The Gamer

Dreamfalling...

2006-05-29T04:06:00.000-04:00

This past week, I've been writing an article for the website, but my mind's been on something else entirely. There's an article I want to write, but there's really no medium for it. Except here, of course.

A few years ago, there was a PC game released called The Longest Journey. Without question, it was one of the best games I have ever played. A point and click adventure game that felt both close to home and incredibly fantastical at the same time. It was a treasure. Amazing story, beautiful landscapes, great writing, and real emotion behind it.

This year, the sequel to The Longest Journey was released. Called Dreamfall, it continues the story of the first game, and lives up to my already high expectations. The only complaint I had was that it was far too easy, and far too short. But that also made me think. Dreamfall does not have much pure gameplay. Usually, that is the most important thing I look for in a game. Is it fun to play, does it give a challenge, etc.

But Dreamfall is far from a deep gameplay experience. Dreamfall is the story. It is the characters, the setting, and the emotional depth of the plot. It is the unspeakable beauty of the locations you find yourself in, and the absolutely astounding music and voice acting. It is about becoming immersed in it all, swept away by the themes and feeling of the game. I feel glad that I waited to get the limited edition, with the artbook, art cels from the game, and part of the soundtrack. Although the game is over, I can go to those and feel like I'm back in that world again.

The storyline of Dreamfall is not something I will reveal. But it had me riveted. It was not a labyrinthine plot, although it was large and encompassing. It was an intensely intimate story, following the lives of 3 main characters: Zoe Castillo, April Ryan, and Kian Alvane. Each had their own struggles, personalities, and roles to play. Their paths entwined, playing out as a true story of their lives, not the events they found themselves in. It was epic in scale, but very personal. You rise and fall with them as they make hard decisions, and struggle with those choices.

No description I can give will really do this game justice. Is it perfect? No. There were things I didn't like. Do I feel like it was a worthwhile experience? Beyond question. I think Ragnar Tornquist, creator of Dreamfall, said it best: "Games are not yet art. But there is art in games." If ever there was a game to prove the latter half of that maxim, it is Dreamfall.

E3 06 Coverage: Nintendo DS games

2006-05-17T11:26:00.000-04:00

Hey guys. This'll probably be the last (or close to last) entry in this year's E3 coverage. There's an absolute slew of good games coming out, more than I can ever hope to cover by myself. This has been an E3 that was defined by games, not vague promises of hardware potential. I may talk about other games that I hear more about in the future, but as for now this is what I got. So onward.

ELITE BEAT AGENTS
This is a sequel to a Japan-only game called Ouendan. In a nutshell, it's a touch screen rhythm game that's decidedly Japanese. The basic "plot" is that you control 3 "agents" (in the original, they were male cheerleaders) to go around town and solve problems by dancing to music. And the music is mostly of the goofy type. It's an incredibly addicting game, from what I hear. I didn't import Ouendan, much as I wanted to (and still might) but this looks to be a damn fun game for the future.

HOTEL DUSK: ROOM 215
This is an interesting title. It's a semi-film noir detective story set in 1979 LA. Your main character, Kyle, is searching for a lost friend. His trail leads you to Hotel Dusk. This is made by the same people who made the underrated (IMO) Trace Memory. This looks to be a fuller experience, with some interesting hooks. For example, the game boasts complete stylus control. Which is a good thing, as the game is intended to be played entirely with the DS on its side. This merits further attention.

TOUCH DETECTIVE
While Hotel Dusk is a serious take on the noir genre, Touch Detective is a Japanized "spoof" of it. I use quotation marks, because knowing Japan, I'm unsure if the Japanese would realize it's a spoof. At any rate, Atlus continues its fine work with this title. Starring a girl named Rina (think Veronica Mars, but anime), the game is a series of cases, a la Phoenix Wright, and told more from a detective's POV. This isn't high crime, though, this is more on a level with, say, Nancy Drew than Agatha Christie. Regardless, the game is very cerebral, and looks to be a nice addition to the rebirth of the detective game.

CASTLEVANIA: PORTRAIT OF RUIN
And finally, a game whose title should be at least mildly familiar. The first Castlevania for the DS, Dawn of Sorrow, was a great installation of the classic franchise. And arguably among the best DS games released last year. Portrait of Ruin, however, is beginning to look even better than that. Set in the World War 2 era, this Castlevania lets you control 2 characters, and expands the gameplay to distant lands, far from Dracula's Castle proper. A whole bevy of new attacks, items, puzzles, and absolutely stunning 2d graphics are making this look like one of the best Castlevania games to date. Check out the trailers if you can, and the screens below. It's hot. Very hot.

Of course, this is by no means exhaustive of the damn good games that are due out. Zelda: Phantom Hourglass looks to be an amazing return to the Link to the Past style of gameplay, Starfox DS is the space shooter's triumphant return, and of course the Final Fantasy III remake looks hot. But the above are some games that I imagine would be missed in the shuffle, and deserved a bit of exposure. They look to be damn fine games.

More possibly to come.

E3 06 Coverage: The PC Games

2006-05-15T14:06:00.000-04:00

The PC gaming realm has been on a distinct downward trend for some time. It's not dying, but as of recently, consoles have come to dominate the landscape for consumers and developers alike. And although a good number of the following titles are being developed for the PC, I would not be surprised to see a lot of them ported over.

There's going to be a glaring omission to this list, but with good reason. That omission is Will Wright's Spore. The reason for this omission is because although it had a great showing, there is very little that could be said that could hype me for this game more. Simply put, this game is second only to Zelda for me as the most anticipated of the year. If you're not getting it, you're wrong. =) If you haven't seen anything about Spore, check out the video on Joystiq with Will Wright playing the game. It's astounding. And at the end, for some reason, Robin Williams is there to also play. It's a strange moment.

At any rate, here are some of the lesser-seen and damn good PC games of E3 06.

MASS EFFECT
This is an interesting conundrum of a game. It's being made by Bioware, makers of Knights of the Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights, and the like. The best way I've seen this described is as a squad-based scifi RPG. It's like taking a good western RPG and combining it with Half-Life 2 shooting, but with more tactics and depth. The only thing that I can compare it to is Deus Ex, but with a great deal more freedom and customization. There are layers upon layers of gameplay styles in this game, and the game itself is graphically gorgeous. There will also be future downloads of episodic content. Mass Effect is being developed primarily for the 360, but a PC version is said to be in the works. Screenshots below.

HELLGATE: LONDON
This game is set to be big. Very big. And considering it's made by the same people that made Diablo II, that's to be expected. This is a hack-n-slash RPG set in post-apocalyptic London. Demons invading, portals to Hell opening, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria. But the best part about this is that a lot of the content is randomly-generated, so there's an infinite amount of variation that will go on. You can choose from one of several classes, and use their unique abilities to fight through the world. It's very Diablo-esque, but also with a greater accent on online play. It looks to be a quasi-MMOG that can be played offline as well as on. It looks fantastic, but I'm gonna hold off on getting it until the reviews roll in. This looks to be a PC exclusive.

BIOSHOCK
If you played PC games in the late 90s, there was one game that stood out among others. That game was System Shock (and SS2). An incredibly creepy FPS where you were the only human left on a space station that was as silent as death. And constanly crooning in your ear was SHODAN, the maniacal AI that held humankind in such contempt. No doubt one of the defining games of the era. But any prospect for a continuation of the series died when Looking Glass Studios went out of business.

But now, many years later, some of the original Looking Glass crew are making Bioshock, a spiritual successor to System Shock 2, albeit not a true sequel. Set in Rapture, an underwater genetic engineering facility, Bioshock sets to recreate that kind of creepy isolation and seething mystery that was so prevalent in its predecessors. From impressions I've read, it's succeeding, and may indeed be named Best of Show for this year's E3.

ALAN WAKE
I also mentioned this game in my Microsoft conference report. I had only heard one real thing about this game when it was first announced, but it sold me. It is a game made by Remedy, those responsible for the amazing Max Payne games. Alan Wake is a psychological thriller based around a writer, the game's titular character. Set in a small idyllic coastal town, right out of Maine, Alan Wake's dreams and nightmares become manifest, and launches him down a frightening story. Not too much else was revealed at E3, but a trailer and a few screens are more than enough to whet my appetite for now.

This is by no means comprehensive, I didn't even get to cover Command and Conquer 3, Tabula Rasa (made by Lord British of Ultima fame), and the new Shadowrun (Based on the pen and paper game, but don't get your hopes up, it's got major flaws). But that's enough PC stuff for now, it should be able to disprove the notion that PC gaming is on the way out.

My next entry will most likely cover some interesting titles for the DS, so stay tuned.

E3 06 Coverage: World of Warcraft Edition

2006-05-12T14:14:00.000-04:00

So yes. I take a break from the Nintendo-centeredness that my coverage has been to offer some new details about the game that's destroying America - World of Warcraft.

The coverage comes in two parts: What we know about the new races, and what we know about the rest.

First, the races.

ALLIANCE: THE DRAENEI
First off, yes. It's the Draenei, not the Eredar. Or are they? You see, the story goes like so. The Draenei were originally Eredar. They lived in relative peace on a planet called Argus. However, this race caught the attention of the Titan Sargeras. Sargeras corrupted 2 of the Eredar's leaders, Kil'Jaeden and Archimonde, and much of the Eredar race. A few resisted him, led by an Eredar named Velen. Velen had been contacted by a naaru, a being of light and goodness. The naaru urged Velen to abandon Argus, and so a small amount of the uncorrupted Eredar fled with Velen. They renamed themselves the Draenei, or "exiled ones" in the Eredar language.

Eventually, the Draenei landed on a world that seemed to be safe. They called it Draenor, or "Exile's Refuge." The only other sentient race on that planet were the orcs. For the most part, the two races kept to themselves. Until one day Kil'Jaeden found the orcish race, corrupted them with insane bloodlust, and then started a war on Draenor. The orcs won, and those Draenei who could not escape were corrupted by demonic magic. A small group did escape onto a (I'm quoting here) "dimensional spaceship" and fled. Years later, they crashed onto the world of Azeroth. They made their home on the Azuremyst Isles, off the northeastern coast of Kalimdor, and recently made contact with the Alliance. The Alliance accepted them in because of their respect for the Light as taught by the naaru.

OK. So that's the backstory. Here's the game data.
-Starting zone is the Azuremyst Isles, NE coast of Kalimdor.
-Racial skills: +1% to hit with spells aura, +10 Shadow resistance, +15 Jewelcrafting, and a HoT for 50 damage over 15 sec.
- Classes: Warrior, Priest, Mage, Hunter, and PALADIN.

My impressions? They're the freaking Protoss from Starcraft. Space-faring demons who found Jesus. The lore's a bit of a reach, but I can buy it. I'm definitely thinking about rolling a Draenei now in the expansion.

HORDE: THE BLOOD ELVES
The Blood Elves are the remnants of the High Elf nation destroyed by Arthas in the Third War. Having lost their connection to the Sunwell, they are now voracious mana-hungry people. They need to feed their addiction. They hate the Alliance for their betrayal of Quel'thalas, and their unwillingness to help the Blood Elves in their time of need. Their leader, Prince Kael'Thas Sunstrider, is currently the right hand of Illidan Stormrage, lording over Tempest Keep. He has set Lor'Themar Theron as his regent on Azeroth. Kael is something of a savior figure to the Blood Elves, promising to bring them into Outland, away from the troubles of Azeroth.

-Starting zone is Quel'Thalas, NE of the Eastern Plaguelands. The city has already been mostly rebuilt thanks to Blood Elf magics.
-Racials: +15 Enchanting, +5 all resistences, Mana Tap - drain 50 mana from target (stacks 3 times), Arcane torrent - AoE silence, gain 20 mana/energy/rage per Mana Tap.
-Classes: Priest, Mage, Warlock, Warrior, Rogue.

My impressions? Cool. I like. Although I wonder why the Blood Elves will want to kill Kael, since he seems to be a raid boss....

OTHER STUFF
- Flying mounts reconfirmed, although only in Outland, and only at lvl 70.
- Some of the Naxxramas gear is here. And I do gotta say, I'm a tad aroused at Kingsfall.
- The Tier 3 armor also looks amazing. Although the warlock graphics look rediculous.

More to come later.

E3 06 CoveraHOLYSHIT!

2006-05-11T00:51:00.000-04:00

Oh God.

Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod.

SUPER SMASH BROS. BRAWL!

- Due out for Wii in 2007.
- ONLINE PLAY ENABLED.
- "Under the direction of series creator Masahiro Sakurai, Super Smash Bros. Brawl will feature two control modes: motion-controlled and classic, GameCube-style combat. That means players who prefer to play the game with the traditional control setup can do so using the GameCube controller they're already accustomed to while the new motion control adds a new dimension previously not available in fighting games."
- The main theme music was composed by Nobuo Uematsu, the guy who's done every Final Fantasy song ever. EVER!
- NEW CHARACTERS:

HIS SHIELD IS A CARDBOARD BOX!

SPECIAL ATTACK IS A FART!

KID FREAKING ICARUS!
-NEW ITEMS:

Yes, that's a Nintendog.
-CRAZY SHIT:

More characters possible. Named specifically were Sonic and possibly Mega Man. More coming as soon as I can humanly get my hands on it.

E3 06 Coverage: Day the First

2006-05-10T15:25:00.000-04:00

More on the Wii:

There were a few things I neglected to mention about the Wii. The first is the introduction of a "classic" controller, presumably for use with the Virtual Console (downloadable games and the like). A picture of it can be found here, it's too big to inline. It looks a bit strange, very oval. Like a SNES controller with 2 analogue sticks. And it connects into the Wii remote. Seems slightly odd. Ah well, we'll see how that turns out for playing VC games. Also shown alongside the classic controller was an interesting "shotgun" shell for the remote. Now that looks interesting.

Also, one thing that was mentioned that I didn't quite have a handle on until now is WiiConnect24. Basically, it means that the console is never off. It goes into standby mode when not used, and allows online connections to be made even while you are not there. For example, in a game like Animal Crossing, different people can visit your town while you are away and leave messages, gifts, etc. It also allows for the automatic downloading of new content while you are away.

And I think that's about all that I'm going to say about the Wii hardware. There was a good deal revealed, but we have yet to know specifics on pricing or release date. (Rumor says $200-$250 for the console, and Nintendo has said it will release this year for certain.)

Now. Onto the games. This will take the lion's share of my coverage from now on.

Trauma Center: Second Opinion (Wii)
One of the unique titles for the DS released last year was a surgery simulation called Trauma Center: Under the Knife. You play the role of a Dr. Stiles, seeking to heal patients and prevent the spread of a deadly disease called GUILT. The good people who made that exceptionally fun game are working on a new title for Wii: Second Opinion.

Early screenshots show that the game has become much more stylized, prettier, and looks to take advantage of the Wii remote while following the storyline of the original. Blatantly anorexic nurses aside, this looks to be one of the titles that will again help to define Nintendo's new technologies.

Phoenix Wright: Justice for All (DS)
He's back, baby. The DS is home to a lot of unique games, and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney may have been the cream of the crop. Think Law and Order, but with an anime twist. And jaw-droppingly hilarious. Not to mention playable. Phoenix Wright returns to the DS in a continuation of the first DS game, with some new twists.

Phoenix will take on 4 new cases with some new tricks up his sleeve. Most notable is the "Psyche-Lock". Ever have a witness who you know is hiding something, but want to get at it? You use the Psyche-Lock feature to wear down a witness with questions and pointing out inconsistencies in their testimony. Add that to a great returning cast of characters, and this is a game I will have on the day it launches in early 2007.

Many more games ahead, I've barely scratched the surface. I'll post more as more details become available.

E3 06 Coverage: Microsoft's Conference

2006-05-10T01:25:00.000-04:00

So, despite looking high and low, I was unable to find a live stream to watch Microsoft's E3 conference. At least, I was unable to find a free one.

Microsoft had much less of a conference than Sony and Nintendo did. They understandably don't have very many aces in the hole, the 360 has been out for some time, and they've been pretty forthcoming about their console strategies. Their conference was mostly devoted to showing what they'd done so far, and what to expect in the future.

That said, there were a few big highlights.

Firstly (I seem to like that word today), there was the announcement of the first next-generation Grand Theft Auto coming to the 360. It was worded as to make it sound like it was exclusive, but the truth is a tad muddier. GTA4 will release simultaneously on the PS3 and 360. BUT. The 360 will get exclusive episodic content following the release of the game proper. That is to say, more missions, more storyline, more "stuff". This indicates that not only has Microsoft cut into Sony's exclusivity deals, but is also going past it. The PS3-360 rivalry this generation is going to be intense.

Another highlight was the announcement of Fable 2, the brainchild of revered designer Peter Molyneux. Despite the fact that the original game didn't really hold up to its potential, this one may be an attempt to right things. They're saying the same things about this one that they did about the last one, so I'm not holding my breath.

Also on the table was Alan Wake, by Remedy. Now, I know that doesn't sound familiar to a lot of people, but it's a psychological thriller set in Maine by the people who did Max Payne. I was impressed by the realism of the environments and the character model of Alan Wake, and I already know I'm going to be getting this in one form or another. Will be a 360 (and PC) exclusive.

And finally, what X-box 360 conference would be complete without a "surprise". Note the quotes, because it's probably the worst kept secret in gaming. That's right. The conference ended with a quite beautiful CGI movie of Halo 3. No gameplay shown, just a teaser that you can now find on gametrailers.com. I will say this, much as I dislike Halo. It was very pretty. Halo 3 is planned to be the last Halo game in the trilogy, but I sincerely doubt that's going to happen, cash cow that it is. Due out in 2007.

And that's about it from Microsoft.

I got some new access to Nintendo's press website, so I've been basically devouring that all day. I'll go over the games in full detail tomorrow, but I do need to say that this lineup looks to be even better than the one of the past year. It's simply astounding how many good games are coming out.

I'll leave you with a small tantalizing secret. And one that most of you will find interesting. It concerns the new Alliance race for World of Warcraft. According to those who've been in the E3 center, the new race is a large, purple, tentacled beast of an ally. Pictures below.

There's two possibilities. The first are The Broken, essentially the upper caste of Dranei society. Kinda cool, but not too much known about them.

The other possibility is that this new race is one we've seen before. These could be the Eredar. Now, simply put, the Eredar are demons. Members of the same race as such great Warcraft enemies as Archimonde the Defiler (killed in WC3 at Mount Hyjal) or Kil'Jaeden the Deceiver (Illidan's master, alive and in the Outlands). If they are coming to the Alliance, they must have a hell of a good story to do so.

We'll find out tomorrow.

E3 06 Coverage: Nintendo's Conference.

2006-05-09T15:03:00.000-04:00

Oh ye gads. What a great change of pace from yesterday's Sony shenanigans.

Firstly, the Wii's second secret is a speaker (not microphone) in the controller to add to the immersion. This way if you're swordfighting for example, the controller actually makes a metallic clang (and rumble) when you hit. They demonstrated Link shooting an arrow and hearing the bowstring hum and the arrow nock as you pulled back on it. It looks like a very nice touch.

Nintendo didn't really have a single great game that they were holding in reserve. Instead, there was hit after hit of absolutely astounding games coming. I'll take them all in turn. No screenshots yet, as it just happened, but I'll be posting more later on in the conference.

Zelda: Twilight Princess
- Looks absolutely astounding. No question, the most anticipated game of mine of the year.
- Will be available at Wii launch (probably November). 2 versions, however. One for Cube, another for Wii. The Wii one has the remote functionality. It seems like an odd decision to have 2 versions, but it doesn't matter to me. I'll be getting both. Probably the Cube version first, however.
- Wii functionality is seamless and fluid.

Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
- This is it. This is the next-generation Mario game that we've been waiting for since the Gamecube launch.
- The graphics and gameplay looked amazing. Classic platforming with the remote. I didn't think it possible.

Starfox DS
- Fuck yes. Hopefully a true successor to the SNES playstyle, and not the weird hybrids that plagued the Gamecube.
- Touch screen control.
- Wi-fi battle modes.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii)
- Graphics looked on par with the Gamecube predecessors. This is not a bad thing, especially if it's an early build.
- There's a lot new functionality with the remote. There's nothing better than seeing Samus Aran launch a grapple beam at a Space Pirate's shield, feel it attach, and then yanking the shield away and unloading the arm cannon into him.

There were many other games shown, including new Nintendo IPs. I'll try to post more about them later when there are movies and screenshots. For now, I go to watch the Microsoft conference.

E3 06 Coverage: Sony's Conference

2006-05-09T01:21:00.000-04:00

This is going to be less image-heavy, nothing really worth inlining a pic.

If history follows a certain path, this PS3 conference may be remembered as the conference that started the end of the Playstation era. The absolute lack of enthusiasm by both the Sony execs and the audience was astounding. There were several new games shown, showcasing the graphical powerhouse that the PS3 really is. Only one or two look like they might be worth a look (Getaway and possibly Eight Days).

The big stuff didn't come until the end of the conference.

First, the game that everyone was waiting for: Metal Gear Solid 4. This looked amazing, and will undoubtedly be a stunning conclusion to the Metal Gear Solid saga. A great deal of the old characters from the series will be returning: Otacon, Meryl Silverburgh, Raiden, and Solid Snake himself. Kojima actually managed to make Raiden look badass, something that I wouldn't have thought possible. It was a trailer, no in-game footage shown, but damn if it didn't look good. Due out in 2007.

Sony then revealed their online plans, which was a direct lift from X-box Live. The interface was the same, the features (gamertags, marketplace) were identical, and the like. The only good thing to be said for it was that it was promised to be free of charge.

Then Sony talked more in-depth about the console. And they unveiled the new controller. Apparently they realized that the boomerang design was horribly rediculous. So they instead reverted to what is essentially a standard PS2 controller, but wireless. It looked nearly identical to the ones hooked up to my PS2 right now. But there was a very large kicker to this.

The Sony PS3 controller will have motion detection. That's right. They took the idea that Nintendo was using for the Wii, copied it, and slapped it into their controller. They then demoed it, and the person playing it looked kudicrous as they attempted to control a plane in flight via the tilt sensors. The controls were not very responsive; there was a horrific amount of lag between the player and the game. It was later revealed that Sony was forced to remove the rumble feature from the controller in order to fit in the motion sensing. Never mind the fact that Sony was sued for copying the idea of the rumble from its original creators, and barred from using it in future consoles.

Then came the real kick in the gut. Sony announced pricing. The PS3 will come in 2 versions. The "core" version will have a 20 gig hard drive standard and sell for $500, while the bigger version will have a 60 gig hard drive and retail for $600. Yes, that's right. And it gets better. The $500 version will be lacking several important features. Most notably, there will be no memory card drive, no HDMI support (thereby negating the purpose of the Blu-ray drive), and no WI-FI. I mean, Jesus.

If Sony were to lose its lead this generation, this would be how they'd do it.

Set to launch worldwide this November. With prices like that, I am confident there won't be shortages.

Nintendo conference early tomorrow, will be watching and updating as it comes.

E3 06: Square-Enix Conference

2006-05-08T18:47:00.000-04:00

The big one first:

Final Fantasy XIII

Screenshot 1

Screenshot 2

Screenshot 3

-Set in a futuristic world
-Protagonist (pictured) is a Yuna-like character
-PS3 Exclusive
-Done by the Advent Children team.
-Little else known at this point.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII

-Don't ask me. It's a different PS3 game, but I'm having a hard time grasping what it actually is.
-Sounds sorta like a Final Fantasy/Kingdom Hearts gameplay mix.
-Theme is supposed to be.... "bonding". Again, don't ask me.
-More info as I get it.

Other games:
Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors (Wii, launch title)
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers (Wii)
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates (DS)
Final Fantasy: Dirge of Cerberus (PS2) to be released on Aug 22

Sony conference coming up, will post about that next.

Welcome to the big show.

2006-05-06T16:12:00.000-04:00

Note: This is a copy of my pre-E3 article at AMN.

E3 is the event that the entire industry revolves around, and with good cause. The biggest announcements are made there, and it is the first chance to see the software that will define the future of gaming. E3 this year is especially laden with anticipation, in no small part due to the expected blockbuster lineup of powerhouse Nintendo. The DS and the Wii are Nintendo’s beachhead in the next generation, and there’s a lot to look forward to for both systems.

First, the Wii. Last week’s surprise announcement of the name change from Revolution to Wii caught most of the gaming community off guard. Cries came from both sides of the aisle, either in support or in scorn of the console’s new moniker. Love or hate the name, the Wii will lead the next-gen revolution. Of course, a name does not a console make, and there are still several aspects of the Wii that are shrouded in mystery.

Of course, I am referring mainly to the storied “second secret” of the Wii. AMN reported the story that the nunchuck attachment to the remote will have an accelerometer/gyro combination that will allow for even greater interaction than previously expected. Although this is true, this is not the ace up Nintendo’s sleeve, according to Game Informer. Nintendo is famous for surprising us with things we least expect, and this E3 won’t be the exception. As to what the secret is, I can’t even speculate. The Wii controller was a concept so alien that no one saw it coming. This second secret will undoubtedly be something of the same caliber. But for specifics, we can only wait.

But of course, the big Wii-related news is the absolute plethora of games that have now been announced, not to mention the number of games that are speculated to be in production but not officially announced. During E3, we should expect to see all kinds of details, media, and demos for up and coming Wii games. Here’s just a taste of what we can expect.

The first game to be announced for the Wii was Ubisoft’s Red Steel: A quasi-FPS immersing the player in the steamy underworld of the Japanese Yakuza. The initial information we received on this game made it sound like a next-generation experience par excellance. Not only better graphical quality, but a full utilization of the intuitive features of the Wii’s unique interface. Red Steel will be at E3, and it will likely be in the vanguard of what third parties are offering for the Wii.

However, the biggest games will most likely come from Nintendo itself. As far back as the launch of the Gamecube, there have been promises of Mario 128. The franchise that defines Nintendo has not had a true sequel since the N64 days. (Unless you count Super Mario Sunshine: a great game in its own right, but not a “true” Mario in the eyes of some.) Rumors flew at last year’s E3 about Mario 128 as ready to be shown, but it was scrapped at the last minute. With the unveiling of the Wii set to take place, the only thing that could make it sweeter would be the announcement of a Mario game at launch – a staple of Nintendo’s console history.

There is another great Nintendo franchise that will also most likely be making an appearance for the Wii. Metroid Prime 3, in development at Retro Studios for some time now, will most likely be shown this E3. It stands on the shoulders of the Metroid juggernaut started by legendary designer Gunpei Yokoi, and evolved by the developers at Retro. Some of the first demos of the Wii’s controller showed how Metroid could be played with the new input, and all the impressions from it indicated that it was a thing of beauty.

Nintendo’s other ace in the hole is the sequel to the incredibly addictive fighting game Super Smash Brothers. The Wii version of this franchise has been confirmed to be a launch title with online capability. Given the popularity of the game in its other iterations, the Wii version looks to be an instant hit. The only question mark is the control scheme, but given Nintendo’s emphasis on quality, I expect nothing but good things.

There is also a wealth of other titles announced or suspected for the Wii, but little is known about them as of yet. The Metal Slug Anthology by SNK Playmore is set to deliver classic Metal Slug gameplay while also promising some new features around the Wii remote. Hudson has spoken briefly about a new Flight Game that will be an entirely new experience for players. There are also rumblings about a few potential surprises coming, including a new IP from Kojima Productions, responsible for the Metal Gear Solid series.

The known Wii releases may be few, but the DS has no such shortcoming. Hot on the heels of the recent announcement of the DS Lite’s Western debut comes a bona fide plethora of games for Nintendo’s powerhouse portable. Gone are the days of the glorified tech demos and shovelware that dominated the early days of the console. Now come the games that truly live up to the potential of the DS.

Leading this charge is a familiar face to Nintendo fans. Given our first glimpse at this past Game Developer’s Conference, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass will again be shown at E3. Featuring the same cel-shaded style as Wind Waker and new innovative control schemes based around the touch screen interface, Phantom Hourglass looks to be an entirely fresh take on the Zelda series. More media and info on this title is sure to come out, and is eagerly anticipated.

Also confirmed for this E3 is more information on Square-Enix’ remake of Final Fantasy III. Unlike the previous re-releases of the first, second, and fourth installments in the series for the GBA, Final Fantasy III is a complete departure from the sprite-based graphics that dominated the early franchise. Instead, this game has undergone a complete overhaul to immersive 3D environments and far more elaborate artwork. The early screens were amazing, and more of the same is expected. Rumors of a final release date and price have been swirling, but that may be a bit premature. Regardless, this is one of the top DS games to watch for this E3.

Another great franchise will also show what it has to offer on the DS. Namco’s Tales Studio has been working hard on Tales of the Tempest, the latest installment of the wildly popular RPG series. Namco has promised a new type of battle control scheme that involves controlling characters via the touch screen. Many are also waiting to see what Namco has up its sleeve for its first attempt at Wi-Fi multiplayer.

Arguably one of the best games to come out for the DS last year was Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. The mix of exploration, combat, and fantastic art design made it one of the most well received DS games ever. Konami is seeking to continue this trend with the recently announced Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. It follows the same basic “Metroidvania” gameplay style that made Dawn of Sorrow so popular, but adds a few more twists: two freely interchangeable protagonists, special combination attacks, and a much more expansive environment. But the icing on the cake is the rumored Wi-Fi co-op gameplay, which will add a huge amount of replayability to the game.

Of course, no Nintendo handheld would be complete without the damn-near ubiquitous presence of Pokémon. Pokémon Diamond and Pearl are slated to hit the Japanese market by year’s end. Very little is known about what will be featured in this game. New Pokémon are almost a certainty, as is wireless Pokémon trading and battling. More information may yet surface at E3 for those fans chomping at the bit.

As amazing as all these games are, however, the one game that will have most people talking this E3 is Miyamoto’s New Super Mario Bros. Very little needs to be said about this game. Nintendo has told E3 attendees that this game will in fact be playable, and the lines to do so will likely reach Seattle. Marking a departure from the 3D Mario games that began in the N64 era, NSMB is both a return to the franchise’s roots and an enhancement of the gameplay of those original games. 2D side scrolling adventures will be the order of the day, and no one is more suited to deliver that than Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo. There is no doubt in my mind that this will be the DS game to watch for in the E3 coverage.

This is only a taste of what is to come. More DS games will undeniably be present from all publishers. But there are also hints of unannounced games to come. The latest installment of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, the lawyering game that was a surprise hit on the DS, may show its face. Will Wright may show us how he plans to adapt his technical marvel Spore to the DS. And I’m personally holding out hope for the announcement of Metroid Dread, the quite-possibly-cancelled sequel to the mainline Metroid games.

Every so often, you look at the amount of quality games that are due to come out, with the promise of more details oh so soon. You can feel the excitement as E3 draws ever closer. With all that you can see ahead of you, there’s really only one conclusion to draw.

Now is an amazing time to be a gamer.

See you at E3.

The Burning Crusade

2005-11-01T01:22:00.000-05:00

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

This weekend, Blizzard released new info for the upcoming expansion pack for World of Warcraft. And although it doesn't involve anything around my favorite character (Arthas), there's a lot of amazing stuff coming out that will make the expansion more than worth buying. There's a couple new things here, both from what was announced and from guildmembers at Blizzcon. First things first.

New Horde Race: The Blood Elves.
The Blood Elves on Azeroth are the last remnant of a remnant of the destruction of the elvish race. A short time ago, the Scourge destroyed Quel'thalas, essentially wiping it off the map in one fell swoop. The survivors, led by Prince Kael'Thas, renamed themselves the Blood Elves in memory of their fallen homeland. They were shunned by the Alliance when they came looking for aid for their magic addiction, and many turned to the Night Elf Demon Hunter, Illidan, who led a group to Outland to feed their addiction. A small amount were left behind, unable to follow, and these Blood Elves eventually allied themselves to the Horde, unwilling to join the Alliance that had turned their back on them.

From what I've been seeing, the Blood Elves have 2 racial abilities. They can siphon mana from an enemy, and then use that mana to build up arcane energy for wild magical bursts around themselves, silencing enemies and restoring mana/rage/energy to allies around them. Their starting area is the reconstructed Quel'thalas, north of the Plaguelands.

New Continent: The Outlands
The Outlands is all that remains of the Orc homeworld of Draenor. Reached via the Dark Portal, it was destroyed in a massive explosion at the end of the second war. It became a hiding place for Illidan and his naga and Blood Elves after the attack on the Frozen Throne failed.

The Outlands is Blizzard's attempt to create a series of zones that are an entirely new experience. PvP is enabled in every single zone; it's not for those who fear ganking. There is a new area (Achindoun) that can either be treated as cities or instances depending on your reputation with them. A whole bevy of instances as well.

New Instances:
Karazhan - Medivh's Tower, located in Deadwind Pass. The Last Guardian's stronghold in Azeroth, abandoned since he left the world after the war with the Burning Legion. No one knows what awaits inside.
Zul'Jaman - Generic Troll Raid Dungeon #3. Located in Quel'Thalas.
Tempest Keep - A series of 5-man dungeons followed by a raid dungeon. The stronghold of Kael'Thas, the leader of the Blood Elves sworn to Illidan. Located overlooking the Netherstorm in Outlands.
Lady Vashj's Keep - A clearcut raid boss dungeon, in the manner of Onyxia. Lady Vashj is the Queen of the Naga, and Illidan's right hand in his war against the Legion.
The Black Citadel - THE endgame dungeon par excellance. Extremely difficult, and waiting at the end is none other than Illidan himself, the fallen Night Elf Demon Hunter.
The Caverns of Time - Located in Tanaris, there is a gateway to the events of Azeroth's past that you can participate in firsthand. Nothing concrete, but possible scenarios included the rescue of Warchief Thrall from Durnholde Keep, the creation of the Dark Portal alongside Medivh, and the Battle of Mount Hyjal, where Archimonde was defeated.

Other
There is, of course, a whole lot of other stuff.
Flying mounts (in Outland only).
Raised level cap to 70.
New profession: Jewelcrafting - Affix jewels to socketed items to give them greater powers.
More zones opening up on the mainland of Azeroth.
New quests and lore concerning the destruction of the Orc homeland of Draenor, as well as the fate of the Great Heroes after the sealing of the Dark Portal at the end of the second war. To quote a developer: "They're still alive, and they're kicking ass. "
The end of the saga of Illidan and Malfurion Stormrage.

E3: The X-Box 360

2005-05-19T13:29:00.000-04:00

I realise that in my coverage I inadvertantly shafted Microsoft and the X-Box 360. It was unveiled a week or so ago before E3 proper, in a absolutely atrocious debacle on MTV. However, despite this, the X-Box has had the most interesting facts revealed about it. So without further adieu...

The X-Box 360:
-Is really making the push for more online consoles. Will offer a limited version of X-Box Live with every console for free. Will do everything except play games online, that requires a paid upgrade.
-Live Marketplace allows you to buy little things to upgrade games online. Like custom car paint jobs, or the like.
-Some small games are available for free download.
-X-Box Arena allows for spectators to watch games.
-Voice chat standard
-Meant to be more of a media hub, can play custom soundtracks.
-Compatible with (at least) PSP, and the iPod.
-Backwards compatability, sorta. Only certain games will be able to be played, unsure of the reason why.
-Games to be released:
Dead or Alive 4 - exclusive, launch title. (Looked really damn sweet)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - launch title (Wow, I had no idea this was even close to done.)
Call of Duty 2 - exclusive (looked OK)
Ghost Recon 3 - (looked awesome)
Lotsa EA Sports games - Well, you know what I think about that.
-They also announced a special new developer they had just signed - SQUARE-ENIX. Showed off FFXI, unsure if more is on the way.

And now, the pics:

Initial thoughts:
-Well, they're definitely making the right moves.
-The media-hubness of it sounds very complicated. Let's hope it's streamlined.
- Square-Enix alone will bring in Japanese sales.
- Their stated goal is 1 billion (yes, billion) users. I'll believe that when I see it.
- Needs some better games/exclusives for me to pick this up.

And that's all I have to say about the X-Box 360. Not too excited, but they're really trying hard with a convergence-type device.On to other games and news that I'm hearing about at the conference.

The Games:
Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3)
No major details yet, but oh Lawd, Solid Snake's back, and not Raiden, the much-hated bishounen crybaby from MGS2. The main site has a hilarious trailer (not of gameplay, all shots are rendered there in a PS2), in addition to a shot of the ensemble cast, which includes pretty much everyone from the previous games: Otacon, Ocelot, Meryl, and even Big Boss. And the best news of all, the director of all the previous MGS games, Hideo Kojima, is on hand to do the same again. This looks to be another superlative title.

OK, so there's only one for now. But it's the first day of the conference, have patience.

Random things:
How much will that PS3 run you at launch? $500.
This makes me want to be at E3 more than anyone else in the world.
For some reason, Jack Sparrow will be a character in Kingdom Hearts 2.
Sonic Gems - a compilation of most, if not all of the old Sonic games, is coming out for the Cube.

And finally, as a massive tease for you guys out there who'd like this:

No info on it yet, I'll get it out to yas as soon as I can.

E3: Nintendo and the Revolution

2005-05-18T11:40:00.000-04:00

OK Kids. Nintendo's conference just ended, and here's what I got.

THE REVOLUTION:
- No details on the revolutionary aspect of the controller, it wasn't shown. Confirmed wireless.
- The case design was there, pics below.
- Can play regular DVDs with a small attachment.
- Can play GameCube discs.
- Wi-fi out of the box.
- Known games in development: New Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and Smash Brothers Online (Smash is a LAUNCH TITLE)
- The Revolution will be able to download ALL PREVIOUS GAMES FOR ALL PREVIOUS NINTENDO SYSTEMS. We're talking NES, SNES, N64, and possibly even the Cube.

Pictures of the Revolution (Note, this is a prototype, other colors were shown at the conference):

Surprisingly, Nintendo also rolled out a redesign for the Game Boy Advance. They're calling it the Micro.

GAME BOY MICRO:
- 2/3 the weight of an iPod mini
- Really damn tiny; don't have exacts, but it looked like it could fit in the palm of my hand.
- Can play all GBA games
- Brightly lit screen.

GAMES ANNOUNCED:
GAMECUBE
Battalion Wars
Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix
Donkey Konga 2
Mario Party 7 (supports mic peripheral)
Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness (a full-blown RPG)
Super Mario Strikers (a Mario soccer title)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Formerly listed as The Legend of Zelda)

NINTENDO DS
Advance Wars
Animal Crossing
Mario and Luigi 2
Mario Kart DS (will be ONLINE CAPABLE)
Metroid Dread (a new 2D Metroid title)
Metroid Prime Pinball
Nintendo Tetris
Touch Golf

GAMEBOY ADVANCE
Donkey Kong Country 3
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Mario Tennis Advance

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS

The title's confirmed, and there's a fuckton of new media. Here's a direct link to the new video.

Here's some shots of how the E3 center has been dolled up in anticipation:

Screenshots:

Immediate thoughts:
-The conference was a bit of a downer, but that's to be expected, considering how much last year's rocked.
- Revolution looks SO damn sexy.
- I can play old Nintendo games without having to track them down? Nintendo for the win.
- There's some damn good looking things on the upcoming titles list. Especially that new Metroid.
- Where's Mario 128? And info on the Revolution controller?
- Zelda fucking OWNS MY SOUL.

E3: The PS3

2005-05-16T21:40:00.000-04:00

The PS3 was just revealed, along with a number of games. Here's what I know so far, updates as I get more info:

- Supports up to 7 wireless controllers. Yes, SEVEN. I have no idea how that's even supposed to work with splitscreen.
- 6 USB ports, for peripherals. The EyeToy is getting an upgrade, and there'll be a detachable hard drive.
- 3 Ethernet ports. I'm really stumped as to why there are three. Anyone?
- Backwards compatible with PS2 and PSOne. This is a good thing, backwards compatability is a major factor in what makes a console sell.
- Aiming for a release sometime in 2006. After the Xbox 360, about current with Nintendo's Revolution.
- Full technical specs are here.

- Big games announced for it so far:
Metal Gear Solid 4 - (awesome)
Warhawk - (good obscure title)
Killzone 2 - (Sony's "Halo-killer")
The next Grand Theft Auto - (that alone will get the casual gamers)
And, bishounen lovers, prepare for orgasm. Devil May Cry 4. Screenshot is linked.

And without further adieu, some screenshots of the console itself:

Console:

Controller:

Initial impressions:
- It looks like a George Foreman grill.
- Ooh, slot-loading.
- How in the hell am I supposed to stack that?
- That controller is the most hilarious thing I've EVER seen in my life. I really hope that the console works with the Dualshock.
- I wonder about the apparent wifi capabilities of the PS3. Are they actually doing it? (EDIT: They are, actually. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.)
- The game lineup is quite solid, better than I expected.

That's all for now, I'll be updating this journal as more news comes my way. Microsoft's conference is tonight, but I'm not expecting anything big. Nintendo's at 9 AM tomorrow. I'm going to watch that, blog it, and then spend the rest of the day/night working on my paper until the conference starts proper on Wednesday morning.

Oh, and as a teaser for Nintendo...

City of Heroes

2005-02-21T23:34:00.000-05:00

I consider myself more of a console gamer, but not to the exclusion of the PC sphere. Some of my favorite games are PC exclusives, and the PC is sometimes simply the best medium for a particular genre (FPS, point-and-click adventure).

Over the past few days, I've been trying out City of Heroes on a 14 day free trial that I acquired through a kind soul at the Penny-Arcade forums. I have some experience in MMOGs; I started out in Ultima Online, then moved to Everquest and eventually Final Fantasy XI. I had very brief stints on A Tale in the Desert, Star Wars: Galaxies, and Rubies of Eventide. At this point, City of Heroes seems like it's going to be a decent MMOG to play for a while, but ultimately I think it'll join the ranks of games that I no longer play.

CoH is fun, in a very simplistic way. The most intriguing and time-consuming part of starting a new character is the creation process. There are hundreds if not thousands of potential combinations of origins, archetypes, powers, and costumes. To create my hero, I spent almost an hour tweaking parts of his costume, powers, and the like in order to make him cut an imposing figure. I'm quite happy with the end result, as well. I enjoy watching my character as he moves and reacts in the world.

The majority of the game is hunting down enemies and killing them. There are almost no items that are used in game, and definitely no crafting subspecialties. The only thing that you have an inventory for is to gather Enhancements, which can be used to augment your superpowers, and Inspirations, which can be used anywhere to temporarily make your attacks more accurate, more damaging, prevent you from taking damage, or the like. There are no "rare items" that I've noticed so far, which I approve of.

Everquest and Final Fantasy often fall into the hole of "itemcentric" gameplay, where the object is to get the rarest and best items possible. It's a sort of "munchkin" mentality that a lot of players fall into. What I liked most about Ultima Online, and now City of Heroes, is that a lot of the gameplay revolves around events and the players themselves. It makes one appreciate the game in and of itself, and devalues the emphasis on powerleveling and the like. There are still the kinds of players who take that approach in City of Heroes, but they are less obvious and playercentric characters are allowed more breathing room.

For a clear example of this, ask someone what their best moment was in either Everquest or Ultima Online. By and large, players of EQ will mention working to get a particular item after hours of gameplay. One such example is the high-level artifact armor quest that often took whole guilds to complete (or at least, I believe it was armor, I could be wrong).

For UO, many people will talk about events that happened entirely because of other players. My defining moment in UO was when I was once in the wilderness and stumbled upon a treasure chest. Upon opening it, it exploded, killing me instantly. As I watched, another PC emerged from hiding among the trees and began to loot my corpse. It wasn't a fun experience, but it was precipitated by a player alone, which is what I liked about UO.

City of Heroes doesn't quite have the open-endedness of UO, but neither does it have the munchkin mentality of Everquest or Final Fantasy XI. In and of itself, it's a pretty good game, and definitely worthy of a look if you're into MMOGs or superheroes. I certainly am enjoying it, and expect to for some time.

Resident Evil 4

2005-02-13T00:02:00.000-05:00

One of the more interesting games that was at last year's E3 was the latest installment in Capcom's survival-horror franchise, Resident Evil (or Biohazard, in Japan). There had been little to no buzz about it up until the show, and it was considered for Best in Show among a number of gaming publications.

RE4 was released earlier this year, after the Christmas rush had abated and the big names (Halo 2, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Half-Life 2) had run their course in the market. I picked it up on launch day, and proceeded to play the hell out of it.

I had never been a wholehearted fan of the Resident Evil franchise, having played only RE2 and RE: Code Veronica X to completion. I always found the survival horror genre to rely mostly on cheap "surprise" thrills, such as something coming out of nowhere to attack you, making you jump as they did it so quickly. Adrenaline does not a horror game (or movie) make. I've always thought the better horror was in the atmosphere and creeping sense of unease spaced with adrenaline-laced moments.

Resident Evil 4 does that, and brilliantly. Set in a remote hamlet in Europe (probably in Spain), you play Leon Kennedy, a US agent sent in to rescue the President's daughter Ashley, who has been kidnapped and is being held by a religious cult called the Los Illuminados. Through the entire game, there is a pervasive feeling of decay and disgust that permeates every location that you venture through. The world looks like it is on the edge of dying, existing only in shades of grey and sickly green.

The enemies that you take on also reflect this, perhaps taking on the characteristics of the place in which they dwell. The horror is not that they break out of windows to attack you, but in the action you must take to keep them from harming you. This means that although they appear human, they have been so long in this environment and have become something else. So you must remove them. Graphically, the enemies appear human yet demented and animalistic enough to let you know at a glance that they are no longer human where it counts.

That is the horror of Resident Evil 4, and it is done astoundingly well by the people at Capcom. I admire the fact that they were able to pull it off so brilliantly. They have taken Silent Hill's over-the-top seething evil and put it into a world that looks beautifully realistic. That makes the game feel even more creepy, as it seems closer to our daily experience.

Even better than the world is the ability to linger in it. Capcom added in a number of unlockables that add incredible replayability to the game. "Mercenaries" is a series of 4 locales in the game where the sole objective is to eliminate as many enemies as possible in a given period of time. It is insanely addictive and great fun, albeit a bit frustrating at times. There's also a parallel storyline that is playable after defeating the main one which, although short, is a very nice addition.

The controls are actually less of a hindrance than previous RE titles. Shooting and running are smoother and more responsive. Apparently, someone realized that making a character difficult to move shouldn't be one of the pillars of the survival horror genre. RE4 is seamless in its interaction between the player and Leon.

Needless to say, I enjoyed this game thoroughly. It's definitely in the top 3 games for the Cube, and will be the standard by which I'll be measuring most of the games of 2005.

The DS-PSP wars.

2005-02-08T09:53:00.000-05:00

I try to stay out of the console wars, since they strike me as pointless as compared to the games themselves. Nobody buys a system for the hardware, they buy it so that they can use the games that are out for it or will eventually come out for it.

But that aside, one of the biggest showdowns happening this year is between Nintendo and Sony over the handheld market. Nintendo's near-monopoly of handheld gaming is being put to the test as Sony releases the PlayStation Portable (PSP) to compete. Nintendo also has a new release, the Nintendo Double Screen (DS) , and the buzz surrounding them puts them in competition with each other.

Before I get into that, a brief history. Nintendo has long been the dominant force in handhelds with their Game Boy lineup, originally launched in 1989 with the original, and undergoing revisions with the Game Boy Pocket in 96, the Game Boy Color in 98, and the latest iteration of the Game Boy Advance in 2001. Since the first Game Boy, designed by the legendary Gunpei Yokoi, many different challengers have tried to dethrone the Game Boy franchise but none of them were able to remove it from dominance. Sega's Game Gear (and Nomad), Atari's Lynx, SNK's Neo Geo Pocket Color, and Nokia's N-Gage all were launched into the market but ultimately failed.

The PSP

Fast forward to 2005, and the DS and PSP. The Game Boy Advance has been sitting pretty at the top of the handheld market for 4 years, while in that same period the PSX and PS2 have succeeding in ousting Nintendo from its top place among home consoles. Sony is now unquestionably the leader in home console gaming. As such, they are seeking to extend their interest into the handheld market.

The PSP has yet to be released in North America, though it has already launched in Japan. I do not own one, nor do I plan to do so for a while yet, for several reasons. The first is the lack of launch-available titles or killer apps that would make me want to get the system. The current list doesn't have any must-have titles for me, only a slew of sports games, a few racing games, and a smattering of others.

The second reason the PSP turns me off is because of the many rumored defects with the system hardware itself. A recent interview with Sony president Ken Katuragi confirmed that there is a design flaw that makes one button less sensitive than another due to a misalignment of buttons to sensors. Other scattered problems with the system can be found here, including dead pixels, low battery life, breaking analog nubs, and my favorite: the ejection of the UMD game disc when the console is twisted slightly. There's even a video of it happening in the aforementioned link. To be fair, defects are to be expected in the launch systems of a console, later releases should have less. But the sheer number of them makes me wary.

The final reason I will defer getting a PSP is simple: The PSP is trying to be too many things at once, and as of now, it does not succeed at those. The PSP has movie playback, picture display, video gaming, and MP3 playing ability. However, there are only 2 movies confirmed for the PSP, and no major entertainment companies. Those movies are Spider-Man 2, packaged in with the US release, and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. This lack of titles gives it a distinct disadvantage against portable DVD players, who have a bigger library, and sell for less. As for showing home movies on the PSP, it is possible with the addition of a larger memory card than the 32 MB one included in the PSP bundle. This would also be a near neccessity if you wished to use the PSP as an MP3 player.

All that said, there is something about the PSP that appeals to me. Sony has an uncanny ability to produce a piece of hardware that looks like something I want to have. It is very sexy. And, by pure numbers, it is the most powerful handheld ever created. There is a lot of potential there, waiting to be tapped.

The DS

And now the DS. I own a DS, I got it on launch day. I won't lie, this is the handheld that I had been anticipating for a while. There were two launch titles that I wanted to get (and did): Mario 64 DS and Feel the Magic: XX/XY. Since then, I've played the hell out of them and the system, and here are my impressions.

The DS is definitely not as sexy as the PSP, or even the GBA SP. It definitely could use a different chassis, or at least different color options. It is only available in platinum white, and marks show up on it very easily. Luckily, the clamshell design keeps the worst of the marks from the two screens.

The backlighting is very nice, especially on two screens. The screens are crystal clear. The stereo sound is amazing, suitable for either blasting the music or keeping it comfortably low. The backwards compatability with GBA games is a nice addition, and the games look better on it than they do on the SP. They look slightly letterboxed, but it doesn't detract from them.

There are finally 4 buttons plus D-pad and shoulder buttons, so it allows for direct ports of SNES games. Or, at least, the inclusion of SNES games as unlockables in other games. The downside of the buttons is that it feels a bit off. To press the buttons on the DS, one must use a pinching instead of a pushing motion that feels unnatural at first. You get used to it after a bit, but for a lifelong console gamer, it can be a bit disconcerting. And the touch screen is an interesting feature. The nature of it makes for a reasonable kind of analog control, while opening up other possibilities for gameplay.

The Lowdown

I like the DS better. Period. The PSP has more power, but the DS has more potential due to varying inputs and better developer support. And there are already 2-3 games out that I am interested enough in to get, with another (Wario Ware Touched!) coming out in less than a week. It's just plain fun to play.

I'm unsure of the impact that the PSP will have in the market. It's a bit more expensive than the DS ($250 to $150), so that may be a damper on sales. There's also this percieved notion that Nintendo systems/games are meant for kids, since there is a lack of "Mature" rated titles on them. Some may buy the PSP because they see it as a more mature system.

There's also the issue that Nintendo and Sony are claiming that the two systems are not in direct competition with each other. Sony is touting the PSP as a multifunction gadget geared towards older gamers with more disposable income, while the DS is marketed as something for younger and niche gamers. However, I think this is more like niceties declared for PR reasons. I don't think that Nintendo is taking this challenge lightly. They've learned their lesson from the Playstation, inasmuch that if anyone can mount a serious challenge to their handheld dominance, it will be Sony.

Preliminary sales records show that the PSP and DS are more or less neck-and-neck in Japan this year with regard to total sales. The DS outsold the PSP in 2004, but that's mainly a result of the DS having an earlier release date. It's still too early to predict what will happen in this market. I think we'll have a better idea in 6-12 months.

It begins.

2005-02-05T21:30:00.000-05:00

Hello, and welcome!

This is my new project, a blog dedicated to my experiences in video gaming. This is meant to be a repository for my impressions and reviews of various games. They are not meant to be definitive, however. They are merely one gamer's take on the incredibly large phenomenon of electronic entertainment. Whereas IGN and Gamespy attempt to give you a concise buying guide for games, breaking them down into categories such as graphics, sound, and music, I intend to focus more on the games in and of themselves, as well as deal with news about gaming companies and their approaches to gaming.

Gaming is a very subjective thing. The "console wars" are one example of this. As such, I'm not one to claim that my take on a game may be yours, I can only describe it to you and let you draw from my experience.

As for my background, I am (as of this post) a 23 year old male gamer who has grown up with various consoles and PC games over the years. I've never given any exclusive loyalty to any game company, but I do have my biases. I try not to get involved in that business.

There are a few features on this blog that I will implement once I figure out how to do so. A list of off-site links for places where I get my gaming news and entertainment is first. The second is a FAQ about me, my gaming tastes, and the blog. I will also be creating a seperate e-mail account for mail from this blog alone. I will also attempt to create a searchable database of my posts, and possibly a seperate archive for game reviews along the way.