Well, there's still sequels to The Longest Journey & Syberia on the way, with a bunch of other miscellaneous titles from The Adventure Company coming out every year. Adventures are tending to step into 3D though, like Broken Sword 3 did - I don't think that sold too badly.
Someone will probably design software for playing videos on flash carts. That's exactly the case with the GBA, although the video-playing isn't exactly top-notch and I'm yet to succesfully encode one to work on my GBA.:/ You can download *.gba format trailers for The Matrix and Ice Age that don't look too shabby.
"The Sierra games really went downhill when they changed from the text-input control to the icons"
No they didn't, that's stupid. Using a mouse is a lot more convenient, and makes a lot more sense. I know the King's Quest remakes, and the LSL remake have definitely benefitted from eliminating frustrating systems where you have to get the word "just right". Besides, even if they did go down hill, do you really think the interface was to blame for that?
Recent graphic adventures not up to scratch? Well, EMI was a little poor, but the last one before that was Grim friggin' Fandango! Any other adventure games released in the past 10 years by LucasArts have all been excellent.
Gilbert set up Cavedog, the development team that mademake Total Annihilation (Although I don't think he had anything to do with the actual game), and then started making kids adventure games at Humongous, which has now been incorporated into some sort of big kids games company.
Also, Tim Schafer, the Grim Fandango / DOTT / Full Throttle guy, who set up DoubleFine Productions and is working on Psychonauts for the X-box, which looks promising.
Dave Grossman, who also worked on DOTT and helped with the dialogue alongside Schafer and Gilbert on the first two Monkey island games is apparently a children's author, I think - I'm not sure. He definitely writes poetry and has a website here or there.
What the hell are you talking about? Of course "good composers" still exist. Most games, including the recent Castlevania's (Castlevanii?), contain a lot of original compositions, be it remixes of old themes or new music specifically designed for the game. Games that use commercial music usually do it well, too - Vice City, for example mixed classic 70-era (or whatever era it was) music with original recordings, and it worked splendidly. Tony Hawks & True Crime incorporate rap/punk/ska/blah/etc into the games because they represent them well, and the people who buy those games enjoy that music.
I agree - I love ye olde video game themes, but I especially love hearing ye olde video game theme given a modern reworking. Metroid Prime, for example has fantastic noises at the start, and some excellent instrumental effects thrown in, and the theme is better because of it. Super Smash Bros Melee has the best soundtrack ever, too - you have to love that Temple theme.
"When people complain about Nintendo making kids games, they should at least get the criticism right: Nintendo doesn't fail adults, it fails wide-eyed 15 year old boys."
Heh, exactly. Do people think that it's mostly adults that actually buy adult games? Nearly ever teen has the desire to mature as quickly as possible - illustrated beautifully by the girlie-magazine "Just17" having a key demographic of 12-13 year olds.
I would imagine that the guy wouldn't be playing his own NES, or his own cart - the independant adjudicator would supply all that stuff, to make sure it's kosher.
Erm.. The N64 was hardly a failure. It may have lost Nintendo a lot of ground in the console war, but it was incredibly more succesful than the Saturn.
We're not all bloody Christians. In fact, I should be able to worship Satan and be treated no differently than those who pray to God, Allah, Jesus or Buddha. I'll find Super Monkey Ball "satanic" and "sinful" if I like.
As for "sexual" games - isn't reproducing one of the major things that almost every organism on this planet strives to "do"?
Parents can actually let their children drink alcohol, as long as they do so at home - at least in the UK. When my kid reaches 5, I'm buying him a bottle of Vodka.
Definitely the game that I've played the most, and the best at bringing out an emotional response in my book. This was because the characters were actually people who you would connect with, so when they betrayed you, sacrificed themselves or simply couldn't continue the journey anymore, you'd certainly feel something.
I loved the part in Metroid Prime where you picked up the heat visor and the lights went out and the pirates dropped down, my hair was literally on end. The first time a metroid screeched at me and latched on to my face made me leap several feet too, and I have nightmares about the fission metroids to this day:)
I didn't think Eternal Darkness was too frightening though, nor any survival horror - I made a point of only playing at night too, which is a bit sad:)
The only other game I can think of that moved me was Grim Fandango. The ending was beautiful, and whenever I watch the trailer I get a little thrill.
But how do you know what the current product is like before you buy it? Or does the intelligent person simply use the opinions of others as the only means of shaping his own opinion? When the product is very subjective, much like a video-game or a movie then it's often foolish to think this way. Reviews may give you an indication towards what's good, but another indicator is enjoying a previous title in that franchise.
Yes, it's almost inevitable that as more sequels are churned out, things get worse - but people do recognise this. Revolutions took in a lot less than Reloaded. I don't think all too many people are concerned with losing $10(?) to a crappy movie.
As for your questions, I never liked Tomb Raider. I never followed the Castlevania series, I didn't think T3 was too bad actually and I didn't see the Matrix sequels. I do however make a point of seeing Coen films. I'll be watching Spiderman 2 and buying the next Zelda game regardless of what anyone tells me.
And like I said:
"I could just buy what I believe looks good and keep my receipt."
Well, "Sell" being more like "Give away". So far I have two free Zelda discs, and the original Metroid. I think there are a few NES games on Animal Farm, but there's not much. Personally, I'm not really concerned with backwards compatability anyway.
What's wrong with that? Past performance is generally a good indicator of how good a game is. I'll be purchasing Nintendo's next Mario platformer purely on the basis of enjoying all of the plumbers previous incarnations. I'll be buying Metroid Prime 2 and Sam and Max 2 because the original titles were excellent.
Sure, I could wait for a demo, one of which will probably emerge around three months after the game is released, or not at all in the Gamecubes case. Or I could rent something - which is not really possible with PC games. Reading reviews would tell me what one or two people thought, and maybe I could put in a little research and find out the general opinion on the title.
Or, I could just buy what I believe looks good and keep my receipt.
The Nintendo D-pad is a hell of a lot better than most of it's counterparts. When I play any of Capcoms 2D Fighters on the Dreamcast - most of which deny analogue use - I usually end up with half a thumb.
Then again, Nintendo have always had the most innovative (and arguably, comfortable) controllers. It (seems like it) was the first console to introduce shoulder buttons, analogue sticks and rumble features (The Dual Shock came after the N64). Although there may have been other systems that already featured those features. The N64 pad is the best pad evar.
"Probably not, but I do think that if M$ is able to corrale more Japanese developers, up the existing Xbox user base worldwide then I think they can place a very close second instead of a distant second."
Why does everyone automatically discount Nintendo, the current "distant second"?/zealousy
Try reading that comment again. You'll recognise the word "murder". There's a difference between murder and death. Not that I disagree with whatever argument you're putting forward.
Auto-dynamic difficulty can be great, if implemented properly (Max Payne, Lylat Wars/Star Fox 64). However, when this "difficulty" consists of making a range of asinine and vague "choices" in places - ala Kingdom Hearts and "the sun is setting" - then it sucks.
Good games usually have just the one difficulty setting, although that depends heavily on the genre.
"So sure, I'm pessimistic - particularly with their previous innovation track record (robbie the robot, exercise pad, powerglove, virtual boy)."
Nintendo's innovations aren't all bad. For instance, if you look at control pads alone, Nintendo were the first to introduce shoulder pads, analogue sticks and make the pad vibrate - at least to a mainstream anyway (I'm pretty sure the N64 pad & rumble pack were released before the Dual Shock).
Of course, it's a lot easier to remember the stupid ideas, and complain how Mario Sunshine is just Mario 64 with prettier graphics and not innovative at all, but everyone always seems to overlook the entire genres that Nintendo have "created", from the recent "suck-em-up" that was Luigi's Mansion to the old "Stripped-Down-RPG/Action-Adventure-athon" that is Zelda. Smash Bros was a completely unconventional beat 'em up that still ruled. Nobody can decide what genre Metroid Prime is. Pikmin stripped out a lot of the complexities of the RTS and still managed to kick complete ass.
It's like special effects in a film. If they're done brilliantly, you don't even think twice about them. If they're bad, then they're laughed at, and people remember how bad they were. However, Special effects don't make a movie
To conclude, I am a Nintendo zealot with a knack for making bad analogies:)
Slashdot Mirror
Well, there's still sequels to The Longest Journey & Syberia on the way, with a bunch of other miscellaneous titles from The Adventure Company coming out every year. Adventures are tending to step into 3D though, like Broken Sword 3 did - I don't think that sold too badly.
I'm sure that cartridge size will increase too.
No they didn't, that's stupid. Using a mouse is a lot more convenient, and makes a lot more sense. I know the King's Quest remakes, and the LSL remake have definitely benefitted from eliminating frustrating systems where you have to get the word "just right". Besides, even if they did go down hill, do you really think the interface was to blame for that?
Recent graphic adventures not up to scratch? Well, EMI was a little poor, but the last one before that was Grim friggin' Fandango! Any other adventure games released in the past 10 years by LucasArts have all been excellent.
Also, Tim Schafer, the Grim Fandango / DOTT / Full Throttle guy, who set up DoubleFine Productions and is working on Psychonauts for the X-box, which looks promising.
Dave Grossman, who also worked on DOTT and helped with the dialogue alongside Schafer and Gilbert on the first two Monkey island games is apparently a children's author, I think - I'm not sure. He definitely writes poetry and has a website here or there.
There's no shortage of original compositions
I agree - I love ye olde video game themes, but I especially love hearing ye olde video game theme given a modern reworking. Metroid Prime, for example has fantastic noises at the start, and some excellent instrumental effects thrown in, and the theme is better because of it. Super Smash Bros Melee has the best soundtrack ever, too - you have to love that Temple theme.
Heh, exactly. Do people think that it's mostly adults that actually buy adult games? Nearly ever teen has the desire to mature as quickly as possible - illustrated beautifully by the girlie-magazine "Just17" having a key demographic of 12-13 year olds.
I would imagine that the guy wouldn't be playing his own NES, or his own cart - the independant adjudicator would supply all that stuff, to make sure it's kosher.
Erm.. The N64 was hardly a failure. It may have lost Nintendo a lot of ground in the console war, but it was incredibly more succesful than the Saturn.
As for "sexual" games - isn't reproducing one of the major things that almost every organism on this planet strives to "do"?
Parents can actually let their children drink alcohol, as long as they do so at home - at least in the UK. When my kid reaches 5, I'm buying him a bottle of Vodka.
"with a 25 pound price tag"
I guess Slashdot doesn't like the pound tag, and it also messed with my grammar.
And now, due to poor sales they're both being released with a 25 (22.50 on Amazon anyway). PoP is out Feb 20th, and BG&E is out March 20th I believe.
Definitely the game that I've played the most, and the best at bringing out an emotional response in my book. This was because the characters were actually people who you would connect with, so when they betrayed you, sacrificed themselves or simply couldn't continue the journey anymore, you'd certainly feel something.
Just watching the trailer gives me a buzz. :~
I didn't think Eternal Darkness was too frightening though, nor any survival horror - I made a point of only playing at night too, which is a bit sad :)
The only other game I can think of that moved me was Grim Fandango. The ending was beautiful, and whenever I watch the trailer I get a little thrill.
Yes, it's almost inevitable that as more sequels are churned out, things get worse - but people do recognise this. Revolutions took in a lot less than Reloaded. I don't think all too many people are concerned with losing $10(?) to a crappy movie.
As for your questions, I never liked Tomb Raider. I never followed the Castlevania series, I didn't think T3 was too bad actually and I didn't see the Matrix sequels. I do however make a point of seeing Coen films. I'll be watching Spiderman 2 and buying the next Zelda game regardless of what anyone tells me.
And like I said:
"I could just buy what I believe looks good and keep my receipt."
Well, "Sell" being more like "Give away". So far I have two free Zelda discs, and the original Metroid. I think there are a few NES games on Animal Farm, but there's not much. Personally, I'm not really concerned with backwards compatability anyway.
Sure, I could wait for a demo, one of which will probably emerge around three months after the game is released, or not at all in the Gamecubes case. Or I could rent something - which is not really possible with PC games. Reading reviews would tell me what one or two people thought, and maybe I could put in a little research and find out the general opinion on the title.
Or, I could just buy what I believe looks good and keep my receipt.
Then again, Nintendo have always had the most innovative (and arguably, comfortable) controllers. It (seems like it) was the first console to introduce shoulder buttons, analogue sticks and rumble features (The Dual Shock came after the N64). Although there may have been other systems that already featured those features. The N64 pad is the best pad evar.
"Probably not, but I do think that if M$ is able to corrale more Japanese developers, up the existing Xbox user base worldwide then I think they can place a very close second instead of a distant second." Why does everyone automatically discount Nintendo, the current "distant second"? /zealousy
Try reading that comment again. You'll recognise the word "murder". There's a difference between murder and death. Not that I disagree with whatever argument you're putting forward.
Good games usually have just the one difficulty setting, although that depends heavily on the genre.
Nintendo's innovations aren't all bad. For instance, if you look at control pads alone, Nintendo were the first to introduce shoulder pads, analogue sticks and make the pad vibrate - at least to a mainstream anyway (I'm pretty sure the N64 pad & rumble pack were released before the Dual Shock).
Of course, it's a lot easier to remember the stupid ideas, and complain how Mario Sunshine is just Mario 64 with prettier graphics and not innovative at all, but everyone always seems to overlook the entire genres that Nintendo have "created", from the recent "suck-em-up" that was Luigi's Mansion to the old "Stripped-Down-RPG/Action-Adventure-athon" that is Zelda. Smash Bros was a completely unconventional beat 'em up that still ruled. Nobody can decide what genre Metroid Prime is. Pikmin stripped out a lot of the complexities of the RTS and still managed to kick complete ass.
It's like special effects in a film. If they're done brilliantly, you don't even think twice about them. If they're bad, then they're laughed at, and people remember how bad they were. However, Special effects don't make a movie
To conclude, I am a Nintendo zealot with a knack for making bad analogies :)
The future of gaming never gets closer, no matter how many steps you take ;D