While it's good for my wallet, I'm sad to see that Afro Samurai has been pushed back till January 27th, 2009. While an official release date may not have been announced, many retailers had it pegged for an October or Fall release, a long with just about every other title we know about.
I will never understand our industry's continued dependence on the holiday quarter for release schedules. Firstly, with the escalating costs of development and vast number of choices all competing for limited funds out there, makes little business sense to me to force a game on the public. Then, year after year, quality but lower profile games get over looked by the masses further enforcing the downward spiral of publisher reluctance to produce original IP.
I also see a drastic effect on overall quality as well. We have just over 70 skus in test right now. And that is just Nintendo platforms. With a nine man team, every game is not going to get the test time that they need. Granted we aren't testing the functional stuff, but those teams are stretched thin as well. The rush to hit dates is on and quality is the first to be sacrificed. Instead of pacing ourselves for the year and bringing more quality to store shelves, we burn ourselves out in the summer to get anything we can to Fall shoppers.
But, obviously, we aren't the only publisher with this mentality and I wish a few would start seeing that there are other months throughout the year. Especially when we almost always go from January to August with high profile releases very few and far between.
October was already going to be expensive with Fable 2 and Fallout 3 coming out. There's also Guitar Hero World Tour and Dead Space. Afro Samurai looks like a very fun game but it would have probably been relegated to a game I borrow from someone instead of full purchase. Being released in January may be the best decision their publisher has made.
While I normally hate on everything Wii related, I have been drawn to the games that take a chance on the system. Games such as Zack and WIki and No More Heroes. I would have picked up Okami if I hadn't already played it on the PS2. So it should come as no surprise that I have been drawn to MadWorld, and not only because of its stark color palette and its graphic violence. This month's Nintendo Power offers some more information about the game straight from the game's producer, Atsushi Inaba. See, while the game is ultra violent, it should not be taken seriously. We don't want this game to be dark and serious. One of the games that I played to better understand what constitutes "serious" violence was Manhunt 2. And although I personally like that type of game, when violence is portrayed so simply, that's when it becomes more serious and dark. When it's over the top and extravagant, it feels much more acceptable. That over-the-top expression is what makes it funny. That's why people laugh when they see violence in this game. It's not realistic. Nothing like this would ever happen in real life, which is what games should be offering to the audience.
Awesome quote. While I agree that over the top violence can be funny, for a while, something strikes me as odd about that quote. I'm sure people smarter than me could articulate that sentiment better than I could but the best I can come up with is that it seems shallow. Is this the mentality that is holding back games from achieving art status? Extreme violence has its place in movies and books but reflecting on what "does" happen in the real world is what lifts it to cinema and literature. But like many have argued, that probably does not make a good game. And that is our challenge.
Dead Rising is in my top five games for the Xbox360. Its blend of action and story were very engrossing. It also made some surprising and polarizing design decisions. Many people either hated it or loved it. I was definitely in the latter.
The game was structured in a very open, non-linear fashion; allowing each player to forge their own path through the zombie infested mall. It allowed you to choose which bosses you wanted to take down and which people to try and rescue. Each subsequent play through could play out as a an individuals own mini zombie cinematic experience.
The save system and leveling up the character were a bit odd at first. In time, it all came together for me and made the game that much more enjoyable. By limiting the save locations and creating a very difficult decision upon death (start from the beginning with all of your accumulated stats or reload your last save), the game ramped up the stress put on the player. Some found less overwhelming and frustrating, I just like it heightened the experience. I had to weigh my options; should I save the couple with the wounded husband or the brothers who can defend themselves better? The leveling system adds another layer to the game that is not normally seen in action games. As Frank learns new moves and becomes more powerful, the game really becomes fun. And setting up crazy pictures for big points was good too. Since the experience carried over from game to game, it really encouraged multiple play-through.
Now we get word that Capcom is bringing the game to the Nintendo Wii. Only instead of a faithful, low-resolution homage to the original, we get a watered down, "casual" experience that wreaks of cashing in on the success of Resident Evil 4's outing on the same console.
They taken much of the flexibility out of the game by creating a very linear path to plot points and eliminating Otis's side quests. Apparently, the save system has been made "less frustrating" to appease the new herd of gamers on the Wii. The camera angle has been changed to the over-the-shoulder RE4 style which caused the developers so much problems they took the photography out of the game completely. Frank is a photographer, it's the whole reason he's in the mall! Not only have the elements that make Dead Rising what it is have hit the cutting room floor, the graphical power of the Wii buckled under the weight of hundreds of zombies on screen on once. This number has been significantly decreased, but I guess will have to wait to see the final game.
Lastly, they've thrown in the mandatory "because we can" motion gestures. I'm sorry, but dare I say it, increasing the player's stress and anxiety creates a better sense of immersion then waggling the controller to swing a baseball bat. The weight and pressure put on by my nervous system is much greater then wild flailing ever could be.
I didn't get to go this year, but I don't feel like I missed much. I am excited for the the new Xbox360 dashboard with Netflix and avatars. I even more excited for Fable 2 and Fallout 3. Fortunately, we have Penny Arcade to summarize what we missed for those who didn't get to attend the big press conferences.
When I saw the Wii Remote "Motion Plus" announcement first thing Monday morning boasting "more comprehensive tracking of a player's arm position and orientation.", I was angry. Then, as more information rolled out today, I became sick. This is why Nintendo is losing my favor. They are releasing peripheral after peripheral, packed in with "casual" games and making a killing. Not only should the Wii Remote have been doing this from the start, but not even Nintendo themselves have proven motion controls to be a reliable substitute for a standard controller. It did not improve Twilight Princess nor Super Mario Galaxy; the GameCube controller is better suited for Smash Brothers and Mario Kart Wii.
I see Wii Remote motion controls everyday, all day long, and have yet thought, "wow, I think we've finally got it." Motion controllers are a case of just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. If anything, more sensitive equals more programming headaches, as the developers are going to take all kinds of flailing about into account when they program what motion they hope their player will perform.
Then again, maybe I'm just bitter that they didn't announce Kid Icarus Wii.
This is old but I've been busy with the baby and work. I'm pleased that we at THQ have decided to do something that someone else hasn't already tried (well almost the first). So, that's encouraging. Unfortunately, it's unleashing Wall-E on the middle east.
Well, hopefully we'll at least get a chance in QA to look at it before any one else.
