Games of all Kinds

...where's my Zelda?! I still haven't gotten my copy. As for greatness Majora's mask was weak next to Ocarina and I'm thinking Windwalker will fail to live up to the greatness of Ocarina either. I've played a little on the consoles of the games set up in Target/Gamestop/Kmart/Walmart..you get the idea. I'm the one that kicks the little kids off to play. Well it's not like they're going to /buy/ anything (JK).

I'm still finishing Skies of Arcadia and waiting to get Zelda and while I'm not proud, Jurassic Park Operation Genesis where you build a park not unlike the numerous Tycoon only with dinosaurs so yeah..I had to get it. I'm hoping I can feed people to the Velicoraptors or the Compys (Love Dinosaur, I'm sure Dwayne will be rolling his little eyes the entire time)


M

 

While Ocarina was very tight, I was totally disappointed by Masks as well. I think I played like 5 hours worth and then decided it was designed solely for dweebs who love mini-games. This, in addition to the ugly-as-hell cell shading going on in Wind Waker, makes me so not interested in it. I tried to pre-order it the other day just to get Master Quest and Ocarina, but they were already out, so I just decided I'm not gonna buy it.

Also, Xenosaga is my game of the month (probably year unless FFX-2 comes out this year). Fantastic graphics, great story - feels very much like a Final Fantasy. And, IMO, *WAY* better than the half-a$$ed Xenogears on PS1. I'd have to give it a 9.5/10 - The loss of 0.5 points is just because the cutscenes make up probably 60% if not more of the game and it can get frustrating at times to sit thru a half hour cutscene before playing again.

Next up: Indiana Jones on the X-Box (from the makers of Buffy, so it should be good).

Jeff

 

I've read some reviews for the Indiana Jones game, and so far so good. It sounds like there will be some nice little touches that will make the game a bit more fun. Apparently when Indy fights, his Fedora will come off (naturally). However, when the fight is over (assuming Indy wins), he will not leave the scene unless he picks up his hat. I don't know why, I just think that's the coolest thing.

And for the Buffy game fans out there (I guess that would be me and Jeff), they are coming out with a sequel which will include Ethan Rayne, Tara Mclay, and Sid the Dummy. I, for one, can't wait.

 

(Jeff)If you're looking to play Master Quest in the future, I'm sure we can work out some deal after you're finished with that Indy game. I'm a big fan of the Indy games...

As for the cell shading in Zelda, it's ugly. I'll admit it. I was thoroughly disgusted they went the cell shading route but for me Zelda is about the other stuff. Now if the new FF was cell shaded...wait, don't even think it, they might hear you.


M

 

Sweet - a Buffy sequel. I'm so on board for that one. I hadn't even heard about that yet. And the hat thing - *VERY* cool. It's little touches like that that make a good game great.

And you definitely must hush about the cell shading in FF... Now you've got me scared, Marcy. We'll have a FF game that looks like Wild Arms 3... <shudder> But I think that an Indy for Master Quest trade could be worked out. I'll have my people get in touch with your people.

Oh, and the next time we go out, you guys have to remind me to bring your games. Catie, I still have Baldur's Gate and D&M, I still have Halo...

Jeff

 

Catie,

When you're finished with Buffy, maybe a "borrow" can be arranged. We have a rather impressive selection of games if you'd like to give it a whirl. However, if you're loathe to part with it, I also understand.


M

 

"I was thoroughly disgusted they went the cell shading route but for me Zelda"

me too, it just doesnt have the Zelda feel to it. I have the game, most people say that once you play it you forget the cel shadedness, but I didn't anyway I love Majoras Mask, it was so dark and there were a ton of side quests. I also don't think the Windwaker will live up to Ocarina of Time, but I will say that it has an awesome story.

I would definitly recommend buying it,

Forcebewitya!

 

Oh Marcy, I'm not that way. The next time we meet, I'll have Buffy in tow. I hope you'll enjoy it.

 

Okay. This game is NOT for everyone, actually it's probably just for me. If you like building things and managing things like the Tycoon games and sort of like the sims (only it doesn't rot). I suggest Jurassic Park Operation Genesis. Nice selection of dinosaurs covering a good range of small carnis and large herbis. You can feed a Steg to a Archo and I'm hoping someday to be able to remove gates and turn the theme park 180 degrees on the evolutionary scale and watch the dinosaur kids eat tourist dogs. You knew I was going to, didn't you?

I know people hate the Jurassic park movies and heck they do bite hard core in terms of writing and acting by holy macaroni the dinosaurs were awesome. (Yes, I know holy macaroni..wouldn't Catie be proud)

M

 

Well, I got my GBA-SP on Friday before I went to visit the parents and go up to the Fox Valley to visit my grandparents the following day, and I am very impressed. It has made Castlevania: Circle of the Moon bearable to play now, plus it gave me something to do on the car ride home last night.

As for the Zelda debate, I am liking it. Like Zelda 2, this is a sequel to the game, taking place several generations after OoT. I think the cel shading is great for Link's facial expressions (like when he's launched from the pirate ship in the barrel), and it gives me a feeling of nostalgia when playing it. It's like an interactive cartoon. I still haven't gotten too far in it because of work and being away this weekend, but I think I'm going to enjoy playing it.

Here's some news on the WarCraft 3 front. I got accepted into the beta test for the expansion set, and for what little I've been able to play, it's not too shabby. It is more of the same and the beta test is only for the multi-player on Battle.Net, so thus far that portion sucks. The surprising part is that after installing the beta program and all its patches, the game ran better on my machine than with the full version of WC3 and its patches. I think Blizzard will have themselves another winner here once the expansion goes gold.

 

I had to hop on this thread and gloat...

I finally beat the Buffy game!! Only nine and a half hours of my life gone to this game. Which is a bit odd, since it took just about that long for me to beat Baldur's Gate on PS2. Hmmm. I'll have to pick up another game and see if it's just a coincidence, or something more...

Has anyone played the Indiana Jones game yet? I know Jeff has mentioned it, but I was wondering if anyone has actually played.

 

The new Zelda:

I was skeptical because the cell-shading was just crap in all clips/stills that I've seen.

I was wrong. The cell-shading takes a good long time to get used to but it plays and has the feel of Ocarina. I got to throw pigs off of cliffs and got to get seagulls eaten by huge birds. It's great...

So, don't knock this game until you've played it. It's fantastic. Zelda at it's best and I've only just beaten the first boss.


M

 

Just wait untill you get farther in Zelda, you will be amazed.

Forcebewitya!

 

Do not attack the pigs. I repeat, do not attack the pigs.


M

 

Why not? they are evil and need to be smiten.

Forcebewitya!

 

I picked up the new Zelda yesterday and ended up playing it for a good 4 hours. Wow! I know it was controversial choice, but I love the cartoonish cell-shading style! It wasn't what I was expecting, but it's so well done that I can't help but love it. I can't shake the feeling that I'm playing a hand-drawn cartoon. The character designs are just beautiful. It's all just so stylish and well done!

I'm also enjoying the change in game style from playing Metroid Prime. I love Metroid Prime, but it's gets frustrating at times. I've never been fond of big boss battles and Metroid is chock full of them. Right now I'm stuck on Meta Ridley.

 

Why not? they are evil and need to be smiten.

Remember what happened when you attacked the chickens in the prior Zelda games? Same thing happens. You get a pork rampage.

 

Alright, I've played Zelda for oohh I don't even want to say because I'd probably just be humiliated. And I know there are some folks out there that haven't played Zelda or don't want to because of the cel-shading but after playing this. I can't imagine it not being cel-shaded. There is no WAY this game could have been done any other way and be half as good. The facial expressions, the scenery, everything...it's just amazing.

Only thing I'm disappointed in is there's no Epona. And Boaty (my name for him) sort of gets on my nerves. He's cool looking but always bugging me to go do stuff like "save the sister" or "save the world". Dang it, I have stuff to explore and little trees to water and mini-games to play. I have no time for saving the world. Anyway, I'm putting easy money for this being the game of the year. It's fantastic.

Oh, and so far, I love the Kaboooom! Sploooosh guy and the little devil rats with pitch forks.


Play it to find out what I mean. This game is easily as good as Ocarina but I'm thinking it's going to be better. I'll tell you when I finish..

M

 

Well I rented the Indiana Jones game last night, and I have to say, it's not bad. Granted I haven't gotten that far. I'm not even sure I'm past the tutorial. But it's pretty spiffy. I have no idea if this is standard, but the configuration for the controller is nearly identical to that of the Buffy game, which for a less-than part-time gamer like myself, is a blessing. The graphics are neat. The story, or what I've seen of it, is interesting. They did a pretty good job of finding a dude who sounds like Harrison Ford. Although his one-liners are nowhere near as clever as Buffy's. Of course, I could be a little biased...

 

"Remember what happened when you attacked the chickens in the prior Zelda games? Same thing happens. You get a pork rampage. "

Ah yes, I did indeed experiance that myself, I miss the chickens though! where did they go? that was like a tradition in Zelda games. And I still think that Link looks like hey arnold with his football head.

Forcebewitya!

 

I think he looks like the dentist elf from the Rudolph specials.

As for other news, Nintendo has announced the Mario Kart game for Gamecube. I've already forgotten the name because it is not important when compared to the best news for the game. Finally an injustice has been righted. (Make your own drum roll noise here for full effect) Koopa is back! I don't know why he was not in Mario Kart 64 since everyone I talked to loved him in the original, but now he's finally back in action. Also you can now play with two people in a cart, one drives and the other uses items.

Also, I have no idea what genre it's from, but there will be a Transformers game for PS2 with the old school Transformers. Of course, from the screen shots and trailer it looks like Hot Rod will again take over for Prime, even though we all know it should have been Ultra "Unsolved Mysteries" Magnus. A travesty if there ever was one. It looks like it might be an action/adventure game, but I'm not clear on that. So far it also seemed to have a good cast of characters, and allow you to play as the Autobots or the Decepticons. Hmm, Bumblebee or Soundwave. Hopefully it will be better than Beast Wars for the PS1.

Dwayne

 

Ooh! Ooh! Bumblebee for me, please!

Wow, I thought I was the only person in America suckered into buying Beast Wars... what a pile. I think I played it for a total of 2 hours and decided never to touch it again. In fact, I think I sold it a day later.

Anyway, the new Transformers game looks really sweet, but I think I've only seen cinematic shots - I haven't seen any in-game screen shots at all. Odds are I'll buy it and it'll suck, but here's to hoping it doesn't.

HBP

Jeff

 

I've seen screenshots of Optimus beating up Reflector, and rolling along in truck mode. You're right, it will probably suck, but... I'm still going to put money down on it before it comes out. And with that, on to the review of Legend of Zelda: the Windwaker.

If you read back through my previous posts before this came out, you'll notice the complete and undeniable loathing I have for cell shading. It's like reality TV. I had never heard of it, then it was everywhere. I had seen screen shots and even an FMV of Link fighting Ganondorf a long time ago that was not cell shaded, and it was wonderful, very detailed, simply amazing. Then, suddenly in what seemed to be an April Fool's day gag, I saw the new shots of how it would look. I almost cried (not really, but it adds drama). As new updates in magazines came out, I continued to scoff, then one day, it was at Toys R Us as a demo, so I tried it out (by watching Marcy). Immediately, I doubted my own skepticism. Now, after finishing it, I'd have to say, it's an early and strong runner for game of the year, and yes I know KotOR and Galaxies are coming out this year as is Fable.

I don't know why, but somehow you always end up doing the same things in Zelda, like getting the hookshot or fire arrows, and it's always fun. The boss fights are challenging without being impossible, though I hate the sand worm/hookshot boss. Hate it.

More so than other Zelda games, it has a good sense of humor. And I really think that after Majora's Mask and Ocarina, the sort of linear plot is a wonderful thing. You get into the story better because it's always moving forward, except for when you're off doing mini games and quests, and there are plenty of both. I love the sploosh guy.

Since the biggest question about the game is the graphics, I'll just start with I think they're amazing. I like Link's hat flapping in the wind or the drops of water falling off of him as he gets onto land. Most of all, the facial expressions stand out. Link smiles when he sees someone he likes, his eyebrows raise when he's in danger, and you can watch his eyes to get clues of places to go. Light effects, smoke and fire all work extremely well.

As usual, the game interface is easy to use. Songs that you learn can be looked up, you can position up to three items beyond your sword and shield as you like. If you've played a Zelda game before, you won't have to read through the manual for long. Also, once you have the camera, if you take pictures of monsters and turn them into the Nintendo club on a certain island, you can get hints about monsters.

The game will last at least 25 hours even if you skip everything, which would be a mistake. Marcy and I probably played it for over 40, though I admit I haven't checked in a while.

So, here are the scores:

Graphics: 10 (and that's from a skeptic)
Story: 10 (It's got a lot of interesting characters and side stories)
Playability: 9 (There are a few minor camera issues from time to time, but not very often.)
Overall (not an average): 10, and that's an easy 10.

Dwayne

 

And now an important message for all Gamecube owners:

Factor 5 has announced they're working on a sequel to Rogue Leader as an exclusive to the GC. It will start at the destruction of the first Death Star. Once more, you'll take control of a battle at Hoth. The difference? Factor 5 developed a new technology for scanning characters while working on a non Star Wars game. For fun, they tried it out on Star Wars characters and they liked the results. They decided they could make a cool game with those characters. So they watched the movies and picked out all the scenes they couldn't do before because Rogue Leader was strictly a flight game. What this means is for the Hoth battle, you will control Luke on a tauntaun. You'll ride up to AT-ATs, shoot your hook into the walker's belly, climb up, lightsaber the armor and throw a grenade inside. Then you'll have to take on some troopers on foot. You'll train with Yoda on Dagobah. On Tatooine, you'll rescue Han from Jabba's palace. On Endor you will steal a speeder bike and chase down biker scouts and as Chewie you take control of a scout walker and hose the bad guys. As bonus missions you can rescue Leia from the Death Star. The screen shots look pretty good (go to www.egmmag.com to see some, according to the magazine I read) and it sounds like some of the things I've always wanted to do in a game. Rebel Assault tried some of those levels, but they were very fixed like a 3D scrolling game you were limited to a screen and only controlled where you were within that small window. It's due out in fall of this year, but it is a LucasArts game, so expect it about the same time I announce my presidential candidacy. I should be eligible for that in mid June 2008, but I might wait a while before I run.

Dwayne

 

I finished The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker last night. I can't add much to what people have said about it. It's simply stunnning. If you own a Gamecube, play this game.

I enjoyed the ending, the battles were chalenging, but not frustratingly so, and the story ties up nicely.

Last night was the first time I managed to knock a helmet off of one of those tall knights, and I was suprised to dicover a dog under there, not a person. To my horror I noticed that when I'd smack him with a sword his face would contort in pain and tears would flow from his eyes. That made me feel bad. Blowing people's heads off with a sniper rifle in GTA doesn't bother me a bit, but making the dog-knights in Zelda cry made me feel like a bad person. After I discovered this I tried not to knock their helmets off anymore so that I wouldn't have to see their faces.

Also, I heard that Nintendo is making a sequel to Wind Waker. Yay!