Designed Frustration

Capcom may or may not be aware that some people found the controls in the Resident Evil 5 demo to somewhat cumbersome to say the least, myself included. Either way, they are doing their best to defend it. Producer Jun Takeuchi explained,

We went in knowing that we weren't making a typical third or first person shooter; we were making a Resident Evil game. It was important for us to go with the design choices that would make the best Resident Evil game that we could. When it comes to Resident Evil, we feel that by imposing a restriction on the player you actually increase the tension that they feel while playing.

I really have to disagree here. Tension is not the same as frustration. The entire time I spent with the demo, about an hour, was spent fighting the controls. It had been a few years since I had played Resident Evil 4 but I couldn't get to grips with the controls. It wasn't even the fact that I had to stop to aim; I really think that when they brought the controls from the GameCube controls to the 360 controller, they weren't sure what to do with all of the extra buttons and made the controls overcomplicated.

The other problem I had with the scheme, and the idea that there the same as RE4 so what's the big deal, is that while they updated everything else, the controls stayed the same. There are more enemies and the enemies are smarter and faster but the player feels slow and dumb. It's not really a sound strategy to shoot a couple of zombies in the legs, run to the other side of the room, turn and repeat until they're dead. This tension, it's tedium.

Finally, I just finished plying through Dead Space. That game is tense. And guess what, you can shoot and run at the same time. Look for my thoughts on Dead Space later this week (preview: I loved it).

Look Ma! I'm on Joystiq!

Street Fighter IV Lanuch Party

Last night I went to the Street Fighter IV launch party in downtown Los Angeles. We got there a bit early and it was a good thing too; they turned away about 1500 people! The event was cool all around and with many, many stations set up with the game, it was not long before I got in a match. I played it on a PS3 with the standard controller, on the 360 with one of the Madcatz's arcade sticks and I played the game on an arcade cabinet. The graphics and game play were similar all around, which is to say gorgeous and smooth. I have to admit I ended up preferring to play with the standard controller over the arcade sticks. I was having trouble pulling off moves and I found out the Madcatz's sticks have a square box inside as opposed to an octagonal which was something I wasn't used too. I'm definitely glad I had the chance to try before I bought.

The actual highlight of the night was seeing DJ Qbert up close and personal. Ever since seeing the documentary Scratch about ten yeas ago, I have been into turntablism and their abilities never cease to amaze me.

Dead Rising 2 a Possibility: OK, I'm Listening

All the major blogs have been reporting on rumors that Dead Rising2 is in development and it is being developed by western developer Blue Castle. The original has created two camps of people: those who absolutely derided the difficulty and save system and those who praised the game for the exact same reasons. I fall into the latter group and think it would be a damn shame if the western developers took a safe route and made the game more "casual."

Dead Rising Wii already has me angry enough but if the sequel is also neutered, well, I just don't know what I would do. If the original was not insanely difficult with an unforgiving save system nor placed tremendous stress on the player, we would not still be talking about the game today. If it was a straight-up, run-and-gun zombie killing affair, it would have been lost among the glut of all the other average action games that flood the shelves week in and week out.

But Capcom didn't want that. They took some chances and created an experience that few games have been able to duplicate or have ever done, for better or worse. So, the onus to make a choice is on Blue Castle or whoever may take over the duty of continuing story of Frank West - photographer, zombie-genocider.

Capcom Has Gone Mad (Catz)

Street Fighter II is one of my all time favorite games. If I could afford it, my house we be furnished with an original arcade cabinet. I played the arcade version every morning for about a year at a donut shop near my bus stop in junior high. I played the crap out of the Super Nintendo version when it came out as well. Needless to say, I was excited when the XBLA version was released two years ago. But it was missing something: a quality arcade stick.

Capcom recently hinted that they would be releasing an arcade stick to coincide with the release of Street Fighter IV (which I am very much looking forward to). This made me very excited, as I had visions, as may others I suspect, of high quality Hori arcade sticks that would make playing the game pure bliss without spending about $4000 on a cabinet.

Then the official announcement came today: Mad Catz will be making the official Street Fighter IV fighting sticks. Ughhh. I associate Mad Catz with cheap crap. They're like the WalMart of gaming hardware. While we have yet to see them yet, I don't have my hopes up. And in the mean time, this is very disappointing.

I guess I'll have to try and make my own. Oh, I just found out that Hori does make a 360 arcade stick. OK, all is well.

Dead Rising Announced for the Wii, Neutered

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.

Free Street Fighter 2 HD Beta (Commando 3 Purchase Required)

Capcom will be providing an eight week, online beta for the highly anticipated Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. Sounds awesome, what's the catch? You have to purchase Capcom's other upcoming XBLA title, Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 for $10.

You remember Commando on the NES, right? I still have my copy. It was a top down, vertical scrolling shooter (I vaguely remember it being fun, but it has been a while) that is also getting an upgrade in this new age of digital distribution gaming.

I can think of two other high profile instances of this tactic: Crackdown with the Halo 3 beta and Zone of the Enders with the Metal Gear Solid 2 demo. This tactic of packaging demos of highly anticipated games with second tier games is an intriguing one. On one hand, the full game sells really well. On the other, despite the game's critical and fiscal reception, the series usually dies pretty quickly. Usually when games sell as well as these, sequels are usually in order. Crackdown doesn't seem to be getting one any time soon and, while Zone of the Enders 2 did arrive, it sales were much lower. Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 will probably suffer the same fate, as I don't think nostalgia is as strong as many other Capcom properties. Now, if they packaged this with the Bionic Commando remake, I'd be sold in a heartbeat.

Play it Now!

It what seems like a “you-should-have-done-this-long-ago” moment, Capcom and Nintendo have teamed up to add a demo for Zack and Wiki to its official website in Europe. I have almost completed the full game and have loved every minute of it so far. While I have trouble seeing the usefulness of the Wii Remote in many other games, including Nintendo's stalwarts Mario and Zelda, the functionality really shines in Zack and Wiki. There is no doubt in my mind that this is a must own in the Wii library and I can only hope that Capcom continues the franchise and other try to emulate it.

Can we have a Monkey Island game on the Wii now, please? Thank you.