E3 2010 was a heck of a trip. I spent three days running from appointment to appointment. Any “free” time I had was spent making new appointments or randomly creating them. By the end of that 72-hour stretch I had recorded almost a full day of footage, gone through countless battery changes, mic checks and far to few hair styling sessions. Friday brought a painful back and dogs that wouldn’t stop barking. I needed a vacation, so I took one. A long, fifteen day excursion, largely cut off from all the trappings of a typical American getaway (ie no internet).
Well, I’m back from that much needed vacation! Refreshed and ready to get back in the writing/video producing saddle. To prove my point, I’ve included two exclusive videos for the viewers of this very blog. Above you’ll find a compilation of Hudson’s offerings, Bomberman Live: Battlefest and Bonk: Brink of Extinction, which will be released on the downloadable networks this fall.
Below the jump you’ll find an almost-abandoned interview for Sonic Colors (Wii/DS) with Dave Allen from Sega. It wasn’t his best day driving the game or even talking, but I feel bad wasting content, so there it is. In addition to the exclusives, I’ve embedded all of my (more-or-less) console specific coverage that Gamer Grenade News ended up running.
A special thanks to GGN’s Bifordus Maximus for all of the editing work. Hit the jump for the rest of the videos.
Since everyone here follows my twitter, you all should know that I am currently on vacation. Thanks to the awesomeness of automated publishing, this document, this one right here, has gone online without my intervention. Go, go automation. Be back on July 13.
July, a sweltering month across North America. One with millions of people surrounded around air conditioners, itching for something to do. There’s little TV, some crappy blockbuster movies and only a trickle of video games. Why the hell doesn’t anyone realize that so many of us fear the giant ball of fire that passes overhead? That we, the pale skinned denizens of this planet, long for something to do inside during those peak UV-laden hours? Seriously, my screen is giving me a sunburn.
I guess publishers are just scared of StarCraft II.
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Sky (July 11) - I’m going to be on on the tail end of my vacation when DQ9 releases, otherwise I’d pick it up in a heartbeat. I’ve skipped the last few DS games I intended on purchasing because of time and an uncanny amount of unplayable portable entertainment. Considering the illustrious franchise, and the fact that DQ9 is the first Dragon Quest launched on a handheld, it’s going to be difficult for me to pass up.
Sorry:
Crackdown 2 (July 6) – Crackdown never took hold with me, absorbing only a few hours of my time. Sure, Crackdown 2 promises more campaign love, but the game is a multiplayer romp at heart. I already have plenty of those that I don’t play; Looking at you Bad Company 2.
Tournament of Legends (July 6) – High Voltage Software has done some amazing things with the Wii’s admittedly weak tech, and Tournament of Legends looks to be no different. But a 3D fighting game from a company that’s never done one…I’ll wait for first impressions.
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of covering my first fighting game tournament of my professional journalist career. I’ve been to tournaments before, but they were all small and local. Everyone knew each other, knew each other’s play and each other’s shit talk. They were tight knit affairs that lasted only a few hours, or perhaps a night.
When VideoGameCentral asked me to cover East Coast Throwdown 2, I had my reservations. As I said, I played fighting games at a (barely) tournament level in the past, but I’d been out of the loop for some time. The last fighting game I took serious was Soul Calibur IV, an entire generation ago. I cautiously agreed to the task, packed up my stuff and headed to North Jersey for the tournament.
It turns out that my previous tournament experience, and extensive LAN training were all I needed. Players still knew everyone by name, they still knew each other’splay and still shit talked like they’ve played together for years, despite the tournament’s size and prestige. The only differences were a larger venue – a hotel ballroom – and a couple hundred players. Size matters.
Above is the intro video, hit this link to find the full coverage hosted by VideoGameCentral’s YouTube account.
Thank heavens for June. After an absolutely packed March, a short layover in April, followed by a bursting-at-the-seems May, my ability to stay up with releases is shot. I’ve completed many of my purchases, only to see a handful of titles remain unfinished, unopened or un-purchased (gasp!). June offers only a single title that I really want, Prince of Persia, so I should have plenty of time to finish the reboot and Super Mario Galaxy 2, which came late in May. June gets bumped up to a yellow rating because the slow month contains a variety of titles that I’d be happy to pick up later, or at a discounted rate.
Purchased:
Prince of Persia (June 1) – I’ve been tasked with reviewing the PC version of the reboot to the Prince of Persia series. Yes, I know that the purchase will make me a hypocrite, but it’s a paycheck! I absolutely loved Sands of Time and the earlier PoPs. Skipping the reboot would have been very hard for me, glad I can justify loosening my morals now.
Likely:
All Points Bulletin (June 29) – I’ve been following APB for quite some time. Most recently doing coverage for the MMOG on LoreHound.com. Realtime Worlds is attempting to implement some unique ideas, including being heavily dependent on user-created content and developing an interesting PvP mechanic for a fresh universe. The outside-the-box subscription model is perhaps the most intriguing aspect.
Darksiders (June 24) - Darksiders is currently on my list of “Regret Missing Games.” I hope to rectify that shortly after E3 2010. Here’s to hoping THQ packs in some bonus material, ports the game correctly and keeps it at the attractive $39.99 price.
Sorry:
Alpha Protocol (June 1) – Obsidian’s “Espionage RPG” (as if we gamers are too dumb to figure that out without the byline) has me mildly interested. How could I possibly ignore a game based on the amalgamation of Jack Bauer, James Bond and Jason Bourne? Mild interest doesn’t mean a purchase.
Mega Man Zero Collection (June 8 ) – This is an easy buy for me, once I have time to play the four Mega Man Zero games it includes. Or I see a price drop to $19.99. The included perks and tweaks are just gravy, since I haven’t played anything in the series in the first place.
Transformers: War for Cybertron(June 22) - I love Transformers, but the games have been notoriously bad for the most part. It looks like Activision is attempting to make a good game, but I’ll wait and see.
It’s not often that I latch on to a game early in its development. It’s far less likely that I sniff out each small detail, analyzing the news as it slowly trickles out. Xenoblade (aka Monado: Beginning of the World), the upcoming Wii RPG from Monolith Soft and Nintendo has grabbed me like few others game have in recent times.
Xenoblade is being designed by Tetsuya Takahashi, the fame director of Xenogears and Xenosaga. To boil it down to the basics, Xenoblade is attempting to be Wii’s answer to Final Fantasy XIII.
The early tidbits of the game remain locked in Japanese – a language I do not speak – but even that hasn’t stopped me from getting excited for Xenoblade. The story seems fresh, the battle system appears fluid and original (trailer above) and the world is absolutely epic in scale.
Hopefully, I get some hands on time at E3 2010 in a few weeks.
Instance Gratification is a project I’ve been working on for LoreHound.com for over a month now. The idea is fairly simple, record players running through dungeons in an entertaining and informative way. The idea spawned from an abandoned project for ProjectLore.com that would have focused on World of Warcraft instead of Dungeon & Dragons Online. More on that later though.
I entered the market of video production with some trepidation. I know the mechanics and technology used to create the pieces of digital art, but I’ve never rolled up my sleeves and dove into any production software. Stupidly and without any research or thought, I grabbed a cheap copy of Creative Suite 3 to begin my adventure. My inexperience led to a hellish experience with my Bad Company 2 Video Review together. Tens of hours were wasted. The firsttwo installments of the high-definition Instance Gratification series – originally called DDO Dungeon-Along – exemplify my rookie status further. The videos are lengthy, perhaps to a fault, and grainy, as evidenced by the unreadable text. Interlacing and letter boxing were unexpected additions to the final cut, and voice-over timing is rough in spots.
To be frank, I hated the product I had put out. The idea remained true to form, but the technology, and my beginner understanding of video editing, ruined the experience.
For Episode 3, I made a conscious effort to improve on all fronts. My personal goal lead me down a perilous path. Sunday night was spent analyzing and marking down everything I despised of in my previous creations. On Monday I analyzed the captured data and came to the realization that the video FRAPS is pulling is the exact quality I am after. My romp through dungeons are captured in vibrant color with readable text and a perfect high-definition resolution. I managed to corner the culprit, CS3. The editing software was ruining things. Monday begot Tuesday, when I usually post the video. I hadn’t even begun editing yet. I made an executive decision on Wednesday to begin forgo perfection, settling on a product with washed-out colors. Otherwise the episode may have never of made it to press.
With renewed anger, I immediately began working on Episode 4 after taping. I changed setting after setting, created and abandoned projects, compressed the footage before editing it using a handful of products, attempted to export in every file format imaginable. Nothing made a difference. Creative Suite 3 was dooming DDO to appear bland, full of grays and browns with no pizzazz. I called it, CS3 had failed me. It was a poor purchase by an uninformed individual. Thankfully, CS5 had just been released. New tech in hand, the creation of Episode 4 went off without a hitch.
Now look how pretty “You Take No Candle!” is compared to that other dreck I produced. I hope I can take my editing and direction to the next level with the technology front finally conquered.
You may be reading that headline and thinking to yourself “Didn’t he say he wasn’t doing previews anymore?” And you’d be right, I don’t want to do the classic preview anymore. However, editors are not always on board with what a writer wants to do. Because of this, my Red Dead Redemption preview for TheGameReviews turned out a bit more classic than I anticipated.
Either way, I think it remains pretty clear what part of the game had me the most excited:
Players will take control of John Marston, a former outlaw that’s being forced to wrangle up his old posse in exchange for the lives of his captured family. With a tale that’s full of corrupt law enforcement, moral ambiguity, and an open, dusty landscape, it would seem as if Rockstar have ticked every box on the classic Western checklist. The soundtrack also follows suit, as it evokes the same simple, yet memorable, themes that Westerns have always been known for. Here, the mood isn’t set by fingers flying across a piano or the plucking of guitar strings, as these sounds merely exist to set the stage. Red Dead Redemption’s sound designer brings the player back to the spaghetti western age of Morricone. The music prominently features harmonicas, creaking rocking chairs, and even the wind, the latter of which is notable because it is actually noticeable. Luckily, these welcome audio flares are energizing enough to keep players from being bored during those long, lonely walks with an equestrian buddy.
Yo dawg. I heard you like faces, so I put a face in yo mouth! (Did I do that right?)
I pre-ordered Super Mario Galaxy 2 when Amazon started doing its $20 discount (which it is still running). Since then I’ve been impatiently waiting for Mario & Luigi to join me in cooperative goodness. Last I heard, the title was set for a June release. After a quick check on its order status I found out that Super Mario Galaxy 2 should have be prominitely featured in last week’s May 2010: Financial Threshold Red, since the game is coming out on May 23.
Sorry Lost Planet 2, but you just got bumped from “Purchased” to “Likely” by the plumbing pair.
From downpour to drought to downpour. Publishers high and low are jumping on the tail end of the school season to push out a large collection of tempting titles. Most genres are represented in the flowery month of May, but it’s clearly the month of racing. Split/Second, ModNation Racers and Blur all vei for a starting line position of our respected platform of choice.
Clearly there’s something going on with May 18. The peculiar day has no less than five notable games being released. I’d wager that its attracting publishers through nefarious means. Illicit profit-enhancing drugs, obviously.
Thank god R.U.S.E. was delayed, otherwise we’d have had to make a new color for the chart.
Purchased:
Lost Planet 2 (May 18) – Players get to tackle giant bugs with big guns. The heavily-armored, six-legged (or more) fiends can be dispatched through the normal bullet spamming methods. Or various other, often more disgusting, ways. Four player co-op and extensive pre-release demo playtime make it an easy purchase for me.
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (May 18) - I’ve been hooked on the Prince of Persia series for a long time. It was one of the first franchises I played when I first got into PC games, and Ubisoft’s reboot during last generation was pure gold. I missed the most recent offering, but The Forgotten Sands is a new beginning. I’ll jump backflip, climb up a wall and sashay down a pole right in.
Likely:
Alan Wake(May 18) – Alan Wake gets pushed down to the ‘Likely’ rank because it picked a bad month to be released in. Had Alan Wake come out in April, or possibly June, it’d be a no-brainer. But I’m bogged down by two adventures on May 18th already. I’ll likely pick up Alan’s adventure after the wake settles.
Red Dead Redemption (May 18) – My preview session with Red Dead Redemption didn’t bowl me over, but it didn’t ruin the game for me either. The busy month (and day) have relegated RDR to a wait-and-see purchase.
Split/Second(May 18) – Exhibit A in this month’s vehicle blitz. BlackRock Studios sets its game apart from the rest of the pack by being decidedly arcadey. We get to blow up the stage itself as we speed past or even through our destruction. Sounds like a fun LAN session.
Blur (May 25) – The entry by Bizarre Creations sticks to the studio’s winning formula. Speed, impeccable handling, real world cars and (inspired) locations. Kudos, who could forget about Kudos. Mix in some Mario Kart weaponry and a fresh take on campaigns in racing games and Blur gives Split/Second a run for its my money.
Sorry:
Skate 3(May 11) - Anyone interested in skating games would be remiss to pass on Skate 3. The dedication Electronic Arts is giving to the game and its community is something to pay attention to. Unfortunately, skating games do not interest me.
Monster Hunter Tri has a lot going for it. The biggest perk has to be the fact that it’s one of a handful of JRPGs on the white box from Nintendo. Wii gamers have been starved for deep RPG experiences since the console exploded onto the market so many years ago. I certainly can’t think of anything worthy outside Tales of Symphonia 2 and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers. But I digress.
Complexity is the title’s broth to undernourished gamers. Players collect items throughout their battles with the titular monsters. General gallivanting through the lands gives hunters the opportunity to collect other essentials through mining, gathering and fishing. All of these resources are then poured into a deep economic market. Materials can be crafted into any number of desirable items, from weapons, armor and potions, to food and socket items. Extraneous material can be stored for later use, or in some occasions used to gather further materials thanks to various farming applications. The ability to turn your kills into a self-fulfilling industry is what hooks. It had me initially. However, I need more than an economy to sustain my interest.
I tweeted a couple of days ago that the good parts of Monster Hunter Tri are being outweighed by the bad (see First Impression). The more I play the game the less I like it. The archaic combat and control scheme tears at me each time I lose my target. Every extraneous button click causes a slight twitch. The repetitive motions, be it combat or gathering, produce drool from my pie hole. Struggling with inventory raises my Hulk meter. The experience should not be this painful.
I could deal with all of this if I was given an interesting reason to pursue my hunter’s progression. An interesting story, entertaining quests, something, anything to motivate me to overcome the shortcomings. Instead Capcom delivered a title with a slow-moving, almost non-existent story. The quests, well, they’re a bunch of MMORPG rejects to put it simply. Kill X of Y, collect A of B, and so on. I’m just waiting to be told to collect a bunch of pages to create a book so I can be angry at Tigole, again.
There’s definitely an audience for Monster Hunter Tri. I call them Diablo masochists. The well-designed online play only entices them further. I’m not one of these people, so Monster Hunter Tri is going the way of Army of Tutu. To a lucky Goozex member.
Wonder just what the heck a mini-review is? Find out here.
