Although Metroid has been one of Nintendo’s most storied franchises, it’s also paradoxically one of the least understood. Countless times I have seen people embarrass themselves (usually nostalgic gaming poseurs) by referring to Samus Aran as “Metroid”. No, you ninny,”Metroid” is the furthest life form from an attractive female bounty hunter. They are translucent life-sucking alien jellyfish with giant fangs. Capiche?
Nerd rage aside, Metroid lore can be a little confusing, so no one will judge you if you need to watch this 7 minute catch up video on what happened in the previous games. It’s a good time to catch up before Metroid: Other M releases on the Wii next week, as it promises to be a lot more focused on character and story than any other Metroid game prior. (For the first time ever, there’ll be voice acting in a Metroid game!)
However, we’ll still judge you if you pull the faux pas of calling the main character “Metroid.”
If there had to be one title to act as the envoy for the video games industry in 2010 it would have to be Starcraft 2.
You’d be hard pressed to find any other game appeals to everyone from the 30 minutes a day casual player all the way up to the professional Korean player making seven figures with an entourage of bodyguards and female groupies.
There’s three audiences that I think should run out and give this game a shot:
Tower defense game junkies (whether it’s on your phone, iPad, computer, or console)
People who already enjoy real time strategy games (How can you like RTS games and not at least give Starcraft 2 a shot? That’s like saying I like action movies, but I refuse to watch Inception.)
Professional Starcraft players. (though I think those don’t really need to read this review)
Starcraft 2 is an interesting game because it’s one that’s physically impossible to play on any current console. It doesn’t mean that the game is that complex, it just means that it’s a genre that’s best controlled with a mouse and keyboard due to the nature of the tasks needed to be done. The game will run on almost any modern computer, Mac or PC alike, so chances are if you own a computer made within the last few years, you can play it.
Other than next week’s Metroid: Other M, Disney’s Epic Mickey is my most anticipated Wii game release this year. (That’s right, Donkey Kong Country Returns? meh.)
Disney recently put out the intro cinematic for the game and in it you can clearly see how much of a dick Mickey Mouse is. I mean seriously, who goes and messes up someone else’s carefully created world by bringing in a darkness of unimaginable horror then bounces back into his own dimension for 50+ years without so much as leaving a courtesy note?
Let’s clear one thing up: Square Enix’s The 3rd Birthday is for all intents and purposes Parasite Eve 3. Apparently Square considers this a “spinoff” game from the franchise, but it stars the main character from the other Parasite Eve games!
I’m getting ahead of myself. Most people have probably forgotten (or haven’t played) the Parasite Eve franchise. In very broad terms it’s Resident Evil meets Final Fantasy. Survival horror meets RPG if you will. In New York.
It may not incorporate wholly original elements, but the entire package is strangely alluring to me. Something about the modern sounding electro-piano soundtrack with the contemporary urban city landscape just clicks with me.
Or maybe it’s just the cute blonde girl with short hair and a stylish outfit.
Either way, the almost-forgotten Sony PSP is in dire need for some good new titles. Hopefully The 3rd Birthday delivers. The above trailer from Gamescom certainly looks like it’s headed in the right direction.
Nary 24 hours since my request for someone to call when something awesome from Portal 2 was actually shown, someone called.
It’s not quite a 4 portal juggling event, but I love the mood shown in this new single player trailer for Portal 2. Stephen Merchant (The Office, Extras) sounds absolutely brilliant as your new spherical companion, Wheatley.
Plus, I’d be lying if I wasn’t absolutely terrified during the last scene of this video.
Alright, this trailer for Portal 2’s cooperative gameplay is incredibly short, but I imagine it’s exciting for the throngs of Portal fans out there.
I’m excited for Portal 2 as much as the next guy, but I’m going to play the part of jaded gamer dude and hold it in my pants until we see something truly cool. Call me when they show puzzles where we’ve got to juggle our coop partners with 4 portals on the fly.
“Come on, there’s no way he’s doing another Bioshock title. This is just to tell us it was from the people who made Bioshock… ahhhh crap.”
That was the first thing that went through my mind as I watched the Bioshock Infinite trailer this morning.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved the original Bioshock game. It had amazing visual style, fun gameplay, and a thought provoking plot. It was just a game that didn’t need have a sequel, much less turned into a franchise.
I applauded director Ken Levine’s decision to not be involved with the competent, but ultimately unnecessary Bioshock 2 released earlier this year. Good for Ken for preserving his integrity in not caving to publisher demands for a cash cow sequel.
My initial nerd rage reaction stemmed from the apparent betrayal of my self-created game designer integrity code. But then I watched Joystiq’s video interview with Levine.
It’s quite apparent that the Irrational Games crew is not cutting any corners with Bioshock Infinite. Brand new engine. No re-used assets. Nothing forced into the game from the previous entries in the franchise if it didn’t fit.
Levine made an interesting comparison to the Final Fantasy franchise in that each entry has some recognizable elements, but generally are completely original settings, characters, and plot.
This rang true with me. I think I can deal with “SkyoShock” or “MoonShock” games if they’re not glorified expansion packs utilizing the same characters and plot elements. There are actually some really cool moments in the trailer and the setting definitely hasn’t been explored too deeply (if it all). Color me cautiously pumped for this when it comes out in 2012.
My only concern now is if these Bioshock titles settle into a neat little checklist including some of the following:
Upgradeable Plasmid-like powers
Fantastical Steampunk setting with a questionable dictator making you think about a particular branch of philosophy or ideology
“Controversial” morality choice leading to different endings, but mainly just achievements
Mysterious protagonist who finds out who he really is via a plot twist in third act
Ok, this may all be a bit cynical, but the worry is legitimate. Fortunately, Ken Levine has gathered enough goodwill with me from his previous games that I’ll believe in him to create something wondrous with Bioshock Infinite.
Multiplayer-focused games are a tough animal to “review” since the experiences are so intertwined with the playerbases. At the same time, you can usually tell within the first 30 minutes or so if a game is going to be fun for you or not.
I had a chance to spend a couple of hours with Monday Night Combat today and I’m here to tell you it’s something worth looking into.
In a nutshell, Monday Night Combat is a 3rd person class-based multiplayer action game. You can choose to be one of various classes (such as a sniper, support, assassin etc.), each of which has its own unique powers, weapons, and playstyle. Additionally, anyone can build or upgrade turrets around the map. Think Team Fortress 2 meets <insert your favorite tower defense game here>. There’s two modes of play: Blitz and Crossfire.
I’ve really come around on the developer walkthrough video as my pre-game release promotional content consumption of choice.
It offers these two simple, yet crucial, elements:
1) Real gameplay footage without bullshots/cutscene smoke and mirrors.
2) Informative narration straight from the game creators on how the game plays.
Unfortunately, dev walkthrough videos tend to run on the long side, so you have to have a little interest in the title before you commit the time to view them.
Let’s take care of that little detail for Uber Entertainment’s first title, Monday Night Combat.
It’s a class-based third person shooter. Focus is obviously on the 6v6 multiplayer and creating a “Monday Night Football” feel to each match. There’s a rewards and upgrade system where you can level up certain skills in the middle of the match and also on a meta-level between games too. From the looks of things it could be to the Xbox 360 what Team Fortress 2 is to the PC/Mac, especially at the $15 price point.
Sound interesting? Check out the two developer walkthrough videos below:
While combing the E3 showfloor, I had a chance to play a decent amount of upcoming games. Here are some quick impressions from some of the Playstation 3 games I tried out:
Killzone 3:
Killzone 3 at E3 2010 was all about the 3D. I was surprised at how unintrusive the 3D glasses actually were. Combining a first person shooter with stereoscopic 3D glasses seems like a recipe for extreme motion sickness, but this didn’t end up being the case.
The demo was about 20 minutes long and started with an on rails helicopter turret sequence in the snow. Amusing, but nothing terribly original. The 3D was really impressive in the blizzard as I really got the sense of immersion of being pelted by snow.
Once I landed, the game became very familiar. If you’ve played Killzone 2, you’ll know exactly what I experienced. In fact, if it weren’t for the 3D and the fact that there was a “3” in the booth, I could have mistaken the game for Killzone 2. The graphics are incredible on a console, but underneath the glossy veneer is a typical, albeit very polished, cinematic shooter. I didn’t see any new weapons or gameplay mechanics during my time with the game.
Little Big Planet 2:
Most of the short Little Big Planet 2 demonstration was focused on the new game creation tools. Emphasis was placed on mini-game creation. Little Big Planet is no longer a platform to create platformer game levels, but one that can do many different game types.
Three mini-games were shown to show off some of the new possibilities. The first was a sort of fast-paced Simon Says button pressing game, kind of like competitive Quick Time Event pressing. We then played a bumper-boats game, evoking memories of the hilarious Mario Party minigame. The goal is to knock the other players off of the ring, with the use of a single button to boost. The final minigame was a competitive 2D shooter using rocket launchers. Think Smash Bros. level with little Sackmen toting rocket launchers.
The Sony rep also talked about making it easier to find and filter user-generated content. An improved search feature is planned, along with the ability to “follow” specific designers. There would also be Playstation Move integration, the details of which were not shown at the booth.
Overall, it sounds like if you’re an active LBP designer, you’ll want to pick this one up as it gives a lot more tools in the toolbox, so to speak. I’m on the fence, since I never really played the game much beyond the included campaign. There’ll be another Media Molecule designed campaign in this sequel, but I can’t help shake the feeling that LBP is a title that just didn’t work, despite its noble mission of empowering end users to be game designers.
Marvel vs. Capcom 3:
I absolutely despise the Xbox 360 controller for fighting games so I made sure to try out Marvel vs Capcom 3 on the Playstation 3. There’s not much to say about this title other than it controls tightly and looks amazing. The character select screen for each player creates a comic book cover from the selected characters using the actual template for a Marvel comic. I found this a very nice nod to detail on Capcom’s part.
Any concerns over the title losing any speed over the move to the 3d Street Fighter 4 engine were quickly laid to rest after one round with the game. The same ridiculous 32 hit laser super combos and tag team air combo action is back and as fun as ever.
I even held court for awhile, winning four consecutive matches before people started getting afraid to challenge me. Unfortunately, the demo didn’t have a single player arcade mode, so rather than twiddle my thumbs and wait for a new challenger, I left.
Yakuza 4:
At the Sega booth I was surprised to see Yakuza 4 on display. See, although I have always heard great things about the Yakuza franchise, it’s never quite taken off in the US. It’s a 3rd person fighter/adventure game hybrid with RPG elements set in modern day Japan. I’ve been told the writing in the game is exquisite, with comparisons to The Sopranos being made.
The very nature of the game doesn’t scream “MAINSTREAM APPEAL”, so I was surprised to see the fourth installment green lit fora US release. After speaking with the community manager in charge of evangelizing Yakuza 4, it became quite clear that this title is a labor of love from the localization team dedicated to the fans. One of the key features mentioned was the fact that you can now go into Japanese hostess clubs in the game and, well, interact with girls. Apparently the more vocal fanbase had cried foul over the hostess clubs’ omission from the US version of Yakuza 3, so they were re-added to the sequel. That’s listening to your customers, folks.
While I’m not sure if I can devote 30-40 hours to a single game anymore, I’d like to see Yakuza 4 succeed if only for the fact that it’s supposedly an authentic look into certain aspects of modern day Japanese culture. The game releases on the Playstation 3 in spring of 2011.
Invizimals:
Invizimals is an interesting take on the Monster Hunter/Pokemon genre of RPG collection games. Using the PSP camera attachment, you can find creatures “hidden” amongst everyday items lying around the house. Basically, anything with a distinct color is liable to be hiding a creature to capture. Once you find a monster, you can then train with it in RPG-style turn based battles to upgrade them ala Pokemon.
(please excuse the sudden cut off in the video, there was an unfortunate battery mishandling)
I’m a big fan of Augmented Reality and this seems like a really novel way for tweens and adults to play the genre. Battles take place on screen using a combination of game animations and live footage of whatever the camera is pointing at. You can even wager the creatures you’ve earned in multiplayer battles, kind of like the ultimate form of virtual cockfighting. YES!
