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Domain: the-nextlevel.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to the-nextlevel.com.
Stories · 5
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Yuji Naka Talks Sonic, GTA, Emulators
Thanks to The Next Level for its newly published interview with Sega's head of Sonic Team, Yuji Naka. Naka discusses the games that impressed him most in 2003 ("probably GTA3 in the West and Shin Sangoku Musou [Koei's Dynasty Warriors series] in Asia"), his programming of a not-intended-for-release NES emulator for the Genesis/Megadrive ("I did it primarily for [private] study purposes. It ran things like Dr. Mario, although it did not work perfectly, actually."), and the whereabouts of the Sonic-sponsored Williams Formula 1 racing car from the '90s ("It's supposed to be in our offices or warehouses somewhere. We just can't seem to locate it anymore; we don't know where we put it!") -
Ribbit King - Perfecting The Art Of Frog Golf?
Thanks to The Next Level for its hands-on preview of Bandai's PlayStation 2/GameCube title Ribbit King, a unique new game in which "you play frog golf, or 'frolf' for short. You put a frog on a catapult and smack it around a course littered with traps and point bonuses, and the person with the highest score at the end wins." The previewer notes that "even by my standards, this is an oddball", before concluding: "Ribbit King is due out in June from Bandai, and should retail for $20 on both PS2 and GameCube. Though the demo had a few issues here and there, I can definitely say that for sheer lunacy it looks to be a must-have game." -
Halo 2 Multiplayer Modes Playtested, Recounted
Thanks to The Next Level for its two-part hands-on impressions of Halo 2's multiplayer modes, as shown at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles last week, including many videos of the action, and discussing "the changes to the heads up display", also noting gleefully: "Is carrying two guns worth sacrificing your ability to throw grenades? In a word: Hell Yeah!", before finally concluding of the Xbox title, due out this November: "It was by far the most fun and intense playing experience I had with any game at this year's E3." -
Halo 2 Multiplayer Modes Playtested, Recounted
Thanks to The Next Level for its two-part hands-on impressions of Halo 2's multiplayer modes, as shown at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles last week, including many videos of the action, and discussing "the changes to the heads up display", also noting gleefully: "Is carrying two guns worth sacrificing your ability to throw grenades? In a word: Hell Yeah!", before finally concluding of the Xbox title, due out this November: "It was by far the most fun and intense playing experience I had with any game at this year's E3." -
Propeller Arena - Sega's Lost Dreamcast Title?
Thanks to TNL for their new feature exploring the unreleased Dreamcast online-enabled flight title, Propeller Arena, which was cancelled in 2001 "at the last moment in the wake of the September 11th tragedy." The article points out: "Initially, Sega's pulling the plug on Propeller Arena might have seemed a bit of an overreaction to the events of 9/11. After all, what did a fantastical WWII-style arcade game have in common with modern day events?" However, the writer has had a chance to play a near-final Beta of the title, and suggests that "...once one actually plays the game Sega's decision seems much more understandable. One level is called 'Airport,' while another, 'Tower City,' is apparently patterned after Manhattan, the anchoring feature of the stage's city skyline being huge replicas of the World Trade Center's Twin Towers." But he finishes by praising it as "one of the most graphically pleasing ganes for the console", and arguing that the "fun factor of the online mode would have been through the roof."