The film actually is 'made' using construction paper. Of course you could argue that EVERY film is actually made using film stock - there are obviously important transition steps where it wasn't cardboard, but it originated as such. In interviews for the film the creators talked about the nice textured look it gave the early shows, and how much they had missed it and decided to use it again for the film. The unique texture is very apparent in the film, especially because of its better-than-TV resolution.
No. It means it is updating at around 60 FPS, interlaced.
IIRC, the whole screen is still being drawn 60 or so times a second, just every line is only updated to a new image every other frame. It runs at this speed to keep even with the normal operating current of US power. I am not a television expert by any means, so please google if you don't believe me. And like I mentioned, the difference is really noticeable in games. Grab a 30 FPS racing game (say, Project Gotham 2) and then compare it to a 60 FPS (Rallisport Challenge, maybe). Huge difference.
You and your friends must be using a bizarre television then. The standard (non-HDTV) television in the US and Japan updates 'the screen' at around 60 times a second, interlaced. Every other line is updated 30 times a second, but the screen itself is essentially running around 60 FPS.
The visual differences between 60 FPS and 30 FPS games on a standard American/Japanese television are very pronounced, assuming you have a bit of experience with gaming and are using the right type of game (racers probably being the most obvious).
3) Developers that will take a chance on making a game that MAY not be a huge seller on a console, but may be for a niche market. This is rare with console developers (but is sadly becoming rarer wih PC developers as well). No offense, but you have NO idea what you are talking about with consoles. The biggest console(s) of every generation feature plenty of risky niche games. Just look at how many 'new' genres created in the last five or so years were made for consoles vs. PCs - it is pretty much a landslide in favor of the console.
SEGA is in a real slump lately-Super Monkey Ball 2 was probably the last original game worth a crap they've come out with, and it's been a year and a half! That is the bite!
Don't forget the superlative Panzer Dragoon Orta, which came out last January in the USA. Otherwise I certainly agree with you. Sonic Team's output is especially galling - last good NEW game they released was probably Samba De Amigo, original PSO, or Chu Chu Rocket (not sure which came out last - Samba, maybe?). I just cannot understand what happened to that studio.
I am hoping that the lack of many announcements by several studios along with the confusion of the recent reorganization and Sammy buyout is all just concealing the fact that the various Sega teams are working on some cool new games that aren't ready to show yet. Crossing my fingers for E3, at least!
A big reason it is criticised and derided so much is because some Westerners, especially Americans, cannot reasonably handle anything above mild sexuality in their videogames. Just basic everyday ethnocentrism, like people complaining that the relationship-sim DOAXBV doesn't feature deep enough gameplay (which is, incidentally, worlds deeper than most similar games). It is like complaining that Super Mario Bros. doesn't adequetely simulate real plumbing techniques - you missed the point of the game, and its genre.
But the jist of it is this: if the game contains high sexuality (by Western standards, as M-rated games like DOA3 are pretty freaking tame), then it follows that it is only being sold with sexuality, right? Intuitive play-control (easier to learn the game), playable by up to 4 people (better for parties), appealing character designs, a real (if convoluted) storyline, gorgeous art, beautiful animation with varied martial arts styles, fun music (complete with that awesome Ninja Gaiden 2 intro music remix), play mechanics that discourage the poke games that other 3D fighters always degenerate into, and plenty of depth if you look for it aren't reasons to buy a game for, of course! And like the article points out, just being fun isn't enough of a reason to play a game for many gamers. What would our peers think??!
Also importantly, most US 'hardcore' fighting fans and reviewers think DOA is shallow and merely a button-masher, so it must be so. I am reminded of the hilarious Gamespy review for DOA3, where they complain that it is too shallow, etc. Then it is revealed (via an update) that they didn't even realize you could use multiple buttons together to utilize some different moves! How can someone comment on the depth of a game they barely understand? How can a reviewer truly comment period on a fighting game's depth when it can take years before people stop learning new tricks?
Maybe DOA Online (or whatever is the new crazy name they are using) will finally reveal to the 'hardcore gamers' the depth of the series. The masses don't seem to care, as DOA3 sold more copies worldwide than either Tekken4 or VF4 (non-Evo, AFAIK).:D
(And your sense of history is bizarre - DOA1 was hardly sold based on its graphics alone, as the original ran on the relatively aging Model 2 hardware that Virtua Fighter 2 had already popularized. It really looked only a tad better than VF2, and the various home versions looked worse than the arcade release. Especially the PSX one. Regardless, I don't understand what Tecmo USA's marketing department has to do with Team Ninja's design process. I remember most hype focusing on its unique counter system, for the record, just as most of the hype for the second game was for the huge play areas that affected gameplay so massively.)
When did Nintendo STOP being in the conglomerate business? Remember when they threatened retailers in the US to not advertise for the Xbox prior to release? (I believe the punishment would have been less GBA shipments, IIRC.) Remember all of the price fixing they do in Europe, and did in the USA? Remember the NES system, and all of the crap they did with that?
If the games you want are on GC, that is great. (Though I question your taste a bit, as Smash Bros. is pretty widely seen as one of the best, if not the best, GC game.) The games I mostly want aren't on the GC, and this is true for many other gamers as well, which is why you hear all of this criticism. Likewise, GC really only has a few games I am interested in, so I won't pick it up until I have a lot of extra cash lying around.
Also, more 'dedicated' videogame fans (such as good writers) generally like to play a large variety of games, maybe even including more 'mature' games. Variety is something Nintendo just doesn't offer anymore on their systems. Likewise, a lot of 'hardcore' gamers have already played most of what Nintendo has offered on older systems - there just isn't a lot of innovation going on there.
None of this is a reflecting on the quality of the GC - if you like the games on it, then it is a great system for you. It isn't for me, though, and many other gamers.
You are essentially correct, though some RTS games are starting to get some very nice AI. I recently got into the RTS Rise of Nations, and the AI is nicely clever in it. Not super "same as an expert player" smart, but much better than what I find in games like C&C and Warcraft. The fact that only the highest levels of AI cheat, and the game tells you how and warns you, make it even better. Very fun game, too, if overwhelming at first.
Though even the new C&C Generals has some nice AI for probing defences - generally if they are killed too much going head-on towards the center of your defences, they will try and attack the far edges of your defence. Still not really smart, per se, as it relies too much on suicide assaults, but it makes for a more exciting game. (And on a similar note, I recently discovered there are mods for Generals and Yuri's Revenge that do nothing but improve the AI. Haven't tried it for Generals yet, but the ones for Yuri were truly impressive, breathing completely new life into my various LAN battles.)
I think part of the problem with RTS games is just that making a truly good AI would be ridiculously hard, not even considering CPU power. If you look at a really strategic game like Go (and to a much lesser extend, Chess), it is just really hard to make a good AI. A good RTS should at least approach remotely a similar level of strategic depth, but compounding the problem is that the games just aren't around very long. We haven't had twenty years to perfect the AI for a game like Civilization III, for example. So it cheats like crazy to compensate.:(
I imagine things are getting better overall, but we still have a long way to go!
There is the popular example of a corporation paying someone to modify existing free software to meet their needs, and then making the modifications GPL, etc. to cut down on support costs and the like (often easier/cheaper to use the 'official' program than to maintain your own private trunk).
A minority of software written is the boxed, off-the-shelf type, which is where you would probably see less chance to profit. Custom jobs provide ample opportunity to make money doing free (libre) software.
1. Yes, but Cell is even harder to write for than the PS2 hardware, which is basically just a complicated evolution of the Model 2 Sega arcade hardware. Can you think of any current or remotely recent games that are written using the kind of tech the PS3 sounds like it might use? The problem is that you are increasing the difficulty by an order of magnitude. Already publishers/developers are being hurt by how long it takes to make a PS2 game (admittedly partially because of increased media content needed, which will get worse), and the only reason so many devs are able to make games for PS2 at all is because decent developmental tools and middleware eventually appeared. How long until the PS3 gets this? 4. No official announcement does not mean no expectations. Of course Apple has some kind of internal number for how many G5s they expect to sell! 7. It is still a prediction. I am not sure why so many Slashdotters don't seem to grasp that a prediction doesn't have to be some revolutionary insight to be a prediction... 9. The important thing with the Burst case, IIRC, is that Burst is also going after Real and Apple. So if the case goes against MS, there is every reason to suspect it would do the same against Real and Apple.
All up a rather silly set of predictions that is all too vague or missing facts. A vague statement about the future, without certain specific facts? Omigod, that sounds like a PREDICTION!
And how would an armed bank robbery (ie stealing) be considered different then? You are welcome to argue the merits and morality of stealing, but don't pretend that isn't what happened.
Please please don't refer to the music in DDR as 'trance'. It is 'eurobeat', which is created and listened to primarily in Japan. Real European music usually sounds a lot better...:D
(Though you could potentially argue that Ultramix has some trance, as 'Ready Steady Go' probably qualifies. But the musicians at Konami simply don't create trance music of any sort, AFAIK.)
That isn't what I mean by nonlinear. I mean like an old-school Metroid game.:D You wouldn't even have levels per se, it would just be one big base you would explore, backtrack through, areas would change or open up as you explored the game, etc.
And even in your type of nonlinear, there were still far far too many jumping puzzles where you HAD to go a certain way, make a certain jump, etc. This drove me nuts, mainly because of how ridiculously artificial it felt. "Wow, good thing this elevator shaft collapsed in the exact perfect manner that I am able to still ascend it, though too bad there is only one route." I know I am in a minority, but blah!:) The 'designer's hand' was too noticeable, IMO.
From what I have read about the Director's Cut, the violence removed is removed period. It isn't just the USA director's cut, it is the director's cut period, AFAIK. Will be interesting to see if the new director's cut coming adds it back in - I suspect not.
It isn't the anime DVD publisher's fault that FLCL is so expensive. Lay your blame on the very non-Aryan creators of FLCL at Gainax. If the licensing costs for a show are very very expensive, the DVDs will be as well (otherwise distributor would go broke).
I personally don't have a problem with the pricing for FLCL. Especially compared to the very expensive Japanese DVDs with only one episode a disc. You just can't compare a low budget (though still cool) American cartoon like ATHF with a huge budgeted Japanese OVA like FLCL. Completely different types of products, with completely different costs.
Except Half-Life had a much stronger single player experience from the get-go, where as the campaign in Halo is rather redundant and tedious.
That's funny, I remember a ton of tedious platforming/jumping elements in HL...different strokes and all.
And HL1 had a ton of buzz for well over a year before it came out. I remember watching prerelease vids, reading all of the various magazine articles, salivating at the thought of various features they hyped yet never included in the game (It was originally supposed to play more like a Metroid, in terms of exploring the base nonlinearly, AFAIK - complete with ecosystem that would change as time passed). Plenty of hype for the game is archived here.
Reminds me of various people always posting that the first Matrix film was better because there was no hype for it. The hype was certainly there, it just happened to be off some people's radar.:D
As an example of just how arbitrary these silly moral decisions are, Gamespot gives DOAXBV "Most Embarrassing Game", with braindead analysis such as: While we here at GameSpot aren't against the concept of poolside wiggling, the way it's portrayed in DOA: Xtreme Beach Volleyball is embarrassing to the point of disgust. Its dress-up, peep-show mentality comes across as just plain creepy, and just as people's perceptions about games as serious subject matter were beginning to change, something like this sticks out like a sore thumb. Games still have a long way to go, and softcore digital exploitation like this surely isn't helping to expand the market, regardless of its M rating.
Then in their section on Best Games No One Played, they feature Clockwork Tower 3. This may be a wonderful game, I haven't played it.:D But according to their review it features: One scene depicts the hammer-wielding killer bludgeoning a young girl to death, while another has a villain gouging a man's eyes out and then plunging his elderly mother into a vat of acid. It's not really worse than you'll see in any slasher flick, but the game's personal treatment of the violence makes it hit home.
Huh? Which game is disgusting again, and deserves to be shunned for just that reason? Upbeat silly oggling and dress-up of virtual women = exploitation, while severe graphic violence against virtual women = underrated game? I just can't find words for how ridiculous that is.
(Please note, I am not saying either game should be censored, etc. My mind just boggles at the moral puritanism being displayed.)
Would have been even nicer if Westerners had got a chance to really know the masterpiece that is Ikaruga. The storyline was ripped out for all of the 'stupid Americans'. Especially tragic seeing as how it is probably the best console game storyline in years, easily.
So Atari can stay far away from Radiant Silvergun. (Which would play exceedingly poorly on the GC controller, besides. Too many button combinations needed. Gotta bring it to one of the other two major consoles, as they have enough buttons to make it work right.)
Slashdot Mirror
The film actually is 'made' using construction paper. Of course you could argue that EVERY film is actually made using film stock - there are obviously important transition steps where it wasn't cardboard, but it originated as such. In interviews for the film the creators talked about the nice textured look it gave the early shows, and how much they had missed it and decided to use it again for the film. The unique texture is very apparent in the film, especially because of its better-than-TV resolution.
No. It means it is updating at around 60 FPS, interlaced.
IIRC, the whole screen is still being drawn 60 or so times a second, just every line is only updated to a new image every other frame. It runs at this speed to keep even with the normal operating current of US power. I am not a television expert by any means, so please google if you don't believe me. And like I mentioned, the difference is really noticeable in games. Grab a 30 FPS racing game (say, Project Gotham 2) and then compare it to a 60 FPS (Rallisport Challenge, maybe). Huge difference.
Also missing the quality level of sound that the SNES could put out. And it has a lower resolution, too. Nintendo are cheap bastards.
Don't suppose you have a pic of that TA setup? Sounds really cool. :)
You and your friends must be using a bizarre television then. The standard (non-HDTV) television in the US and Japan updates 'the screen' at around 60 times a second, interlaced. Every other line is updated 30 times a second, but the screen itself is essentially running around 60 FPS.
The visual differences between 60 FPS and 30 FPS games on a standard American/Japanese television are very pronounced, assuming you have a bit of experience with gaming and are using the right type of game (racers probably being the most obvious).
But a mouse for consoles has happened before (for example, for Super Nintendo). And it has always bombed.
3) Developers that will take a chance on making a game that MAY not be a huge seller on a console, but may be for a niche market. This is rare with console developers (but is sadly becoming rarer wih PC developers as well).
No offense, but you have NO idea what you are talking about with consoles. The biggest console(s) of every generation feature plenty of risky niche games. Just look at how many 'new' genres created in the last five or so years were made for consoles vs. PCs - it is pretty much a landslide in favor of the console.
SEGA is in a real slump lately-Super Monkey Ball 2 was probably the last original game worth a crap they've come out with, and it's been a year and a half! That is the bite!
Don't forget the superlative Panzer Dragoon Orta, which came out last January in the USA. Otherwise I certainly agree with you. Sonic Team's output is especially galling - last good NEW game they released was probably Samba De Amigo, original PSO, or Chu Chu Rocket (not sure which came out last - Samba, maybe?). I just cannot understand what happened to that studio.
I am hoping that the lack of many announcements by several studios along with the confusion of the recent reorganization and Sammy buyout is all just concealing the fact that the various Sega teams are working on some cool new games that aren't ready to show yet. Crossing my fingers for E3, at least!
A big reason it is criticised and derided so much is because some Westerners, especially Americans, cannot reasonably handle anything above mild sexuality in their videogames. Just basic everyday ethnocentrism, like people complaining that the relationship-sim DOAXBV doesn't feature deep enough gameplay (which is, incidentally, worlds deeper than most similar games). It is like complaining that Super Mario Bros. doesn't adequetely simulate real plumbing techniques - you missed the point of the game, and its genre.
:D
But the jist of it is this: if the game contains high sexuality (by Western standards, as M-rated games like DOA3 are pretty freaking tame), then it follows that it is only being sold with sexuality, right? Intuitive play-control (easier to learn the game), playable by up to 4 people (better for parties), appealing character designs, a real (if convoluted) storyline, gorgeous art, beautiful animation with varied martial arts styles, fun music (complete with that awesome Ninja Gaiden 2 intro music remix), play mechanics that discourage the poke games that other 3D fighters always degenerate into, and plenty of depth if you look for it aren't reasons to buy a game for, of course! And like the article points out, just being fun isn't enough of a reason to play a game for many gamers. What would our peers think??!
Also importantly, most US 'hardcore' fighting fans and reviewers think DOA is shallow and merely a button-masher, so it must be so. I am reminded of the hilarious Gamespy review for DOA3, where they complain that it is too shallow, etc. Then it is revealed (via an update) that they didn't even realize you could use multiple buttons together to utilize some different moves! How can someone comment on the depth of a game they barely understand? How can a reviewer truly comment period on a fighting game's depth when it can take years before people stop learning new tricks?
Maybe DOA Online (or whatever is the new crazy name they are using) will finally reveal to the 'hardcore gamers' the depth of the series. The masses don't seem to care, as DOA3 sold more copies worldwide than either Tekken4 or VF4 (non-Evo, AFAIK).
(And your sense of history is bizarre - DOA1 was hardly sold based on its graphics alone, as the original ran on the relatively aging Model 2 hardware that Virtua Fighter 2 had already popularized. It really looked only a tad better than VF2, and the various home versions looked worse than the arcade release. Especially the PSX one. Regardless, I don't understand what Tecmo USA's marketing department has to do with Team Ninja's design process. I remember most hype focusing on its unique counter system, for the record, just as most of the hype for the second game was for the huge play areas that affected gameplay so massively.)
Maybe try BroadbandReports? Somewhat poor signal-to-noise ratio, but best place to find lots of user feedback in my experience.
When did Nintendo STOP being in the conglomerate business? Remember when they threatened retailers in the US to not advertise for the Xbox prior to release? (I believe the punishment would have been less GBA shipments, IIRC.) Remember all of the price fixing they do in Europe, and did in the USA? Remember the NES system, and all of the crap they did with that?
If the games you want are on GC, that is great. (Though I question your taste a bit, as Smash Bros. is pretty widely seen as one of the best, if not the best, GC game.) The games I mostly want aren't on the GC, and this is true for many other gamers as well, which is why you hear all of this criticism. Likewise, GC really only has a few games I am interested in, so I won't pick it up until I have a lot of extra cash lying around.
Also, more 'dedicated' videogame fans (such as good writers) generally like to play a large variety of games, maybe even including more 'mature' games. Variety is something Nintendo just doesn't offer anymore on their systems. Likewise, a lot of 'hardcore' gamers have already played most of what Nintendo has offered on older systems - there just isn't a lot of innovation going on there.
None of this is a reflecting on the quality of the GC - if you like the games on it, then it is a great system for you. It isn't for me, though, and many other gamers.
You are essentially correct, though some RTS games are starting to get some very nice AI. I recently got into the RTS Rise of Nations, and the AI is nicely clever in it. Not super "same as an expert player" smart, but much better than what I find in games like C&C and Warcraft. The fact that only the highest levels of AI cheat, and the game tells you how and warns you, make it even better. Very fun game, too, if overwhelming at first.
:(
Though even the new C&C Generals has some nice AI for probing defences - generally if they are killed too much going head-on towards the center of your defences, they will try and attack the far edges of your defence. Still not really smart, per se, as it relies too much on suicide assaults, but it makes for a more exciting game. (And on a similar note, I recently discovered there are mods for Generals and Yuri's Revenge that do nothing but improve the AI. Haven't tried it for Generals yet, but the ones for Yuri were truly impressive, breathing completely new life into my various LAN battles.)
I think part of the problem with RTS games is just that making a truly good AI would be ridiculously hard, not even considering CPU power. If you look at a really strategic game like Go (and to a much lesser extend, Chess), it is just really hard to make a good AI. A good RTS should at least approach remotely a similar level of strategic depth, but compounding the problem is that the games just aren't around very long. We haven't had twenty years to perfect the AI for a game like Civilization III, for example. So it cheats like crazy to compensate.
I imagine things are getting better overall, but we still have a long way to go!
There is the popular example of a corporation paying someone to modify existing free software to meet their needs, and then making the modifications GPL, etc. to cut down on support costs and the like (often easier/cheaper to use the 'official' program than to maintain your own private trunk).
A minority of software written is the boxed, off-the-shelf type, which is where you would probably see less chance to profit. Custom jobs provide ample opportunity to make money doing free (libre) software.
1. Yes, but Cell is even harder to write for than the PS2 hardware, which is basically just a complicated evolution of the Model 2 Sega arcade hardware. Can you think of any current or remotely recent games that are written using the kind of tech the PS3 sounds like it might use? The problem is that you are increasing the difficulty by an order of magnitude. Already publishers/developers are being hurt by how long it takes to make a PS2 game (admittedly partially because of increased media content needed, which will get worse), and the only reason so many devs are able to make games for PS2 at all is because decent developmental tools and middleware eventually appeared. How long until the PS3 gets this?
4. No official announcement does not mean no expectations. Of course Apple has some kind of internal number for how many G5s they expect to sell!
7. It is still a prediction. I am not sure why so many Slashdotters don't seem to grasp that a prediction doesn't have to be some revolutionary insight to be a prediction...
9. The important thing with the Burst case, IIRC, is that Burst is also going after Real and Apple. So if the case goes against MS, there is every reason to suspect it would do the same against Real and Apple.
All up a rather silly set of predictions that is all too vague or missing facts.
A vague statement about the future, without certain specific facts? Omigod, that sounds like a PREDICTION!
And how would an armed bank robbery (ie stealing) be considered different then? You are welcome to argue the merits and morality of stealing, but don't pretend that isn't what happened.
Yeah, like that isn't a feature of every recent Namco fighting game, too...
Please please don't refer to the music in DDR as 'trance'. It is 'eurobeat', which is created and listened to primarily in Japan. Real European music usually sounds a lot better... :D
(Though you could potentially argue that Ultramix has some trance, as 'Ready Steady Go' probably qualifies. But the musicians at Konami simply don't create trance music of any sort, AFAIK.)
That isn't what I mean by nonlinear. I mean like an old-school Metroid game. :D You wouldn't even have levels per se, it would just be one big base you would explore, backtrack through, areas would change or open up as you explored the game, etc.
:) The 'designer's hand' was too noticeable, IMO.
And even in your type of nonlinear, there were still far far too many jumping puzzles where you HAD to go a certain way, make a certain jump, etc. This drove me nuts, mainly because of how ridiculously artificial it felt. "Wow, good thing this elevator shaft collapsed in the exact perfect manner that I am able to still ascend it, though too bad there is only one route." I know I am in a minority, but blah!
From what I have read about the Director's Cut, the violence removed is removed period. It isn't just the USA director's cut, it is the director's cut period, AFAIK. Will be interesting to see if the new director's cut coming adds it back in - I suspect not.
It isn't the anime DVD publisher's fault that FLCL is so expensive. Lay your blame on the very non-Aryan creators of FLCL at Gainax. If the licensing costs for a show are very very expensive, the DVDs will be as well (otherwise distributor would go broke).
I personally don't have a problem with the pricing for FLCL. Especially compared to the very expensive Japanese DVDs with only one episode a disc. You just can't compare a low budget (though still cool) American cartoon like ATHF with a huge budgeted Japanese OVA like FLCL. Completely different types of products, with completely different costs.
Except Half-Life had a much stronger single player experience from the get-go, where as the campaign in Halo is rather redundant and tedious.
:D
That's funny, I remember a ton of tedious platforming/jumping elements in HL...different strokes and all.
And HL1 had a ton of buzz for well over a year before it came out. I remember watching prerelease vids, reading all of the various magazine articles, salivating at the thought of various features they hyped yet never included in the game (It was originally supposed to play more like a Metroid, in terms of exploring the base nonlinearly, AFAIK - complete with ecosystem that would change as time passed). Plenty of hype for the game is archived here.
Reminds me of various people always posting that the first Matrix film was better because there was no hype for it. The hype was certainly there, it just happened to be off some people's radar.
But, but, but, mildly sexual titillation featuring completely virtual women is EXPLOITATION!!!
(...stupid Gamespot...)
And yes, Itagaki (head of Team Ninja) did say something like that in an interview. (scroll down about halfway, or just search the page for 'female')
And for what it is worth, my GF loves the game...
As an example of just how arbitrary these silly moral decisions are, Gamespot gives DOAXBV "Most Embarrassing Game", with braindead analysis such as:
:D But according to their review it features:
While we here at GameSpot aren't against the concept of poolside wiggling, the way it's portrayed in DOA: Xtreme Beach Volleyball is embarrassing to the point of disgust. Its dress-up, peep-show mentality comes across as just plain creepy, and just as people's perceptions about games as serious subject matter were beginning to change, something like this sticks out like a sore thumb. Games still have a long way to go, and softcore digital exploitation like this surely isn't helping to expand the market, regardless of its M rating.
Then in their section on Best Games No One Played, they feature Clockwork Tower 3. This may be a wonderful game, I haven't played it.
One scene depicts the hammer-wielding killer bludgeoning a young girl to death, while another has a villain gouging a man's eyes out and then plunging his elderly mother into a vat of acid. It's not really worse than you'll see in any slasher flick, but the game's personal treatment of the violence makes it hit home.
Huh? Which game is disgusting again, and deserves to be shunned for just that reason? Upbeat silly oggling and dress-up of virtual women = exploitation, while severe graphic violence against virtual women = underrated game? I just can't find words for how ridiculous that is.
(Please note, I am not saying either game should be censored, etc. My mind just boggles at the moral puritanism being displayed.)
Would have been even nicer if Westerners had got a chance to really know the masterpiece that is Ikaruga. The storyline was ripped out for all of the 'stupid Americans'. Especially tragic seeing as how it is probably the best console game storyline in years, easily.
So Atari can stay far away from Radiant Silvergun. (Which would play exceedingly poorly on the GC controller, besides. Too many button combinations needed. Gotta bring it to one of the other two major consoles, as they have enough buttons to make it work right.)