moosa

So Sega's owning up to their reputation of quantity over quality with the Sonic franchise, is that what I'm reading?

@7 Games purchased new from Amazon pop out looking absolutely pristine, although they do normally come as a DVD case. Amazon packaging is usually very good.

I'd be happy to pay money for this divine collection all over again. The included soundtrack is butter. However, I'm not sure I'd go so far as to pay $50 for it or anything...

@3 Nintendo has been releasing games. The problem is that none of the other publishers are. Do you think all or most of the good games on the other consoles are developed or published by Sony and Microsoft? Absolutely not!

Why is everyone acting like they're going to be buying 5 games with their 3DS on launch day? These games could very well cost $50 a piece, which would amount to $250 for 5 games, and along with the console could be over $500 total. Really?

@4 The day Treasure develops a slow-paced puzzle adventure game is the day the industry has come to an end.

People, please understand that the 3DS's wireless range for features like StreetPass is much more than a few feet. The video only portrayed it that way for style.

This game looks really fantastic. Really, there is SO much more on offer here than with DOA:D. Dead or Alive is far from the best 3D fighting series out there, and the 3DS version doesn't appear to try anything new whatsoever. Of course there could be details that have yet to be revealed, but as of right now it looks to be a terribly generic fighter with the only other selling point being hopes for a 3D shower cutscene.

Yeah, it definitely reminded me of Knytt as well. From the sounds of the review though, most of what held the game back for this reviewer were some clumsy game design choices, not so much the Knytt-like adventure aspects. All of Knytt's action controlled well and I never had any problem with the game's few enemies.

Question the score after you've played the game yourself guys. And even then, your opinion will be only your own; it won't have anything to do with his.

I didn't even read the review. I just came in to make sure you gave the game a 9/10. Good work.
This game is a party favorite. I remember late nights playing this at friends' houses with a bunch of people I may or may not have known very well crowded around because everyone wanted to watch it. I also remember the first time I experienced a hallucination. I had a buddy of mine over and we both freaked out. THAT'S a memorable gaming experience.

Honestly, DOA3 (Xbox launch title) looks significantly better than this visually. I was hoping for a bit more. I'm sure we'll see more out of the system with time though.

I don't remember seeing this when it first popped up. Pretty impressive graphics for a download release. It looks fun but from the video it looks like you have to soak up a lot of damage without being able to avoid it, which I consider generally bad game design. But having never played it, what can I really say?

Graphics are looking great. Too bad these are high-res shots though.

Someone change the headline to "Shawn White Vacuuming."

What else do you need to know? It's Dead or Alive. It has ninjas and boobs. That's about it.

@Shadx I want to know as well. Can you answer this Corbie? Does the music tie into the gameplay somehow, or did they (oddly) decide to ditch that this time around?

Wow... those girls actually aren't twigs. This is new.

I would give this game a 9. The story is dull at first, and there's a lot of talking, but it becomes interesting enough to pull you along as the game progresses. There are some rather subtle things about this game that are extremely well done, such as the smooth difficulty curve and the really impressive AI (its amazing how many unique play styles you'll go up against throughout the course of the adventure). The battle system is very easy to jump right into, and yet remarkably deep. My favorite thing about it is how much it rewards skillful players who control their robos well, where subtle movements and timing can make a big difference in a match. There's a good dose of strategy and quick-thinking involved as well. It's very satisfying.
My LEAST favorite thing about the game, and my one main gripe, is that when it comes down to it, there's not much at all to do in the game besides talk to people and battle. As fun as battling is, you'll be doing it A LOT, and at some point it does start to get just a little old. It would have been nice to have some sort of diversions worked in to keep things fresh, but the core gameplay still stands as extremely strong.

This looks like a lot of fun. I really like the graphics style and sound.

Why didn't they just make the graphics 2D? Is there any point to those polygons?

@Varoennauraa I can assure you that Cave Story is not a generic "Metroidvania" experience. It's completely different from Other M and has more than enough originality to stand on it's own as a very unique experience. I'm positive you could have room in your gaming appetite for Cave Story.

I also don't recognize any of the audio "glitches" people keep talking about except one, which is when too many exp crystals are bouncing around and it causes a rather loud, ringing interference. A minor annoyance. I've always kinda wondered if people just mistook the fact that the redone music is a bit "different" for it being messed up somehow. Would anyone care to explain to me exactly what these issues are supposed to be?

I'm always a bit leery of things like this ruining the existing art style somehow, but from what little I see here it's not looking bad at all so far.

Jon, this is one of the best reviews I've read on here so far! Great jorb.

Those were my thoughts exactly. Well, up until we get to "jorb." Really I have to say that I want to see more reviews written like this around here...

^LoL.
I don't think Captain Falcon's theme is as good as many of the others in GX, but I suppose you picked it because, well, it's Captain Falcon.

Oh dang! You tossed a JFG track in there! Mmmmmm... <3

Samus' chest is way too big.

A $60 peripheral that is bound to have extremely limited software support isn't the first thing I'd think of when you say "mass market."

Confirmed useless IR control for this game.

Cheeseburger hat.

Of course it's better than the original. In fact, it's better than Fusion. The original is of course awesome on its own merits but highly outdated at this point.

I bet they sound about as good as the ones that pack in with your iPod.

Was Nintendo the one to create the first "demo kiosk" as well?

I would have been upset if this got less than a 9. I'm so glad other people here appreciate this game!
[bragging]I actually beat the Diamond Cup on Master difficulty. >>>: D[/bragging]
This game is all about boosting through 180° hairpin turns while travelling over 2000km/hour and listening to pulse-pounding music. It's about using your last bit of health to boost through the last corner of the track, and focusing intently to not touch ANYTHING (or you'll blow up), just to keep from getting passed by the brutal AI opponents before the finish line. No other game can replicate that experience.

Well... that's an interesting idea. That's about all it is. Is it likely? Not at all, for a lot of reasons.

I love being reminded with these articles that an analyst is someone who gets paid to make educated guesses about things where plenty of us out there would really know better about it.

Ohhh this is just like those "hacking" minigames in Jak 3 (PS2). Those were really annoying.

Was writing all of that even necessary? You could have just published the last paragraph and it would have been perfectly adequate.

I'm really excited about the real-time combat in this game above all else. It looks sooooo much more interesting than... well, any JRPG I can think of. O_o

This is actually an old quote. You guys don't recognize this NL?

"With there being a relative lack of memorable feminine figures in Zelda history other than the princess..."
You're joking, right?

I must say it's far easier to appreciate this game's graphics than FF 4 Heroes.

I honestly feel sorry for anyone who is buying a DS right now. The 3DS is just around the corner.

@moosa
"@maka
"No. When I buy a DS I can do whatever I want with it. Heck, I can even use it to keep a door open if I want What I mean is, once the hardware is on the hands of consumers, they can't (and shouldn't) control what consumers do with it."
You can't perform illegal acts with a product just because you own that product."
Yes you can. You can do whatever you want with the hardware. You can put anything you want on it, including ROMs. You however cannot download those ROMs. You may back them up as I do.

Allow me to clarify. Performing illegal acts with a product you own is illegal. This is painfully obvious. I don't care how much you own it, how much you've paid for it, how many of them you've bought or how clearly you wrote your name on it with permanent marker. You can purchase something that's legal and modify it illegally. Its not a ridiculous concept; it's the way things work in the real world.

This analogy sums up what half of you are arguing:
Say you purchase a hunting rifle legally, following all regulations. Then you take it home and proceed to modify it into some powerful, deadly monstrosity of a weapon. You keep it in a case and say that you're just going to use it to hunt a few deer "more creatively," despite the fact that you could easily use it to pull a bank heist where no police squad would have the firepower to stop you. You better believe that sucker is going to be illegal, no matter how much you act goodie two-shoes about what your intentions for it were.
To quote the article, "the mere fact that the device can be used for a non-infringing purpose is not a defence."

There are laws and regulations for the way things can and cannot legally be all over the place in many facets of our lives. Most commonly when it involves safety, or the potential for fostering illegal activity. You cannot argue that law can't extend to regulate your use or modification of any product you own, because it absolutely can, and with good reason.

This is why we have cars that aren't street legal, and why there are certain plants you're not allowed to grow in your garden. It doesn't matter if you're just going to take a leisurely drive to the corner store, or if they just complement your chrysanthemums so well. It's still illegal, and with good reason.

Whats up with all the bleach-blonde hair?

@maka
"No. When I buy a DS I can do whatever I want with it. Heck, I can even use it to keep a door open if I want What I mean is, once the hardware is on the hands of consumers, they can't (and shouldn't) control what consumers do with it."

You can't perform illegal acts with a product just because you own that product.

I find it hilarious that Rare, the one developer that's already ripped off every Nintendo game in existence, would be the one to develop Kinect Sports.

Well they sure talk like it's big news. It's hard to imagine THQ as a true driving force of innovation though.

What a talented and dedicated individual!

@grenworthshero if you were one of the contest winners and are getting an error while trying to redeem the code, its probably because you're trying to redeem it as a download ticket when you need to redeem it as a Wii Points Card. If you weren't a contest winner then disregard this, but I'm throwing the heads-up out there because that was the problem I had.

The production on that song made me cringe a little.

@ YoshiSage This is far from a simulation...

Annoying because I don't own a DSi, and never will. =/