AndrewTS

It's by the same folks who once made Backyard Wrestling 1 and 2. It doesn't have a prayer of being good.

Just saw it plugged on the show tonight. That's terrific. I love the part where Conan seemed surprised there was no site like that on the internet already.

Street Fighter 1 isn't so hard once you get past the really crappy controls. I beat it in like 15 minutes, most of which was continuing on Sagat. On the easiest difficulty. Good Lord it sucks. Although yeah, Super Turbo is, was, and always will be pretty brutal. That's the original arcade game A.I. in all its glory.

Once you have a fish hooked, pull the Wiimote up...and *hold* it there. Link should be keeping the rod taut until eventually you pull it up on the dock. It confused me at first too, because it isn't like you have a reel, so I assumed you kept on yanking periodically.

New 1up Retro Roundup: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3155734

That's mine. Beavis was a bit trickier since the proper hair isn't exactly in.

Just got the game, and 1up.com has a review up (8/10 rating). So far I really like it, although it's nowhere near as good as Dawn. The portrait areas are almost totally linear, and it seems to aim was to make the game more of a classic side scroller, though it feels still like one of the Symphony children. The big swag bag is really cool, as you get a stylus, a game casing, a music cd with music from nearly all of the games, an art book, and a Portrait poster.

1up has a new preview of the game and lots of new tidbits. http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3155700 Wow, I actually have hope for this game now. The new director seems really cool and committed, he's taking blatant digs at Jaffe, and the revelation that he was going to originally put wall-running in (convincing me all the more than he is/was a POP fan) seems encouraging.

Except for one throwaway, possibly incorrect claim on a game blog summary of a press conference, nothing has come to light saying GC games will be on VC. I would think there wouldn't be enough space for a GC game except for Alien Hominid. =/ A relatively "small" modern game like Tekken DR (PSP version anyway) takes 800 MB. So unless Wii begins supporting external hard drives, don't count on it.

Kotaku has Wii Play impressions: http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/wii-launch/wi...ions-219961.php Maybe one would be best to just buy an extra wiimote outright. =/

FISH ON!

I believe that's the one. There's a monkey with a baby cradle further down the small lake. Use the hawk to hit him, recover the cradle, and bring it to the lady on the bank who was looking for it.

Using quote marks to speed the reply: "Oh, I don't hate the game enough to not it. I might sound like I'm dumping on the game, but that's pretty much the way I am with everything. I like to be thorough, so I might bring up some issues with a game, but it doesn't mean I think it's bad. Hell, I could put together a few paragraphs on FFXII's large flaws, but I still thought it was very good. Same with TP." No problem, I just misconstrued your onslaught of negative remarks and no immediately noticeable positive comments. "Tales of Abyss, Valkyrie Profile 2, Grandia III, Magna Carta and Shadow Hearts: From the New World are all kind of recently released RPGs that aren't typical fare." I can't honestly keep track of the Tales games so far, because there's so damn many of them. I didn't like Grandia I or II. After hearing about VP2's reviews I have put it on the back burner, and I never liked the Shadow Hearts games. However, are these the titles that supposedly have the puzzle-solving and dungeon complexity of Zelda? Since you said that "RPGs" are doing that better. "I will admit that it's easier for RPG developers to mix things up, just because there are more options. They can significantly change how characters progress and how battles are fought, two things that can't change a whole lot in the Zelda series without making it a completely different game. As I said, there's not really much they can do to significantly change the games, outside of completely rehauling the battle and character system. And if they added something like character leveling, the game is then an RPG. Not like I'd complain" I would. "RPG elements" are fine and good when it's a cherry on top, but it doesn't fix a broken foundation either. And it can be really out of place in areas it doesn't belong. Having to hack away at enemies in preparations of really strong enemies/bosses doesn't appeal to me at all. The Metroidvania games can sink or swim depending on that balance. Circle was poorly balanced, SotN made it way too simple to become overpowered, and Dawn seemed to strike a fair balance overall, although within Julius mode the concern was moot. "Not really a matter of getting sick of them, more that I don't like certain parts of the formula." Like I said previously, you're being extremely vague here. All I keep hearing are these "played out" concerns. I haven't ever been able to develop such feelings. We're lucky to get 2 of these per console generation. Once in a while a quality action/adventure game arises besides that, and I'm glad to try those. Besides the Zeldas, the only ones that come to mind are Beyond Good & Evil and Star Fox Adventures. The former has been greviously overrated because of it's production values and has been (unjustly, perhaps) ignored by most gamers. The latter has been critically reemed for being a cookie-cutter me-too with plenty of weaknesses besides. Both are good, although not (IMO) great games. Okami is definitely the pick of the litter, though. Sure, it suffers in the difficulty area, but the brilliant interface (which eliminates almost all sub-menu switching--one of the problems that had plagued a lot of the Zelda games), art design, story, gameplay polish, etc. all make up for it. Although the game's overall feel, right down to the "Okami chime," makes it come off at a tribute to a certain other game series. So, yeah, I honestly don't understand why so many people bitch because a certain company makes good games and makes them often (which isn't very often for Zelda, I'm just going off on a tangent). Too many times I hear annoying squawking about "OMG ANOTHER METROIDVANIA!!! (not in the context of wanting a traditional CV, either mind you). Or gripes about "another Mega Man game! (even when it's a really good one, like ZX)" when it's their best and most original entry in years. Mega Man X6's problems weren't necessarily it's lack of originality, it was that the game itself was pretty awful and took many a step backwards. The only times I've really felt "too much of a good thing" were the GTA games. GTA3 was all the GTA I would ever need, and I pretty much put the series out of sight and out of mind after that. Even hearing about all the newer games' revamps did nothing to sway me. So, in conclusion, I don't see why "lack of creativity" is really a valid point to make against a solid quality title, it's just something that far too many game reviewers use arbritarily to use a lower number for their arbitrary review scores. A good game's a good game. It's just that it's the "game journalist" standard to "judge against similar games on that platform." Therefore we have silliness like a FPS getting demerits for lack of a quality story. "And I've probably overstated my dislike of the game and series in general. LTTP is still my favourite SNES game. And I still like a good chunk of this game, and my gripes basically amount to me not thinking the game is truly great, but it's still very good. The dungeons and mini-games are fun, I just don't like the battle, platforming elements and a lot of the forced events/puzzles that happen outside the dungeons." Fair enough, and the platforming elements are something that Okami really has in its favor. Okami *is* much more like a true platformer. If the wolf sections in TP played as well as Okami, we wouldn't really be having this discussion. I don't happen to think they're awful, though. "Aaaanyway, I still liked WW more than TP A replay might change my mind though, I kind of don't remember specific details about the game." It certainly seemed that way. It'll be very interesting to see what approach PH takes. So far it's very difficult to judge what the main gameplay will be like other than controlling with the stylus.

No problem. You're in England, though, right? I wonder if it will still work with all us U.S./Can folks.

Neither Sony or MS (currently) see Nintendo as a big threat--and of course there's Peter's Wii60 notion. Still, it seems at least Reggie's hopes are coming to fruition--Wii accessories are *gone* everywhere I've seen. Wii Points cards, Wiimotes, nunchucks, classic controllers--poof. Pretty much the only things left over are those lame controller gloves. And out of those, I'm just seeing lots of pink ones.

The Wii Number is basically your Wii's code that you use to connect with other folks, to send miis/messages/photos/eventually play online with. To get yours, click on the envelope on the main menu, then Create Message, then click on the envelope.

I've heard lots of people mentioning Wii Play in passing, and all I know is that it comes with a Wiimote. What is it exactly? A Wii Sports expansion, basically? We're a week away from the releases of Elebits, Super Swing Golf, and Far Cry Vengeance. GameFAQs is saying 12/14 for Metal Slug. What the feh? I'll totally get it, though.

The minigames tend to come into play for some required areas, but they're not forced onto you for any long periods of time. You may find that a drawback, I do not. I'm not finished with the game but it seems there's several other such minigames in them, and remarkably they all seem to be done very well. You can play them as little or as long as you want. The "Hidden Skills" are what the game calls them, did you not notice that every single time you got one? The point is that it changes up combat, although I'm still waiting for the baddies to come up where I'm going to need to use them, which I haven't found much of so far. I'm not taking offense, I'm trying to get you to explain where you stand there. I just don't understand why you saw plenty of things you didn't like the game, you got the game, and surprise--the things you already know you didn't like about the game--you didn't like! Exaggerated? I'm giving RPGs the benefit of the doubt really, because out of those "AAA+ RPGs" the only recent ones I'm aware of to even attempt to break the mold is Final Fantasy XII. To answer the question--because you typically don't compare games in different genres to each other. And besides, how many RPGs actually take their exploration and puzzle-solving to Zelda levels? Usually it's a slog through random battles, until you get key item X, which hits the magical event flag that drags the storyline along. Rinse and repeat. I dislike most modern RPGs for many reasons, including the boring cutscenes, point-A-to-B structure, and random battles/forced battles. I dislike most "action" games because either they're really repetitive (based totally on how much time you can invest into hitting the same one or two buttons over again), or the ones that require "skill" often go absolutely overboard and make the gameplay too bloody hard. The newer Prince of Persia games' combat isn't as in-depth as Ninja Gaiden or Devil May Cry 3. I wouldn't want it to be, anyway, though. That's not the focus of the game. Urban Reign may have the most in-depth combat engine of any recent beat 'em up, having much in common with Tekken. It also isn't a terribly well-liked game, party because of that. There isn't really need/demand for a beat 'em up that plays like a hardcore fighting game. Zelda's combat and story aren't the focus of the game, the gameplay, puzzles, and dungeons are. Those are what need to be solid, and they've remained strong for almost the entire series. Except I didn't, I said the "3 prior" of the 3D Zeldas all had different structures from each other. Majora and Wind Waker were structured very differently from Ocarina. I'm not denying that the overall structure of TP is similar to Ocarina. Yeah, it's easy to get sick of all those action/adventure games. Like Zelda. And Okami. And...? When did I say Twilight Princess or even Ocarina was the greatest game of all time? When I made my list up for the TSM Top 30 Games Ocarina was not number 1. If a made a list today I'm not sure TP would top it (but I haven't finished the game). The LoZ games are bar none my favorite game *series*. However, I don't feel it necessary for any lousy game rag or site to justify my opinions with an inflated score.

It did sell well, so that's not the reason. They explicitly stated the lack of dungeons and the "dull" Triforce fetch quest were the main reasons they were disappointed with it. Specific examples? I'm not following you. The wolf form definitely doesn't seem to be as tight and refined as Ammy or human Link, but I haven't noticed any other collision problems other than the occasional clunky navigation underwater (which is a moot point since you never went below kiddie pool level in WW anyway). And you had problems "navigating small pathways" in TP? Where and how? Is it the game or it just the fact that WW's Link is like half the size? If you think Kingdom Hearts 2 has a "more in-depth" combat system, maybe. The biggest addition was WW's context-sensitive commands--pretty much the dodge and counter-attack. TP has similar inclusions and more, but they require more skill. "Hey, is that just a barren rock? Or another 20 yard long island with an underground area?" ...*after sailing there and examining* "Nope, barren rock. Awesome!" ...*sails some more* "Hey, a column of light! More rupees that I'll need to pay to Tingle for his outrageously high deciphering fee which is another lame attempt to pad this game out! Awesome!" "Cookie cutter gameplay" like the new hidden skills, horseback battles, the improved movement and aiming made possible by the new controls, the flight minigames, more realistic fishing, sumo wrestling, jousts, the new gadgets, the "lame" wolf's heightened senses, right? If you have to make a point of it about how stupid you think the fanbase is, you have no point. Your vague, repetitive statements are played out. Was the game some massive letdown for you, and if so why? Surely there was plenty enough information for you to draw your conclusions on before getting the game, since your gripes are rather superficial and you had plenty enough information to make an informed buying decision months ahead of time. The fact that you're criticizing a Zelda game for lack of creativity while praising RPGs is ridiculous. Only a bare minimum of AAA+ RPGs make more than the most minute attempts at creativity. Poor baby, 3 prior 3D Zelda games with different stories and massively different gameplay structures have wore you out on this "Ocarina clone." RPGs, damnit, they're still fresh, 9,999 nigh-indistinguishable games later. Did you love Dragon Quest VIII's utterly Stone Age gameplay, too?

Wow, you must really hate the movie.

Don't look at me. I think Majora was brilliant; it just wasn't as accessible as Ocarina. Wind Waker was beautiful and filled with lots of great ideas. Hell, the music is better than Twilight Princess, IMO. It's a shame that the gameplay had so many problems and the overall product was so rushed. Anyone who dismissed "Celda" because of the graphics/character designs is an idiot. Anyone who swears up and down it's a fantastic game with little or no flaws isn't the sharpest tool in the shed either, though.

Graphics and being RPG noobs. The problem wasn't the locale--the problem was that Wind Waker's "formula" really, really sucked. I'm actually looking forward to Phantom Hourglass, because I like both Links. Chibi-Link couldn't help it his game was dragged down by long stretches of really dull gameplay. Wind Waker? Seriously? Aunoma and Shiggy are both very disappointed in that game and probably would rank it at the bottom of the 3D Zelda pecking order. I fail to see the "better control" when Wind Waker constantly--and I mean *constantly* required you to juggle items in and out of your inventory. Case in point: setting sail required you to equip your sail, equip the Wind Waker and often equip your grapping hook. Usually you had to swap out the boomerang, and at least one other subweapon to do this. And after arriving at your destination or making a stop, you usually had to swap out *again*. A lot of times while sailing you'd need to swap in your bombs or arrows to defend yourself. I almost never have to go to a subscreen in Twilight Princess to swap out my items, and when I do it's standard prepping for the next dungeon. Aunoma wanted to outdo OOT with TP. And based on the control, enemy design, art design, gameplay variety, combat, difficulty, dungeon layouts and balance, and plot I'd say he succeeded. The fact that many details of the world, several characters and a lot of the core concepts are shared are part and parcel of that. Zelda games, get this, share a lot of characters, weapons, gameplay ideas, etc. They're supposed to. It's like griping that a Castlevania game has a Belmont, Dracula, and the classic subweapons in them still. It's a shame the game wasn't a complete reinvention like the new Spyro and Sonic games. Those are real winners, huh?

We stand at 600,000-ish US, 400,000 Japan. Yeah, if Nintendo would have made their 1 million North America goal, we'd be probably hearing about it right now.

Deja Vu I was kind of dragged to go see, but considering it was a Bruckheimer production/had spastic Tony Scott direction, it was decent. Would have been better save for an ultradumb chase scene smashed in the middle of the film. See Denzel's character injure/kill dozens of people because of a combination of obsession and negligence! See the hummer he's driving sustain a head on collision from a ****ing semi and stilll keep going! See him hit and run paying no mind to the consequences of his actions!

Well, if you're responsible for the Beavis and Butthead, it's forgiven. Actually those are mine.