.::: So basically we now have a sort of 'Internet weather', which tells wether your computer can go play outside or not? Nice, I can see the evening news getting an extra report then.
"In North America we have some nasty worms raging across the Net spreading all the way to Europe, better close up those ports. Asian PC's may want to wear an extra layer of firewall as we got some heavy probes coming in. South-Afrika meanwhile has some lovely patchy weather."
.::: Did the writer only play Shadow Madness or something just as dire on consoles?
True, Baldur's Gate - Dark Alliance was just plain dumb in comparison with it's PC-counterparts (though still highly enjoyable and a good game in it's own right). But console players do not need to be exposed to the "deeper intricacies of RPG game play". As if the Final Fantasy's, Xenogears, Suikoden's, Dark Chronicle (Dark Cloud 2 US), and even Mario & Luigi - Superstar Saga didn't provide proper RPG gameplay.
Both PCs and consoles have brilliant RPGs in their own right. Planescape: Torment and Final Fantasy VI both stick out for me. The different approaches both use are wonderful. Why would you ever want to get rid of one side of it? Unfortunately I'm not a Star Wars-fan, but what I've picked up about KOTOR seems to imply it's one of those RPGs which uses a blend of PC- and console-RPG styles.
Isn't that to be celebrated instead of critisized?
"I like for a game to last me a good, long time. I also like being able to come back to a game every once in a while and not necessarily feel pressured to reach a finite conclusion".::: Which is all fine and dandy if you have the time for it. Although I like big adventures and such, I never finished GTAIII.
Also the 'open-ended' thing has it's own problems as well. Things become mission-based much more quickly. That was also the thing I missed in GTAIII. Just screwing around didn't get you any further, only the missions did. If they can combine the open-endedness with a non-mission based structure, then we're on to something. Until that time it's going to (ab)used in every genre. Just look at Tony Hawk Underground and SSX3 for example. Ten to one they're going to be full of 'missions' instead of a big coherent adventure.
---
.::: EDGE magazine (UK) is also very strict on 'revolution' within games. They still awarded SCII with a 9. Also interesting tidbit; they thought the GC controller was most suitable, followed by the Dual Shock 2/Controller S and the original Xbox controller coming in last.
.::: Localisation is hardly the problem. EA, Sony, Microsoft they can all handle multiple languages and the like. The problem is that Nintendo wants to do all of that internally. Whereas their competition hires other companies to do that for them.
I also don't know why on Earth some people here wnat to take politcal reasons into consideration. The usual route for a game to be released here (Europe) is to be accepted by Japan as well as America. After those releases, the game is usually evaluated, in which they make judgement how it will sell in Europe and release it accordingly. (we've had two exceptions to that; Doshin the Giant and Shining Soul (GBA)).
WHY ON EARTH they want to release both products in Australia and not Europe is beyond me however. Not only does Australia practically hate the GC (it's simply not selling at all there), it's ALSO a PAL territory. We get parallel imported Australian titles in the shops here, which simply work, so we'll get AC eventually anyway.
However all of this has caused some strong comments concerning Nintendo. Just about everybody on forums and such that I know of and like Nintendo have condemned Nintendo of Europe for this. Not about AC being released in Oz so they can eventually get their hands on it, more that Europe was just skipped altogether. Whatever the reason might be I hope Nintendo really thought it over. Because when even your most dedicated fans turn against you it might become very difficult.
In related news; EyeToy sales have risen above both Pokemon sales for the GBA.
.::: Gamespy has already developed a set of online-gaming features for Nintendo. Nintendo hasn't used them yet for GC games, but it's maybe possible for LAN-capable games (Kirby Air Ride, Mario Kart Double Dash!! and the like) to use them anyway. Either through tunneling or via built in software.
Don't expect voice-support though.
.::: Maybe you didn't notice; but Famitsu actually rates out of 10. However, each game is rated by four persons. So instead of giving an average score they just add them all together and create an out of 40 score.
It's far from sily.
After playing it, I'd rather compare it to Secret of Mana/Seiken Densetsu 2. Note that the Crystal Candles in the game also need to be recharged by drops from a Mana Tree. I also honestly believe the game was simply meant as a Secret of Mana game (Chronicle of Mana?) at one point, but had it's title swapped to ensure more exposure/hype.
That said, the game is a tremendous amount of fun in multiplayer. Pulling off a four-player magic combo gives a real sense of accomplishment.
Slashdot Mirror
.::: Thank god for Leipzig then.
http://www.gc-germany.de
.::: So basically we now have a sort of 'Internet weather', which tells wether your computer can go play outside or not?
Nice, I can see the evening news getting an extra report then.
"In North America we have some nasty worms raging across the Net spreading all the way to Europe, better close up those ports. Asian PC's may want to wear an extra layer of firewall as we got some heavy probes coming in. South-Afrika meanwhile has some lovely patchy weather."
.::: Did the writer only play Shadow Madness or something just as dire on consoles?
True, Baldur's Gate - Dark Alliance was just plain dumb in comparison with it's PC-counterparts (though still highly enjoyable and a good game in it's own right). But console players do not need to be exposed to the "deeper intricacies of RPG game play". As if the Final Fantasy's, Xenogears, Suikoden's, Dark Chronicle (Dark Cloud 2 US), and even Mario & Luigi - Superstar Saga didn't provide proper RPG gameplay.
Both PCs and consoles have brilliant RPGs in their own right. Planescape: Torment and Final Fantasy VI both stick out for me. The different approaches both use are wonderful. Why would you ever want to get rid of one side of it? Unfortunately I'm not a Star Wars-fan, but what I've picked up about KOTOR seems to imply it's one of those RPGs which uses a blend of PC- and console-RPG styles.
Isn't that to be celebrated instead of critisized?
"I like for a game to last me a good, long time. I also like being able to come back to a game every once in a while and not necessarily feel pressured to reach a finite conclusion" .::: Which is all fine and dandy if you have the time for it. Although I like big adventures and such, I never finished GTAIII.
Also the 'open-ended' thing has it's own problems as well. Things become mission-based much more quickly. That was also the thing I missed in GTAIII. Just screwing around didn't get you any further, only the missions did. If they can combine the open-endedness with a non-mission based structure, then we're on to something. Until that time it's going to (ab)used in every genre. Just look at Tony Hawk Underground and SSX3 for example. Ten to one they're going to be full of 'missions' instead of a big coherent adventure.
---
.::: EDGE magazine (UK) is also very strict on 'revolution' within games. They still awarded SCII with a 9.
Also interesting tidbit; they thought the GC controller was most suitable, followed by the Dual Shock 2/Controller S and the original Xbox controller coming in last.
.::: Localisation is hardly the problem. EA, Sony, Microsoft they can all handle multiple languages and the like. The problem is that Nintendo wants to do all of that internally. Whereas their competition hires other companies to do that for them. I also don't know why on Earth some people here wnat to take politcal reasons into consideration. The usual route for a game to be released here (Europe) is to be accepted by Japan as well as America. After those releases, the game is usually evaluated, in which they make judgement how it will sell in Europe and release it accordingly. (we've had two exceptions to that; Doshin the Giant and Shining Soul (GBA)). WHY ON EARTH they want to release both products in Australia and not Europe is beyond me however. Not only does Australia practically hate the GC (it's simply not selling at all there), it's ALSO a PAL territory. We get parallel imported Australian titles in the shops here, which simply work, so we'll get AC eventually anyway. However all of this has caused some strong comments concerning Nintendo. Just about everybody on forums and such that I know of and like Nintendo have condemned Nintendo of Europe for this. Not about AC being released in Oz so they can eventually get their hands on it, more that Europe was just skipped altogether. Whatever the reason might be I hope Nintendo really thought it over. Because when even your most dedicated fans turn against you it might become very difficult. In related news; EyeToy sales have risen above both Pokemon sales for the GBA.
.::: Gamespy has already developed a set of online-gaming features for Nintendo. Nintendo hasn't used them yet for GC games, but it's maybe possible for LAN-capable games (Kirby Air Ride, Mario Kart Double Dash!! and the like) to use them anyway. Either through tunneling or via built in software. Don't expect voice-support though.
.::: Maybe you didn't notice; but Famitsu actually rates out of 10. However, each game is rated by four persons. So instead of giving an average score they just add them all together and create an out of 40 score. It's far from sily.
After playing it, I'd rather compare it to Secret of Mana/Seiken Densetsu 2. Note that the Crystal Candles in the game also need to be recharged by drops from a Mana Tree. I also honestly believe the game was simply meant as a Secret of Mana game (Chronicle of Mana?) at one point, but had it's title swapped to ensure more exposure/hype. That said, the game is a tremendous amount of fun in multiplayer. Pulling off a four-player magic combo gives a real sense of accomplishment.
Not to dance on your parade, but Akira Toriyama has died a long time ago...
Chrono Break is going to be part three, but as of yet nothing besides the name is known.