General Gaming Discussions

[Doctor Oak]

This topic is for those little tiny bits of gaming info/trivia/updates that would otherwise only really get one or two posts and not really spark a full discussion on their own. What's the latest game you got? What's it like? Any upcoming news? Any good deals online? Etc. ETc. ETC.

 

[Linkachu]

Should this be stickied...?

Oh, and since we killed the Virtual Console sticky: http://www.nintendo.com/wii/virtualconsole/games

The NOA list of releases.

 

[Doctor Oak]

I'd like to see it become active under its own weight, rather than being an ominous sticky topic.

 

[Linkachu]

Heh. Interesting VC release in NA today:

Sonic Chaosâ„¢ (SEGA MASTER SYSTEM, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): Play as Sonic or Tails in Sonic Chaos, which was originally made for the SEGA MASTER SYSTEM. Dr. Eggman (a.k.a. Dr. Robotnik) has stolen the Red Chaos Emerald to create nuclear weapons. This has thrown the remaining Chaos Emeralds off balance, causing them to transport to a parallel universe. As a result, Sonic's home, South Island, is sinking into the ocean. Speed through various levels in your crusade for the six Chaos Emeralds. Perform Strike Dashes and Super-Peel Outs as Sonic, or Spin Dash and Fly as Tails, and restore order in Sonic Chaos.

I'm assuming this is similar, if not the same game as the Game Gear version of the same name? I haven't downloaded anything off the VC in awhile because my space is pretty well full, but these Master System Sonic titles do intrigue me...

As a random note, the new way they're releasing VC games now is a bit boring - at least in the US. It's nice to get on average two new WiiWare games weekly, but I liked it when we received multiple new VC releases, too =/

 

[Doctor Oak]

The GameGear game is a port of the Master System game - only with a cropped screen.

In all the cases with the Sonic Master System games, they play massively better on the Master System than the GameGear. This is the first time the Master System version of Sonic Chaos has been available for a LONG time - and even then, it was under the radar for the majority of people. The GameGear version, however, has been available on Sonic Adventure DX and Mega Collection.

 

[Doctor Oak]

Halo Wars Demo:

Obviously, only played through the demo so far - but in so far as I've played, Ensemble have outdone themselves. It's by far the best control I've ever experienced over any RTS on any console. The converse is a slight dumbing down of what's available to actually do, but you can forgive that for the context of the franchise. As far as this game goes, you want to get into the action as soon as possible, rather than spamming foot soldiers or "having 75 villagers chopping down trees".

From the instant the game loads up, it's got the Halo feel to it. I don't know what I was expecting, but I honestly wasn't expecting it to be so close to the Halo 3 menu. It buys you into the game taking its place in the franchise really quickly. Something you really need to take in the full enjoyment with all the units.

The story itself, I don't completely follow as I never actually played the original Halo and have never bought into the expanded universe of the franchise, but it's done with all the polish and dramatic flair that Halo 3 is accredited for and I have a feeling that it's going to be hard to put down once you get into it.

Otherwise, it's got some pedigree fairly clearly visible in it. There are a few instants in it where you can see the Age of Empires influence - and thankfully, it's got all the good qualities of the original 2 games and none of the rubbish qualities from the third. Thankfully, as nice as it is to have some familiar ground, Halo Wars definitely feels like an utterly unique beast. You feel a lot more hands-on with it, whatever you're doing.

When I was downloading the demo, I was worried it wouldn't live up to my expectations. However, it's definitely exceeded them. In one of those rare cases, the demo has gotten me anticipating the full game even more rather than dreading it for completely killing all my hopes...

Still have to try the Skirmish mode properly and fiddle around with the Covenant. A bit tempted to leave that till the full game.

 

[Doctor Oak]

You may, or may not know, but Killzone 2 has managed to cause an almighty flamewar across the internet because of its reviews.

Especially this one: http://fidgit.com/archives/2009/02/killzone-2-and-the-five-foot-s.php

And X-Play gave the game a perfect score and all bloody hell broke loose on their discussion forum for it. Amazingly not from 360 fanboys but from Sony fanboys. Abuh?

What this incident has done, however, has produced probably the best 8 minutes of recorded video on the web today:

http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/692992/Sesslers-Soapbox-Killzone-Mailbag.html

 

[Sem]

Sessler wins worlds, end of.

 

[Magpie]

I just got SimAnimals, which I wasn't sure about due to the fact I've never owned a Sims game before. It never really appealed to me. However, I must say I'm really enjoying it. Watering the plants/trees can get a bit tedious, especially when you're growing new ones and they need lots of water. But other than that the animals are cute and fun to try and befriend.

I'm just waiting to unlock the foxes. I wants them. I have Squirrels, Rabbits, Songbirds, Crows and Raccoons so far, my favourites being the two Raccoons I've named Mask and Breeze ^^

 

[Linkachu]

SimAnimals, eh? What's that one on? I'm assuming either Wii or DS but am too lazy to check for myself at the moment, lol.

I'm personally not a fan of the Sims-styled Sim games (SimAnt all the way! I loved my little yellow ant), but your description kinda made me think of Harvest Moon/Animal Crossing... which I like. Might be worth me picking it up if it's cheap. My brother likes Sim games, too, so even if I didn't enjoy it I could probably trade it off to him.

 

[Doctor Oak]

I played Street Fighter IV today.

I also got Chrono Trigger DS and Scene It for the 360. Chrono Trigger came with a random 'soundtrack' CD bonus. But I'm not really sure you can get away with calling a two-track CD a 'soundtrack'...

 

[Magpie]

SimAnimals, eh? What's that one on? I'm assuming either Wii or DS but am too lazy to check for myself at the moment, lol.

It's on both Wii and DS, though I got the DS version since the Wii lives at my Boyfriend's house. Like I said, I've never been a fan of Sims at all, but I like looking after little critters ^^

It's basically you looking after a forest. If you keep it well, animals move in and make friends with you and each other. The more the animals trust you (There are about 30 species I think, such as foxes, wolves, skunks, rabbits), the more likely they are to stay and have little families of their own ^^

 

[Linkachu]

It's basically you looking after a forest. If you keep it well, animals move in and make friends with you and each other. The more the animals trust you (There are about 30 species I think, such as foxes, wolves, skunks, rabbits), the more likely they are to stay and have little families of their own ^^

Huh... That almost sounds like Viva Pinata... a bit too much like it o.O

Speaking of which, I've barely played my copy of Viva Pinata at all, and it really is a nifty little game. Maybe I'll pass on this SimAnimals game and just give that one another go...

EDIT:
http://kotaku.com/5151042/mario--sonic-to-meet-again-this-time-in-canada



I'm afraid this game might over-complicate things again like the last, but it's gonna put Canada on the map! :'D

Also, I found this interesting: http://kotaku.com/5150243/britain-overtakes-japan-to-become-worlds-second+biggest-market

 

[Linkachu]

Because, y'know, you don't have to be an angry fanboy

Each of us have the choice! :|

 

[Doctor Oak]

Street Fighter IV is made of awesome and win.

It's also nail-bitingly-hard, but that's the entire point of Street Fighter and is what sucks you in to keep playing.

If anyone wants to come and 'ave a go if they think they're 'ard enough, lemmie know.

 

[Doctor Oak]

OK, the new Nintendo firmware that lets you save directly to an SD Card and run WiiWare/VC games from it is a long awaited GODSEND.

However, when actually DOWNLOADING to the damned thing from the Wii Shop Channel, one of the Wii's most annoying features becomes even MORE annoying.

Yes, that stupid bloody Mario 'progress' bar - when it's finishing a download to the SD Card it batters the everloving HELL out of that last block until it's damn well ready to stop. And when you're downloading a 300-400 block beast like the Strong Bad games... well, let's just say it's slowly turning me homocidal.

AGH. For the love of God, Nintendo, just put in a normal bloody progress bar!

 

[Linkachu]

But they never will. A Normal progress bar isn't Nintendoy enough! We will forever be inflicted with "BOING! BOING! BOING!" noises while using the Wii... and possibly something even worse on the next console >_>;;

Download starts - : "Let's-a go!"
2/4 downloaded - : "Peachy!"
1/2 downloaded - : "Yoshi!"
3/4 downloaded - : (Insert random Bowser roar here)
Completed download - : "Here we goooooo!"

 

[Doctor Oak]

Y'know, I'd rather have that than the repetitive, monotonous dinging and boinging.

 

[Linkachu]

Y'know, I'd rather have that than the repetitive, monotonous dinging and boinging.

I guess that says all about how much you loathe the boinging, lol.

I finally have my Wii back home now so I guess I'll look into the upgrade, too. The sad thing is, though, I don't actually own a single SD card yet... XD

 

[Silver Scizor]

I went to GameStop last week, and I already reserved a copy of Bioshock 2. It's supposed to be coming out around October, but I still wanted to make sure I get one as soon as it's released.

But on a lighter note, I will probably get a new subscription to XBOX Live next week. I just need to finish a reasearch project first.

 

[Plapti]

From what I've heard, Call of Duty 6 should be coming out this September. Right before my brothers birthday, so I'll be getting him a nice $80 gift for him. Bleh, I'm too nice sometimes.

As well, Killzone 2 is amazing. The graphics are amazing. And it's like the first shooter game that lets you play music off of your PS3 while playing the game. Which should be happening for all the other games. Only thing I'm going to complain about is that to crouch, you have to hold the R2 button, which is a complete pain.

 

[Teapot]

Resident Evil 5 officially pwns souls when played co-op. A lot of the boss battles are VERY clever, and make great use of both characters. It also has some very, very pretty cutscenes - whoever designed them has clearly watched The Matrix a few times. And it really works.

Mind, playing this with an AI companion would so, I prefer to be able to yell at my brother when I want him to do something.

 

[Linkachu]

This isn't really a new game, but it is one I've been playing recently beyond Pokemon Platinum...

If any RPG fans around here have never played Chrono Trigger or was introduced to it by the horribly slow-loading Playstation version, I highly recommend picking up the DS copy of the game. Not only does it keep the cut scenes and have about as much load time as the original on SNES, the music has been kept almost virtually unchanged, you can play it either with DS additions or in the more traditional way, and the game does add a few extras such as a new ending (or two), a new area for WiFi (which honestly wasn't needed, but some people may like it), and supposedly a brand new area to explore (I've only played to 12,000 BC so that's just what I've been told).

Even after so many years, that game is still one of my favourites - and playing it again felt great.

 

[Doctor Oak]

I got into playing it a lot a few weeks ago, but haven't really gotten back to it since...

Great game though - will definitely have to find a chance to finish it this summer.

 

[Plapti]

The sole reason I still haven't played Platinum yet is because of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon.

The remake is quite effective. I love the battle sprites and artwork. The difficulty of Normal mode is lacking though. And the amount of money you can get is insane. Either that or I abuse the arenas too much and make a nice profit out of it.

I haven't tried any of the hard modes yet (There are five separate hard modes, varying from 1 star to 5 stars). The game is awesome though. The online shop and the Wi-Fi option to battle each other with five of your own units makes it interesting as well.

Great game overall and well worth the money I spent.

 

[Doctor Oak]

I didn't even know this was coming - but now I'm wetting at the mouth and dying to get my hands on it...

God, get this localised and out here for the summer... PLEASE. (Or alternatively, just make Nintendo do it).

 

[Linkachu]

Lol. You're such a WarioWare fanboy... XD Does sound interesting though. Might look into getting it, too.

Also, initially posted this in the other news thread but figured it'd fit here, too.

Holland College learning manager discusses his work on SEGA's Super Monkey Ball game at international conference

This is the college I work for, so seeing SEGA in the headline amused me.

 

[Silver Scizor]

I just got my XBOX Live membership renewed, so I will be playing my call of duty games again. But I have also been trying to beat Bioshock on hard difficulty to get the "Seriously Good At This" achievement.

 

[Linkachu]

Obligatory post done on my DSi browser.

Can't see myself using this very often, but at least it's free. It's actually not too bad... if you don't mind the obvious restrictions and annoyances.

On a random note, downloaded the DSi WarioWare game. I've yet to play it, but the video preview I saw seemed pretty fun. Plus - it was also free. W00t for 1000 free points.

 

[Silver Scizor]

In the new issue of Gameinformer, there is a section on Assassin's Creed 2. It looks way better than the first installment, you are a new person and can get more weapons. It takes place during the Renaissance, so the enemies and locations are new.

I didn't get to read into it too deeply, but I may have more details later if people are interested.

 

[Doctor Oak]

In the new issue of Gameinformer, there is a section on Assassin's Creed 2. It looks way better than the first installment

Though I'm digging the time period they've chosen for the sequel - the only way that statement could possibly hold true is if they do something to combat the utter repetitiveness of the first game.

It's a fantastic game, but unless you just keep coming back to it after a few months of abandoning it because it was getting stale again, it's impossible to finish and actually enjoy it all.

 

[Silver Scizor]

Oh noes, I got red ring. I will return to the all mighty XBOX Live in about a month. Luckily, the E74 error message is covered by a 3 year warranty.

 

[Teapot]

Red Steel 2 Leaked Trailer

Y'know, considering the first game sucked... I think Ubisoft have gotten their act together with Red Steel 2. I'm actually looking forward to seeing the Wii MotionPlus now.

 

[Teapot]

Also, 3D Realms collapses into it's own navel. On the flipside, we get gameplay footage at last.

And blimey, the 3DR forums are a massive clusterfuck right now.

 

[Linkachu]

Welp, finally bought and played a bit of the newly worked Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. I have no idea how it played with the bongos on the GCN, but good lord that game is fun. As far as random platformers go on the Wii (and it does really feel like a traditional arcade-style platformer), DK Jungle Beat is probably the funnest one I've played.

Supposedly it's fairly short, so if people are hoping for a lengthy adventure I wouldn't recommend buying it. Maybe renting it for a weekend? But yet even so, the game's hugely enjoyable while it lasts and encourages you to replay levels and better your high score, so maybe that does justify what you'd pay for it... $29.99 CAN wasn't bad for a new game, albeit an updated port. Paid more for Chrono Trigger DS

 

[Silver Scizor]

Yay, my XBOX has been repaired and is being shipped back to me. But interestingly enough, I played Pikmin 2 during the days without it. It was very fun, but I am probably going strait back to Halo 3 when it is delivered.

 

[Teapot]

Gentlemen... meet the Spy.

This is easily the best Meet The Team video so far - is a must-watch for anyone, even if you don't know of/play TF2.

 

[Linkachu]

An interview on Gamespot with Miyamoto - talks about the next Wii Zelda game:

[6:59] In terms of the Zelda franchise, in general, they've been having discussions back in Kyoto about where to go next.

[7:00] "Obviously, graphics have improved, but as a team, we've been sitting down to look at the gameplay and what we can do with it to move Zelda forward."

[7:01] His idea of what a new Zelda game would be is to have players travel to different areas, which would link visits in the game.

[7:01] "And to create memories of the characters you meet--your individual memories of what you experienced in the game."

[7:01] "How you interpret that dungeon, how you interpret that dungeon, etc."

[7:03] We're doing repeated experiments with different kinds of games and different kinds of gameplay."

[7:04] "To be honest, I really wanted to show off a new Zelda at this E3. However, rather than bring you something, we wanted to focus on development."

[7:04] Up comes concept art for the new Zelda game, which shows Link in his Twilight Princess incarnation.

Photography was strictly forbidden, so here's a shot of Link from Twilight Princess.

[7:04] The team is aiming to bring it out next year, and is building in so much Wii MotionPlus capability that it might require it to play.

[7:06] Miyamoto said they are trying to juggle all the game's elements. He prefers action games, so he's into swordplay, but other team members want to focus on RPG elements.

Not sure about you guys, but I'm glad to hear the man discussing it more.

Source: http://e3.gamespot.com/story/6210517/next-wii-zelda-targeted-for-2010

 

[Linkachu]

Bumpity bumping.

Recently I was reading through Nintendo's press release website and something caught my eye. One of the latest DSi Shop games is a strategy spin-off of the Dragon Quest/Dragon Warrior series titled appropriately Dragon Quest Wars. It cost 500 points, and I had 1200 on my account, so I went for it. I played right through the training mode in an afternoon and found it pretty enjoyable - even challenging at times. Problem is... once the training mode ended, things got not-so-fun.

Dragon Quest Wars is kinda like chess with popular Dragon Quest monsters as your playing pieces. You can use 4 units out of 6 at a time, and each comes with its own unqiue abilities and stat properties. Players take turn moving all of their units and choosing what offensive/support attacks to use, and often times the effects of your attacks won't be activated until your opponent's turn (like a trap card in YGO XP). A lot of the game is predicting what your opponent will do. Sounds familiar, eh?

Here's where the not-so-fun stuff hits. While the game is enjoyable and great for quick multi-player matches, the single player mode takes a serious dive after the training is complete. It feels like the game was made solely for multiple-player or pick-up-and-play, which is fine I guess if that's all you wanted it for... It's just not what I'd been expecting. As fun as a multiplayer mode can be, I appreciate good single player gameplay, too - especially in a video game. Even if it was only $5, something like this really could've had more pre-set challenges (ie. Mini's March Again! was only $3 extra and had 40 stages to work through).

So, yeah... If you're wanting a strong single-player mode, save your cash and get something else. Otherwise, it's not a bad way to spend a few bucks, and makes for a good 'digital board game' played straight off your DSi (has WFC capabilities, too).

 

[Silver Scizor]

I purchased Fallout 3 game of the year Edition. It is very good since it comes with all the extra content without any additional charge. I enjoy the game, yet it can seem quite disturbing at times. The game is free roam, and is very large, especially when moving on foot. All in all, it was a good buy. Not to mention the shiny box it came in.