AndrewTS

Considering how close to release it is, we should have a better idea at TGS, where it *should* be playable. I'll admit it *looks* good at least, and doesn't have as many inherent problems as Sonic in 3D. Nights was and is a 2D/3D combo, and was designed for a 3D machine. With similar core gameplay and updated graphics, with enough polish it could be a fine game. Bringing Sonic to 3D was plagued with problems, as any of the poor STI folks who worked on Sonic Xtreme can tell you. You got to have speed but the hardware needs to be able to handle it. You need to allow the game to feel fast and fun, but not be too easy. You need to have obstacles, but you can't ones that are too difficult to handle with the speed of the game. Sonic and the Secret Rings (different director, btw) was conceptually solid, but in execution extremely poor. No game should make you EARN the right to have better control like that game did. Undoubtedly the next 3D Sonic is going to need to be re-re-invented, because everything up until now has been broken. Nights wasn't. So basically, this shouldn't be as big a leap to be a good game.

Izuka is the guy who designed and directed Shadow the Hedgehog, directed Sonic Heroes and SA2 and was one of the head guys on SA1. I referenced him in the first line of my first post. (The spelling can be either way) So yeah, he did work on Nights, but he also worked on *those* games--with little (Naka) or no (Oshima, Yasuhara) help or guidance from those 3 pivotal figures I named previously. But, on Nights he was lead game designer. So the basic gameplay concepts and game mechanics likely are thanks to him. It's just his more recent work that is killing me. So many series have gone to hell just after losing a single lead team member. Nights' sequel has lost 3. The odds just seem against it.

Yeah, doesn't look good: original director, producer, level designer all gone; Sonic Team's last attempt at a similar game (Astro Boy on PS2) sucked; and the lead guy on this project made Shadow the Hedgehog. So, hope for the best, but expect nothing.

Well, "not the original Sonic Team" in a sense. Some folks are there, but three main guys basically made Sonic and Nights into Dreams happen: Yuji Naka, Hirokazu Yasuhara, and Naoto Oshima. Yuji Naka split off and formed his own studio last year, but he didn't really do jack crap in years recent except slap a producer credit on the 3D Sonics. The original NiGHTs was the last hurrah for Sonic Team at its best. The director was Oshima, and level designs were done by Yasuhara. Oshima was canned by Naka (reported he called Oshima a useless hack, which is ironic) and formed Artoon, and Yasuhara joined Naughty Dog and was instrumental in making Crash Bandicoot a success. Naka being gone isn't the problem. He turned into a glory-hogging, whiny bitch, sabotaged Sonic Xtreme, and drove basically the heart and soul of Sonic Team from the company. Oshima and Yasuhara being gone is the real tragedy of Sonic Team.

aka "Izuka please don't **** this up, like you did, well, basically every Sonic-related thing you've touched." CHEESY MUSIC ALERT!: http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?id=4819 It wasn't playable at Leipzig, but was presented. Here's impressions of a level shown there from GC '07: http://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/nightsj...tml?sid=6177427 Lots of actual gameplay footage shown, but it looks like a lot of it is going to be a behind-the-back view of Nights, tilting and maneuvering with the motion controls. The level shown at Leipzig seemed to be a side view, so I guess you'll be switching through the course of the level (much like in the original game--the views shifted, although it was mainly a side view). I feel there's lots of potential there, based on playing the flying sequences in Twilight Princess, but nobody outside of Sega has played this thing yet it seems, and its unconfirmed it if it will be playable at TGS (this month, BTW).

Even if it's utterly ridiculous once you get older. Regardless, I love this commercial: http://www.viralchart.com/bloodonthecarpet/

I liked the ninja.

I'm about halfway through the game, and surprised how slowly that % counter is moving. However, something about the seeker missiles bug me. It doesn't seem that I can simply press and hold the d-pad down (or right, whatever you want to call it) to begin charging without firing off a solo missile first. I've done it by entering scan visor, holding the d-pad, and hitting the shoot button to exit it--that begins the seeker charge. I've also charged up the beam, began pressing the d-pad, then letting go of the beam. However, isn't there a way to do it without wasting a missile? Often if you try to do it to open those doors that require it, you'll waste more missiles because you might hit a point with a solo missile. Bah, why not make it a different direction on the d-pad or something, Retro? Also, phazing Metroids--hate'em. I just end up using beams because it's so damn hard to use missiles unless they're going for your face or something. Plus, the way they wiggle up and down in the air after avoiding a missile, I swear it looks like they're laughing at me.

Video review of Kid Dracula for Game Boy. Really good game: Video review of Splatterhouse 3:

Too bad Galactic Wrestling on PS2 kind of sucked, and Def Jam FFNY wasn't even a wrestling game, though.

I don't see RE5 Wii happening. I've said it time and again: it isn't just visual quality that separates the Wii from the real next gen platforms. The amount of on-screen characters/enemies, the size of the enviros, and the character AI also would be a problem for porting lots of next-gen titles. RE AI usually is poor, and ordinarily the enviros wouldn't be an issue within enclosed spaces, however footage we've seen on RE5 indicates likely lots of characters on screen at a given time along with large, open environments. In comparison, take a look at Metroid Prime 3 on Wii, where the system seems to nearly choke to death going through doors to another large area, likely due to the lack on onboard memory. It's well known that Wii couldn't handle a Dead Rising, Bioshock, or Assassin's Creed, and I doubt it could handle a RE5 without changing it beyond recognition. As for whether SD vs. Raw Wii would be worth a go--it depends. I'd give it a rent. The way I see it, THQ/Yukes have been miserable failures at making sim-style wrestling games for almost all of the series' tenure, so I'd want to see if they pull this off well. Otherwise, I'll just stick to No Mercy/Revenge, which is fine by me. It would all come down to the controls, but usually 360. That's why I purchased both systems, though.

Last I knew, this was based off the musical, but it wasn't going to be a musical. The other note I enjoy is that Sacha Baron Cohen will be in it. Cohen will actually be rapping in it. Anthony Stewart Head is also in.

I saw it, and I like it a little, but just a little. I found just about all the Mike as a kid crap intolerable. Within 2 minutes of the film starting I was wondering "okay, when is Mike going to butcher his family up?" and thinking "they deserve it." But that didn't happen. It just dragged and dragged. When it actually got around to adult Mike, I liked it. Huge crazy guy killing folks, providing opportunities for gratuitous breast shots--now that's what I wanted. I like that the deaths weren't too over the top, but plenty gritty and simple, for the most part. The twists that make you expect it's going to strictly follow the original, then taking it in a different direction--that I liked. Loomis being dead would suck, but I'm not expecting a sequel anyway. Even more confusing--where'd all those muscles come from? What the hell time did this movie mostly take place in? Kid Mike is obviously in the 70s, with 70s music playing everywhere, the KISS shirt, etc. But then 15 years later people are still seemingly playing a bunch of 70s music, Mike kills a blaxploitation-style character and...there are cell phones?! Wha?!

Bogus. Even the gameshark hackers haven't encountered anything like that.

Prime 2's price/demand sure as hell went up. Around where I live EB/GS's price shot up to 25 bucks, nobody seems to have it in store, and online I'm seeing the price go up too. Not Prime 1, though. I guess plenty of people liked that one anyway, but are giving 2 a second glance (or sold their GCs by then). I hate finding a new area or a pathway I didn't go to before, and my only reward is a dead end because I don't have the tools to proceed, or another missile expansion. Bah! What the heck is an "advanced movement system" anyway? EDIT: DOH! So obvious! Now that, I hate.

I did, yeah (Advanced/auto aim on). If you don't use Advanced it's a pain to move Samus around. Plus I've gotten accustomed to and enjoy using the lock-on. Bosses you have to free-aim anyway, and for most basic enemies it doesn't matter where you shoot them (no BOOM!--HEADSHOT goodness in a Nintendo game), so I'm just concerned with shootin' the critters. I might have to give Prime 2 another shot after this. If anyone wants to talk some sense into me about that, go right ahead.

Oh yeah, great game as well (Gears). Even if you typically hate, oh, squad based shooters, the game is so relatively easy and fun to play it's a blast and very accessible. Did you learn the joy of the active reload yet? I'd hate for you to learn it late in the game like I did. I completed it on casual a few weeks ago, because I only got my 360 in April and Gears wasn't at the top of my buy/play list, but I really like it now and plan to get started on Hardcore difficulty and collecting tags when I finish some other games. Plus Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, Brawl and Galaxy are still to come this year.

I have Metroid Prime 3.

Yeah, it existed in all the games, but depending on *when* you shot it it would be less noticable. Now, there's no doubt--it's a technical issue. It's rather surprising, too, because Gamecube games tended to always load much faster than most other disc games. You can actually hear the Wii working away trying to load the next area as you stand by the doors. No problem. Regular aiming works fine most of the time, but far/fast moving enemies are often too dang hard to deal with the free aim and it's difficult to keep track of them when they move around you, more so than with dual analog since your cursor isn't always centered that way. I got to the 2nd planet and am making my way through it now. Great looking/feeling/playing level. This level almost feels like they really want to make a First Person Zelda, considering its similarities to a Twilight Princess dungeon. Aiming/shooting and the grapple controls work great. I'm not so keen on the interactions, though. I usually have to fiddle around and redo it a bit because I go too fast. Go ahead and still get Bioshock, though. I'll be returning to my 2nd playthrough for a bit tomorrow. The actual gameplay in Prime 3 requires more puzzle-solving, though, while Bioshock is more exploring, shooting, and gawking at how amazing everything looks and sounds. Both are GOTYC to me

On Bryyo now, have to destroy the 2 energy signatures. I think I know where to go but for some reason nothing seems to be working. I've defeated , got the grapple swing, upgraded my ship, but I seem to keep running into dead ends. As far as I can tell I have to deal with the Eastern energy signature first, and I see paths that seem to be where I need to go. I see panels that can be ripped from the walls but I can't reach it. In the next area, with the big pool of fuel gel, there's a destructible pipe that I pelt with missiles and nothing happens, a large smokestack that is held in place by a support that I should be able to grapple/pull but I can't reach that. I know there's probably some simple thing I need to do to proceed but I'm stumped. EDIT: Nevermind. Had to sic my ship on it.

Played much more of the game, swapped my jump and shoot buttons and disabled free aim with the lock on. NOW it's clicking with me very well. And silly me to judge it on the first level. It feels way more like Prime now instead of a standard FPS. I did get a bit stuck on the area with the destroyed golem because there seemingly wasn't a way back. Then a bit further past that I slipped on my scan visor--ah-ha!

I've got the game, recently beat and so far I'm happy and disappointed. Happy that the game controls so well but disappointed it seems more like a typical FPS than the original Metroid Prime, where combat was never a focus because the exploration and puzzles were so grand and fun. It's a nice touch that there's a pseudo-achievement system in place, and I was a bit surprised to see the word "kills" in a Nintendo game ("hey, I got 200 kills!"), although makes me wish Nintendo's online system was up to even Live Silver standards. Anyone who has gotten the guide book, can you tell me if scanning is really necessary for unlocking anything of value? I've scanned almost everything since I learned how, and it's a pain in the ass now that I have to switch to a separate visor for it. Since the game is more linear it seems, I'd be less likely to be to be retracing my steps and getting to scan old stuff too. Somebody please tell me I can tell scanning to go to hell unless I really need to find out what something does. The absolute worst aspect of Prime, IMO. I see that the quirk about Prime I found most annoying--shooting doors ahead of time makes them take forever to actually open--is still in place. I'm guessing it just screws with the game loading the next room, which is ordinarily almost seamless?

My Wii was offline and it did it anyway. But I'm still at 2.2 firmware, so I don't know what it did.

Speaking of naughty games, it Sierra is going to be publishing what appears to be a blatant Tomb Raider clone. It's called Wet, and is developed by a company called A2M. Feel free to google it up, but expect search results to be NSFW. The gameplay sounds interesting (Prince of Persia/Tomb Raiderish), but considering these guys have made a bunch of lousy GBA games and that horrible Teen Titans console beat 'em up, it could be another Getting Up. EDIT: there's a trailer. Prepare to groan. http://www.eurogamer.net/tv_video.php?play...id=4333&s=l

I wanted to bump this to point out to some folks that there a few diaries you can ONLY get when you first go to a few areas, and if you don't you can't get it any longer. It's been updated to note these. The two diaries in the beginning section, which we knew, and a few others. Only on easy. On Medium I had problems in Neptune's Bounty in between being low on grenades, and facing turrets, splicers, and Big Daddys. Stockpiling ammo helped a lot, though.