 | Word from IGN is that Disgaea PSP is coming to America this August, reportedly with some nice bells and whistles. I played through the original, and when word of a port for Japanese consumers first surfaced, I was somewhat disappointed that the portable installment would not be based on DG2. Regardless, I didn't play the game to death like... some people I know. | |
Friday, March 30, 2007
Finery
Though in modern English the term finery may mean showy, elaborate clothing, in modern Engrish it means it's about damn time.
And with the personal nature of handhelds, I won't have to worry about accidentally deleting Catarina's save. (Sorry, about that again, and for bringing it up.) I haven't dabbled in any of the SRPGs for the PSP as of yet, like the somewhat attractive Generations of Chaos, but there has never been a doubt in my mind that the genre would lend itself perfectly to the platform. The advantage of racing or fighting games on the PSP is the fact that you can enjoy them in short intervals without any detraction. And unlike the other two types of games just mentioned, you aren't at a disadvantage if you have to slip into sleep mode at a moment's notice. All in all, I'm very much looking forward to this game and it's new content. Let's all have a big w00t! for good ports.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
The Grandest Intention
The highly anticipated trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV was released today after a big PR media blitz that included not only a web site countdown to March 29, but also a television countdown on FX from 2:00 to 2:30 AM, described on the GTA:IV Wikipedia page, that sounds more annoying than anything else. In case you haven't heard, countdowns are the new black.
I have a long and complicated history with the Grand Theft Auto franchise. I vaguely remember the original GTA, though I can't remember where I knew it from (Killa may have had it? Back in those dark days, we resided together in the domicile of Progenitrix XX); I don't recall ever actually playing it. The first one I actually played---or tried to play---was Vice City, and I had a bout with San Andreas also. The gameplay is so alluring, the cities so vast and infinitely explorable, the characters so conflicted, that I just couldn't resist giving the games a try, even after I turned out to be embarassingly bad at both of them.
The main problem is that I'm not good at stealing cars. As it happens, this is kind of requisite in a game series that is based on stealing cars. I just don't feel comfortable with it. I always run my guy up to a likely looking car and open the door, and then I hestitate a split second too long and the driver either punches my guy in the face or slams the car door shut and drives away; and then I end up walking to my destination.
Let me tell you, walking along the side of the highway from Las Venturas to Los Santos is not a fun way to spend an afternoon.
If I do manage to steal a vehicle, I then try to obey all traffic signals and speed limits and drive very carefully. After all, I don't want the cops to catch me in a stolen vehicle! I'm also very carefuly not to hit anyone with my car, not to drive on the sidewalks, etc. If I get a star on the Wanted Meter, I immediately freak out, ditch my vehicle, and hide out in a culvert until the star goes away. Grand Theft Auto games produce a lot of anxiety in me. And, yet, I want too badly to play them that I keep trying.
Killa once set out to help me learn how to be more assertive in Grand Theft Auto by tutoring me in the necessary gameplay techniques and controls. When he finally got me situated in a stolen vehicle and I began creeping down the street, he told me to press R3 to honk my car horn and scatter some pedestrians (after I refused to simply run them down), which is when I issued my now-famous proclamation, "There's an R3?!"
My idea for a spin off is a game called Grand Theft Idea. It takes place in a fictional university and your character is a ruthless plagiarist who goes around the campus downloading term papers from other people's computers, stealing large excerpts from journal articles in the library without citing the sources, and lifting lab notebooks from classmates' backpacks to copy the notes. All without being busted by the Academic Honesty Committee. I think that might be more my speed.
While you're waiting on news of the hotly anticipated Grand Theft Idea: I, here's the trailer for GTA:IV, courtesy of Gamevideos.com. I know it doesn't feature anything as exciting as plagiarism, but try not to be too disappointed.
I have a long and complicated history with the Grand Theft Auto franchise. I vaguely remember the original GTA, though I can't remember where I knew it from (Killa may have had it? Back in those dark days, we resided together in the domicile of Progenitrix XX); I don't recall ever actually playing it. The first one I actually played---or tried to play---was Vice City, and I had a bout with San Andreas also. The gameplay is so alluring, the cities so vast and infinitely explorable, the characters so conflicted, that I just couldn't resist giving the games a try, even after I turned out to be embarassingly bad at both of them.
The main problem is that I'm not good at stealing cars. As it happens, this is kind of requisite in a game series that is based on stealing cars. I just don't feel comfortable with it. I always run my guy up to a likely looking car and open the door, and then I hestitate a split second too long and the driver either punches my guy in the face or slams the car door shut and drives away; and then I end up walking to my destination.
Let me tell you, walking along the side of the highway from Las Venturas to Los Santos is not a fun way to spend an afternoon.
If I do manage to steal a vehicle, I then try to obey all traffic signals and speed limits and drive very carefully. After all, I don't want the cops to catch me in a stolen vehicle! I'm also very carefuly not to hit anyone with my car, not to drive on the sidewalks, etc. If I get a star on the Wanted Meter, I immediately freak out, ditch my vehicle, and hide out in a culvert until the star goes away. Grand Theft Auto games produce a lot of anxiety in me. And, yet, I want too badly to play them that I keep trying.
Killa once set out to help me learn how to be more assertive in Grand Theft Auto by tutoring me in the necessary gameplay techniques and controls. When he finally got me situated in a stolen vehicle and I began creeping down the street, he told me to press R3 to honk my car horn and scatter some pedestrians (after I refused to simply run them down), which is when I issued my now-famous proclamation, "There's an R3?!"
My idea for a spin off is a game called Grand Theft Idea. It takes place in a fictional university and your character is a ruthless plagiarist who goes around the campus downloading term papers from other people's computers, stealing large excerpts from journal articles in the library without citing the sources, and lifting lab notebooks from classmates' backpacks to copy the notes. All without being busted by the Academic Honesty Committee. I think that might be more my speed.
While you're waiting on news of the hotly anticipated Grand Theft Idea: I, here's the trailer for GTA:IV, courtesy of Gamevideos.com. I know it doesn't feature anything as exciting as plagiarism, but try not to be too disappointed.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Odds and Ends
Hope everyone likes the banner. I've had the actual logo done for some time, but retrofitting it into this template was trickier than I would have hoped. Sooner or later we'll give this space a new coat of hyper paint; until then, consider this the first step of our Spring cleaning.
I pretty much have the idea of Bursting down, but Roman Cancelling is still alien to me. I've been studying the frame inputs in Training Mode, but I'm still nowhere near a point where I can use RCs or FRCs in the heat of battle. This game really makes me thirst for a console version of Slash or Accent Core sometime soon.
I ran into this recap of MGS2 in haiku form on the PA G&T forums awhile back. Thought I'd share it with you, and likewise post it in a more accessible location for my own viewing. Many thanks to aett, and his mad summation skills.
Now that we've delved pretty deeply into FFXII, and have gained a working understanding of the gambit system, it makes me think about how many menu choices I've made over the years in Final Fantasies, and RPGs in general. FFX-2 alone could be near a million... C'est la vie.
 | My time with GGXX#Reload has been going well. I've found Sol to be very easy to pick up due in large part to the familiarity of his control scheme. Entranced by the unique character design of Dizzy, I have forced myself to learn to use her properly, though her mishmash of bizarre projectiles and furious ground combos took some time to absorb. |
I ran into this recap of MGS2 in haiku form on the PA G&T forums awhile back. Thought I'd share it with you, and likewise post it in a more accessible location for my own viewing. Many thanks to aett, and his mad summation skills.
Turn off the console
I need scissors! 61!
We have Rosemary "
Now that we've delved pretty deeply into FFXII, and have gained a working understanding of the gambit system, it makes me think about how many menu choices I've made over the years in Final Fantasies, and RPGs in general. FFX-2 alone could be near a million... C'est la vie.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Bad Press
Working in the publishing industry, I've seen my fair share of endorsements---some good, some not so good. Suffice to say I know a crappy endorsement when I see one.
This afternoon we headed over to Best Buy to pick up Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, formerly a 360 exclusive, which has just ported to the PS3 and was released this past Tuesday. Gracing the back of the box is the following endorsement:
This afternoon we headed over to Best Buy to pick up Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, formerly a 360 exclusive, which has just ported to the PS3 and was released this past Tuesday. Gracing the back of the box is the following endorsement:
Considering that you can play Oblivion on the 360 for less money, that's a pretty damning quote---especially coming from PSM. I also like how they say "if"---they're not willing to say outright that any game is worth buying a PS3! Ouch!"If any game is worth the price of the PS3, Oblivion is it." --Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
Fallen by the Wii-Side
It's been a long time since I made a pun on the name of the Wii. Too long.
My poor Wii has been sitting unplayed and unloved in my entertainment center for the last few weeks. Ever since finishing up Twilight Princess in February I've been focused on Dragon Quest VIII and FFXII (both on PS2). There's still a bit of a PS2 backlog to work through, including Rogue Galaxy, Okami, and ICO, among others; and my GCN backlog is growing by leaps and bounds.
I've been snapping up "classic" used GameCube titles from Gamespot.com to catch up on some of the franchises I missed out on while my GameCube was broken (for a good bit of the last generation). I remember I was playing Animal Crossing, and after that everything is a blur. . . . It is entirely possible that I failed to pull up a weed in my flowerbed, or neglected to say hello to the mailman, or missed a performance by K. K. Slider, or something, and the cute animal denizens of my town may have revolted, sabotaging my 'Cube from the inside.
That seems like the most likely explanation.
Anyway, my point is that I've been neglecting my Wii ever since finishing Twilight Princess. We played some WarioWare here and there, but that isn't the type of game I would sit down and play by myself for any extended period of time. There haven't been any great new titles lately that have really caught my interest, but there are some interesting titles coming down the pipe in the next few months that I'm looking forward to; chief among them is Super Paper Mario.
Due out on April 9, Super Paper Mario is both a member of the Mario RPG series and a classic platformer with a twist. While maneuvering through the gameworld from left to right per the old-school Super Mario Brothers games, Mario will sometimes encounter impassible obstacles such as gaping chasms, steep mountains, or high pipes. Not to worry---with a special move (in this case, a spacial move?) Mario can turn the whole game world on its axis, revealing a three-dimensional environment. Take, for example, a pipe that is too high to jump over. By turning the world sideways for a three-dimensional perspective, Mario can easily run around the front or back of the pipe; when the world returns to its flat perspective, he will be on the other side. See the composite to the right (which I made from two screenshots borrowed from IGN.com), which shows two different views of the same screen---one in standard, side-scrolling mode (top) and one in 3D view (bottom).
I'm looking forward to this title in a big way. It's not Super Mario Galaxy, but it will tide us over for awhile.
My poor Wii has been sitting unplayed and unloved in my entertainment center for the last few weeks. Ever since finishing up Twilight Princess in February I've been focused on Dragon Quest VIII and FFXII (both on PS2). There's still a bit of a PS2 backlog to work through, including Rogue Galaxy, Okami, and ICO, among others; and my GCN backlog is growing by leaps and bounds.
I've been snapping up "classic" used GameCube titles from Gamespot.com to catch up on some of the franchises I missed out on while my GameCube was broken (for a good bit of the last generation). I remember I was playing Animal Crossing, and after that everything is a blur. . . . It is entirely possible that I failed to pull up a weed in my flowerbed, or neglected to say hello to the mailman, or missed a performance by K. K. Slider, or something, and the cute animal denizens of my town may have revolted, sabotaging my 'Cube from the inside.
That seems like the most likely explanation.
Anyway, my point is that I've been neglecting my Wii ever since finishing Twilight Princess. We played some WarioWare here and there, but that isn't the type of game I would sit down and play by myself for any extended period of time. There haven't been any great new titles lately that have really caught my interest, but there are some interesting titles coming down the pipe in the next few months that I'm looking forward to; chief among them is Super Paper Mario.
Due out on April 9, Super Paper Mario is both a member of the Mario RPG series and a classic platformer with a twist. While maneuvering through the gameworld from left to right per the old-school Super Mario Brothers games, Mario will sometimes encounter impassible obstacles such as gaping chasms, steep mountains, or high pipes. Not to worry---with a special move (in this case, a spacial move?) Mario can turn the whole game world on its axis, revealing a three-dimensional environment. Take, for example, a pipe that is too high to jump over. By turning the world sideways for a three-dimensional perspective, Mario can easily run around the front or back of the pipe; when the world returns to its flat perspective, he will be on the other side. See the composite to the right (which I made from two screenshots borrowed from IGN.com), which shows two different views of the same screen---one in standard, side-scrolling mode (top) and one in 3D view (bottom).I'm looking forward to this title in a big way. It's not Super Mario Galaxy, but it will tide us over for awhile.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Is Nothing Sacred?
A wretched, blasphemous rumor has emerged from the depths of the Tubes. Could part of the Final Fantasy XIII cadre be heading to the 360? While this gossip has been met with doubt by some, other speculators are piecing together the likelihood of, perchance, a Live Arcade title akin to FFXIII Agito, the mobile component of the Fabula Nova Crystallis. Is there no loyalty anymore? What's next? Mario Galaxy for the next-gen N-Gage? *shudder*
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
The Moves
After an insightful, well thought out entry by Catarina, or two, or six, I feel somewhat compelled to answer back with an update of my own. Of course, after I post my reprisal, I tend to feel guilty for pushing her oft superior post lower down the hypertext totem pole. But alas, such is the nature of the tubes.
Whereas Big Sis Prinny has been covering the cutting edge, I have been haunted by the ghost of fighting games past. Guilty Gear X2: The Midnight Carnival #Reload, to be specific. I remember SRK calling it the best two dimensional fighting game I wasn't playing. They were, of course, correct on both counts.
I am stumbling into the game way late, natch. XX Slash and XX ^Core have made much of what I am learning obsolete. I managed to beat Boss I-No on Maniac level difficulty, yet I still have zero skill with Roman Cancels (false or otherwise) and Bursts. I can't even nail down Sol Badguy's infamous Dust Loop. I wanted to perhaps focus on this Dust Loop trap, or perhaps the Immoral Flame's Dragon Install. Unfortunately I don't have the background in the series to share with you the quintessential technique; the one move that could sum up the hyperactive anime-heavy metal amalgam so rife with delicate balance and rich intricacy that hangs like a succulent forbidden fruit before a starved fighting gamer's eyes.
But, hell, let's look at the signature techniques of a few competitive fighting series. Maybe we'll learn something.
A lot of moves come to mind in the extensive Street Fighter universe. Chun Li's Hyakuretsu Kyaku is one of the most recognizable, along with Zangief's Spinning Piledriver, Blanka's Electricity, and Vega's Psycho Crusher. But what is the signature move of Street Fighter? The Hadouken comes in a close second, but hardcore fans know the answer: The Shoryuken.
Yes, the Hadouken (Surge Fist) is a very popular choice, but I'm afraid in the competitive world of Street Fighter, the Shoryuken (Rising Dragon Fist, or Dragon Uppercut) is the Jupiter of special moves. When to execute and when not to execute the Shoryuken is the hallmark of an Ansatsuken expert. In its initial animation frames it is invincible (or nigh invincible in later incarnations) yet if missed it leaves the player completely vulnerable as they slowly descend. It was the very first anti-air move, predating the far slower, and lower priority Flash Kick. And we all know how integral jump-in attacks were in an environment before dashes.
(Sidenote: In recent SF2 matches against Legoman, I often find myself trying to dash in on him, to no avail.)
Even the command input, forward, down, down-forward plus punch, is simply known as the Dragon Punch, or "DP" in popular notation for all fighting games.
I originally was writing this as Cable's Air Hyper Viper Beam, but after reviewing the competitive criteria of the Shoryuken vs. Hadouken decision, I'd have to say the most important special move from the Marvel Vs. games is Flight. Why? Three reasons: Magneto, Storm, and Sentinel. These three are featured so prominently in high level play because of their ability to control the screen while staying out of harm's way. The typical championship team consists of two out of the three and someone with a particularly effective Anti-Air Assist, like Cyke or Cammy. Hell, seeing just those three isn't uncommon either.
I know Flight wasn't really the essence of the entire series, but with the constantly shifting rosters of the Vs. series, few moves showed up every time, except for Wolvie's Berserker Barrage or the beam-style Shinku Hadouken. (Again with the Hadouken! Christ, Killa, give it a rest...) Without a doubt, Flight is an invaluable part of the expert's arsenal. If I had to go with an offensive move, it may still have to be Sentinel's Rocket Punch over Cable's AHVB, due to Cable's absence from most high tier teams.
"Another non-attack?" I know. But the Mishimas and the Crouch Dash are so crucial to Tekken that it could not be avoided. I should say that the Crouch Dash (1) has the same input as the Shoryuken motion, except for Kazuya's abbreviated version; (2) ducks under high attacks; (3) parries low attacks in some instances; (4) can be linked with more Crouch Dashes for a Wavedash; (5) precedes the Hellsweep; (6) precedes the Wind God Fist, and the Electric Wind Godfist; (6) precedes the Hell's Gate.
A lot of those points are Mishima specific, although other characters have the maneuver. Armor King, for instance, can Crouch Dash into his Double Upper (his own version of the Wind God Fist) or his unique Dashing Clothesline. It is hard to argue that the King of Iron Fist tournament does not center around the Mishimas, and the fact that Heihachi, Kazuya, Jin, and, later, Devil Jin's high level play neccesitates mastery of the Crouch Dash and its inherent variability makes the choice pretty easy. But again, like Flight, it is an evasive maneuver first. For an attack, the Electric Wind God Fist seems like a solid choice.
I'm sorry; I know I've glossed over two decades of fighting games. No Soul Caliber Guard Impacts, no Fatal Fury Deadly Raves, no Smash Brothers Meteor Smashes. No Mortal Kombat nothing... To compensate I'll leave you with a fortune cookie from Master Tzu that should help you digest the significance of my selections.
Whereas Big Sis Prinny has been covering the cutting edge, I have been haunted by the ghost of fighting games past. Guilty Gear X2: The Midnight Carnival #Reload, to be specific. I remember SRK calling it the best two dimensional fighting game I wasn't playing. They were, of course, correct on both counts.
I am stumbling into the game way late, natch. XX Slash and XX ^Core have made much of what I am learning obsolete. I managed to beat Boss I-No on Maniac level difficulty, yet I still have zero skill with Roman Cancels (false or otherwise) and Bursts. I can't even nail down Sol Badguy's infamous Dust Loop. I wanted to perhaps focus on this Dust Loop trap, or perhaps the Immoral Flame's Dragon Install. Unfortunately I don't have the background in the series to share with you the quintessential technique; the one move that could sum up the hyperactive anime-heavy metal amalgam so rife with delicate balance and rich intricacy that hangs like a succulent forbidden fruit before a starved fighting gamer's eyes.
But, hell, let's look at the signature techniques of a few competitive fighting series. Maybe we'll learn something.
The Shoryuken
A lot of moves come to mind in the extensive Street Fighter universe. Chun Li's Hyakuretsu Kyaku is one of the most recognizable, along with Zangief's Spinning Piledriver, Blanka's Electricity, and Vega's Psycho Crusher. But what is the signature move of Street Fighter? The Hadouken comes in a close second, but hardcore fans know the answer: The Shoryuken.
Yes, the Hadouken (Surge Fist) is a very popular choice, but I'm afraid in the competitive world of Street Fighter, the Shoryuken (Rising Dragon Fist, or Dragon Uppercut) is the Jupiter of special moves. When to execute and when not to execute the Shoryuken is the hallmark of an Ansatsuken expert. In its initial animation frames it is invincible (or nigh invincible in later incarnations) yet if missed it leaves the player completely vulnerable as they slowly descend. It was the very first anti-air move, predating the far slower, and lower priority Flash Kick. And we all know how integral jump-in attacks were in an environment before dashes.
(Sidenote: In recent SF2 matches against Legoman, I often find myself trying to dash in on him, to no avail.)
Even the command input, forward, down, down-forward plus punch, is simply known as the Dragon Punch, or "DP" in popular notation for all fighting games.
Flight
I originally was writing this as Cable's Air Hyper Viper Beam, but after reviewing the competitive criteria of the Shoryuken vs. Hadouken decision, I'd have to say the most important special move from the Marvel Vs. games is Flight. Why? Three reasons: Magneto, Storm, and Sentinel. These three are featured so prominently in high level play because of their ability to control the screen while staying out of harm's way. The typical championship team consists of two out of the three and someone with a particularly effective Anti-Air Assist, like Cyke or Cammy. Hell, seeing just those three isn't uncommon either.
I know Flight wasn't really the essence of the entire series, but with the constantly shifting rosters of the Vs. series, few moves showed up every time, except for Wolvie's Berserker Barrage or the beam-style Shinku Hadouken. (Again with the Hadouken! Christ, Killa, give it a rest...) Without a doubt, Flight is an invaluable part of the expert's arsenal. If I had to go with an offensive move, it may still have to be Sentinel's Rocket Punch over Cable's AHVB, due to Cable's absence from most high tier teams.
The Mishima Crouch Dash
"Another non-attack?" I know. But the Mishimas and the Crouch Dash are so crucial to Tekken that it could not be avoided. I should say that the Crouch Dash (1) has the same input as the Shoryuken motion, except for Kazuya's abbreviated version; (2) ducks under high attacks; (3) parries low attacks in some instances; (4) can be linked with more Crouch Dashes for a Wavedash; (5) precedes the Hellsweep; (6) precedes the Wind God Fist, and the Electric Wind Godfist; (6) precedes the Hell's Gate.
A lot of those points are Mishima specific, although other characters have the maneuver. Armor King, for instance, can Crouch Dash into his Double Upper (his own version of the Wind God Fist) or his unique Dashing Clothesline. It is hard to argue that the King of Iron Fist tournament does not center around the Mishimas, and the fact that Heihachi, Kazuya, Jin, and, later, Devil Jin's high level play neccesitates mastery of the Crouch Dash and its inherent variability makes the choice pretty easy. But again, like Flight, it is an evasive maneuver first. For an attack, the Electric Wind God Fist seems like a solid choice.
I'm sorry; I know I've glossed over two decades of fighting games. No Soul Caliber Guard Impacts, no Fatal Fury Deadly Raves, no Smash Brothers Meteor Smashes. No Mortal Kombat nothing... To compensate I'll leave you with a fortune cookie from Master Tzu that should help you digest the significance of my selections.
"Hence that general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack."
-- Sun Tzu, /The Art of War/
DMC4 4 360?! OH NOES!
In a press release yesterday, Capcom announced that the next installment of their popular Devil May Cry series will not be exclusive to the PS3, as many people had speculated, but will instead be released simultaneously on the PS3, XBox 360, and PC.
After my surprise wore off, I channeled Martha Stewart and decided this is "a good thing."
A million years ago, I commented on this same phenomenon when someone reported that MGS4 would see an XBox 360 port. As far as I know, MGS4 on the 360 remains unconfirmed, but that could change at any time and I wouldn't be surprised if it did. Remember that MGS2 came to the XBox and the PC in addition to the PS2. The MGS4 "news" was hot on the heels of the announcement that Assassin's Creed, once touted as a PS3 exclusive, would be shared with the 360.
Those items weren't too alarming, though; MGS4 360 was an unconfirmed rumor, and Assassin's Creed, though a hot topic, is an untried original IP. It could turn out to be terrible for all we know (for the record, it won't; it's going to be OMG teh awesome). The PS3's sterling lineup of third-party exclusives was dwindling from the original robust list, but it still had Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII; Metal Gear Solid 4; and . . . Devil May Cry 4.
Let's assume we've reached an age in which the third-party exclusive is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Why is this bad? I still get to play DMC4, MGS4, Assassin's Creed, and every other game that has been announced for PS3 so far. Nothing has been taken away from the PS3; they've just been added to the 360 as well. I haven't lost anything, and I'm not meanspirited enough to begrudge anyone else these great games. And conversely, I'm looking forward to XBox 360's Enchanted Arms and Oblivion porting to the PS3 so that I can play them, and hoping that Eternal Sonata and Dead Rising will follow suit.
More titles on more platforms is good for consumers. Every dollar that Sony spends paying a developer to keep a title exclusive to the PS3 is a dollar Sony isn't spending elsewhere---like on its first-party titles, its Playstation Home network, or on a much-needed new PR campaign. When developers sell more copies of their games, they get a return of more dollars to spend on making more games. If there are 2 million PS3s out there worldwide and 11 million 360s (I made up those numbers), it doesn't make sense for any third-party developer to keep a game exclusive to one console or the other unless they have a good reason to do so---a good reason might be, for instance, that the requirements of the game don't mesh with the capabilities of one system (a game that needs rumble is going to the 360; a game that needs motion controls is going to go to the PS3 or Wii). If going multiplatform gives you at least 2 million more potential customers, why not?
It is possible to access the total sales figures for 360 and PS3 consoles, but we don't really know how many 360s are out there due to well-documented hardware defects, and we don't know how many homes that have PS3s also have 360s. Those data would be helpful in figuring out how much of a market is out there for 360 exclusives, PS3 exclusives, and multiplatform titles.
There has been speculation that FFXIII will go the way of DMC4 and jump ship as well. All things are possible, but I don't think FFXIII is going anywhere. People have been pointing to SquareEnix's recent licensing of Unreal Engine 3, an engine known for its crossplatform portability. However, SquareEnix has confirmed that their proprietary White Engine is being used for FFXIII, and that they will continue to use the White Engine for SE games that are going to remain exclusive to the Sony console. I imagine that it's a bit too late for them now to scrap the White Engine build and move to Unreal Engine for this title (though I could be wrong). FFXIV may turn up on multiple platforms, but I think FFXIII is likely to stay put.
If we as console owners need to feel elite, there are still the first-party titles to consider. I will feel a twinge of pity for 360-instead-of-PS3 owners who won't get to experience Heavenly Sword, Lair, Gran Turismo, LittleBigPlanet, KillZone, and White Knight Story---all first party titles being published by and for Sony and only Sony. I'm sure the 360 owners feel that same twinge of pity for those of us who will never get to play Blue Dragon, Crackdown, Halo, and Gears of War---some of Microsoft's AAA first-party exclusives.
This situation is not going to sink the PS3; it's going to push Sony to develop more and better first-party titles so that they can sell more PS3s and secure more third-party exclusives. Microsoft, in turn, will push their first-party properties to the limits for the same reason. Then everybody wins.
After my surprise wore off, I channeled Martha Stewart and decided this is "a good thing."
A million years ago, I commented on this same phenomenon when someone reported that MGS4 would see an XBox 360 port. As far as I know, MGS4 on the 360 remains unconfirmed, but that could change at any time and I wouldn't be surprised if it did. Remember that MGS2 came to the XBox and the PC in addition to the PS2. The MGS4 "news" was hot on the heels of the announcement that Assassin's Creed, once touted as a PS3 exclusive, would be shared with the 360.
Those items weren't too alarming, though; MGS4 360 was an unconfirmed rumor, and Assassin's Creed, though a hot topic, is an untried original IP. It could turn out to be terrible for all we know (for the record, it won't; it's going to be OMG teh awesome). The PS3's sterling lineup of third-party exclusives was dwindling from the original robust list, but it still had Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII; Metal Gear Solid 4; and . . . Devil May Cry 4.
Let's assume we've reached an age in which the third-party exclusive is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Why is this bad? I still get to play DMC4, MGS4, Assassin's Creed, and every other game that has been announced for PS3 so far. Nothing has been taken away from the PS3; they've just been added to the 360 as well. I haven't lost anything, and I'm not meanspirited enough to begrudge anyone else these great games. And conversely, I'm looking forward to XBox 360's Enchanted Arms and Oblivion porting to the PS3 so that I can play them, and hoping that Eternal Sonata and Dead Rising will follow suit.
More titles on more platforms is good for consumers. Every dollar that Sony spends paying a developer to keep a title exclusive to the PS3 is a dollar Sony isn't spending elsewhere---like on its first-party titles, its Playstation Home network, or on a much-needed new PR campaign. When developers sell more copies of their games, they get a return of more dollars to spend on making more games. If there are 2 million PS3s out there worldwide and 11 million 360s (I made up those numbers), it doesn't make sense for any third-party developer to keep a game exclusive to one console or the other unless they have a good reason to do so---a good reason might be, for instance, that the requirements of the game don't mesh with the capabilities of one system (a game that needs rumble is going to the 360; a game that needs motion controls is going to go to the PS3 or Wii). If going multiplatform gives you at least 2 million more potential customers, why not?
It is possible to access the total sales figures for 360 and PS3 consoles, but we don't really know how many 360s are out there due to well-documented hardware defects, and we don't know how many homes that have PS3s also have 360s. Those data would be helpful in figuring out how much of a market is out there for 360 exclusives, PS3 exclusives, and multiplatform titles.
There has been speculation that FFXIII will go the way of DMC4 and jump ship as well. All things are possible, but I don't think FFXIII is going anywhere. People have been pointing to SquareEnix's recent licensing of Unreal Engine 3, an engine known for its crossplatform portability. However, SquareEnix has confirmed that their proprietary White Engine is being used for FFXIII, and that they will continue to use the White Engine for SE games that are going to remain exclusive to the Sony console. I imagine that it's a bit too late for them now to scrap the White Engine build and move to Unreal Engine for this title (though I could be wrong). FFXIV may turn up on multiple platforms, but I think FFXIII is likely to stay put.
If we as console owners need to feel elite, there are still the first-party titles to consider. I will feel a twinge of pity for 360-instead-of-PS3 owners who won't get to experience Heavenly Sword, Lair, Gran Turismo, LittleBigPlanet, KillZone, and White Knight Story---all first party titles being published by and for Sony and only Sony. I'm sure the 360 owners feel that same twinge of pity for those of us who will never get to play Blue Dragon, Crackdown, Halo, and Gears of War---some of Microsoft's AAA first-party exclusives.
This situation is not going to sink the PS3; it's going to push Sony to develop more and better first-party titles so that they can sell more PS3s and secure more third-party exclusives. Microsoft, in turn, will push their first-party properties to the limits for the same reason. Then everybody wins.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
A Glister(?) of Envy
Few people are aware that the famous aphorism "all that glitters is not gold" is actually a misquote---the original language is "glister," a loveable word that has unforunately fallen out of vogue. I'm not sure whether Bacon stole the idea from Shakespeare or if Shakespeare stole it from Bacon; in any case the phrase turns up again, with great effect, during the eighteenth century in one of my favorite morbid poems, which teaches us that all that "glisters" isn't gold, and, more importantly, that curiosity killed the cat.
Don't say that you didn't learn anything today.
Choosing a console, for me, wasn't about which machine was technically the superior one, which can perform more flop-o-flops per nan-o-second, or which company has the better marketing campaign (hint: it's not Sony). It wasn't a matter of price, size, availability, or brand loyalty. It was a simple choice of current and future library. There just weren't and aren't any exclusive games on the XBox 360 that are interesting or appealing to me. I gave it some serious thought; I just spent the last twenty minutes going through a list of XBox 360 games. There aren't even any titles that "I would play if I happened to have a 360." Blue Dragon is close, but it strikes me as too much of a DQ knockoff. . . . So, anyway, I made my choice to pass on the 360. It's not to say that there's anything wrong with the 360. It just isn't for me. I've put down that foot; made that bed; burnt that bridge; &c.
And then came Eternal Sonata. I had heard murmurs of a game called "Trusty Bell" but I hadn't really looked into it because, at the time, all the news was about the Japanese version (Eternal Sonata : NA : : Trusty Bell : JP). In the last week or so, though, Kotaku and Joystiq furnished some screenshots that have become the basis for my first real exposure to the game, and it looks amazing. It has a historical-revisionist flavor, redolent of the Shadow Hearts series that I enjoyed, in that it centers around the last three hours of Chopin's life as he is dying of tuberculosis. Music in general, and Chopin's music in particular, are reported to play a big role in the game. If you poke around the Namco site a bit you can find a Japanese trailer for the game (here---but make sure to close the Namco web site once your WMV window pops up, or else you'll hear the web site background music playing under the trailer music . . . dueling Chopins). The music and graphics are beautiful; the video gives the impression of playing an anime movie.
Although I wouldn't buy a console system just on the merits of one game, if ever I were to do so, this would be the game. In order to calm my jealousy I've ordered a used copy of Baten Kaitos, a GCN game from the same group that is making Eternal Sonata. In the mean time, I am going to try to trick myself by playing Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure on my PS3, imperfect backwards compatibility permitting. I know that Eternal Sonata will never be able to compete with the overwhelming popularity of games like Halo and Gears of War in the United States, but overseas (*cough*JAPAN*cough*) and among PlayStation-owning JRPG fans, this game has the potential to be like goldfish to our proverbial, unfortunate cat.
Don't say that you didn't learn anything today.
Choosing a console, for me, wasn't about which machine was technically the superior one, which can perform more flop-o-flops per nan-o-second, or which company has the better marketing campaign (hint: it's not Sony). It wasn't a matter of price, size, availability, or brand loyalty. It was a simple choice of current and future library. There just weren't and aren't any exclusive games on the XBox 360 that are interesting or appealing to me. I gave it some serious thought; I just spent the last twenty minutes going through a list of XBox 360 games. There aren't even any titles that "I would play if I happened to have a 360." Blue Dragon is close, but it strikes me as too much of a DQ knockoff. . . . So, anyway, I made my choice to pass on the 360. It's not to say that there's anything wrong with the 360. It just isn't for me. I've put down that foot; made that bed; burnt that bridge; &c.
And then came Eternal Sonata. I had heard murmurs of a game called "Trusty Bell" but I hadn't really looked into it because, at the time, all the news was about the Japanese version (Eternal Sonata : NA : : Trusty Bell : JP). In the last week or so, though, Kotaku and Joystiq furnished some screenshots that have become the basis for my first real exposure to the game, and it looks amazing. It has a historical-revisionist flavor, redolent of the Shadow Hearts series that I enjoyed, in that it centers around the last three hours of Chopin's life as he is dying of tuberculosis. Music in general, and Chopin's music in particular, are reported to play a big role in the game. If you poke around the Namco site a bit you can find a Japanese trailer for the game (here---but make sure to close the Namco web site once your WMV window pops up, or else you'll hear the web site background music playing under the trailer music . . . dueling Chopins). The music and graphics are beautiful; the video gives the impression of playing an anime movie.
Although I wouldn't buy a console system just on the merits of one game, if ever I were to do so, this would be the game. In order to calm my jealousy I've ordered a used copy of Baten Kaitos, a GCN game from the same group that is making Eternal Sonata. In the mean time, I am going to try to trick myself by playing Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure on my PS3, imperfect backwards compatibility permitting. I know that Eternal Sonata will never be able to compete with the overwhelming popularity of games like Halo and Gears of War in the United States, but overseas (*cough*JAPAN*cough*) and among PlayStation-owning JRPG fans, this game has the potential to be like goldfish to our proverbial, unfortunate cat.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
For Every Samus
(There is an Equal and Opposite Lara)
"Why aren't there more female gaming bloggers?" asks Kotaku's Brian Crecente. It's a good question and I'm glad somebody has asked it "aloud." Why are they so hard to find? The fact is that we're looking for individuals with three crucial characteristics, each harder to find than the one before.
The community of women is not small; the community of gamers is smaller than that, but still by no means small; finally, the community of writers falls somewhere in between, depending on how you define a "writer." We're looking for a person who is all three of these things in one person, so we have to ask ourselves: "Where is the stumbling block?" I have no doubt that there are plenty of writers who are women. I know that there is no shortage of gamers who are writers. If we accept both of these premises as true, then we must conclude that the choke point is women who are also gamers.
To get to the root cause of this, we must puzzle out why the community of female gamers is not proportionate in size to the community of male gamers. By way of a disclaimer, I don't purport to be an anthropologist, sociologist, psychologist, or ethnographer, so I can't make these claims with any sort of academic authority. All I have is my own perception.
Is it that women as a demographic are ambivalent toward video games in the same way that they are ambivalent toward sports? I think this is a possibility that accounts for some women---it's possible that a greater proportion of women than men just aren't interested in games---but we're comparing apples and oranges. On the one hand, sports and video games are both forms of entertainment, and in that sense it's fair to say that some women in general may simply be uninterested in these forms of entertainment. On the other hand, video games are a type of media. To say that games aren't interesting to women is akin to saying that television, radio, or books aren't of interest to women (or men, or any other demographic).
Is it that there is a stigma attached to playing video games? For an adult woman---in my experience, yes. When I told one colleague at my place of employment that I enjoy playing video games, she responded: "Really? You don't look like that kind of person." Another response I have received from another coworker is: "At your age?" The other day I received a phone call in the evening from a colleague who knows that I work a full-time job, plus a part-time job, on top of caring for a husband, a home, a dog, and this blog. Instead of asking what I was up to that evening, she simply said: "You're probably playing your video games."
The perception that gaming is the province of adolescent boys leads to the assumption among the misinformed that an adult man who is a gamer simply has not grown out of a boyish habit, whereas an adult woman who is a gamer is doing something that is not only age inappropriate, but also gender inappropriate. When pressed, non-gaming colleagues have told me they feel that gaming is a waste of time, or that it is a lot of time to spend on something that has no lasting results and leads to no measurable gain. For some reason, though, these same people don't feel that watching Lost or Ugly Betty on television, browsing YouTube on the computer, or spending an evening at a nightclub are profitless wastes of time.
Is it also possible that there is negativity toward women within the male gaming community? Yes. Although it's much more comfortable to direct the blame outside of the gaming community that I love, the fact is that male gamers engage in hostility toward female gamers, often without even realizing they are doing so.
"It's up to you [women] to help change perceptions, because god knows we've had enough Barbie Adventures for a lifetime," Crecente writes, but there's a major logic flaw in his plea. It won't help for women gamers to come forward and tell the world that we're sick of Barbie Adventures. The perception problem here is that people---even people who are seriously in the know---assume that games like Barbie ____ Adventures are being made for and marketed to women when they are in fact being made for and marketed to children. Nora Helmer, do you hear this? Is it possible that confusing these two demographics might be part of the reason adult women are steering clear?
In high school, I took a co-ed gym class (scandalous!) that did weight training on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and free exercise on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On the first Monday of class, the coach tossed a basketball into the center of the gym and said: "Today is free exercise. Boys, play basketball. Girls, sit in the bleachers and gossip." (This is absolutely a true account.) I sort of feel the same way about the welcome women gamers receive from gentleman gamers: "Boys, play Halo. Girls, play Barbie's Latest Adventure."
"Why aren't there more female gaming bloggers?" asks Kotaku's Brian Crecente. It's a good question and I'm glad somebody has asked it "aloud." Why are they so hard to find? The fact is that we're looking for individuals with three crucial characteristics, each harder to find than the one before.
The community of women is not small; the community of gamers is smaller than that, but still by no means small; finally, the community of writers falls somewhere in between, depending on how you define a "writer." We're looking for a person who is all three of these things in one person, so we have to ask ourselves: "Where is the stumbling block?" I have no doubt that there are plenty of writers who are women. I know that there is no shortage of gamers who are writers. If we accept both of these premises as true, then we must conclude that the choke point is women who are also gamers.To get to the root cause of this, we must puzzle out why the community of female gamers is not proportionate in size to the community of male gamers. By way of a disclaimer, I don't purport to be an anthropologist, sociologist, psychologist, or ethnographer, so I can't make these claims with any sort of academic authority. All I have is my own perception.
Is it that women as a demographic are ambivalent toward video games in the same way that they are ambivalent toward sports? I think this is a possibility that accounts for some women---it's possible that a greater proportion of women than men just aren't interested in games---but we're comparing apples and oranges. On the one hand, sports and video games are both forms of entertainment, and in that sense it's fair to say that some women in general may simply be uninterested in these forms of entertainment. On the other hand, video games are a type of media. To say that games aren't interesting to women is akin to saying that television, radio, or books aren't of interest to women (or men, or any other demographic).
Is it that there is a stigma attached to playing video games? For an adult woman---in my experience, yes. When I told one colleague at my place of employment that I enjoy playing video games, she responded: "Really? You don't look like that kind of person." Another response I have received from another coworker is: "At your age?" The other day I received a phone call in the evening from a colleague who knows that I work a full-time job, plus a part-time job, on top of caring for a husband, a home, a dog, and this blog. Instead of asking what I was up to that evening, she simply said: "You're probably playing your video games."
The perception that gaming is the province of adolescent boys leads to the assumption among the misinformed that an adult man who is a gamer simply has not grown out of a boyish habit, whereas an adult woman who is a gamer is doing something that is not only age inappropriate, but also gender inappropriate. When pressed, non-gaming colleagues have told me they feel that gaming is a waste of time, or that it is a lot of time to spend on something that has no lasting results and leads to no measurable gain. For some reason, though, these same people don't feel that watching Lost or Ugly Betty on television, browsing YouTube on the computer, or spending an evening at a nightclub are profitless wastes of time.
Is it also possible that there is negativity toward women within the male gaming community? Yes. Although it's much more comfortable to direct the blame outside of the gaming community that I love, the fact is that male gamers engage in hostility toward female gamers, often without even realizing they are doing so.
"It's up to you [women] to help change perceptions, because god knows we've had enough Barbie Adventures for a lifetime," Crecente writes, but there's a major logic flaw in his plea. It won't help for women gamers to come forward and tell the world that we're sick of Barbie Adventures. The perception problem here is that people---even people who are seriously in the know---assume that games like Barbie ____ Adventures are being made for and marketed to women when they are in fact being made for and marketed to children. Nora Helmer, do you hear this? Is it possible that confusing these two demographics might be part of the reason adult women are steering clear?
In high school, I took a co-ed gym class (scandalous!) that did weight training on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and free exercise on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On the first Monday of class, the coach tossed a basketball into the center of the gym and said: "Today is free exercise. Boys, play basketball. Girls, sit in the bleachers and gossip." (This is absolutely a true account.) I sort of feel the same way about the welcome women gamers receive from gentleman gamers: "Boys, play Halo. Girls, play Barbie's Latest Adventure."
Saturday, March 10, 2007
What a Wonderful World
Just as Kotaku.com predicted, Phil Harrison announced Playstation Home right on schedule at Wednesday's keynote speech at GDC. What nobody saw coming was the unveiling of LittleBigPlanet, a three-dimensional, high-definition, cooperative platformer for the PS3; see following:
I've been happy with my PS3 purchase all along (having finally been able to play Shadow of the Colossus in progressive scan), but this news, combined with the unveiling of Home (and subsequent video preview of same), has turned quite a few "h8rs" into "b3li3vrs." I'm loving this take on simplicity in HD. The "sac boys" (i.e., the player avatars; please, Sony, please change the nomenclature) are an example of how to do "cartoony" in an HD environment. Don't plunk your goofy cartoony character down in a highly detailed, realistic landscape. That just looks dumb. Find a way to incorporate HD for your cartoony characters---in this case by applying high-resolution, real-world textures to animated characters that are essentially bean bags. I love them.
In other news from GDC, I have heard rumors that object of my affection, Heavenly Sword, has been delayed (again); hoping it's just a rumor. Confirmed is the rumor that, in order to cut production costs, PS3s produced for the European launch, and, subsequently, new PS3s being produced for North American and Japanese territories, will not include the Emotion Engine. The Emotion Engine is the CPU from the PS2, the inclusion of which within existing PS3s accounts for the (reasonably) comprehensive backward compatibility (BC) we've enjoyed thus far. Future BC will be accomplished through software emultation, so it's no biggie. Not all PS1 and PS2 titles will be compatible with the emulation, but many will. If you are concerned, hurry up and buy your PS3 quick---before the Emotion Engine-inclusive models are gone.
Friday, March 2, 2007
The Greatest Fighter in the World
(A Winner Is Me)
The smartest thing Sega could have done, in my opinion, was to get their polygonal foot in the virtual PS3 door and come out with their highly anticipated Virtua Fighter 5 before a deluge of games begins hitting the platform this spring and summer. In a related opinion, I also feel that the smartest thing Namco/Bandai could have done was get one of their illustrious fighters onto the platform ASAP, in order to give Sega the smallest advantage possible.
When Sega and Namco/Bandai are smart, everybody wins; especially me. But I always win, because I am apparently the greatest fighter in the world.
I did finally get Virtua Fighter 5 on February 22 after an epic struggle. Then, on Thursday, as you may have heard, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection hit the PlayStation Store for downloading, so now I have both. I should reiterate that, at heart, I am a Soul Caliber fan and I have never played much of the previous installments of the Virtua Fighter or Tekken series. But with Soul Caliber IV barely even announced, I'll take what I can get.
First of all, both games look phenomenal. My understanding is that VF5 is running in 720p and Tekken 5 in 1080p (my television maxes out at 720p/1080i, so I may not be squeezing the most graphical juice out of Tekken), and both seem to be running at a solid 60 frames per second. This is especially crucial in VF5, which is so demanding of users' command input that some moves can only be executed by tapping buttons for a single frame---1/60th of a second. These are not any of the moves that I am performing. In any case, Virtua Fighter, despite its lower resolution, has the edge on Tekken in the graphics department, with backgrounds that are completely detailed (I especially love the snowy mountain level in which character movement leaves footprints and impressions in the snow) and extremely realistic character textures (see, e.g., Jeffrey McWild's craggy complexion). Playing as Lili in Tekken, I was disappointed to see the polygons of her hair crash through the polygons of her lower back as she walked away from an opponent after a match. For the most part, Tekken's graphics are beautiful; Tekken 6, I'm sure, will meet or surpass the beauty of VF5.
Neither game features online play. I'm not very clear on the specifics, but my understanding is that frame-based games, which demand deft precision in command input, can't be played online because of latency issues. This makes perfect sense to me---I've played plenty of online games over high-speed internet, and I know you can't eliminate lag well enough to ensure that the two players are synced within 1/60th of a second. Still, it would be nice if I could get out there and play against some other people, since I'm the greatest fighter in the world.
My brother was concerned that once I had both games I'd be hopelessly mixed up about which was which, but there are plenty of differences between the two for me to keep both games straight---and to justify purchasing both. Virtua Fighter's signature realism makes for a completely different experience than Tekken's comic take on the fighting genre. Virtua Fighter is the one in which you can not play as a bear, a kangaroo, or a wooden training dummy. Got it. I think I prefer Tekken's over-the-top martial arts pageant, but I do enjoy them both.
An item in the cons column for Tekken is that it is missing some components I would have made a lot of use of---especially a practice or training mode. But for $20, it's a steal. VF5, a much more robust game in terms of features and modes of play, has a dojo mode for training as well as a quest mode. When I fired up quest mode---perhaps because I am a novice of this series---I was expecting something along the lines of Soul Caliber's Weapons Master mode, in which the character of my choice would engage in some kind of storyline mode. Not so! Instead, quest mode takes me, the player, through an apparently neverending string of versus battles that take place in simulated Japanese arcades, against simulated Japanese players. It essentially simulates the experience of being a Japanese person playing VF5 in the arcades of Japan, as though you are the greatest fighter in the world. The other players are extremely easy, and I played through a good thirty or forty consecutive matches without losing before I figured out how to escape from quest mode. As a complete beginner at Virtua Fighter, I don't think I should have been able to win thirty matches in a row. I know my P P P K combo is awesome, but it's hard to believe that thirty people in a row would fall for it.
Anyway, now that I have both games on my PS3, I would like to see the luchador from Tekken fight the luchador from Virtua Fighter. I think that would be totally sweet.
In related news, Mortal Kombat II is also slated to hit the PS3 online store in March, with online multiplayer enabled. I'm sure this will be my big chance to demonstrate that I am the greatest fighter in the world.
The smartest thing Sega could have done, in my opinion, was to get their polygonal foot in the virtual PS3 door and come out with their highly anticipated Virtua Fighter 5 before a deluge of games begins hitting the platform this spring and summer. In a related opinion, I also feel that the smartest thing Namco/Bandai could have done was get one of their illustrious fighters onto the platform ASAP, in order to give Sega the smallest advantage possible.
When Sega and Namco/Bandai are smart, everybody wins; especially me. But I always win, because I am apparently the greatest fighter in the world.
I did finally get Virtua Fighter 5 on February 22 after an epic struggle. Then, on Thursday, as you may have heard, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection hit the PlayStation Store for downloading, so now I have both. I should reiterate that, at heart, I am a Soul Caliber fan and I have never played much of the previous installments of the Virtua Fighter or Tekken series. But with Soul Caliber IV barely even announced, I'll take what I can get.
First of all, both games look phenomenal. My understanding is that VF5 is running in 720p and Tekken 5 in 1080p (my television maxes out at 720p/1080i, so I may not be squeezing the most graphical juice out of Tekken), and both seem to be running at a solid 60 frames per second. This is especially crucial in VF5, which is so demanding of users' command input that some moves can only be executed by tapping buttons for a single frame---1/60th of a second. These are not any of the moves that I am performing. In any case, Virtua Fighter, despite its lower resolution, has the edge on Tekken in the graphics department, with backgrounds that are completely detailed (I especially love the snowy mountain level in which character movement leaves footprints and impressions in the snow) and extremely realistic character textures (see, e.g., Jeffrey McWild's craggy complexion). Playing as Lili in Tekken, I was disappointed to see the polygons of her hair crash through the polygons of her lower back as she walked away from an opponent after a match. For the most part, Tekken's graphics are beautiful; Tekken 6, I'm sure, will meet or surpass the beauty of VF5.
Neither game features online play. I'm not very clear on the specifics, but my understanding is that frame-based games, which demand deft precision in command input, can't be played online because of latency issues. This makes perfect sense to me---I've played plenty of online games over high-speed internet, and I know you can't eliminate lag well enough to ensure that the two players are synced within 1/60th of a second. Still, it would be nice if I could get out there and play against some other people, since I'm the greatest fighter in the world.
My brother was concerned that once I had both games I'd be hopelessly mixed up about which was which, but there are plenty of differences between the two for me to keep both games straight---and to justify purchasing both. Virtua Fighter's signature realism makes for a completely different experience than Tekken's comic take on the fighting genre. Virtua Fighter is the one in which you can not play as a bear, a kangaroo, or a wooden training dummy. Got it. I think I prefer Tekken's over-the-top martial arts pageant, but I do enjoy them both.
An item in the cons column for Tekken is that it is missing some components I would have made a lot of use of---especially a practice or training mode. But for $20, it's a steal. VF5, a much more robust game in terms of features and modes of play, has a dojo mode for training as well as a quest mode. When I fired up quest mode---perhaps because I am a novice of this series---I was expecting something along the lines of Soul Caliber's Weapons Master mode, in which the character of my choice would engage in some kind of storyline mode. Not so! Instead, quest mode takes me, the player, through an apparently neverending string of versus battles that take place in simulated Japanese arcades, against simulated Japanese players. It essentially simulates the experience of being a Japanese person playing VF5 in the arcades of Japan, as though you are the greatest fighter in the world. The other players are extremely easy, and I played through a good thirty or forty consecutive matches without losing before I figured out how to escape from quest mode. As a complete beginner at Virtua Fighter, I don't think I should have been able to win thirty matches in a row. I know my P P P K combo is awesome, but it's hard to believe that thirty people in a row would fall for it.
Anyway, now that I have both games on my PS3, I would like to see the luchador from Tekken fight the luchador from Virtua Fighter. I think that would be totally sweet.
In related news, Mortal Kombat II is also slated to hit the PS3 online store in March, with online multiplayer enabled. I'm sure this will be my big chance to demonstrate that I am the greatest fighter in the world.
While We Were Sleeping
(Breaking News: Sony To Take Ball, Go Home.)
It was a dark and stormy night, and I was out like a light, sleeping the sleep of the chronically afflicted. I have this cold from November through March, every year. As soon as the weather warms up, and I get some sun, and the sniffles finally disperse, it will be allergy season.
Somewhere in the gathering darkness Killa, too, was sleeping, dreaming his headshot dreams. Suddenly, a shot rang out! A door slammed! The maid screamed! Suddenly, PR snafu appeared on the horizon.
In an interview on Wednesday, February 28, the GDC executive director (Jamil Moledina) told the media that (SCEI executive) Phil Harrison's keynote speech at GDC next week would leave PS3 owners "very happy." I didn't pay too much attention to this at the time; I'm enjoying my PS3. I'd be "very happy" with a FFXIII demo, but that would be SE news, not SCEI news. Well whatever. I filed it away in my brain for future reference. Although prompted for further information, Moledina was rightly reticent.
Yesterday, March 1, Kotaku.com editors Brian Crecente and Michael McWhertor ran a rumor that the highly anticipated announcement Phil Harrison would be making on March 7 was to be the unveiling of PlayStation Home, Sony's take on XBox Live and Nintendo's Mii channel---a virtual space where PS3 players can house an avatar and display their gaming achievments (sort of like one's house in Animal Crossing, I have heard it said). When they tried to verify the story with Sony, Crecente and McWhertor were asked not to publish the story, then threatened with ominous consequences if they ran it, which they did anyway. Kotaku and Sony seem to have since made up, but not quickly enough to keep diehard Sony fanboys Tycho and Gabe over at PA from commenting on the events.
Let this be a lesson to anyone who is in the field of, or considering going into, public relations. The news media and the blogging community are not part of your PR machine. It is the job of your PR department to keep news under wraps until it is advantageous for you to reveal it, while generating as much excitement about it as possible. SCEI and GDC representatives did this by leaking teaser tidbits about Harrison's keynotes. That was the correct thing for them to do. It is then the job of the news media and the blogging community to disseminate information when they have it. It is ludicrous for Sony to expect Kotaku to hold their information for them, and the implication that Crecente and McWhertor were somehow behaving unethically or discourteously is equally ludicrous.
If Sony hadn't made such a big fuss over this, it would have remained a rumor. The gaming community would have speculated about it over the next week and then, come March 7, Phil Harrison could have made his keynote as planned with even more buzz than before, because Kotaku's readers would have all tuned in to find out if the rumors were true.
Instead, Sony essentially confirmed the story by vehemently insisting that Kotaku sit on the rumor. If Sony had simply said to Kotaku, "Hey, we wish you wouldn't run this," the story would have run as a rumor and that's it. But the PR explosion serves the dual purpose of convincing everyone who heard it that A) the information is true, and B) the Sony PR machine is a big jerk. Had Sony let the story run as a rumor and held back any comments, it would have turned out pretty well for them, I think. It's unfortunate that Sony's judgement was so poor in this case; they really need all the good PR they can get.
They had learned about public relations, but more importantly, they had learned something about life.
It was a dark and stormy night, and I was out like a light, sleeping the sleep of the chronically afflicted. I have this cold from November through March, every year. As soon as the weather warms up, and I get some sun, and the sniffles finally disperse, it will be allergy season.
Somewhere in the gathering darkness Killa, too, was sleeping, dreaming his headshot dreams. Suddenly, a shot rang out! A door slammed! The maid screamed! Suddenly, PR snafu appeared on the horizon.
In an interview on Wednesday, February 28, the GDC executive director (Jamil Moledina) told the media that (SCEI executive) Phil Harrison's keynote speech at GDC next week would leave PS3 owners "very happy." I didn't pay too much attention to this at the time; I'm enjoying my PS3. I'd be "very happy" with a FFXIII demo, but that would be SE news, not SCEI news. Well whatever. I filed it away in my brain for future reference. Although prompted for further information, Moledina was rightly reticent.
Yesterday, March 1, Kotaku.com editors Brian Crecente and Michael McWhertor ran a rumor that the highly anticipated announcement Phil Harrison would be making on March 7 was to be the unveiling of PlayStation Home, Sony's take on XBox Live and Nintendo's Mii channel---a virtual space where PS3 players can house an avatar and display their gaming achievments (sort of like one's house in Animal Crossing, I have heard it said). When they tried to verify the story with Sony, Crecente and McWhertor were asked not to publish the story, then threatened with ominous consequences if they ran it, which they did anyway. Kotaku and Sony seem to have since made up, but not quickly enough to keep diehard Sony fanboys Tycho and Gabe over at PA from commenting on the events.
Let this be a lesson to anyone who is in the field of, or considering going into, public relations. The news media and the blogging community are not part of your PR machine. It is the job of your PR department to keep news under wraps until it is advantageous for you to reveal it, while generating as much excitement about it as possible. SCEI and GDC representatives did this by leaking teaser tidbits about Harrison's keynotes. That was the correct thing for them to do. It is then the job of the news media and the blogging community to disseminate information when they have it. It is ludicrous for Sony to expect Kotaku to hold their information for them, and the implication that Crecente and McWhertor were somehow behaving unethically or discourteously is equally ludicrous.
If Sony hadn't made such a big fuss over this, it would have remained a rumor. The gaming community would have speculated about it over the next week and then, come March 7, Phil Harrison could have made his keynote as planned with even more buzz than before, because Kotaku's readers would have all tuned in to find out if the rumors were true.
Instead, Sony essentially confirmed the story by vehemently insisting that Kotaku sit on the rumor. If Sony had simply said to Kotaku, "Hey, we wish you wouldn't run this," the story would have run as a rumor and that's it. But the PR explosion serves the dual purpose of convincing everyone who heard it that A) the information is true, and B) the Sony PR machine is a big jerk. Had Sony let the story run as a rumor and held back any comments, it would have turned out pretty well for them, I think. It's unfortunate that Sony's judgement was so poor in this case; they really need all the good PR they can get.
They had learned about public relations, but more importantly, they had learned something about life.
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