Note: I previously published this on GamePro.com, so some of the content may involve that site, and some of the old links may not work anymore.
Retro doesn't suck! You suck!
Do you guys ever wonder if you're the only one who loves classic games. Perhaps I've got an extreme case of obsession, but it seems like gaming has passed me by. I find myself being more interested in the events of gaming's past than what's going on around me now. I find myself reading 10+ year old magazines a whole lot more than I do any new magazines. I only just skim my new mags, and toss them aside. It's nothing against the editors who are hard working individuals, but I just can't force myself to care about 99% of the games in the mag, and I for damn sure don't care to read five pages of info on one game.
Have you ever picked up an old magazine, and wondered "In the billions of people on this planet am I the only one holding this particular magazine in my hands at this exact moment in time?" Then begs the question, "Am I the only one who cares enough about old games to be bothering with an old magazine to begin with?" Sometimes I wonder if my quest for video game knowledge isn't an obsession that I alone share. I mean, does anyone care what happened in gaming's past? I mean is gaming's past even relevant anymore? Perhaps I'm just weird, but if I've got an interest in a subject, I like to know as much about it as possible.
I just find the industry of yesteryear to be so much more exciting than the industry of today. perhaps it's because I was younger, and everything seemed wondrous to me, or perhaps the industry really has become less fun. It's all gotten so serious. It just feels like game developers, game journalists, and even gamers themselves have forgotten how to not only laugh, but dream. I look at where gaming is today, and for the consoles it seems to me to be stuck. Every game has to try and be this huge blockbuster, or it'll automatically be a miserable failure. It seems like the only place where developers will even try something new is either in downloadable games (I hate DLC, because I'm a materialist, and like to have the game in my hand instead of trusting a harddrive), or the handhelds. There may also be a little bit going on the consoles, but not so much from third party developers. Most third party developers are deciding to stick to the many Halo rip off FPSers, or other big blockbuster wannabe type games. It's almost like the industry has stated to hype itself into oblivion. In an industry where only the loudest most overhyped games sell, it's no wonder to me why developers are dropping like flies. It's also no wonder why we're seeing a bunch of Hanna Montanna type crap being shoveled in our faces.
Back even just a few years ago the industry was a conpletely different place let alone a decade or more ago. Sure, there were always overhyped and overrated games, but there were also a whole lot more innovative ones as well. Developers weren't so scared to take chances back in the day. It set a tone of you never knew what they'd think of next. It could be a flat dog rappin away and saying "You gotta believe," an action adventure side scroller that lets you build and maintain towns in a sim city type fashion, or even a taxi driver who goes crazy taking customers from one destination to another while zig zagging through traffic and hitting some insane jump, but developers just had better ways to keep us on our toes and making us wonder what they'll think of next. It's wasn't like today where I see a game and just say "Oh. Another one?" Gaming's past was really a more interesting time.
That's why it bugs me when the Halo generation just automatically assumes that retro games are crap, and not worth mentioning. A lot of it has to do with graphics, but I ask you graphics whores out there, does the original Star Wars Trilogy suck when compared to the new trilogy because it's effects are outdated when compared to the flashier computer effects of today? Hell no, and there aren't many people alive that would say so. Substance comes before flash, and in gaming that substance is the gameplay. Good graphics are temporary, but great gameplay transcends time. That's why I still adore old games, because while a number are dated by today's standards, there are still many true classics that have stood the test of time due to their gameplay.
If anything, the industry of today is turning to crap. Due to the rising cost of development, and the incredible hype needed to have a successful game, the industry is slowly growing more and more stale every day. That's why someone like me who still craves the variety, and the bigger emphasis on gameplay over flash has to play retro games, because the keep you on your toes industry of yesterday has eroded into an un-innovating overhyped shell of it's former self. I fear for gaming's future where only the huge developers like EA will be able to afford to make games, and we all know that's bad news for gaming. I fear that the days of games like Jet Grind Radio, Deus Ex, or Panzer Dragoon are now behind gaming, and now developers won't take a chance on innovation. And a video game industry without innovation is one that I don't want to participate in, and I'm sure any like minded gamer will agree.
================================================
================================================
Rez's Metal Gear Solid 4 predictions.
(by Rez)
1. Vamp is mortal......to a certain extent. Reason I say so is because Vamp, much like Jason Voorhees drops after taking a serious punch. Sure, he rises back up, but any time Vamp has allegedly survived, there has been a source of water, even if incredibly scarce. In Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty/Substance, Vamp is first killed by Raiden. When a single tear falls from Fortune's cheek, he is revived. The second time Vamp is "killed" was in the official fight with him in the room containing the highly oxygenated water. When he "dies", he certainly falls in and is not to be seen again until he holds Emma Emmerich hostage, again around a supply of water.
2. The young Snake in the trailer is a Snake created from Solid Snake's Genes, and will kill him. If Solid Snake isn't the spitting image of Big Boss by now, then I don't think Solid can be considered a son of Big Boss. In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater/Subsistence, The Sorrow foretold to Naked Snake (while having a dream in the river) that his son would kill him. And his son's son would kill him, etc. The Sorrow has been right in saying that Big Boss would be killed by his son, Solid Snake. What this potentially means now is that Liquid will fail in killing Solid Snake, but Snake will ultimately be killed via patricide.
3. The Boss will make a return. As odd as this sounds, this is Metal Gear Solid we're talking about. As such, Metal Gear Solid is a very twisted and over-the-top series, but in a good way. Naturally, some would call the Boss "one of the Patriots", and that they're hundreds of years old. Thinking back on the ending phone call between Ocelot and the Americans (MGS3: SE/S), he "acquired" enough money to revive the Philosophers, who were renamed the Patriots. While the Boss isn't hundreds of years old, there is definitely room for that. Thinking about it now, The Boss may be revived as well as Big Boss. Either way, it was apparent that someone was pulling the strings during the events of Metal Gear Solid 2. We won't know for sure now, I suppose.
4. Grey Fox is Alive. Or at least......he could be revived. If Liquid Ocelot truly intends to build a nation for Soldier's, he'll revive the greatest and put them on his side. It's obvious that Liquid himself does not like the Patriots because in the ending for Metal Gear Solid 2, he says "I'm off to bury the patriots for good!" which contradicts Ocelot's original plan to revive them. If Liquid is in control, then it's almost a given that Grey Fox will make another appearance. He, as well as possible Gene (Portable Ops) may make a return. Besides, Kojima stated every character will make an appearance one way or another, alive or dead (Or he at least said he'd try to).
5. Ocelot is schizophrenic. As strange as Metal Gear Solid gets at times, I highly doubt that he's honestly been possessed by an arm. If he has, then everything I've mentioned about Liquid Ocelot previously makes sense. If not, then more things need to be explored. Ocelot himself has been known to be quite a trickster, and it wouldn't surprise me to know that Ocelot is only doing this so things fall into his favor. What exactly he has planned, haven't the slightest clue. I can't make guesses about everything before the game's release, now can I?
6. Raiden will not make it to the end of Metal Gear Solid 4. Now why's that? Well, the first thing he has going against him is that the Ninja never survives in Metal Gear Solid. Second, perhap's it's just me, but Raiden appeared to be sick to a certain extent in the trailers. We witness Snake at a graveyard, saluting a tombstone, and Raiden's blood is now white. What do I make of it? Not exactly certain, but I don't think Raiden is going to live.
7. Otacon will die. You'll need an explanation on how a pacifistic scientist will die in the heat of battle, right? Well, it's just that I hung on Otacon's statement in Metal Gear Solid 2 when he says "he's always the survivor." I can understand that he doesn't want to alone, and he's lost too much. First he lost Sniper Wolf, who had a slight grudge against him for trying to talk her out of killing Snake. In the end, she died with a bad taste of Otacon in her mouth. As for Otacon's sister Emma, she died practically resenting her brother, or so she lead him to believe. She left him with a bad taste in her mouth as well, even if it was resolved in the end. The majority of the time they spent together could have been better. So what does this mean for Metal Gear Solid 4? Personally, I predict that there will be a twist this time around. Instead of Hal surviving, Snake will have a slight grudge against Otacon for (insert whatever reason here) and rather than watch Snake die, he jumps in and does something irrational. It'll be sad to see, but I think it'll happen one way or another.
Finally, the BIGGEST METAL GEAR PREDICTION YET!!!!!!!!
8. Rez will not be in the game. I've confirmed this from Kojima himself.
================================================
================================================
Ten things that are making gaming suck.
(by teh2Dgamer)
Biased reviewing- I'm not talking about reviewing a game higher because it's on one system or another, I'm talking about crucifying one game for certain issues while overlooking the same issues in anther game. A good example (and one that I use often) is how the Tomb Raider series got reamed over it's control scheme, and putting out five games that played the same while the Resident Evil series always got a pass even though it had similar crappy controls, and put out far more similar games, yet was praised every time. It seems like there's certain biases in reviewers that make them overlook the issues of one game while destroying another game that has the same issues. Either dock them both points for it, or overlook the issues in both, but this pick and choose crap has got to go. I'm saying this because sometimes review scores do effect the sales of a game. What chance does an otherwise fun game have if it gets murdered by the gaming press for certain issues that were overlooked in a similar game of picking up sales from those publication's/site's readers?
Gaming as Art Focus- It seems like developers lately have been focusing more on trying to turn their games into an experience that makes the player have an emotional response, and bla bla bla. Developers have lost sight of the only art that matters in crafting a game, and that's the art of creating fun/engrossing gameplay. The only emotion I want to feel is the joy of playing a great game. Most developers apparently have neither the talent nor the imagination to keep player engrossed on the gameplay alone, so they instead focus more on the artsy fartsy crap, and forget about truly creating a great game. Look at all those crappy artistic movies that I hate so much. They usually suck ass, but in an artistic way. Face it, art without substance is worthless. I don't care if they put all that artsy stuff in the game, but only after they make sure the core gameplay is already great. To me it's just a sign that developers have forgotten what's truly important in making a game, and that's the gameplay.
Forced Training modes- Why is it that we have taken a step back for gaming, and instead of allowing me to access the training mode option on the title screen, every game now forces it upon you. Look, I know how to press buttons, and the games of today are so similar that chances are I've played it before, and can figure it out on my own. Why must every game treat me like I'm a dumbass who's never touched a game before in his life?
Online Gamers- I enjoy a good online game just as much as the next guy, but lately, my fellow gamers have been ruining my online gaming with the way they play. I wrote about this in a previous issue, but it seems to me that most online gamers have no honor. When I play there are certain depths I refuse to sink to in order to win, because I have enough respect for my fellow gamers to not try and ruin their online experience by playing like a little b****. It seems that I'm in the minority now. Online gamers put so much of their self-worth on where or not they come in first on a damn video game that they'll go to often times surprising depths in order to pick up a win. Developers too need to wake up too. Instead of just rewarding people for the win, they should start rewording players for playing an honorable way like by not giving points for using grenade launchers, but giving more points for using your regular gun for kills, and giving even more for handgun and knife kills. Small additions like that will actually effect the way people choose to play, and will cut off a lot of the cheapness in online gamers.
Fanboyism- Fanboys have always been a huge stain upon gaming, but lately the forums are really being flooded with lame ass flame topics. I know this isn't directly gaming related, but part of loving games is enjoying discussing them with my fellow gamers who also have a passion for gaming. Fanboys are not only destroying the forums for members like me, but they also bring shame to the console they support so blindly. They think all the ignorant stuff they say is helping their system in the fight against the competition, but in truth all they're doing is turning other gamers off from that platform. They might otherwise have nothing against that platform, but one really annoying fanboy can make them change their mind about a platform. In fact it can make them dislike the system because when they think of it, they think of the fanboy who loves it and defends it like it's his mommy.
Mainstream/casual gamers- We've all heard stories of the grannies, kids, and soccer moms that love to play the wii, and how the casual games market is destroying the market, but mainstream gamers themselves are indeed casual gamers as well. This goes in to the phrase I coined of the Halo generation. If you only play the mainstream overhyped games, and won't touch a quirky game if someone put a gun to your head, then you're just as bad as the grannies who just play bowling on the wii. Look at it this way, you wouldn't call someone who just watches the overhyped mainstream movies a hardcore movie buff would you? So why is it supposedly different with gaming? You can call yourself a core gamer, but don't you dare think you're hardcore. If you buy into the hype, and are obsessed with graphics, and won't bother doing more than scratching the surface of gaming, then you're not a hardcore fan of gaming. You're just a mainstream gamer who's trying to label themselves as hardcore for status reasons, and you have no clue what it means to be hardcore.
Death of Japanese Games- This is a subject that I see a lot of ignorance in the site over. Not to stir the fanboy issue, but I see it more from MS fanboys who are probably just pissed off that the Japanese have no interest in the Xbox 360, but the failure of Japanese games to sell in America isn't a good thing. I've heard the ignorant argument that all the Japanese games have metrosexual/gay male protagonists with blue spiky hair, and people also seem to think RPGs are the only contribution that Japan has given to gaming which is dead wrong. Look, gaming needs Japanese games just as much as it needs western games, because not only does it provide a greater variety which can only be good for gaming, it also helps in the innovation department too. In fact it's a healthy relationship to have Japanese and western games feed off of each other, because sometimes you need more than one insight. I could go further into the Japanese gaming debate, but I'll stop here. I will say that as a gamer who craves variety in his gaming choices, playing just western style games doesn't do it for me. I need a mix of both Japanese and western games to stay happy. For every Halo I play, I need a Panzer dragoon, or some other purely Japanese style game that gets away from convention and gives me something fresh.
Lack of Innovation- There's an old quote from I believe Jason Rubin (of Naughty Dog fame) that went something like "If you can't do something new, or do it better then don't do it at all." I truly wish that more developers would live by that motto. It seems like many of the developers of today are perfectly happy with mediocrity as their standard. Just one look at all the shovelware on the gaming shelves in stores nowadays is proof positive that a majority of developers are perfectly happy with releasing truly mediocre games. I'm not saying you have to revolutionize every time you make a game. I realize that not everyone is going to be able to pull a Jet Grind Radio out of their ass each time, but even small refinements in an already established genre can go a far way in keeping gaming fresh. There's no excuse for developers to be releasing games that everyone from the game's lead designer to the guy who sweeps the floors in the building knows is purely mediocre in scope. No excuse whatsoever.
Hype- Like I've said before, developers are going to hype themselves into oblivion. The hype of a few games is year after year drowning out any other attention that other just as worthy games receive. Not only now do developers have to spend countless millions to develop a game, they've got to spend millions more hyping it like it's the second coming. As you can imagine, this means that smaller developers (and even a few bigger developers) won't be able to get their games noticed underneath the crushing weight caused by the hype of those few games. Smaller developers are already starting to drop like flies, and as the hype machines continue, it's going to eventually kill every non uber sized developer out there. It might be a nightmare for some of you to imagine an EA dominated gaming industry, but it could very well be a possibility in the future if we gamers don't stop buying into the blind hype. Remember, crawl under the smoke, and there you might find something truly great. If there is a lesser know game that's just as worthy of being mentioned as the big games, then let your voice be heard by word of mouth, internet forums, and even writing in to the gaming mags. Hype is destroying gaming, and as such, you should do your best to see through it. Gaming mags can do their part too by spotlighting some underrated games too, but I do realize that they're running a business, and have to flow with the current gaming trends. Putting Gears of War on the cover sells more mags than putting We love Katamari does, so I can understand their predicament when it comes to hype.
Scripting- I already wrote a big article about the scripting issues in games in a previous issue of 2.5D. Developers need to wake up and realize that we don't buy games to watch them. With such a heavy focus on scripting nowadays, it's to the point where it feels like we're heading back to the days of the Sega CD FMV games where developers are so focused on jerking themselves off because they created a "cool" Hollywood type scene that allows players to watch it and press buttons on occasion. Scripted sequences take the control out of the players hands, and are essentially like watching the game play itself, and you're just along for the ride. It's not good game design. It doesn't bring me further into "the gameplay experience", it just annoys me, and makes me want to stab the developers with the game disk for being so stupid as to think it was a good idea to include such sequences in the first place. A little scripting is ok, but most games are so overly scripted that it's just not fun for a person like me to play.
================================================
================================================
Reviews
================================================
WCW Nitro
(System: PS1 | Developed by: Inland Productions | Published by: THQ | Review by: teh2Dgamer)
I actually didn't watch wrestling until '99, so I only really caught the end of the now infamous Monday Night Wars. That however didn't stop me from picking up and playing wrestling video games of that era.
WCW Nitro has the distinction of being the first 3D wrestling game I ever played, and even then I knew it was sucky. What makes WCW Nitro so bad you may ask? Where should I start?
Perhaps it's the lack of modes. Featuring a 1P tournament mode where you fight one wrestler after another until you finally get the belt, 1P/2P vs exibition, and 1P/2P vs tag team exibition, WCW Nitro is thin on the modes. This might be excusable due to Nitro's age, but the problems in the gameplay are not.
The game's core gameplay comes down to just pummulling your opponent's with every move you can until their life bar drains enough for you to pin them.This wouldn't be a problem is the game had a fun play system, and competent controls.
The controls are Nitro's most notable gameplay flaw. The developers saw fit to make them overly complicated, and finger straining. Forcing you to put in a bunch of complicated button combinations to pull off even the simplest moves, Nitro's controls are unnecessarily complicated. The same criticisms have been levied at WWF Warzone and Attitude, but atleast in those two respective games, you character would at least make a motion telling you that you even put the combination in right. In Nitro it feels like random guess work whether or not you're character will do the grapple move. Your character just stands there regardless of what button combination you put in. This makes it impossible to gauge an effective range of your attacks. Your only tell tail that you put in the right combination is when your character pulls off the move assuming you're standing close enough to your opponent to pull off the move in the first place. The striking moves in the game don't fair any better.
In Nitro, your character has punch, kick, and chop as their striking moves, but it doesn't matter, because all the computer controlled opponents do is dodge backwards. In fact, the only time you'll be able to connect with your poorly animated repertoire of striking moves is when you back an opponent into the corner of ring. I realize that they're really pulling punches in the ring in real life, but that doesn't mean the developers need to imitate it with the striking moves in the game. The animation in Nitro is so poor that even when your opponent isn't backing up like a little scared little schoolgirl, you still have almost get face to face with them in order to connect with your strikes.
Not only is the game badly animated, it's framerate dips quite noticeably at times. Especially when there's more than two wrestlers in the ring. This might not seem like a big deal, but there are run-ins in almost every match which bog the game down, and make it even harder to time your already hard to time moves. There's nothing like jamming down on the controller only to watch your character do nothing while getting his ass handed to him in slow-mo. It makes for a not so good time.
Perhaps the most unforgivable aspect of WCW Nitro is that it hit the PS1 after WCW vs the World which despite being worlds more playable, was also the prequel to Asmik's stellar N64 wrestling efforts, and though being surpassed by it's sequels, is still the best, and most playable WCW game on the PS1. I'll still never know why THQ decided to release dreck like WCW Nitro, when they could have given PS1 fans WCW games of the same quality as WCW vs NWO World Tour, and WCW/Nwo Revenge.
Bottom Line: This game is only worth it to watch the FMV sequences, and even then you could just hunt down an old WCW pay per view instead. Other than the videos, WCW Nitro is almost the worse wrestling game on the PS1 (WWF In Your House has the crown of being the crappiest wrestling game on Sony's grey box), and quite frankly, despite selling millions of copies on name alone, was a huge mistake on THQ's part. They should have given PS1 gamers the Asmik wrestling games over this game. Instead, WCW fans looking for a great wrestling game to play, and reminisce about their past need to get themselves an N64 for Revenge.
================================================
Viking: Battle for Asgard
(System: Xbox 360 | Developed by: Creative Assembly | Published by: Sega | Review by: billyb77)
Viking is kind of a game that if you don't spend much time with it you'll hate it. You really have to get to the second map to appreciate the gameplay. If anyone played Double Dragon on the NES or River City Ransom you'll remember having to earn or buy your new moves and Viking takes that concept with arenas you use to buy better fighting moves. It's like Golden Axe 3-D with minor RPG elements. I enjoyed the game but after beating it, I don't see a reason to return for another go at it so the replay value is low for me. One question that bugs me though, Why does water kill me? Vikings don't swim I guess.
The graphics are great and the maps are large to navigate through without loading screens which is really nice. The enemies and your army of Vikings are very limited so you'll see a ton of the same characters over and over but the graphic fatalities add a little to make it okay.
The thick and juicy sound track rocks. It's a lot like the Lord of the Rings type stuff and the swords and axes meeting bone sound great. I also recommend Manowar for custom soundtracks. They sing about Conan and Vikings most of the time anyway if you need metal with your combat.
Overall it was fun but I can't really see spending 60 bucks on it. It could have been a little more fun with Online Multiplayer...like Golden Axe on XBLA. Oh well. I still love the Viking mythology and will enjoy the weekend or so you spend with it.
User Score: 3.75 out of 5.00
================================================
Soldier of Fortune: Payback
(System: Xbox 360 | Developed by: Cauldron | Published by: Activision | Review by: teh2Dgamer)
Slaughtered by the gaming media, and the Call of Duty drones out there, Soldier of Fortune: Payback Is obviously a crappy game. Right? Well, actually, I found the game to be quite enjoyable. That's right, I enjoyed a game that has a Gamerankings.com average of 51%. Now if you're a Call of Duty 4 drone that thinks every FPS should be COD4, and that there's no room in the FPS for any other style of game besides COD4, then stop reading, and go on about your life. This game isn't for you. However, if you're a more open minded gamer who can enjoy more arcadey style FPSer, then SOFP might be up your alley.
I went into this game knowing full well what the ratings were, but being so tired of the scripted crap that's in every other shooter this generation, I was looking for a simple shooter. One that's more oldschool and arcadey in nature. SoFP delivered exactly what I was looking for. SOFP might borrow a few things from COD4, but it's gameplay is meant to be more arcadey.
In SOFP you play as Thomas Mason freelance mercenary who is drawn into an extremist plot after a routine escort mission goes bad. SOFP is not much for storyline, epic battle sequences, or realism. It's all about the action, and on that front it delivers in droves. The game feels more like a throw back to games like Goldeneye than it does a COD4 wannabe. It's straight up action over strategy gameplay will appeal to those who are tired of the current trend of monotonous scripting in first person shooters.
Unlike many recent shooters who's emphasis is on trying to create intensity by duck and cover tactics and scripted battle scenes, SOFP is all about the oldschool run and gun. Levels are pretty straightforward, and you're driven forward by continually getting mid level objective updates that tell you where to go next, and the assortment of customizable weapons is pretty good as well. One complaint I've heard waged against the game is that it's not realistic because the guns don't have any recoil (they do if you go fully auto, but otherwise they don't kick). Once again, it's not a big deal when you consider the game's arcadey nature, and if you really wanna wager complains about gun realism, then no game measures up because none of them are truly realistic. It's just another case of geeky gamers not knowing what they're talking about.
The game's enemy A.I. is not be the smartest, but there's are tons of them, and what they lack in intelligence them make up for in numbers. Enemies will often times rush you and try to butt-stroke you, or run out in the open to shoot at you than use any sort of duck and cover tactics. Once again, this might not be the smartest or the hardest A.I. (though it does have it's moments) you'll ever see, but it helps give the game that arcadey run and gun feel over a game who's enemies just hide and still psychically shoot you from cover, and the game even has boss fights in true arcade fashion. The enemies also often times pop in behind you to get some cheap hits, but that's honestly not a big complaint since most FPSers have pop in enemies in their scripted scenes too. Another thing that adds to the arcadey feel of the game is the excessive amounts of gore. The Soldier of Fortune series has always been know for it's exploding body parts. Heads and limbs fly in a now infamous Rambo .50 Cal scene fashion. It's excessive, comical, and a series trademark.
The games controls take a little getting used to at first. The vertical aiming is way to slow even on the highest sensitivity, and there is no customizability in the controls either. You can only chose between presets, but even then you'll get the hang of them in no time. It even takes the sprint and knife controls from COD4. Graphically, the game runs smooth for the most part. You'll notice a few points where the frame rate dips, but nothing too extreme as to effect the gameplay. The sound effects are good, but the music isn't particular memorable. The online play, though bare bones on features, is nonetheless fun, but there aren't a lot of people playing due to the game's bad rep. That's a shame, because the two games I played online I found to be enjoyable. I guess games just want powerups, air strikes, and helicopters now, and could care less about any game that doesn't have that cheap stuff in it.
Bottom line: This game got unfairly destroyed by the gaming media for no real good reason except it wasn't COD4. This isn't for the COD4 or the "I need a storyline" crowd, but if you're just looking for an oldschool style arcade run-and gun-shooter, then Soldier of Fortune Payback might be worth a look. It won't blow your mind, but it's kickback to the less scripted objective based FPS games of the past. If you're an open minded gamer who's scripted-out from other shooters, than SOFP might appeal to you. At least try renting it first to see if you like it.
Of course, I could just be crazy.
================================================
X2: Wolverines Revenge
(System: Gamecube | Developed by: GenePool Software | Published by: Activision | Review by: James_Earl_Cash)
Being a kid of the NES generation, I should be used to difficult games, so being a game made for teens, Wolverine's Revenge shouldn't be that tough, right? No, this game had a lot of things that sucked the joy out of gameplay.
I have been a big fan of the x-men and in particularly Wolverine. Something about being indestructible appeals to me. Unfortunately, with this game, the game's protagonist died just a little bit. It is not a totally rancid game, don't get me wrong, it has it's high points, but they are very well hidden within it's many low points.
I will give my PROs and CONs first and then a bit of some personal experience for me with the game.
PROs: To begin with, you get a level tutorial that takes you through the basic gameplay. The basic object of the game is for you to guide Wolverine through the game on his quest to learn more about his past. Along the way, you are to have him sneak through enemy territory using stealth and your senses; hopefully to get the drop on the many soldiers and guards on the lookout for Wolverine. For every Stealth kill you make, you receive a dogtag based on your performance. In certain hand to hand fights you are able to perform finishing moves. And in some parts of the game you can find various unlockables such as comic book covers, concept artwork and costumes. Sadly, this about all that I can say was good or fun about the game.
CONs: The creators of this game threw in something into the game that was supposed to be part of the game's challenge. Wolverine has some chemical imbalance that he has to find a cure for before time runs out. But instead, you feel no effects of his sickness whatsoever in the entire game until the final level, but even that does not effect the game play, except for the fact that he is not able to regenerate his health. Even in the majority of the game, his regenerative powers are there, but at a slower rate. There are no moments of over-exertion for added effect, you just get a reminder during the beginning of each new chapter that you have X amount of time left.
Movement in the game is buggy at the wrong times, fighting is limited to one button. The camera is lacking at crucial points. The afore-mentioned finishing moves are preset to one of four button sequences: x, xy, xyx, or xyxy. You can regenerate your health with canisters by running over them, but you cannot collect them for later use, which would have been ideal and would have made this game play smoother. If you die somewhere, you'll have to repeat the entire level, and recollect all the items and dogtags you had collected before you died in that level. In some places of the game, you will find energy canisters when you have fought no enemies and your energy is up, and in other levels you'll find baddies o' plenty and no ECs to be found. Try as you might, killing the bad guys using stealth is fun, but it would have been even more fun to have had the ability to walk up behind them and also perform a stealth kill, isn't that the true meaning of a stealth kill? Not hiding around the corner and waiting for them to amble by. The stupid AIs had more than a few of the soldiers getting killed by their own set traps.
What really got my goat on this game were the boss fights. First you had to beat your opponent down by some means, sometimes calling for you to interact with the environments. Oftentimes, I found even the simplest of these to be quite a feat. Once you got the boss beat down to a certain amount of energy, you had to perform one final blow by getting close to him/her and pushing the "X" when prompted. Execution of this final task, as with the various finishing moves, didn't always go accordingly, because you had to be exact with the button pushing.
Other things that I found wrong with this game was that there were these laser cannons that drained Wolverine's life within a couple of seconds, and no real way of destroying these cannons. Your only hope was to be quick enough to get to a safe place and find something to raise your energy levels, which were sometimes right in the path of said LCs. In the later part of the game, places for stealth attacks were harder to find, therefore you were forced to fight hand to hand with soldiers armed with laser guns. A few Mission Objectives were totally fubar; for example, you might have had to destroy a generator to stop Magneto him from getting more power, but by doing this, you ended up killing yourself. I find that the character design was just plain ugly and had very little resemblance to what they looked like in the comics. Finally, the last three chapters of the game were so horrendous, in my opinion, it seemed to me that the game's developers rushed these last parts to meet the deadline to coincide with the theatrical release of the movie for which this game is based upon.
Personal Experience: I really wanted to like this game, and at times I really did. But there were many moments where I cursed the gods for allowing the creators for being born. Being the person I am, I wanted to see the game to the end. The game's ending was confusing; it showed Apocalypse talking with Mr. Sinister and gave a feeling that this wasn't over for Wolverine. I am ashamed to say this, but with the many frustrating points in the game, I found myself using the "Invincible" cheat towards the end to finish this game, but even still was it an impossible challenge to complete. No satisfaction there.
================================================
Jet Set Radio Future
(System: Xbox | Developed by: Smilebit | Published by: Sega | Review by: teh2Dgamer)
Some strange happenings have been going on in Tokyo as of late. A shady organization known as the Rokkaku Group headed by Rokkaku Gouji is spreading it's influence all across the city. They own the police department, and have been getting their laws passed throughout the city. It's even suspected that they have their eyes set on city hall. It's time for you to join a local street gang, don a pair of rocket skates, and rebel against the man via using spray paint to tag your symbols throughout the city.
JSRF is a truly unique game that really has no comparable game aside from the original Jet Grind Radio on the Dreamcast. I guess it'd be kinda like a Tony Hawk adventure game that instead of an emphasis on doing tricks, the emphasis is on using your skills to search out and tag the various graffiti markers placed throughout each expansive city with spray paint cans you also collect throughout the city area while occasionally taking on rival street gangs (who themselves are about as hardcore as the gangs in West Side Story) for their turf. Your rocket skates let you grind rails for a relatively long time, and the game in general has a huge emphasis on grinding rails.
It's suffice to say that JSRF is a very unique game. It's pure Japanese quirk, but beyond the quirk packs a huge addictive gameplay punch that will keep you addicted for a long time. Another thing that makes it unique is it's cell shaded visuals. Though the cell shaded craze has come and gone, it was the original Jet Grind/Set Radio that started the craze, and JSRF carries on the tradition nicely. Due to the greater processing power of the Xbox, the city areas are now much larger, and much more populated than it's DC predecessor. The game also ads a few new abilities, like the ability to grind straight up poles, and also brings back the graffiti editor where gamers can use their creative sides to create their own custom tags for use in the game.
If I had any complaints about the game it's that they changed the graffiti system from the original. Now instead of completing the larger graffiti via using different motions on the analog stick, it's all now simply a one button affair. I guess it makes it easier, but I enjoyed the original's better. Also, the controls are a little more sensitive than the DC version making precision movement a little harder that it was in the first one. I also enjoyed the music in the original better, and it's not always clear where to go next which can sometimes lead to aimless wandering.
Despite these small complaints, JSRF still manages to be one of the best games on the original Xbox for those looking for a fresh experience.
Bottom Line: Though it pales a little in comparison to the original, Jet Set Radio Future is still an awesome game. If you're tired of conventional games, and are looking for one of the most unique gaming experiences ever created, then set your sights on Jet Set Radio Future.
Note: The Jet Set Radio Future/ Sega GT double pack that came packaged in with countless original Xbox consoles is not 360 compatible, so if you buy that version, then you'll need an original Xbox in order to play it. If you buy the game buy itself though I do believe that's backwards compatible.
================================================
================================================
My Gaming Life
(by teh2Dgamer)
Lately, I decided to revisit Deus Ex: The Invisible War on the Xbox. This game was one of my reasons for buying an Xbox, and was the game I bought with the system. Of course, that very day I went and also picked up Panzer Dragoon Orta as well. Deus Ex: IW isn't backwards compatible with the 360, which is BS IMO. Actually I saw the game at a local Gamestop for a mere $2.99 which is a steal for anyone interested. Speaking of Gamestop, I have five of them in a seven mile radius of my house. In fact there are two right across the street from each other. I guess that's what's bound to happen when you buy out your competition and turn all their stores into a Gamestop. I prefer Gamecrazy more anyways even though they recently dropped all their retro games as well. Gamecrazy used to be the place to go for retro games. They used to have a three for $10 sale where it didn't matter if you chose three $20 retro games, they'd still just cost you $10. Those days are forever gone now.
I picked up The Art of Fighting Anthology, and The King of Fighters XI the other day. The Art of Fighting 3 is definitely the shining star of that compilation, and The King of Fighters XI is the smoothest controlling 2D fighter I've played. I'm not sure if the game helps you with the control, or if they just optimized if perfectly for the PS2 controller, but the game is incredibly smooth.
My friends picked up GTA4 so I've been over at their houses playing it too. I wasn't that impressed with the game. I guess it's because I'm GTA'd out from playing the previous versions, but GTA4 plays just like the others with worse driving controls. It's not that I hated the game or anything. It was still just as fun as the other GTAs, but not worth the huge massive hype it got. The online mode seems pretty fun though.
I also recently booted up some Quake II online action. I as expected got destroyed by gamers who have probably been playing it for 11 years, but I still had a blast playing. I think the best I did was 13 kills in the time it took the lead guy to get 30. I'm always a little scared to get into a game in Quake II, because I know how good my competition is, but once I finally get up the courage to play, I always enjoy myself despite the thrashing I receive. It's a shame that the online playing games like Quake II is considered obsolete, because I really enjoy the fast paced arcadey action that such games bring to the table. In your face run and gun is my type of game. Perhaps that's why I love games like Timesplitters so much. Granted, you can't jump in TS, but the gun play is similar to games like Quake.
Speaking of Timesplitters, I consider the TS series to be the true heir to the Goldeneye/Perfect Dark crown, because of Free Radical's ties to those games.
Anyways, that's all for this issue of 2.5D. I see you're still excited to read it....
================================================
================================================
A Look Back: VR Gaming.
We Are, We Are VR
(by teh2Dgamer)
The '90s were a great time for gaming. The '90s also had this werid obsession on all things VR. It was the wave of the future, and gaming jumped on that bandwagon just as fast as the mainstream. The early part of that decade played host to a number of attempts at VR gaming, and as such I'm going to spotlight a number of them.
The Sega VR:
The very first gaming magazine I ever owned came in my Sega Genesis' box, and was the August/September 1993 issue of Sega Visions Magazine. It was sorta Sega's own version of Nintendo power (a magazine that was really just a giant advertisement for all things Sega), and in the back of that issue there's a little article about Sega's new system (or maybe it was just another Genesis accessory) coming out called the Sega VR. The article touts the Sega VR's stereo sound, stereo vision ( think it means you see different things with each eye in order to see the whole image), and head tracking (motion sensing). It even gives a brief description of the four games that were to launch with it: Nuclear Rush, Iron Hammer, Matrix Runner, and Outlaw Racing.
Sega never actually released the Sega VR to the public. According to the SEGA VR Wiki page, It was most likely canned because due to the testers getting motion sickness, and headaches.
The R-Zone:
The R-Zone was a handheld made by Tiger Electronics. The system was apparently made into two different versions. The Handheld gaming version which was apparently (according to wiki) made first, and the R-Zone Head Gear.
The only version I ever saw in person was the headgear. Some little spoiled kid had on on a field trip for school once. I remember asking if I could play it, and he said no even though he wasn't playing it at the time himself. All I remember seeing was little red figures being displayed in the little plastic eyepiece in from of your face. I remember that they did release some games for it like Mortal Kombat, and even Virtua Fighter. Don't ask me how they worked out, but I'm willing to guess that they weren't that spectacular.
In either form, the R-zone was competing with the Gameboy, and I'd assume that's what lead to it's eventual demise. That, and the games, from what I've seen on youtube and other places, were just as limited and bad as many of the other Tiger handheld games meaning that they really didn't have the lasting appeal of real video games.
Jaguar VR:
Yep, that's right, the VR idea even came to Atari's "64-Bit" (there's still a debate on whether or not it was really a 64-bit system) system as well. Like the Sega VR it never hit store shelves (though there are a few of them floating around out there), and also like the Sega VR, it had a motion detecting sensor, but it also had it's own special controller with two buttons. It wasn't a stand alone system, but instead linked up to the Jaguar system itself. As per all VR units, motion sickness, and headaches prevail.
What brought they system to it's ultimate demise was Atari's own demise. I've found a few fan sites on the system, and even a youtube vid of someone playing the Jaguar VR as well. It seemed interesting, but would probably have been expensive, and a head killer. According to one of the fansites I found, the only game that supports the Jaguar VR is Missile Command 3D(VR).
Virtual Boy:
Perhaps the only major console failure to stain Nintendo's record, the Virtual Boy was Nintendo's take on the VR idea. Hitting at $130, the Virtual Boy was priced pretty steeply for the time, and despite being market as one, it was hardly a portable system due to it's size, and stand. Requiring a whopping six AA batteries to run, it wasn't a very cheap system to play portable either. The Virtual Boy like the Sega Nomad is best played with a wall adapter so you don't run through it's batteries as quickly.
I got mine new for a mere $23 in '96 or '97 at the River Walk Mall while visiting San Antonio, TX. Prior to my buying one, my local Wal-Mart had a huge bin filled with both 3DO, and Virtual Boy games. When I returned from my trip however, the bin had vanished leaving me with the one game that came with the system, Mario's Tennis. I've played only one other VB game at a friend's house once, and that was Water World. It sucked ass from what I remember.
The Wiki page lists a number of different theories on why the system failed, but for some reason, not the eye/headache issues that the VB had been known to cause. I'll agree with them that the VB was also overpriced, but I do believe the main issue was the red display hurting people's heads. Overall, the VB is more of an interesting collectors item than a must play system. Mario's Tennis is addictive, but they've since brought that addictiveness to the consoles thus relieving me of any need to play my own VB unless I get another game that is.
My Take:
The Virtual Reality craze is another interesting footnote in the dustbin of gaming's past. If I can take anything from it, it's that the '90s were still a time for experimentation, and developers weren't afraid to try new things. I truly doubt we'll ever see another time like it in gaming history. It also shows that if you're a console developer, don't be so quick to jump on certain bandwagons, and to properly research an idea before you go ahead with it.
Perhaps one day we will truly attain Virtual Reality in gaming, but for the time being, we'll just have to look back a laugh at the well intentioned, but ultimately lacking attempts at reaching VR in the '90s
================================================
================================================
Name the screenshot
Winners won't receive anything, but I decided to do my own picture quiz. On this issue's game, the younger generation probably doesn't have a chance, but I'm betting that Billyb77, and or BluSlime will know.
================================================
================================================
Underrated Gem of the month
Mischief Makers
(System: N64 | Developed by: Treasure | Published by: Nintendo | Written by: teh2Dgamer)
Mischief Makers is a 2D platformer made of the N64 by the wonderful people at Treasure. You are Marina, a robotic maid created by Professor Theo who has gone and gotten himself kidnapped. It's up to you to rescue him, and punish those responsible. The gameplay is simple in premise. It focuses mainly on Marina's ability to grab and shake various objects and even enemies throughout the game. In fact, all the boss fights play to this ability. This may sound like a gimmick, but it's woven in so well, that grabbing and Shake Shake Shaking of things becomes in integral part of the gameplay, and each level is masterfully based around this ability. Mischief Makers might be confined to the 2D plain, but it's a masterful take on the genre. It's one of those instances where everything clicks and though it's hardly revolutionary, it's as refined as games in it's genre get. It might seem a little cutesy for some, but those looking for a great 2D platformer to play, and that still have their N64s will find what they're looking for in Mischief Makers.
================================================
================================================
Well that's it for this issue of 2.5D. Once again, I'd like to thank the contributers, Rez, billyb77, and James_Earl_Cash
I'd also like to thank Gamepro, and The Video Game Museum for the screens I stole. I'd also like to thank Jagcube, and Assembler for the Jaguar VR info.
Well that's it for this issue. I hope you enjoyed it.
Comments