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Sunday, 20 September 2009

What was your first FPS?

It's heartbreaking we'll never see GoldenEye on the Virtual Console or Xbox Live Arcade. With updated HD graphics, dual analog control and matchmaking I imagine that game would've seen a monumental rebirth and a whole new audience weaned on Halo and Call of Duty.

Although I imagine GoldenEye 007 was the first first-person-shooter for many of us here. It was definitely the first I remember having a good time with. Sure, multiplayer was a bust most of the time, Oddjob made sure of that, but the staggering amount of content in the single player mode was a revelation at the time. Various difficulty modes with differing objectives, cheat codes, branching paths, easter eggs... Man. Fun times.

What was your first FPS? Was it GoldenEye? Wolfenstein? Dark Forces? Let's hear it.

Tuesday, 15 September 2009

Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story or Scribblenauts?

Scribblenauts, as described by Wikipedia: Scribblenauts is an exclusively side-scrolling game controlled almost entirely with the Nintendo DS stylus, with the D-pad controlling the camera and the left and right shoulder buttons rotating objects. The player controls a character named Maxwell, who must collect objects called "Starites". Maxwell is guided by tapping the touchscreen, or if the player taps an object, Maxwell will pick it up or be given other options for interacting with that object, such as riding a horse or bicycle or shooting at an object if he holds a weapon.
A fundamental element of Scribblenauts is the ability of the player to summon myriad objects into the game. This is achieved by writing the name of an object on the touchscreen (or via keypad). For example, the player can write "ladder", summoning a ladder, which the player may use to climb to an out-of-reach Starite. The player may turn the ladder on its side and set it on fire. Summoned objects also range among animals, weapons, forces of nature, famous people (both fictional and real), vehicles, household objects, Easter eggs of the development team, and even internet memes.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, as described by Wikiwhatever: It is the third game in the Mario & Luigi series, following Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. ... As a part of the Mario & Luigi series, the game includes new features such as mini-games and the ability to play as Bowser and use his own unique battle system, which allows players to hold the DS sideways and use the touchscreen and microphone to perform special moves.
Mario and Luigi are found together inside Bowser for the first part of the game, exploring a 2-D platform-style environment. However, battles are still turn based, and are initiated by touching enemies. Bowser explores the Mushroom Kingdom in a 3/4 overhead-view world, much like previous Mario & Luigi games. After a certain point in the game, Mario & Luigi can go outside of Bowser's body to explore the overworld as well. They can then use pipes to return to the inside of Bowser's body.

Both sound like weird, fun games. I mean, pipes leading into Bowser's insides?! But let's say you only got the budget for one: Which will it be?

Monday, 14 September 2009

Heart Gold/Soul Silver - Ultimate Pokemon Game?

It's out in Japan and word is coming out: It's frakkin' awesome.

Take the word of my pal who imported Soul Silver. He gave me a rundown of all the game's new features and, if I may be so bold, it sounds like the best Pokemon game there could be. Here's what he let me know:

The game is about speed, speed, speed. EVERYTHING is faster. Menu navigation is faster. Saving is faster. Moving is faster. Everything is much more convenient now. You don't even have to use the buttons. There's a designated A button on the touch screen for talking to NPCs and investigating the environment. The running shoes can be turned on and off via the touch screen, too. And the menu is always there on the touch screen! One second you're walking, and the next you're healing Totodile with a potion.

The item menu has been improved dramatically. There are shortcuts to the item sections so you don't have to cycle through them, and you can cycle through all your items in a flash simply by tapping arrow keys. You flip from page to page to get what you need.

The Pokedex is also more convenient. You just slide it open and you've got everyone in view. You don't move from one page to another, everything's there. You just tap a Pokemon and it instantly appears with its data on the top screen, no transitions or anything. It doesn't even make its cry unless you want it to

And when you want to check Pokemon locations? Instead of dragging the sun from one place to another, which was neat, you just tap the morning, day or night buttons and it shows you not only where they can be found on the map, but the names of those locations as well.

The Pokemon selection screen is also very convenient. They combine the Pokemon selection screen and summary screens into one thing. The top screen shows a Pokemon's stats and ability, while the bottom shows its moves. There are two other buttons, too, one for its general data like where it was caught and its nature, and another for its ribbons. You can instantly switch between one Pokemon and another by tapping it. They're all accessible all the time on the right half of the touch screen. Switching Pokemon around is a matter of dragging and dropping.

The PC is also much easier to use, dragging and dropping and instantly jumping from one box to another via touch screen.

And the music! A big change from the originals, they rearranged everything.

The original tune
The new version
Can you taste the difference?
They added lots of environmental sounds too. You can tell whether you're walking on grass, sand or gravel and you can hear the water when you stand near it. The background music even quiets down to make way for it making for a great deal of immersion.

Also, as initial screens and footage show, your partner's out of its Pokeball all the time -- whichever one's at the head of your team. You can talk to it, and its responses are quite amusing, and different each time. Sometimes it appears cheerful, sometimes confused, sometimes distressed, sometimes annoyed, sometimes curious ... Depends on what you've been up to.

Taking a cue from EarthBound, there are some places where you can take group pictures with your whole team out of their Pokeballs. As you go through the game, you find these places occasionally where the opportunity will arise. You can even take pictures with gym leaders later in the game, and they'll want to trade with you and challenge you again with Pokemon from every generation on their teams!

Of course, the game features all of Platinum's Wi-Fi improvements including the Global Terminal for battle videos and such, and the battle frontier, unchanged from Platinum. So Heart Gold/Soul Silver players can do everything with Platinum players!

Phew, think we're finished? All nine starters from the first three generations can be obtained, too, and all the places they removed from Gold and Silver that were present in Red and Blue are back. So you will see all of Kanto (first generation -- Pikachu, Squirtle, Charmander, Misty, Brock and the gang) in all its glory, intact in Heart Gold/Soul Silver. HELL YEAHH!!

There! Sounds stellar, doesn't it? Spring 2010 can't come soon enough. We've had a few Poke-articles here at Hardest Level, so, still excited? Or does Pokemon still need more features and improvements?

Friday, 11 September 2009

Sonic the Hedgehog Returns to 2D?

Video Games | Project Needlemouse (Working Title) | Debut Teaser HD
XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii
My prayers have been answered.

So far. It's foolish to hope when it comes to Sonic these days, but maybe, MAYBE this vague trailer means we're getting a 2D, hi-def Sonic game on the way.

Oh, wait! Sega’s Ken Ballough, associate brand manager at Sega, confirms via GameSpot that we ARE getting a new 2D, hi-def Sonic game, dubbed Project Needlemouse!
GameSpot: Why did Sega decide to bring Sonic back to 2D? Did the success of Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure play a part?
Ken Ballough: Old-school Sonic fans have long asked to see Sonic return to a more 2D style of gameplay. Many liked the daytime stages in Unleashed but wanted to see a game that plays purely similar to the early games of the Genesis. Project Needlemouse is that critical first step that brings Sonic back to his 2D roots.
GS: What can you tell us about the game?
KB: I can tell you it’s a brand new 2D adventure coming out in 2010, it’s in HD, and to definitely stay tuned.
GS: With HD makeovers of classic games being popular right now, can we expect the game to use chunky old-school sprites or hi-res HD sprites?
KB: You can definitely expect HD graphics.
OH THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, SEGA. Now let's see some actual footage!
What do you think? Could this be a grand glorious return to form? Or is Sonic gone for good?

Monday, 07 September 2009

Ten Years of Sega Dreamcast

The Dreamcast came out on 9/9/99. It was such fertile ground for core gaming, it ushered in a whole new generation a year before Sony's PlayStation 2 debut. Amazing games came out every week for a while, including tons of innovative stuff from Capcom, Sega's in-house developers and several others. Though it lived a scant two years its influence is still felt today.

The rundown of the greatest games on Sega's final hardware effort, many of which are available on other platforms now:

Space Channel 5, the rhythm game that featured a fantastic 60s-inspired aesthetic and a bizarre cameo from Michael Jackson. The challenge comes from the lack of an onscreen marker for the music, so you really need to have rhythm to play. The game's music-loving director, Tetsuya Mizuguchi, would go onto make Rez, Meteos and the Lumines series of games. Rumor has it he also convinced Yoko Ono to get The Beatles Rock Band off the ground ...

Sonic Adventure, the last game Sonic fans could be proud of. It stars Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, a fishing cat named Big and a robot with a cool theme song. It marks the beginning of Robotnik's unfortunate name change to Eggman, as well as the series' charming penchant for cheesy butt rock. If Sonic could be this good again it would be a tiny miracle.

Seaman, a sim-life game that has you form a relationship with a disturbing man-fish via microphone. The man-fish would often reply with biting insults. Leonard "Spock Prime" Nimoy guides you through the bizzaro experience with soothing voiceovers. The guys behind the classic You Don't Know Jack games wrote all the dialogue. Understandably, there's no sequels.

Samba de Amigo, a rhythm game that came with motion-sensing maracas, years before anyone thought of Guitar Hero or Wii. Despite consisting mostly of Latin pop songs like "Macarena" and "Livin' La Vida Loca" the maraca-shaking proved pretty popular at parties. Naturally, there's a Wii version out now.

Jet Grind Radio, an urban graffiti action game surrounds rebellious Japanese youth, long before The World Ends With You or Persona 3 & 4 made (some) gamers fall in love with the Shibuya style. Colorful, clever, smooth, it's practically the poster child for the Dreamcast's Apple-like reputation for slick visuals and cool music. And the "cel shading" technique, which makes Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker and all those Naruto games look so animated, started here.

Soulcalibur, the game that (re)started the fabled fighting franchise long before it jumped the shark (with, uh, No. 2). Hailed as the greatest fighter of all time by various publications at the time, it pushed the boundaries for what video games could look like on consoles. It could be said the Dreamcast version of Soulcalibur helped spell the end for arcades since it was far superior to its popular quarter-munching counterpart. Sure enough, many other arcade mainstays made their way to Sega's system: Crazy Taxi, House of the Dead 2, Cannon Spike, Virtual On, Dead or Alive 2 and dozens others ...

... Including Project Justice, Street Fighter III, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves, which cemented the Dreamcast as the system to own for better-than-arcade-perfect fighting games. While most of them have been ported to other systems in recent years, some of them -- in particular, Capcom's marvelous Project Justice -- can't be found anywhere else.

Chu Chu Rocket, a quirky multiplayer puzzle game that relies on quick reflexes and creative thinking. A classic case for strong, simple design. Not all games have to be super hi-def shootin' extravaganzas. Insane commercials from Japan help too. Though a Game Boy Advance port was eventually released, a new Nintendo WiiWare version with online multiplayer and user-created maps would be fantastic, no?

Phantasy Star Online, the console world's first viable online multiplayer RPG. Many players spent hundreds of hours logged on with their friends, and this was back when all anyone had were 56K modems. The game helped pave the way for online multiplayer games on consoles, something that wouldn't take off until the first Xbox. The original PSO still lives on private servers, and there are several sequels, a PC version and a DS installment coming out later this year.

Shenmue, an often too-realistic RPG with gorgeous graphics and immersive gameplay that set the bar for the decade to come. Decked out with excessive detail, it was possible to explore inside every drawer in every house in the game. Otherwise, players controlled Ryo Hazuki to avenge his father's murder. Yu Suzuki, the guy behind Virtua Fighter and Space Harrier, envisioned Shenmue as a sprawling, epic series though, sadly, the venture proved too expensive to continue, leaving Ryo's story at a cliffhanger at the end of Shenmue II for the original Xbox. Though fans have every right to cry bitter tears, they can find solace that Shenmue helped spawn games like Grand Theft Auto III and Yakuza. Even now, rumors of a possible Shenmue III still pop up.

Oh, let's not forget the VMU, a hybrid memory card Tamagotchi-like device with a tiny screen, D-pad and buttons that could play mini-games on the go and display important information when locked into the controller. Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver's PokeWalker looks like the closest cousin to it.

The Dreamcast was a terrific machine. There are video game consoles and there are video game consoles, y'know? Twas a short time, but I knew happiness with you, Dreamcast! You gave me a lifetime's worth of lovely gaming.

Did you own one or play any of the games above? Any favorites? What's your Dreamcast experience?