Year: 2007

Review – Sam & Max Episode 4: Abe Lincoln Must Die

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Something tells me I will be in the minority with this one, but Sam and Max Episode 4 is perhaps the weakest entry yet (or close behind the first one). This seems odd at first, because this time Telltale worked on many of the issues that fans (and reviewers like myself) brought up with the last few episodes, namely length and difficulty. I appreciate and respect this, however their solutions to the problems do more harm than good, while the formerly sound humor of past episodes gets less attention and falls flat. I started playing these episodes with excitement and praise. Now I’m starting to get genuinely worried.

The previous three episodes were indeed easy to complete and on the short side time wise. This never really bothered me because the settings were fun, the scripts sharp, and the puzzles weren’t damningly hard. I never expected a long quest or deep gameplay from Sam and Max, just a lighthearted adventure with some humor above the grade-school level of most games. →  Secread of Evermore

Weekly News We Care About Wrap Up – 2.23.07

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New Virtual Console consoles
It looks like Wii owners will now have the chance to download Neo Geo and MSX games. I’d like to see the original Metal Gear, which is supposed to be significantly cooler than the NES port, and Master System favorites (that were ports from the MSX) Miracle Warriors and Golvellius. Of course the West may never get the MSX emulator because most (or all) of the system’s games are in Japanese. Maybe after Nintendo translates Fire Emblem 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 I will believe there’s a possibility they translate super obscure Japanese computer games on a system 99.8% of Americans have never heard of.

Speaking of Master System, why not give us a Wii emulator for Phantasy Star, Wonder Boy, Zillion, Alex Kidd and company? Or at least a Sega CD emulator so we can play Dungeon Exploer in style. The TG16 version looks like crap (not to mention plays like crap). With a Sega CD emulator, we could sink countless hours into Shining Force CD, Dark Wizard, Lunar 1 and 2, and maybe even Snatcher (plus I guess Vay and Popful Mail for you Working Designs faithful). →  Tokyo Xtreme Reader: Drift 2

Record-Setting Win Gone Unnoticed

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I usually don’t like doing this, as it seems a bit selfish of me, but I felt compelled to reveal my dirty little secret to the world. I, Matt, am the owner of the World Record for Mario Kart 64’s Choco Mountain Time Trial, with an amazing time of 1:46:400. This picture is my sole proof of the record in question. I apologize for the blurriness, but I only have a cell-phone camera.

If you search Twin Galaxies’ site, which is THE source for video game records, you’ll see the top record of 1:46:840, which is the Japanese National Record. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news Japan, but it appears that your record has now been broken. In fact, it has been broken for about seven years.

Sad thing is, Twin Galaxy will not approve of the record because I never taped the record-setting run, and it wasn’t done under any referee supervision. I’ve contacted Twin Galaxies numerous times in the past about my record, but they’ve never gotten back to me. →  Is that an article in your pants, or are you just happy to read me?

The current state of fighting games

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At the time of this writing, Dead or Alive and Virtua Fighter have released new entries on next generation consoles. Tekken 6 was just announced, and I’m sure it is only a matter of time before we hear something about Soul Calibur 4. It seems that fighting games are doing A-okay on the next gen systems. And yet I still get a sinking feeling about one of my favorite genres. I’m not going to go and make an assertion about fighters being doomed to become as niche as the schmup, but I still can’t shake a feeling of worry. Let’s break it down by companies and see why:

Namco/Sega: These two are responsible for the three (Tekken, VF, and Soul Calibur) most popular and powerful 3d fighting franchises. All three have dedicated fanbases that will ensure they do well enough in terms of sales. This is both good and bad. Good because these three (as well as DOA) will make sure the genre stays in the public eye. →  Who is that standing behind you?

How long should games be?

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Early in the history of video games, one thing all games had in common was their length – they were all pretty short. Most games could be beaten in only a few hours. In contrast, games that we play today can exceed 80 hours. But do we always need our games to pass the coveted 40-hour mark? We weren’t having a bad time with them back then, so why fix something that may not have been broken?

Some developers will advertise the fact that their game takes 100 hours to complete, printing it as a bullet right on the back of the box. Remember when Nintendo was talking about Twilight Princess? 70+ hours was their estimated length of gameplay. But is this a good thing? The first Zelda could probably be beaten in a few hours, even without going all speed-runny on it. Does the time difference make one better than the other?

I don’t think so. There is this big misconception in the industry that longer games are better, and that no one should focus on shorter games. →  An article approaches.
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Virtual Console Grumblings

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Not too long ago, news broke that Nintendo was offering an updated version of the VC title Military Madness, free for download to those who had purchased it. The new version fixed some horrible emulation problems, and all was good. Though in fact it really wasn’t – while people were glad to see them issue a fix, many more were worried and angry that TG16 emulation is so far less than perfect.

Then the shitstorm began – it was discovered that Mariokart 64 did not support ghost data saves, and some future n64 games would not support rumble. Then Kid Icarus was released without the ability to use certain cheat passwords that were available in the original. Soon everyone was after Nintendo’s head, their logic being “we pay exorbitant amounts for these downloads, and they can’t even give us perfect versions? I want perfect damn you!!” This of course was followed by “experts” who spread wild theories about what went wrong, all of which they found off of blogs of people who may or may not know anything about emulation. →  Read Band 2

Review – God Hand

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When Clover Studio was ultimately closed by Capcom, they left us with two games; Okami and God Hand. The former gained quite a bit of attention, at least from the gamer press and enthusiasts, and it is not hard to see why. The game sported lush, unique visuals, safe Zelda style gameplay, and a universe steeped in Japanese mythology (which seems to be all the rage these days with the kids). While I can’t say anything of the sales numbers, it certainly left an impression with the community’s most critical.

This wasn’t at all the situation with God Hand. Here was a title with with crummy visuals, a strange sense of humor and style, “tank like controls” and seemingly outdated beat ’em up gameplay. How could this game have been made by the same people behind the lush and elegant Okami? The answer is simple. God Hand doesn’t really do anything to attract the player to its cause. Its a crude, harsh game that taunts you for playing on easy and doesn’t give a shit about millions of polygons. →  Xenosaga 2: Jenseits von Gut und Pöst

Lame Debate: Twilight Princess or Wind Waker?

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Now that most of us have had the chance to play (and hopefully beat) The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, I think it’s time we had a debate. Having played both Twilight Princess and 2003’s Wind Waker, which one do you think is the best Zelda of last generation?

Wind Waker was a new take on the award-winning Zelda franchise with a unique visual look that some hated while others loved.

Twilight Princess brought back the same feeling we all had when we first played 1998’s seminal Ocarina of Time, but didn’t bring anything particularly new to the table.

Both are amazing games, but what’s your take on the two masterpieces? Did “Cel-da” leave a bad taste in your mouth? Did Midna annoy you too much with her rude and callous remarks while riding her lupine companion? Where do your loyalties lie?

Let the Lame Debate(tm) begin!

Review – Space Rangers 2: Rise of the Dominators

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It’s hard to find a recent game with a name more cheesy than Space Rangers 2: Rise of the Dominators. It has all the classiness of a corny low-budget science fiction movie.

In fact, its name could be the main reason why nobody’s noticed the game, despite a lot of acclaim from reviewers. So much so that the publishing company is now asking users to suggest a better game name… possibly to re-release it.

In any case, Space Rangers 2 hails from Russia, courtesy of Cinemaware Marquee. Most of the game script feels pretty natural, but there’s just enough awkwardness to indicate it was not originally in English (other ships will ask your help to take out “this type”). That said, the script actually contains a lot of jokes. For example, the Faeyans discover a human toothbrush, and claim to have “improved” it to the point of also cleaning out the brain cavity. Maloqs will tell you of their annual Scoffing Ceremony, where they assert the superiority of their race over all others. →  Hot Shots Post 3

WipEout for PS3: You Know You Want it

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This will be the game that breaks the camel’s hump for me with the PS3. Metal Gear probably won’t do it, Final Fantasy definitely won’t do it, and I don’t really have to worry about Fumito Ueda’s next opus because it will probably come out when PS4 is released, judging from their track record. Nope, only WipEout will make me get that second job.

A few weeks ago Sony revealed that the series would be released at some point in the future on the PS3. Details are scant at the moment, but they did say the game would utilize the SIXAXIS motion controls, as well as a possible online mode, which we can assume is either multiplayer or downloadable tracks and vehicles, just like they did with WipEout Pure on the PSP.

I first came across the WipEout series with the PSP version, and it’s one of the best games for the system. The driving is great, the visuals are still some of the best for the handheld, and the soundtrack is insane. →  This better not be as bad as everything else here.