the guys who gave us Shantae and Sigma Star Saga.
It always seems like the first thing studios go to when they try to make a Mario Kart clone, but don't have a stupid license (example: M&M's or Shrek or something), they end up making an RC car game. It's just not fresh anymore (it was when Acclaim made Re-volt for the N64), and there are too many mediocre RC car games out there on Steam and PSN/XBLA and whatnot.
That being said, this does look like a pretty solid racer. And for 5 bucks, it'll probably be worth it. I'm just saying...doesn't look very original, unfortunately. I wish they would've looked to games like Beetle Adventure Racing, Top Gear Overdrive, San Francisco Rush 2049 or StuntRacer 3000 - all from the N64 era - for some inspiration. I mean c'mon - in '99 they were making games where the cars had wings (Rush 2049)!
woof. The Simpsons Skateboarding? Crazy Frog Racer? Ugh...no wonder they've been Wiiware only in recent years. Sucks for those affected, but seriously - you are all capable of better. Here's hoping they get jobs soon at better studios, or startup a new one that doesn't make games that crappy. Good luck to all the artists and programmers suddenly in need of a job.
I was aware of this - and almost got it - but never got to play it. I'd rather see Bomberman 64 (I find it a charming example of the colorful, fun N64/PSX era of early 3D titles), or Bomberman 64 2: The Second Attack (a game that's more true to the Bomberman lineage). But you know what? I'll take it! A platformer is a platformer, and N64 support AT ALL these days on the Virtual Console is noteworthy. And it's not published by Nintendo? Even more shocking.
But man, that's not cool. We shouldn't have to leap at the only option in months just because...well, it's the only option in town. sniff I'll weep for you Virtual Console. You're going to die soon, aren't you?
Planet Harriers is an inspired choice, but I would suggest Panzer Dragoon Orta instead. The on-rails shooter should get a nice little boost from 3D depth - one of the few genres I would think would. But between the newest Space Harrier (if you don't count Sin & Punishment 2, which I do, because it resembles SH more than the first S&P) and the newest Panzer Dragoon, Smilebit's game wins, hands down.
Really hoping SEGA supports the 3DS - and the NGP for that matter, as I don't hate - with a nice mix of new games and ports from yesteryear. With the new power of these handhelds, they can finally start dipping into, and recycling, their PS2 era classics. Under-rated games like Gunvalkyrie, PS2 Shinobi (or Nightshade/Kunoichi), and Billy Hatcher. All of which deserve greater exposure.
Though I wouldn't mind them bringing games of their current output. People love to slam Sega these days it seems. Yet Sonic Colors, Vanquish, Valkyria Chronicles and the Conduit are all good games. In fact, they run the gamut from good (the Conduit) to world class (the rest of them). Do hope for some great support from Sega on the 3DS.
I just wish all the arcadey action platformers for NES or SNES. And all the robot games. The fact that LucasArts' got on board briefly and gave us the Super Star Wars trilogy, both Zombies Ate My Neighbors and Indy's Greatest Hits was amazing. But man - I'd trade 'em all if they just released Metal Warriors. I feel robbed. But I don't blame them; cuz it's Nintendo's fault. If Nintendo supported the VC better, and advertised it, and could get higher sales for these publishers, than Lucasarts (and others) would've jumped through the hoops necessary to get more of their games on the service.
And if I got Irem's Metal Storm for NES. And Power Blazer or Shatterhand. All the Rocket Knight games. All the Genesis/NES/SNES Disney games. Strider for SNES.....what was it called....Run Saber! There are just so many amazing 16 bit games that have been left to die. At least for this generation. I honestly think that Nintendo doesn't care right now, and the VC will remain mostly dead until their next system.
Oh well, lord knows I should try and finish some of the games I've downloaded before complaining anymore. I DO like a lot of the stuff already on there, to be fair. The N64 support absolutely BLOWS though.
Oh, and does ANYONE else remember Secret of Evermore? Apparently, it's the only RPG Square ever developed in a U.S. Studio. I skipped it by back in the day - I pretty much skipped over all RPGs - but I'm EXTREMELY interested in it now. I hear a lot of people hate it because they blame it's existence for us not getting Secret of Mana 2 (Seiken Densetsu 3?) localized, but really, the two had nothing to do with each other. Square just produced a game they thought would appeal more to Americans, and as a result, it seems to have some natural sounding dialogue and callbacks to US Pop culture from the 90's. It also looks like Chrono Trigger. I would LOVE to see Square-Enix drop that on the VC someday.
I really hope this doesn't succeed just because some dumb, so-called "hardcore gamers" see yet another military game on the shelves and picks it up. I am so damn sick of US military shooters ruling the market. And I'm glad that 2011 is going to see more creative, unique, colorful and super fun shooters than military ones. Bulletstorm, Duke Nukem Forever, Resistance Retribution, Crysis 2, and even the Wii gets in on it with the much improved-looking Conduit 2...any of these games deserve more success than "US military shooter no.221".
Especially a mere collection of on-rails shooters.
A 2.5D version of Cave Story is just the kind of thing I needed to get me to buy another version of the game:) And, for the record - you can find the teaser trailer online elsewhere - the 3D art is super charming and perfectly retains the style of the original. If the 3DS can be used to seperate background, middleground and foreground in a way that isn't too gimmicky, and more like...."SUPER PARALLAX", I guess, this could be great. I hope that a lot of 2.5D games come out for 3DS if it looks good actually. Glad to know that Cave Story will be the first one out the gate.
That trailer just made me wish that this was going to have both Pac Man Championship Edition and Galaga Legions on the cart...or whatever 3DS uses to hold games. Maybe Pac Man CE DX too, even though it's not much of a Pac Man title (not saying it's bad, just that it doesn't feel like a Pac Man game).
I've seen the Pac Man screens from IGN; looks like Sonic Rush, except it's going to be slower and depend on tilt control. Meh. And Galaga as a first person on-rails shooter controlled by tilt and face tracking? Double meh. This collection sounds FAR more gimmicky than good. They really should just bundle together the games from Namco's "Championship Edition" team.
Also, when will we get Mappy or Dig Dug or Dig Dug 2 ('cuz it's very different than Dig Dug) Championship Editions?
Horrible week. Still waiting for La Mulana, FAST Racing League or MotoHeroz. I hate how that's what Wiiware has become - hear about all these games, and then wait for the 3-4 games that are worth releasing per year to happen. Virtual Console is lame too, of course. Though I applaud Natsume for doing SOMETHING. SCAT is kinda lame though. Reminds me of Sector Z...which wasn't good.
Natsume already got out SCAT and Shadow of the Ninja. Can we assume that the awesome Shatterhand will follow soon?
I don't care. It's not like this will light the VC on fire, or cause some rush of content for the unfortunately mostly-dead service. I just want some more quality games. C'mon Lucasarts - JUST ONE MORE! RERELEASE METAL WARRIORS DAMMIT! PLEASE!!!! @Token Girl: Hahah - you're totally right. Sega clearly does what Nintendon't. They should bring that back if they're going to keep this kinda stuff up!
Damn good news! Sonic Colors is flat out amazing; and, personally, I found both this and Kirby's Epic Yarn to easily trample DKC Returns in terms of fun factor and level design. Everything about this game is quality, and SEGA should feel great about putting the Sonic name on this one. A couple more games of this caliber (or, hopefully, better) and we'll have a mascot that deserves to hang on the same console as Mario!
Seriously, just a fantastic game, loaded with content, beautiful visuals and great music. Super fun, really addictive - one of the best Sega games since the Dreamcast. Can't wait for Sonic's 20th anniversary game this year;)
Does Reggie even realize the number of iOS ports on Wiiware (and PS Minis, for that matter?). They still suck, even though you price them at 3x and 4x higher, you fathead. I hate this guy so much... I suppose he'd do the mental gymnastics to justify never doing sales, promotions or generally marking down anything on the Wii's digital storefront either. Because y'know, that's a HUGE risk for Steam, Xbox Live Marketplace and the Playstation Network too, right? Pfft - What a bonehead. Worst NOA president ever, by a long shot.
I dig the style. Hopefully it'll be good - seems like its using Metroid Other M style, "NES controller style-to-point at the screen controls". And that actually seems like it'd be a good idea for a platformer.
Well, I'd be interested to see the Conduit on 3DS for sure; High Voltage's Conduit engine is some of the best tech on Wii. It would only make sense that, since the 3DS is similar in power, the engine would shine on the handheld too.
But man, SOMEONE needs to realize that touchscreen "mouselook" controls are garbage on handhelds. Should the Conduit 3DS ever happen, it better have either a) a Metroid Prime-style lock on, or b) a Resistance: Retribution style "auto-aim box". Either that, or be Doom style, where you don't have to look up or down to hit enemies that are above or below you. PLAYABILITY comes first, especially on a portable console. The LAST thing you'll want are terrible finger-cramping controls like the current slate of handheld shooters for DS, PSP and iPhone.
But hey, they're High Voltage. If they bring the same kind of passion to customizable controls on the 3DS as they did on the Wii, a portable Conduit might actually stand a shot of controlling very well on the platform.
I don't really like either of them right now. Both of the conferences this month were filled with non-answers and "meh" worthy reveals. The 3DS seems like it'll launch with forgettable stuff at best (with the exception of Super Street Fighter, but who cares because it's already on HD consoles), and post launch support is a mystery. Not to mention, Kid Icarus - a would be killer app if I ever saw one - is confirmed to horrible touchscreen "mouselook" controls. Thus, it'll suck. Just like Metroid Prime Hunters and any other FPS on the DS.
I know Nintendo designs things in a bubble, but seriously - they should've looked at other games' control solutions. A handheld shooter should either adopt a Metroid Prime (Gamecube version) style lock on, or a Resistance Retribution style "aiming box". "Mouse look controls" on the go are complete .
But the NGP? It all SOUNDS good, but Sony didn't show off ANYTHING. They only announced 2 games for it too, and the only one I can remember is Uncharted. Besides, I have a PSP - the only thing I wanna know is if Sony will put in a battery that isn't complete garbage. Trying to get a game for the PSP nowadays is a nightmare. Turn it on, the battery lost it's charge. Plug it in, turn it on, go to the PSN...it needs an update. Go to the update, it says there's not enough juice in the battery to last long enough to download the update. At this point, I'm throwing it back in a drawer, picking up my DS Lite and playing Dragon Quest IX.
Japan's full of idiots if they love the PSP so much. It is seriously an awful, wretched piece of tech. I sincerely hope that Sony makes a better handheld this time, but I ain't holding my breath. I also expect it to cost something RIDICULOUS, considering how powerful it's supposed to be.
If I had to choose sides now, I'd pick the 3DS. But I'm still not dumb enough to get one until the first hardware revision. Probably 12 months after launch.
I don't think it's dead, but the problem with promotion is a huge one. And if Nintendo Europe is as stupid as NOA here in the 'states, then an ad campaign is simply not in the cards. Or, even worse - whenever they bust out an ad, it's for a game 3 years old+ that already sold over a million units. They'll get a celebrity who clearly never plays games to appear in a spot playing Nintendogs or Mario Kart DS or something. That's insulting.
It's a wonder why Nintendo gets any third party support at all. I would not be surprised at all to see them eventually follow Sega and go the way of a (reluctant) third party. It's what they get for screwing over third parties for generations.
The other problem are gamers, who largely just don't seem to care about handheld titles. Your typical future college drop out mainstream gamer only plays games that Gamestop ads cover - the big guns from EA, Activision, Ubi Soft, etc. If it's not Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed or Battlefield, they don't buy it. It's insulting that they gave themselves the title of "hardcore gamer" when they don't seem to know sh** about games. My girlfriend knows about more games than your typical Xbox Live fanboy, since I got her hooked on the DS. She bought her own, and is now constantly on the hunt for games as great, original and charming as Henry Hatsworth, Starfy, Prof.Layton and Might & Magic Clash of Heroes. She just picked up Ghost Trick and is loving it. Although we both just buy DS games online at Amazon; screw hunting for any of these great titles in a store.
But the fact is, Nintendo seriously needs to stop depending on the goodwill of their fanboys to drum up sales and start getting behind the great games for their systems. Both the Wii and the DS. If the DS is "dying" at retail, than it's seriously about 95% Nintendo's fault. I realize Nintendo of Japan calls the shots worldwide, which means all the local branches only have two things to do - one, localize games for release (and I know for SURE Nintendo of Europe does a better job of this than NOA. Disaster: Day of Crisis says hello) and ADVERTISE GAMES FOR THEIR PLATFORM. WTF?
I am super pumped for this. Hearing that Kid Icarus was going to use the crappy touchscreen "mouselook" controls that completely derailed DS efforts like Metroid Prime Hunters completely crushed my enthusiasm for it. So Rodea, which looks just as fantastic and SHOULD control much better, has completely replaced it in my mind. I know I'm in the minority, but I'm much more looking forward to Rodea now than Icarus.
I for one have missed Ridge Racer looong enough. I know it's popped up for literally every hardware launch for the past decade (including the original DS, the PSP, the 360 and the PS3), but I just wasn't ready. Burnout was king of the road. But Paradise sucked, and Split/Second was fun but not mindblowing - I miss Ridge Racer. I'll probably pick this up then.
The Frozen Codebase guys went on IGN's Nintendo Voice Chat podcast this week to talk Nintendo and promote the game. They sound really enthusiastic, and I'm glad they went with an "NFL Blitz" approach instead of a more sim-like thing. But - memory restrictions hampering the game or not (it IS always nice to see ambitious wiiware developers though) - I'm afraid I just don't care about Roller Derby. Mario Kart-style or not. I'm waiting to spend my wii points on La Mulana still, or MotoHeroz, or FAST Racing League. Whichever comes first. Or a sweet Virtual Console game. Wiiware is a pain. I'm getting sick of putting in my credit card all the time to play it, and the large prices, as well as the lack of promotions and sales.
I'm not picking one up until there are actually some amazing games for it. I'm not thrilled to pick up Ocarina for a 4th or 5th time, even though they went back and redid all the assets. Kid Icarus completely crushed my enthusiasm once they announced the stupid touch screen "mouselook" controls. The same garbage controls that make Metroid Prime Hunters and any other DS FPS suck. SUPER Street Fighter IV is great; which is why I'll play it on my PS3 some more.
I don't see any game so far that blows me away. It took the DS MONTHS to prove itself and find a fresh, killer app (Kirby's Cursed Canvas, thank you very much). Until the 3DS finds it's own Cursed Canvas, I don't care. And I'll bet that they'll have a hardware revision - the 3DS Lite - before they find that game. We'll see how Iwata changes his tune when they actually announce a 3DS Lite probably about a year and a half from now...
Agent Ford's fancy robot suit is pretty . Reminds me of the ARS suit from another SEGA game, Vanquish.
Conduit 2 looks like a massive improvement over the first one. I love seeing the better lighting and the more pronounced normal mapping on characters. As well as more (and bigger) aliens, and cooler/more imaginative guns (like the Swarm cannon). I'm genuinely excited for it now. Enjoy the figurine, Aussies.
I wonder which game has better hockey; Mario Sports Mix or Mario & Sonic's Winter Olympic Games? 'Cuz Sonic's game is plenty fun already.I'd like to hear a review that remembered that game, and compared those two as such.
I really wish they'd stop making these comments until they actually play an RPG from another region of the world. Pick up Fable, Venetica, Mass Effect, Alpha Protocol or Fallout 3/New Vegas dudes. Japanese developers make far better visuals and music for their RPGs, but they're univerally horrible role-playing games. Meanwhile, western games are derivative at best (hello, Renaissance Faire!), and ugly at worst. But at least they get the whole, "Playing a role" part.
Customizing characters, having characters that AREN'T just "plug and play" archetypes*, obtaining and wearing new armor, getting conversation trees, going off on side quests. You guys over in Japan need to incorporate this stuff UNIVERSALLY into all of your RPGs. Stop coming up with gimmicky battle systems (cough Resonance of Fate), super cliched awful bad anime storylines (Final Fantasy XIII), and clunky un-rewarding combat (Monster Hunter, Kingdom Hearts). What's really sad and ironic is that that's how Japanese RPGs got started - they looked at Ultima and Wizardry and said, "that's ugly, but cool. We can do it but better" and voila! Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, and Digital Devil Saga Shin Megami Tensei (that's a really old series too), were born. Why are they so resistant to looking at, and learning from, western rpgs nowadays?
Sakaguchi, for the love of god, play Jade Empire or Mass Effect or something. You don't have to get far, you don't even have to like it, but you just need to see why people are so damn disenchanted with JRPGs this generation because of them. Even Dragon Quest has evolved to the point where there are no random battles, there are tons of subquests and you can customize your whole party - THANK YOU, by the way, Level 5, for making DQIX so damn progressive (and still retaining all the old school charm of classic JRPGs). I'm just really getting sick of these comments; like when Square-Enix infamously called Tomb Raider and Hitman examples of western RPGs? If they don't know what the dick they're talking about, then they should stfu. I hope the Last Story avoids some of these pitfalls, but if it doesn't than it can stay in Japan for all I care.
serious, the "plug and play" archetypes, ripped directly from horrible, melodramatic anime, needs to stop. How many RPGs star a lazy kid who sleeps in all the time? Or have characters where one of the girls is ridiculously bubbly, like Yuffie (FF7), Selphie (FF8), Rikku (FFX), Vanille (FFXIII), etc. There's literally just a pool of character "types" that japanese developers pull from, assign it to their designs, and call it a day. I was SO HAPPY to hear the dialogue NOA gave Stella in Dragon Quest IX, just because I feared she'd just be a typical bubbly moron. But here in the US, we got spoiled - she has specific quirks to her accents, she calls people out for being stupid and rude, and just in general sounds like a REAL PERSON. Why is that so rare in JRPGs? For every Eternal Sonata (good), there are at least a dozen Final Fantasy XIIIs (bad).
Sonic Colors has some amazing music in it - particularly the Planet Wisp Zone and the Aqua Park Zone. By far, the best part though are the "Sonic Simulator" levels - the co-op portion? (although you can play it in single player, and need to complete those levels to get chaos emeralds). All those Sonic Sim levels use chiptune remixes of the main zone themes, and they sound fantastic AND nostalgic.
I hate iTunes though, and Apple in general. So I hope Amazon MP3 gets this soon.
Comments 423
Re: Nintendo Download: 14th March 2011 (North America)
Well....that's a shame.
When Adventure Island II or Super Adventure Island drops by (or La Mulana...or that futuristic racer by Shin'en whose name I'm forgetting), I'll care about downloading something on Wii again.
Re: Review: Ridge Racer 3D (3DS)
Arcade racers > Sims. Always has been, always will be. Forza and GT can blow it out their respective . Ridge Racer has never been criticized for not becoming that ; if anything, people have been waiting for Ridge Racer to pick up it's game against the likes of NFS, Trackmania, Burnout, Split/Second, etc.
But while RR is definitely not evolving to keep with the pace of NFS or Burnout, it is rather timeless. Ain't nothing wrong with Ridge Racer (except for super linear tracks; it always paled in comparison to San Francisco Rush back in the day); it's like Pokemon. You're not supposed to keep up with the series; drop out of it, wait out a few sequels and then hop back onboard sometime down the line. Last RR I've played was ....jeez, Ridge Racer 64 or RR V. And I'm actually feeling pretty nostalgic right about now;) Thinking it's time to hop onboard again this year, with RR3D and Unbound.
Although, I'll admit: Burnout or NFS 3DS sounds pretty good to me too.
Re: Square Enix Brings More SNES Goodies to Virtual Console
Whoa whoa - PAL regions never got Final Fantasy III? Say Whaaaaaaat!?!
Re: Review: Rango (Wii)
"One refreshing and immediately noticeable feature is that this game does not simply re-hash the movie"
The only way that's refreshing is if you've been ignoring Avalanche's excellent work with Disney's movie tie-ins for years. Chicken Little Ace In Action and Bolt are great examples of this. Also, I'm fairly sure that Heavy Iron has been doing that with Pixar movie tie ins.
Re: Who Dares to Release We Dare in the UK? Not Ubisoft!
"People are stupid and blow stuff out of proportion" is not news. This is just sad. It's a silly minigame collection; except this time, there was actually a hook to it instead of just cheaply ripping off Nintendo. Too bad. And it is crazy to think that shooting people is more socially acceptable in entertainment than anything REMOTELY resembling relationships.
No wonder the divorce rate here in the 'states is so high.
Re: Scratch That, There's Three Adventure Island Games Coming to Virtual Console
I am pumped for Adventure Island II. Interested by the Super Adventure Island games. But, now that you mention Wonderboy, I gotta wonder - where's Monster World IV? The last "Wonderboy" game for Genesis (even though it starred a charming, cute anime girl?), I could've sworn it was announced to be coming to SOME region via rating leak...
EDIT: OFLC leak; it's coming to Australia sometime. Hopefully then, it should hit the other western countries. Cuz that game is rad! I want it in the 'states for sure!
Re: Review: Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition (3DS)
@nite2727: stop buying games at Gamestop; tons of stores on the internet - including Amazon - has them cheaper new. And buying new=supporting developers. Buying stuff at Gamestop=supporting Gamestop and screwing developers.
And man you puke alot:) You gotta watch that, mans!
Re: Review: Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition (3DS)
Already have it on PS3, but were i to get a 3DS now (instead of waiting a year for a hardware revision and price drop), I'd pick this up. I like having moves on buttons on the touch screen, because it's difficult to pull off moves consistently using the dual shock 3's dpad or left stick. SSFIV is great, but those controls just don't recognize moves consistently enough.
Re: Master Higgins Has Not One But Two Upcoming Virtual Console Games
Okay, this is sweet! The 2nd and 3rd NES Adventure Islands look like some of the best platformers for the system. I remember one of them added ridable dinosaurs? Something that, post-Yoshi, people thought was impossible on the NES - we were such stupid kids:)
And Super Adventure Island? Well, if you need to know if this is good or not, than all you need to see is this episode of Continue?: http://www.gamervision.com/users/hey_nick_murphy/articles/continue_super_adventure_island
*Spoiler Alert: That episode is AWESOME
Re: High Voltage Cancels Animales de la Muerte for WiiWare
Well, High voltage talked about this a bit on IGN Game Scoop awhile ago, when they were on to talk about Conduit 2. They said that, while they didn't lose money on Gyrostarr and High Voltage Hot Rod show, that it wasn't an avenue worth pursuing going forward unless Nintendo expands awareness for it. It was a cool little bit about Animales after they talked about Conduit 2 - I'm surprised that Daemon Hatfield brought it up:) But it's worth a listen. It was from a couple weeks ago; I believe they also talked about Explodemon for PSN, so maybe that can narrow down the week.
As a multiconsole owner though, I don't care. I also don't care about top down shooters unless they're REALLY something special, y'know? This looks like it could be one, but ...eh. There's SO MANY of these on XBL and PSN already! Not to mention, HVS is also working on the Grinder, which is ALSO a top down shooter on PS3 and X360. It's kinda hard to drum up enthusiasm for it now.
Re: Iwata Hits Out at Smartphone and Social Network Game Developers
Iwata's right; all you have to do is look at Zynga's garbage to justify his statements. The problem is when you have publishers actually look at it and deem it worthy of supporting because it makes money. that. And great for Nintendo for ignoring it.
Social games are the equivalent of reality tv. Terrible, cheap to make and easy to make money off of. So everyone's going to rush to make bank on it right now. That doesn't mean Jersey Shore is a good show, . If Nintendo's wrong about this, than "gamers" 15 years from now are just going to be idiots wasting their time on crap like Mafia Wars 6. And that would just be the death knell to the gaming industry.
Everyone has been saying these things for awhile. Iwata's just the first one to say it out loud, and he gets criticism for it? - he should've been applauded.
Re: Europe, Blow Up with Bomberman Hero on Friday
It doesn't look that bad, but is it worth putting up with Nintendo's jacked up prices and unfriendly digital store to acquire it? Probably not. If this were a PSX Bomberman game, it would only be 5 bucks on PSN AND it would just be easier to get. Not having to put in credit card info every time, y'know?
Wiiware/Virtual Console ...why do you hate us? Why are you so unfriendly?
Re: Kirby Casts On a Disappointing UK Chart Debut
Both Kirby Epic Yarn and Disney's Epic Mickey are better games than Retro's overrated disappointment, DKC Returns. Way to let me down UK. You must hate fun. In that case, enjoy the unrelenting cheap shots DKC Returns throws at you constantly - I have yet to see someone play that game and actually enjoy it. Something that is NOT a problem for Kirby's Epic Yarn or Disney's Epic Mickey.
tsk, tsk, tsk...
Re: Monster World IV Comes Westward, Finally
Oh my god, please, please, PLEASE be true! And come to the US, also, please!
Monster World IV actually came to the west before. In the US, there's this online store called Gametap. But before it became a generic Steam competitor, it was an online service where you could stream tons of retro games (as well as some exclusive original games, like Telltale's Sam & Max Season 1). Anyway, SEGA provided a ton of games for the thing, and one of the import titles was Monster World IV. Having never heard of it before, but seeing the charming anime art for the box, I gave it a whirl and found it to be one of the coolest games I've played for the Genesis.
If this comes out to the VC, I'll download it in a heartbeat. That's a promise, SEGA and Nintendo!
@Tony: That's Nintendo's fault. They managed the Virtual Console/Wiiware service, and they don't seem to give two craps about what anyone else does with their (much better managed) online stores. Don't hold that against Sega though.
Re: Review: Arctic Escape (DSiWare)
@NFreak007: Only the one in front looks terrifying. The one in the back looks perfectly happy. His buddy though? That look screams, "I'm gonna do something to you, and it's going to hurt". Why does he have angry eyes!?!
Re: First Bobby Carrot Forever WiiWare Trailer Sprouts Up
Looks really cool. I'm a sucker for charming, SNES-style visuals. But I gotta say; if this has been in development for over 2 years, than they're entirely missing the point of developing for digital platforms. This'll tank the company for sure unless it drums up a whole lot of sales - something very hard to do on the super badly promoted Nintendo digital stores. But man, it's be a charming little addition to Wiiware.
Re: Gaijin Games Acquires Robotube, Bloktonik WiiWare Cancelled
Never heard of Robotude before this story, however I must say this. The Robotube mascot dude is pretty frickin' cute:) I wouldn't mind seeing him pop up in an old school puzzley-platformery-arcadey game. Something similar to Bubble Bobble or New Zealand Story or something.
Re: Ridge Racer 3D Packed with Content, Despite Being on a Handheld
Ridge Racer is rad. It has just not evolved - at all- since, what? RR Type 4?
The good news it that nostalgia should be kicking in for some people right about now. Like me, for instance:) I think RR3D looks awesome. Colorful, fun, stylized. Although some of it looks a bit janky. There are some blurry textures in those screenshots...which I'm sure don't matter in 3D, come to think of it.
But still, I'm just happy to see Ridge Racer still kicking around. There are still no racers with this series' sense of style and music choice. Until Burnout or Split/Second hit the 3DS, than RR is unopposed king of the racers here.
Re: Review: Natsume Championship Wrestling (Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Weird timing...with WWE All Stars just around the corner, you'd figure all eyes would be on THAT game. Well, if you're in the market for a super fun arcadey wrestling brawler - the NFL Blitz to Smackdown VS. Raw's Madden. There was a time when I wanted stuff like Saturday Night Slam Masters on the VC, but now, I'm just gonna get WWE All Stars. I can't wait for that game to come out
Re: Neo Geo Tribute is Suitably Epic, Features Lots of Sexy Hardware
@MeloMan: SNK Arcade Classics Vol.1 for Wii, bro. You can find it for like $15. And it's got a good chunk of those games you mentioned there. The VC Neo Geo store is a ripoff. So's the Neo Geo Station on the PSN, for that matter. Top Hunter is awesome in 2 player co-op.
Re: Neo Geo Tribute is Suitably Epic, Features Lots of Sexy Hardware
This is weird. It's just plastic. This is like those stupid guys who buy loud, expensive, powerful cars just because they think they're "sexy". You DO know that you're just going to use it to drive to work, right?
Silliness. But, at least, very professionally done.
Re: Nintendo Download: 21st February 2011 (North America)
Faxanadu eh? That seems worthy of "down-losion". I wish they'd get Crystalis up there...who has the rights to it anyway? I know SNK made it, but Nintendo remade it for Game Boy Color - one of NST's two EXCELLENT GBC remake/sequels (the other being the underrated Bionic Commando: Elite Forces).
Re: Talking Point: Why Nintendo and Rare Should Reunite
What a random thing to discuss now.
At any rate, who even cares about the company called "Rare" nowadays? While Kameo was great, and Viva Pinata has its fans, they're not going to be putting out anything good from here on out. They're MS's Kinect/family friendly studio now.
They've lost the Stamper bros. awhile ago, they recently let go of all their non-contract artists, and they've been hemorrhaging employees since the Gamecube era. Free Radical (Crytek UK), 4J Studios or Eurocom bares a greater resemblance to the Rare of yesteryear nowadays. Hopefully, the artists who were let go recently will start up a brand new studio and we'll have yet another studio with ex-Rare talent. The guys responsible for Conker, Jet Force Gemini, Goldeneye, Diddy Kong Racing, Star Fox Adventures and Kameo are no longer at Rare. So let's just let go of the memory now - all "Rare" is now is a name. The talent will go on though. And hopefully, they'll put games out on 3DS, Sony NGP, PS3, etc. I'd imagine they'd be PRETTY bitter at Microsoft after having them mishandle the studio so badly for the past decade.
Re: Blow Up the 3D Puzzle Bobble Universe from April 22nd
When will Square/Taito just throw BOTH Bust-A-Move and Bubble Bobble into one "Puzzle Bobble" game? And Rainbow Island for that matter. By themselves, I always find it hard to justify buying these games in retail. They're more suited for downloadable platforms if you ask me. But if Square were to announce a 3DS game with 3 campaigns - a full on, all new, Bust-A-Move, Bubble Bobble, and Rainbow Island - I'd buy that in a heartbeat.
Stop splintering the series guys. This is like when Legacy of Kain had the Blood Omen and Soul Reaver games and then Eidos finally brought them together in LoK: Defiance.
Re: WayForward Drawing Up Spongebob Game for uDraw and 3DS
I like the idea of THQ busting this thing out whenever they have games for it. It sure as sh** is a better way to support the peripheral than Nintendo did with the Wii Motionplus. Or the Wii Fit Balance Board. Or the WiiSpeak mic. Or Microsoft's Kinect (see - I wasn't just hating on Nintendo).
And Wayforward can do no wrong in my mind. Plus Spongebob was awesome - the "Doodlebob" episode from Season 2 was a PERFECT excuse to do the Drawn to Life Spongebob game. I suspect it's the basis for this game too, and bring it on I say. Spongebob hasn't had a really good game since Heavy Iron were making those games for THQ. I'm certain that if anyone can do a sweet 2D Spongebob, it's the guys who gave us Shantae and Sigma Star Saga.
Re: Rev Up for Remote Racers on DSiWare Next Monday
It always seems like the first thing studios go to when they try to make a Mario Kart clone, but don't have a stupid license (example: M&M's or Shrek or something), they end up making an RC car game. It's just not fresh anymore (it was when Acclaim made Re-volt for the N64), and there are too many mediocre RC car games out there on Steam and PSN/XBLA and whatnot.
That being said, this does look like a pretty solid racer. And for 5 bucks, it'll probably be worth it. I'm just saying...doesn't look very original, unfortunately. I wish they would've looked to games like Beetle Adventure Racing, Top Gear Overdrive, San Francisco Rush 2049 or StuntRacer 3000 - all from the N64 era - for some inspiration. I mean c'mon - in '99 they were making games where the cars had wings (Rush 2049)!
Re: Triple Sports Developer Code Monkeys Closes its Doors
woof. The Simpsons Skateboarding? Crazy Frog Racer? Ugh...no wonder they've been Wiiware only in recent years.
Sucks for those affected, but seriously - you are all capable of better. Here's hoping they get jobs soon at better studios, or startup a new one that doesn't make games that crappy. Good luck to all the artists and programmers suddenly in need of a job.
Re: Bomberman Hero Gets Rated for Virtual Console
I was aware of this - and almost got it - but never got to play it. I'd rather see Bomberman 64 (I find it a charming example of the colorful, fun N64/PSX era of early 3D titles), or Bomberman 64 2: The Second Attack (a game that's more true to the Bomberman lineage). But you know what? I'll take it! A platformer is a platformer, and N64 support AT ALL these days on the Virtual Console is noteworthy. And it's not published by Nintendo? Even more shocking.
But man, that's not cool. We shouldn't have to leap at the only option in months just because...well, it's the only option in town. sniff I'll weep for you Virtual Console. You're going to die soon, aren't you?
Re: Features: 10 Sega Games We Want on 3DS
Planet Harriers is an inspired choice, but I would suggest Panzer Dragoon Orta instead. The on-rails shooter should get a nice little boost from 3D depth - one of the few genres I would think would. But between the newest Space Harrier (if you don't count Sin & Punishment 2, which I do, because it resembles SH more than the first S&P) and the newest Panzer Dragoon, Smilebit's game wins, hands down.
Really hoping SEGA supports the 3DS - and the NGP for that matter, as I don't hate - with a nice mix of new games and ports from yesteryear. With the new power of these handhelds, they can finally start dipping into, and recycling, their PS2 era classics. Under-rated games like Gunvalkyrie, PS2 Shinobi (or Nightshade/Kunoichi), and Billy Hatcher. All of which deserve greater exposure.
Though I wouldn't mind them bringing games of their current output. People love to slam Sega these days it seems. Yet Sonic Colors, Vanquish, Valkyria Chronicles and the Conduit are all good games. In fact, they run the gamut from good (the Conduit) to world class (the rest of them). Do hope for some great support from Sega on the 3DS.
Re: The Seller of this Golden GameBoy Pocket Wants $1,200
If that's really gold, and not just gold paint....
Re: Features: Games That Should Already Be on Virtual Console
I just wish all the arcadey action platformers for NES or SNES. And all the robot games. The fact that LucasArts' got on board briefly and gave us the Super Star Wars trilogy, both Zombies Ate My Neighbors and Indy's Greatest Hits was amazing. But man - I'd trade 'em all if they just released Metal Warriors. I feel robbed. But I don't blame them; cuz it's Nintendo's fault. If Nintendo supported the VC better, and advertised it, and could get higher sales for these publishers, than Lucasarts (and others) would've jumped through the hoops necessary to get more of their games on the service.
And if I got Irem's Metal Storm for NES. And Power Blazer or Shatterhand. All the Rocket Knight games. All the Genesis/NES/SNES Disney games. Strider for SNES.....what was it called....Run Saber! There are just so many amazing 16 bit games that have been left to die. At least for this generation. I honestly think that Nintendo doesn't care right now, and the VC will remain mostly dead until their next system.
Oh well, lord knows I should try and finish some of the games I've downloaded before complaining anymore. I DO like a lot of the stuff already on there, to be fair. The N64 support absolutely BLOWS though.
Oh, and does ANYONE else remember Secret of Evermore? Apparently, it's the only RPG Square ever developed in a U.S. Studio. I skipped it by back in the day - I pretty much skipped over all RPGs - but I'm EXTREMELY interested in it now. I hear a lot of people hate it because they blame it's existence for us not getting Secret of Mana 2 (Seiken Densetsu 3?) localized, but really, the two had nothing to do with each other. Square just produced a game they thought would appeal more to Americans, and as a result, it seems to have some natural sounding dialogue and callbacks to US Pop culture from the 90's. It also looks like Chrono Trigger. I would LOVE to see Square-Enix drop that on the VC someday.
Re: Heavy Fire Heads to Retail with Heavy Fire: Afghanistan
I really hope this doesn't succeed just because some dumb, so-called "hardcore gamers" see yet another military game on the shelves and picks it up. I am so damn sick of US military shooters ruling the market. And I'm glad that 2011 is going to see more creative, unique, colorful and super fun shooters than military ones. Bulletstorm, Duke Nukem Forever, Resistance Retribution, Crysis 2, and even the Wii gets in on it with the much improved-looking Conduit 2...any of these games deserve more success than "US military shooter no.221".
Especially a mere collection of on-rails shooters.
Re: Cave Story is Coming to 3DS in Full Retail Form
A 2.5D version of Cave Story is just the kind of thing I needed to get me to buy another version of the game:) And, for the record - you can find the teaser trailer online elsewhere - the 3D art is super charming and perfectly retains the style of the original. If the 3DS can be used to seperate background, middleground and foreground in a way that isn't too gimmicky, and more like...."SUPER PARALLAX", I guess, this could be great.
I hope that a lot of 2.5D games come out for 3DS if it looks good actually. Glad to know that Cave Story will be the first one out the gate.
Re: Pac-Man & Galaga Screens and Video Bring the 80s Back
That trailer just made me wish that this was going to have both Pac Man Championship Edition and Galaga Legions on the cart...or whatever 3DS uses to hold games. Maybe Pac Man CE DX too, even though it's not much of a Pac Man title (not saying it's bad, just that it doesn't feel like a Pac Man game).
I've seen the Pac Man screens from IGN; looks like Sonic Rush, except it's going to be slower and depend on tilt control. Meh. And Galaga as a first person on-rails shooter controlled by tilt and face tracking? Double meh. This collection sounds FAR more gimmicky than good. They really should just bundle together the games from Namco's "Championship Edition" team.
Also, when will we get Mappy or Dig Dug or Dig Dug 2 ('cuz it's very different than Dig Dug) Championship Editions?
Re: Nintendo Download: 7th February 2011 (North America)
Horrible week. Still waiting for La Mulana, FAST Racing League or MotoHeroz. I hate how that's what Wiiware has become - hear about all these games, and then wait for the 3-4 games that are worth releasing per year to happen. Virtual Console is lame too, of course. Though I applaud Natsume for doing SOMETHING. SCAT is kinda lame though. Reminds me of Sector Z...which wasn't good.
Natsume already got out SCAT and Shadow of the Ninja. Can we assume that the awesome Shatterhand will follow soon?
Re: Japan Getting Online Multiplayer for a Virtual Console Title
I don't care. It's not like this will light the VC on fire, or cause some rush of content for the unfortunately mostly-dead service. I just want some more quality games.
C'mon Lucasarts - JUST ONE MORE! RERELEASE METAL WARRIORS DAMMIT! PLEASE!!!!
@Token Girl: Hahah - you're totally right. Sega clearly does what Nintendon't. They should bring that back if they're going to keep this kinda stuff up!
Re: Sonic Colours Sells 1.85 Million Copies Worldwide
Damn good news! Sonic Colors is flat out amazing; and, personally, I found both this and Kirby's Epic Yarn to easily trample DKC Returns in terms of fun factor and level design. Everything about this game is quality, and SEGA should feel great about putting the Sonic name on this one. A couple more games of this caliber (or, hopefully, better) and we'll have a mascot that deserves to hang on the same console as Mario!
Seriously, just a fantastic game, loaded with content, beautiful visuals and great music. Super fun, really addictive - one of the best Sega games since the Dreamcast. Can't wait for Sonic's 20th anniversary game this year;)
Re: Reggie Defends High Download, Retail Price Point
Does Reggie even realize the number of iOS ports on Wiiware (and PS Minis, for that matter?). They still suck, even though you price them at 3x and 4x higher, you fathead.
I hate this guy so much...
I suppose he'd do the mental gymnastics to justify never doing sales, promotions or generally marking down anything on the Wii's digital storefront either. Because y'know, that's a HUGE risk for Steam, Xbox Live Marketplace and the Playstation Network too, right? Pfft - What a bonehead. Worst NOA president ever, by a long shot.
Re: This Upcoming WiiWare Game is Absolutely Pucca
I dig the style. Hopefully it'll be good - seems like its using Metroid Other M style, "NES controller style-to-point at the screen controls". And that actually seems like it'd be a good idea for a platformer.
Re: High Voltage Working on Bringing The Conduit to 3DS
Well, I'd be interested to see the Conduit on 3DS for sure; High Voltage's Conduit engine is some of the best tech on Wii. It would only make sense that, since the 3DS is similar in power, the engine would shine on the handheld too.
But man, SOMEONE needs to realize that touchscreen "mouselook" controls are garbage on handhelds. Should the Conduit 3DS ever happen, it better have either a) a Metroid Prime-style lock on, or b) a Resistance: Retribution style "auto-aim box". Either that, or be Doom style, where you don't have to look up or down to hit enemies that are above or below you. PLAYABILITY comes first, especially on a portable console. The LAST thing you'll want are terrible finger-cramping controls like the current slate of handheld shooters for DS, PSP and iPhone.
But hey, they're High Voltage. If they bring the same kind of passion to customizable controls on the 3DS as they did on the Wii, a portable Conduit might actually stand a shot of controlling very well on the platform.
Re: Iwata: 3DS and NGP will Appeal to Different Target Audiences
I don't really like either of them right now. Both of the conferences this month were filled with non-answers and "meh" worthy reveals. The 3DS seems like it'll launch with forgettable stuff at best (with the exception of Super Street Fighter, but who cares because it's already on HD consoles), and post launch support is a mystery. Not to mention, Kid Icarus - a would be killer app if I ever saw one - is confirmed to horrible touchscreen "mouselook" controls. Thus, it'll suck. Just like Metroid Prime Hunters and any other FPS on the DS.
I know Nintendo designs things in a bubble, but seriously - they should've looked at other games' control solutions. A handheld shooter should either adopt a Metroid Prime (Gamecube version) style lock on, or a Resistance Retribution style "aiming box". "Mouse look controls" on the go are complete .
But the NGP? It all SOUNDS good, but Sony didn't show off ANYTHING. They only announced 2 games for it too, and the only one I can remember is Uncharted. Besides, I have a PSP - the only thing I wanna know is if Sony will put in a battery that isn't complete garbage. Trying to get a game for the PSP nowadays is a nightmare. Turn it on, the battery lost it's charge. Plug it in, turn it on, go to the PSN...it needs an update. Go to the update, it says there's not enough juice in the battery to last long enough to download the update. At this point, I'm throwing it back in a drawer, picking up my DS Lite and playing Dragon Quest IX.
Japan's full of idiots if they love the PSP so much. It is seriously an awful, wretched piece of tech. I sincerely hope that Sony makes a better handheld this time, but I ain't holding my breath. I also expect it to cost something RIDICULOUS, considering how powerful it's supposed to be.
If I had to choose sides now, I'd pick the 3DS. But I'm still not dumb enough to get one until the first hardware revision. Probably 12 months after launch.
Re: Talking Point: Is the DS Dead at Retail?
I don't think it's dead, but the problem with promotion is a huge one. And if Nintendo Europe is as stupid as NOA here in the 'states, then an ad campaign is simply not in the cards. Or, even worse - whenever they bust out an ad, it's for a game 3 years old+ that already sold over a million units. They'll get a celebrity who clearly never plays games to appear in a spot playing Nintendogs or Mario Kart DS or something. That's insulting.
It's a wonder why Nintendo gets any third party support at all. I would not be surprised at all to see them eventually follow Sega and go the way of a (reluctant) third party. It's what they get for screwing over third parties for generations.
The other problem are gamers, who largely just don't seem to care about handheld titles. Your typical future college drop out mainstream gamer only plays games that Gamestop ads cover - the big guns from EA, Activision, Ubi Soft, etc. If it's not Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed or Battlefield, they don't buy it. It's insulting that they gave themselves the title of "hardcore gamer" when they don't seem to know sh** about games. My girlfriend knows about more games than your typical Xbox Live fanboy, since I got her hooked on the DS. She bought her own, and is now constantly on the hunt for games as great, original and charming as Henry Hatsworth, Starfy, Prof.Layton and Might & Magic Clash of Heroes. She just picked up Ghost Trick and is loving it. Although we both just buy DS games online at Amazon; screw hunting for any of these great titles in a store.
But the fact is, Nintendo seriously needs to stop depending on the goodwill of their fanboys to drum up sales and start getting behind the great games for their systems. Both the Wii and the DS. If the DS is "dying" at retail, than it's seriously about 95% Nintendo's fault. I realize Nintendo of Japan calls the shots worldwide, which means all the local branches only have two things to do - one, localize games for release (and I know for SURE Nintendo of Europe does a better job of this than NOA. Disaster: Day of Crisis says hello) and ADVERTISE GAMES FOR THEIR PLATFORM. WTF?
Re: Rodea the Sky Soldier Flying to Wii and 3DS
I am super pumped for this. Hearing that Kid Icarus was going to use the crappy touchscreen "mouselook" controls that completely derailed DS efforts like Metroid Prime Hunters completely crushed my enthusiasm for it. So Rodea, which looks just as fantastic and SHOULD control much better, has completely replaced it in my mind. I know I'm in the minority, but I'm much more looking forward to Rodea now than Icarus.
Re: Smell the Burning Rubber in this Ridge Racer 3DS Trailer
I for one have missed Ridge Racer looong enough. I know it's popped up for literally every hardware launch for the past decade (including the original DS, the PSP, the 360 and the PS3), but I just wasn't ready. Burnout was king of the road. But Paradise sucked, and Split/Second was fun but not mindblowing - I miss Ridge Racer. I'll probably pick this up then.
Re: Review: Jam City Rollergirls (WiiWare)
The Frozen Codebase guys went on IGN's Nintendo Voice Chat podcast this week to talk Nintendo and promote the game. They sound really enthusiastic, and I'm glad they went with an "NFL Blitz" approach instead of a more sim-like thing. But - memory restrictions hampering the game or not (it IS always nice to see ambitious wiiware developers though) - I'm afraid I just don't care about Roller Derby. Mario Kart-style or not.
I'm waiting to spend my wii points on La Mulana still, or MotoHeroz, or FAST Racing League. Whichever comes first. Or a sweet Virtual Console game. Wiiware is a pain. I'm getting sick of putting in my credit card all the time to play it, and the large prices, as well as the lack of promotions and sales.
Re: 3DS Too Full of Gadgets to Make a 3DS Lite Possible
I'm not picking one up until there are actually some amazing games for it. I'm not thrilled to pick up Ocarina for a 4th or 5th time, even though they went back and redid all the assets. Kid Icarus completely crushed my enthusiasm once they announced the stupid touch screen "mouselook" controls. The same garbage controls that make Metroid Prime Hunters and any other DS FPS suck. SUPER Street Fighter IV is great; which is why I'll play it on my PS3 some more.
I don't see any game so far that blows me away. It took the DS MONTHS to prove itself and find a fresh, killer app (Kirby's Cursed Canvas, thank you very much). Until the 3DS finds it's own Cursed Canvas, I don't care. And I'll bet that they'll have a hardware revision - the 3DS Lite - before they find that game. We'll see how Iwata changes his tune when they actually announce a 3DS Lite probably about a year and a half from now...
Re: If You're Down Under, Nab an Agent Ford Statue with Conduit 2
Agent Ford's fancy robot suit is pretty . Reminds me of the ARS suit from another SEGA game, Vanquish.
Conduit 2 looks like a massive improvement over the first one. I love seeing the better lighting and the more pronounced normal mapping on characters. As well as more (and bigger) aliens, and cooler/more imaginative guns (like the Swarm cannon). I'm genuinely excited for it now. Enjoy the figurine, Aussies.
Re: Review: Mario Sports Mix (Wii)
I wonder which game has better hockey; Mario Sports Mix or Mario & Sonic's Winter Olympic Games? 'Cuz Sonic's game is plenty fun already.I'd like to hear a review that remembered that game, and compared those two as such.
Re: Sakaguchi: To Succeed Internationally, JRPGs Need to Change
I really wish they'd stop making these comments until they actually play an RPG from another region of the world. Pick up Fable, Venetica, Mass Effect, Alpha Protocol or Fallout 3/New Vegas dudes. Japanese developers make far better visuals and music for their RPGs, but they're univerally horrible role-playing games. Meanwhile, western games are derivative at best (hello, Renaissance Faire!), and ugly at worst. But at least they get the whole, "Playing a role" part.
Customizing characters, having characters that AREN'T just "plug and play" archetypes*, obtaining and wearing new armor, getting conversation trees, going off on side quests. You guys over in Japan need to incorporate this stuff UNIVERSALLY into all of your RPGs. Stop coming up with gimmicky battle systems (cough Resonance of Fate), super cliched awful bad anime storylines (Final Fantasy XIII), and clunky un-rewarding combat (Monster Hunter, Kingdom Hearts). What's really sad and ironic is that that's how Japanese RPGs got started - they looked at Ultima and Wizardry and said, "that's ugly, but cool. We can do it but better" and voila! Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, and Digital Devil Saga Shin Megami Tensei (that's a really old series too), were born. Why are they so resistant to looking at, and learning from, western rpgs nowadays?
Sakaguchi, for the love of god, play Jade Empire or Mass Effect or something. You don't have to get far, you don't even have to like it, but you just need to see why people are so damn disenchanted with JRPGs this generation because of them. Even Dragon Quest has evolved to the point where there are no random battles, there are tons of subquests and you can customize your whole party - THANK YOU, by the way, Level 5, for making DQIX so damn progressive (and still retaining all the old school charm of classic JRPGs). I'm just really getting sick of these comments; like when Square-Enix infamously called Tomb Raider and Hitman examples of western RPGs? If they don't know what the dick they're talking about, then they should stfu. I hope the Last Story avoids some of these pitfalls, but if it doesn't than it can stay in Japan for all I care.
Re: Sonic Colours Soundtrack Racing to iTunes
Sonic Colors has some amazing music in it - particularly the Planet Wisp Zone and the Aqua Park Zone. By far, the best part though are the "Sonic Simulator" levels - the co-op portion? (although you can play it in single player, and need to complete those levels to get chaos emeralds). All those Sonic Sim levels use chiptune remixes of the main zone themes, and they sound fantastic AND nostalgic.
I hate iTunes though, and Apple in general. So I hope Amazon MP3 gets this soon.