If you haven’t guessed it by now, I’m a big fan of developer diaries. I’ve found the string of Ubisoft ones particularly interesting, especially in regards to titles such as Splinter Cell and more recently, Assassin’s Creed 2. In this video, the creators delve into a few of the new gameplay tweaks, including the new banking system as well as gaining notoriety within certain factions. Both of these are cool because of the way they frame it within the context of history. I really can’t wait to see more of this game. What about you guys?
Month: August 2009
Time Well Spent
I have a decent collection of games for the 360 – more than a dozen, if you count XBLA titles – but the game I’ve played far more than any other is Oblivion. At last count, I’ve put in somewhere in the neighborhood of 140 hours. I have a friend who has put in 200+ hours and he hasn’t even finished the main quest line. I think he just likes grinding in dungeons.
Now, I love the game, but I reached a point recently where I started wanting nothing more than to just beat the damn thing. That’s a bit of a herculean task when it comes to an open-world game like Oblivion. It’s not that I haven’t done my best. I’ve completed the main quest-line, as well as the quest-lines for almost all of the guilds and both the Knights of the Nine and the Shivering Isles expansion packs… but I’m not done yet because I don’t have all of the achievements.
GamerSushi Asks: Arkham Asylum Thoughts?
The typical fall slew of games starts dropping in just a few weeks, with Batman: Arkham Asylum officially ushering in the new onslaught. As I’m sure many of you know, the game’s demo just hit the Web this weekend, allowing thousands (perhaps millions) to play as the Caped Crusader, Splinter Cell or MGS style.
While I’ve been cautiously optimistic about this game, I have to say that playing the demo totally pulled me into its web of immersion. I haven’t been that sucked into a video game in awhile, and I was literally on the edge of my seat as I played through what the demo had to offer of Arkham’s dark and brooding hallway interiors. The opening cutscenes for the game are fantastic, and hearing Mark Hamill reprise his role as the Joker was so much fun.
The game is gorgeous and moody, and really fits Batman’s world. I also have to say that the challenge room where you have to take down the guards was bloody fun, and I can’t wait to try more diverse ones. My only worry right now is that combat felt like it could grow old quick. Right now, it just seems like a mashing of the X button (or square for you PS3 friends).
So what about you guys? What were your thoughts on Arkham Asylum?
Dragon Age: Origins Character Creation
For whatever reason, I keep forgetting that Dragon Age: Origins exists and that it’s actually coming out in November. While the most impressive thing I’ve seen from the game was at PAX last year, I’m still convinced it’ll be a blast to play. I mean, heck, it’s Bioware, and they’ve yet to lead me wrong. Those dudes even just released a bit of the character customization, including some glimpses at the ability tree. Nothing super exciting, but it definitely whets my appetite for more of the game. Anyone else interested?
Phantasy Star Game Blog Part VI: The Strange Appetite of Dr. Mad
Crazy old Dr. Luveno decides he wants me to fetch his assistant. Fine, makes sense that this batshit inventor would not be able to function without a handler. Hell, Paula Abdul has a whole team of them and she can’t even judge a talent contest. This quest turns out to be pretty easy as the assistant is hiding in the underground passage in the middle of town. 30 seconds later, I have him back safe and sound with Dr. Nutsy. Oh, but Luveno needs funding to build the spaceship, which will set me back about 1200 mesetas. Not a bad bargain when you think about it, but money is scarce in this game. Since I literally have no choice at all, I pay up.
But I’ve been had! I can’t fly the damn thing without Hapsby, the Laconion Robot Pilot! Is there no obstacle this game won’t throw my way? I think I figured out who made this the thing: the DMV. Only thing is that the load times are pretty short, so maybe it wasn’t them. Have to think on that one. Anyhoo, I head up to Bortevo, the town where I heard the robot is laying around somewhere. I literally have to walk through lava to get there. Whatever crazy stuff Lassic (the bad guy, remember?) is up to doesn’t involve cleaning up after a volcanic eruption.
Continue reading Phantasy Star Game Blog Part VI: The Strange Appetite of Dr. Mad
Miyamoto Says No to Digital Distribution
As more companies are turning towards digital distribution, the face of gaming continues to change. Heck, Steam is making forward progress in this realm all the time, while services like XBox Live and the PSN prove that new huge games can be released digitally like Battlefield 1943 and Fat Princess. Even Nintendo delivers some great old games on the Virtual Console.
While many point to digital distribution being in gaming’s future, one Shigero Miyamoto says this is not so. In a recent interview with Mercury Evening News, the man behind Zelda and Mario says that one thing you can’t do online is the distribution of new and exciting hardware. Uh… duh?
Entertainment is something that will not just become digital. If I look at Wii MotionPlus, this is something that you’re not doing via digital distribution.
Basically, digital distribution can’t be the future because you can’t give people new peripherals to waggle with over the Inter-tubes. Ah, Miyamoto-son… a pillar of ingenuity, he is. What do you guys think? Is digital distribution the future of gaming? Or is it just part of gaming’s future?
Source- VG247 and Mercury Evening News
Rumor: Halo Movie Revived with Steven Spielberg?
Wow. So there are rumors and there are rumors, and I’d say this one falls in the latter category. As many already know, the Halo movie that was in development hell for months and then killed was originally helmed by Peter Jackson as the Producer and Neil Blomkamp as the Director. Unfortunately, all negotiations were finally killed due to Blomkamp’s inexperience, and the two went on to make the cool-looking District 9.
However, a new name has been attached to the Halo movie: Steven Spielberg. That’s right, the maker of Indiana Jones, ET and Jurassic Park is apparently blown away by a Fall of Reach script that was written by Stuart Beattie last year, and some negotiations are rumored to be underway.
Personally, I’ve always thought that if a Halo movie ever did come to life, the Fall of Reach would be the perfect story to attach to it, as its much more interesting than anything the actual games had to offer. Like I said though, this is a rumor in every sense of the word, but next to Peter Jackson I couldn’t see someone better to tackle a Halo movie than Spielberg. What do you guys think of this?
Source- IESB
Review: 1 vs 100, Season 1
Hi folks. Just a quick introduction here… I’m Jeff, sometimes known as JJ, sometimes known as Unsquare. I’m the webmaster of the Smooth Few Films and Gamersushi sites. I’ve been getting back into gaming over the past year ever since I purchased myself an XBox 360, and I’ve been feeling the desire to contribute to this site a bit more now that I actually have opinions on games and such. Hopefully you’ll start seeing posts from me every once in a while. Can’t promise they’ll be as hilarious as Anthony’s Phantasy Star adventures, however.
Anyways, enough about me. Recently, Eddy, Nick and I have been playing a lot of 1 vs. 100 on Xbox Live. It’s a surprisingly addictive game, and if you haven’t already checked it out, it’s a great way to spend a few hours with some friends and seems ideally designed for the party system.
None of us have played it enough to make it into the Mob, let alone the hallowed position of The One, but considering the people who do make it to that top position, I have to wonder what exactly we’re doing wrong. In some ways, The One has been the only really disappointing part of the 1 vs. 100 experience.
GamerSushi Asks: How Much Would You Pay For Natal?
Now, this question may seem premature, but I think it might be of use to Microsoft. There are no games yet and we don’t even know how accurate the demo at E3 was for certain, but based on what you have seen and their projections, what do you feel is a fair price for Natal? Bear in mind that you need a 360 to play it, though I am sure there will be bundles available. So if you don’t have a 360 and want to play Natal you will have to buy both. So what’s your projected price point?
PS3 Ready To Launch Offensive?
Despite what you may have heard, the PS3 has held it’s own against the 360 despite having a higher price, less blockbuster exclusives and having to build an online network from the ground up. But two of those have been corrected and now all that stands in the PS3’s way is the price. Which brings us to a few items:
Sony has revealed that they have managed to get the cost of a PS3 down to $270 per unit. They also have doubled their usual order of components needed to build the consoles. The topper is that they are having a 3-hour keynote in Germany on August 18th. What does this all mean?
It appears as if a price drop for the PS3 is imminent. And it could be the very thing needed to propel the PS3 past the 360 and perhaps even take on Nintendo, far off in the future anyway. Keep in mind that the PS2 sold over 120 million units. Most of those people are probably just waiting for a price drop. Many people say $100.00 would be do it, but I think Sony should go for the jugular and drop it $150.00. Even in these dark economic times, that would cause a serious boost in sales and just in time for the Christmas season.
Would a price drop get you guys off the fence and buy a PS3 or are you not even interested in it? Is there a magic number you are waiting for?
Machinarium Trailer
A couple of weeks ago, I asked about point-and-click adventure games. Well, if you’re into those, then Machinarium might be right up your alley. I have to admit, I’m completely fascinated by this trailer. It really has some cool visual elements, and the music sounds just as awesome as the game looks. The art is simply incredible. It’s supposed to drop in October 2009 for Mac and Windows systems. Who else thinks this looks awesome?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwZBdWRSBRs[/youtube]
Valve Not Sold On Natal
Natal blew some minds at E3 and caused all kinds of fanboy skirmishes across the Internet. Is it real? Does it work? Will the games be any good? One of those questions has now been asked by Valve, who have had a closer look at Natal and while impressed with the tech, they need to see more. Namely, a game that really shows off what it can do, as Chet Faliszek says:
There’s a lot of coolness around it, but I’m not sure about the game that comes with that, and I’m not sure, personally, how much I wanna move around. I’m a lazy, lazy man. I don’t want to move. I don’t want to be fatigued playing a game.
Anyone can crap out a tech demo, but how can you use this in a game that won’t annoy us lazy gamers? What do you guys think of Natal and what would you like to see done with it?
Source- VG247
Phantasy Star Game Blog Part V: One Small Step For Man, One Giant Pain In The Ass For Anthony
After that horrific dream interlude, we head off to some cave where Noah is allegedly training and not building an ark of any kind. By the way: Worst. Random. Encounter. Rate. Ever. For reals, a battle ends, I scratch my nose and I get attacked again. You won’t believe what happened when I had to go pee. I have the console off right now and I think I can hear the battle music starting up!
So after navigating another cave where every single wall looks exactly the same (intelligent design?) I stumble upon, Noah, the blue-haired delight who tells me that he is just too busy training to help me save the universe! Training for what? What the hell could possibly be more important than this? Is there a 5K coming up? Are there intergalatic olympic games? Is Michael Phelps still around and if so, does he smoke Laconion Pot?
But what’s this? I have a letter from the Governor of Motavia? (He is a Motavian, BTW) and that’s all Noah needs to pull a Luke Skywalker circa Empire Strikes Back and quit his training and help us out. I guess if I had let Noah finish his training he would have started at a higher level than level 1, but somehow, I doubt it. Noah suggests we go to Gothic Forest and find Dr. Luveno. He fails to mention why we should find this guy or what the dress code is at Gothic Forest. I’m guessing black is encouraged.
We get to the forest and find the town of Gothic. The people here are surprisngly upbeat! I am warned to stay away from the tower nearby due to the magical beast that lives there. Little do these people know that telling me such a thing only ensures I will pay it a visit. Turns out that Dr. Luveno had a lab here and then he went bonkers and is now locked up in Triada Prison to the south. Prison Break!
A short walk later and we enter the prison and I release all the prisoners I can find. Some are pretty helpful, including one who informs me that the aforementioned tower is the lair of Medusa! Odin wets himself upon hearing this. There is even a giant tarantula who tells me of a substance called POLYMETERAL that dissolves anything except for Laconia. Interesting. Another guys tells me of a robot named Hapsby who was built to pilot a spaceship, but was abandoned in the town of Bortevo somewhere. Hapsby is also made out of Laconia. I’m sure this will come in handy later.
Dr. Wily! I mean, Dr. Luveno! Guess what! He refuses to help! Guess we should all go home. But I have come so far! So I ask again. No sale. One more time and as always in video games, the third time usually does it. Dr. Luveno agrees and asks for me to meet in him back in Gothic where he will help me, but only if I help him first. Typical. No word still on the Gothic dress code, but he is wearing white, so I think we are in the clear.
Find out later this week what sordid task Dr. Luveno has planned for me and what the hell else I have to do to get the freaking spaceship built in Part VI: The Strange Appetite of Dr. Mad
TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled Launch Trailer
Oh man, how I miss sidescrolling co-op beat-em-up games. Seriously, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtles in Time and Hyperstone Heist games were some of my favorite classic titles from the good old SNES and Genesis days. Playing those games with my brother and our neighbors pretty much defined my summers during childhood.
So that’s why I’m stupid excited for the re-shelling of TMNT: Turtles in Time. It hits PSN and XBLA this week for only 10 bucks, and I seriously can’t wait for it. Anybody else going to get in on this action?
Batman: Arkham Asylum Opinions Surface
One game that I keep forgetting about for the Fall is Batman: Arkham Asylum. The game comes out in just a few weeks, and looks like just the kind of game that a great character like Batman has always deserved, with a cool cross of sneaking action with cool looking cutscenes. And hey, it even has Mark Hamill doing the Joker’s voice, so you can’t go wrong there.
But is the game any good? Apparently, yes. A few game publications are already starting to weight in with their opinions on the new Batman romp, and so far, it sounds awesome. The Official Playstation Magazine has given Arkham Asylum a 9/10, and GamesRadar has followed suit with a glowing 3 page preview. They even go as far as saying that this could be the greatest superhero game of all time.
So, who else is interested in this game. It may be moving up on my list, especially since it comes out in just a few short weeks on August 25th. And hey, if nothing else, you can test out the demo, which hits this Friday.
Source- GamesRadar and PS3Vault
GamerSushi Asks: Day One Purchasing?
One of the more interesting parts of each fall and winter is the decision about which games are worthy of purchase, and which are more up the rental alley. And let’s be honest, there’s nothing quite like the anticipation that leads up to a release of a game that you’ve been dying for. Whether I’m attending a midnight release (which doesn’t happen so often these days), picking up a game during lunch or after work, I love the build up before a new video game.
Continue reading GamerSushi Asks: Day One Purchasing?
GamerSushi Asks: What are you Playing, August Edition
It’s about that time again. Time to check in with you guys and see what you’re currently tackling in the video game front. It’s hard to believe we’re already in August, but it’s here, and the slew of video game releases (though slightly lighter now than it was going to be) is almost upon us.
As I don’t have access to my consoles at the moment due to an awesome vacation, I am currently working through both Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy 7 on the PSP. It’s great to get reminded of old classics like that, and I’m loving the way they look on the PSP’s screen as well. Before that though, I’ve been playing some 1 Vs 100, Secret of Monkey Island, Battlefield 1943 and Civilization Revolution. In the near future though, I’m going to move on to Red Faction, Turtles in Time (out next week!), Fat Princess and Star Ocean: The Last Hope.
What about you guys? What are you playing?
Fat Princess Looks Like Tons of Fun
See what I did there?
I’m not sure how many of you have heard about Fat Princess, which hit the PSN just a couple of days ago, but I’m seriously thinking about picking it up. The premise? A 16 versus 16 game of Capture the Flag, only you’re trying to bring a princess back to your base instead of a flag. The catch? Feeding the princess makes her fatter, which means more team members have to carry her. Combine that great premise with resource gathering, cartoony graphics and awesomely animated violence, and I’m in. What do you guys think?