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Wario in his current state is done. He's really got nothing to offer. His games are short, slow paced, and not as engaging as some of the other Nintendo franchises. He's not very well liked and I'm not really sure what to think of him either. Plus his games are included in the list of Nintendo games that really should be called B tier. But Nintendo "doesn't" make B tier games so they all get priced the same.
I've always had high hopes for Wario. He's a bad guy. He's misunderstood. I missed out on all the Gameboy fun people had with him, so I jumped on the band wagon as soon as I could. I was hesitant about WarioWare, MicroGames. But after playing it for 30 seconds, I was a Wario fan. Since then I've bought every Wario game on release. Wario Land on GameCube, WarioWare Touched on DS, WarioWare Twisted on GBA, WarioWare Smooth Moves on Wii, Wario: Master of Disguise on DS, and now Wario Land: Shake It! I do have MegaParty Games, but I didn't buy it on release since it was a rerelease of the GBA game.
So let's start off by taking out all the WarioWare games. I love them, but they've got no story and really not much gameplay to build a real game out of. What's left is Wario. There's not much to look at. Mediocrity at it's best. Before you all start telling him to lose the weight, get in shape, and turn his life around. Let me tell you, that's not the problem. The real problem is that Wario's got an identity crisis. He's doesn't know who he is or who he wants to be. He's lost touch with what made him worthy of the "ario"with an upside down M. I mean for goodness sakes. He's supposed to be the opposite of Mario. So if Mario is all good and saving the Princess, then Wario needs to really be up to something nasty. Forget petty larceny and treasure hunting. Let's get down to kidnapping.
When was the last time Mario had a decent Villain that we feared. The battle between Bowser and Mario has become more one-sided than a Harlem Globetrotters game. Wario's resorted to playing tennis and driving go karts with his nemesis. And all the other bad guys are just temporary place holders while Bowser rests up for his next ass kicking. Nintendo needs figure out if they want to go after the casual or the hardcore market with Wario. If they want to make a short and sweet casual game, then they need to make it at a casual price. If they really want to charge full price and hit the hardcore game players, then we need something that will warrant the 50 dollar purchase. I'm not asking for Grand Theft Wario. But Wario and Nintendo both need to make a big splash. No one wants to see a bad-guy being kinda good or a good-guy being kinda bad. They want the choice to be Good or Evil and then completely explore the possibilities of their decision.
The next Wario game has to put Wario up against Mario. Have it where Mario is chasing after Wario the entire game and it's up to you to help Wario keep the hero off his ass. Have it as somewhat a chase platformer and even leave it in 2-D with the Shake It! art style.
So, Wario, let's relive those 6 Golden Coin days. If there's any Evil left underneath all that flab and joyful roundness, get your ass off the couch, stop feeling sorry for yourself, go kidnap that bitch Peach, and let's start this party.
I am what many might call a PS3 fanboy. Unfortunately however, the PS3 has been slow to pick up any truly outstanding games that really help it to stand out as well as the Xbox or Wii. Metal Gear Solid 4 and Uncharted stand out to me as two incredible PS3 experiences but for some reason, the PS3 has yet to get it's addictive, gamer friendly experience such as Gears of War. The original Resistance for the PS3 was a decent attempt at creating a unique shooter to compete with Gears despite the fact that it suffered from a few flaws that allowed Gears to come out on top. I will be honest, I have not played through Resistance. I tried. I couldn't stick with it because it seemed a bit too linear and a bit less interesting than Gears. Perhaps it was the brighter color palette or the shiny new engine that gave Gears that extra edge but one thing is certain, Resistance didn't make the impression that it was striving for. Because of my less than enthusiastic response to the original Resistance, I have not been too excited about Resistance 2 which is set to release in November. Luckily however, I have started to watch some of the preview footage for the game and color me impressed. Take a look at this:
Insomniac seems to have addressed several complaints I had with the original Resistance and added some crazy new elements that have managed to put this game on my radar. :
1.) The presentation of the story in the original Resistance was way too detached for my tastes. The game was narrated and lacked high quality cutscenes that make the story fun to follow. Luckily, Insomniac seems to be combining cutscenes with half life style presentation. Half Life 2 is a great example of how a story can be told right before your eyes with out pulling the player out of the experience. In addition to changing up the presentation of the story, the games color palette seems to have undergone a dramatic overhaul. The original game was nothing but browns and blacks which seemed to make the game very bland. Luckily, the change in game setting seems to have introduced a bigger variety of scenery with colorful forest levels and vast, vertical cityscapes. This kind of variety is something that could have saved the original game in my eyes.
2.) Insomniac's approach to graphics along with technical lighting and water techniques is very interesting. The idea of what they call "hyper realism" is an interesting concept because it is kind of difficult to see. Instead of striving for photo realism, Insomniac has added a certain "i don't know what" that adds a subtle style to the game.
3.) HUGE BOSSES!! Anyone who saw the footage from E3 saw the Goliath Chimera as it tore through downtown Chicago. This was definitely an interesting scene but it seems that the game will throw more of the gigantic boss fights at players throughout the game. It looks like taking on large boss creatures is a key aspect of the game that helps to separate it from other science fiction shooters. The thought of taking these monstrosities on alone or with friends is very enticing which leads me to my next point...
4.) 8 Player CO-OP is definitely one of the biggest selling points for me because not only do you have the opportunity to play together with 7 other people but this Co-Op mode includes it's own unique story! This is the first game I have ever seen that really tries to encourage cooperative play by giving you additional story elements for playing through with friends. Not only is this a unique multi player experience but it's available on the PS3 which is something that the PS3 really needs.
5.) In addition to an incredible co-op experience, the game also delivers a deep, rich, and incredibly complex multi player mode by allowing up to 60 people to be playing all at once! Now this is one element that has me incredibly excited but also very skeptical. With that many people on one map, it could become very confusing and make game play very frustrating. If they pull it off though, then it looks like PS3 might have the next big multi player phenomenon on their hands.
It's hard to read about this game and not get excited. Now I just have to go back and play through the original before the sequel hits this November. Add another game to my list of big Fall Blockbusters....
I'm not a big fan of weddings. Maybe it's cause I'm a guy and all the sentimental stuff wears on me. I mean, I'm not heartless. I just think all that love and affection is something you share privately and don't really put it all on display in front of a crowd of people.
The wedding I attended last night was quite a bit different though. One of my good friends, Cecile, was getting married, and if you're a video game dork like the rest of us, you would have been able to feel that influence during the ceremony. I know we're in Austin, but it wasn't weird like they were in full cosplay or that it was a themed wedding. But I'll tell you, I've never been more moved when she came down the isle and Celes' Theme from Final Fantasy VI was being played on a harp. I felt like I was in scene as powerful as the Opera Scene from Final Fantasy VI. Maybe I was one of her crewmates and she was leaving for bigger and better things, but the rest of the crew was upset and vowed not to show up. But she's a friend so I had no choice but to be there for her. Plus, what if some crazy gambler showed up and kidnapped her during the ceremony. All these emotions and memories flooded into me and all I could do was put of this big goofy smile. She saw me grinning and she knew that I approved of her musical choice. Here's the song if you can't remember it by memory.
This brings up the discussion. What is the role of music in video games? First off, I love music. I've got my Zune with me 90% of the day. It's filled with all sorts of Japanese Music and a few Anime themes, but I don't have any video game music on it right now. I love music from video games but I have a hard time listening to instrumental tracks with no lyrics to go along with. Is this a case of me not liking the music enough or that video game music is more situational and is used as a supplement to what's going on screen?
It was busy this week and due to some technical problems, we had to skip editing and use the back up mic. Which also means a quicker turn around time. Thanks Travis for coming down from college to make an appearance.
Travis has been playing Legend of Dragoon, Brad revisited Silent Hill, and I'm reliving my youth with Mega Man 9. So what's the verdict? Can a game be timeless? Do they have the appeal they once had? Or has the evolution of the genre made them games of the past?
006 - Dinner Time Podcast With Ryan Harvey [Download]
Brad and I visit ArcadeUFO to talk with the man who may have the answers on how to save American Arcades. Going over the difficulties and process he went through to set up ArcadeUFO, we learn of the actual machine that caused the death of arcades in America.
It will be interesting to see which big RPG coming out in October will do the "good vs evil" thing better. It's pretty damn common to see this in games these days, but hopefully we will see some nuance in this mechanic this fall.
Fable 2 sounds very interesting as being "good" is all about sacrifice. If Fable2 pulls this off on an emotional level for the player, I can definitely see this game being a milestone. But then again, this is Lionhead we are talking about.
As far as Fallout 3 is concerned? I'm a little worried now after watching these videos. It appears Bethesda is taking the more traditional route with "good vs evil". My guess is karma points just effect which perks or skills you can use.
I don't know what came over me. Not only do I not support what Namco does with downloadable content, but I scolded anyone who planned on doing so. The sad thing is, the content was way overpriced too.
I'm so sorry. I just couldn't resist.
So the other day I spent 300 points each to get a costume and accessories pack for Rita and Estelle in Tales of Vesperia. Three outfits and three accessories each. Instead of the Estelle you see above, my Estelle can now wear a maids outfit with glasses. What the fuck have I become???
Honestly though, I don't feel so bad. I have played countless Tales games in the past, and though the quests to get outfits are very fun, they all come extremely late in the game. I checked my save data for Tales of Symphonia the other day and the clock was at 90 hours! I probably got most of the outfits over 60-70 hours into the game. I will still do these quests if they are available for me to do so; provided I even care about the game at that point.
My reasoning is this. I'd rather spend a little bit of money now and have a whole wardrobe for my Tales girls for the entire game than wait another 50 hours to get them. I played many many hours of Tales of the Abyss and never got but one costume. I put the game down eventually and never finished it. Maybe if I had more costumes from the start I would have finished the game.
Nevermind...
...I'm fucking pathetic.
I'm sorry for perpetuating everything that is wrong with Namco and their shitty DLC efforts.
: (
Brad
P.S. The only thing keeping me from buying the same set for Judith and wasting another 300 points....
I've got about two weeks left until I leave for Tokyo Game Show in Japan. It's been over a year and I can't wait to be back in Japan. I know there are some of you who don't quite understand my love and fascination with Japan, some of you might even find it wrong or disgusting. Well here are a few videos to help explain why I may move to Japan and never come back.
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Wario in his current state is done. He's really got nothing to offer. His games are short, slow paced, and not as engaging as some of the other Nintendo franchises. He's not very well liked and I'm not really sure what to think of him either. Plus his games are included in the list of Nintendo games that really should be called B tier. But Nintendo "doesn't" make B tier games so they all get priced the same.
I'm not a big fan of weddings. Maybe it's cause I'm a guy and all the sentimental stuff wears on me. I mean, I'm not heartless. I just think all that love and affection is something you share privately and don't really put it all on display in front of a crowd of people.
It was busy this week and due to some technical problems, we had to skip editing and use the back up mic. Which also means a quicker turn around time. Thanks Travis for coming down from college to make an appearance.
I don't know what came over me. Not only do I not support what Namco does with downloadable content, but I scolded anyone who planned on doing so. The sad thing is, the content was way overpriced too.
