Howdy, sports-racers! You’ve listened to the podcast, but are you ready for the ride?
If you own ModNation Racers, look out for this beauty from “GinormousJ.” Even with its steep hills and roaming donkey herd, it’s relatively easy, but fans of Baby Park might appreciate the quick challenge. Be on the look out for other official tracks from the crew. Sadly, we can’t take credit for the Noid, though. See you at the starting line!
Though some gamers may not want to admit it, everyone loves Nintendo. As Justin, Nick and Tony point out, that’s never been more apparent, as both the company’s E3 press conference and new handheld generated lots of positive buzz a couple weeks ago. In this week’s reading assignment, “Nintendo Magic,” Japanese journalist Osamu Inoue examines how Nintendo reclaimed the industry spotlight, and how Satoru Iwata’s management style helped facilitate an internal shift.
Relevant Links:
“Iwata Asks” Interviews
Sometimes you have to dig to find gold.
I know I’m not the only one who found himself a bit dazed amidst the constant noise of gunfire, headshots and sword slicing present at this year’s E3. Perhaps I echo Justin Hemenway and Jeremy Parish’s thoughts when I walked away from the show slightly turned off at our not-so-magic-bullet theory of how to problem-solve and entertain in our medium - bigger guns, heightened realism and blood-splattered violence just aren’t doing it for me.
Where are my games that use more than 15 shades of grey, green and brown? The games with thought-provoking ideas, that feature some genuinely interesting characters and don’t leave me feeling either cold-blooded or (sorry, Nintendo) somewhat childish? It was with a huge sensation of relief then, that I was able to see more of Ignition Entertainment’s El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. Although it wasn’t prominently featured in any one big press event, the more I learn about this surreal, pseudo-religious adventure, the more intrigued I become - it’s playing to almost every strength of the Japanese development scene, and doing so in a very unique way.
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A little more than a week ago, Giant Bomb released its final E3 podcast, in which the regular crew chatted with Visceral’s Dino Ignacio, game designer Paul Barnett, Gamasutra’s Leigh Alexander and others. Unfortunately, while I and many others tuned in expecting an informative closing show, we were instead greeted with Alexander’s profanity-laden comments regarding Bostonians and claims that Activision’s party cost “$775 million.” Clearly, she had a bit too much to drink before the recording, and yet her colleagues decided it was OK to upload the show anyway. I’d guess (or at least would hope) that by this point, everyone involved is still a bit embarrassed.
Why bring this up when most of the gaming community was probably unaware it even happened? Certainly, I’m not writing this post to single out Leigh Alexander. We’ve discussed her work in our Rumble Reader show, and will likely do so again, seeing as Nick and I are huge fans. Her appearance was ill-advised, but I’m a forgive/forget kind of guy. I also don’t want to bash Giant Bomb, as I discovered after this fateful episode that I liked the rest of their shows. They’re funny, talented guys, and I’m glad to see that Gerstmann’s post-Gamespot project found legs.
No, the last E3 podcast has been bugging me because I’ve heard all of this before. Tipsy hosts, incoherent discussions and a general lack of professionalism from sites that I otherwise respect. I’m not so naive to believe that a lot of the industry rumor-mongering comes from loose lips at parties and events. That’s true of journalism in general, honestly. But ideally, even entertainment journalists – and no, I don’t think we need to feel guilty for using that term – should tone down the partying just a bit when presenting to their reading/listening audience.
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Though video game forums are constant hotbeds for trivial debates, there are a few old school “rivalries” that still continue to crop up from time to time. Mega Man 2 vs. Mega Man 3. Super Mario Bros. 3 vs. Super Mario World. Goldeneye 007 vs. Perfect Dark.* All great games in their time, and fans seem split down the middle when forced to pick a side. Maybe this may sound premature, but I think we can safely add Super Mario Galaxy vs. Super Mario Galaxy 2 to the list. I have not been shy in professing my love for both games, but with 120 stars worth of hindsight in last month’s Galaxy 2, I think I’m ready to make up my mind. It’s time to figure out which critical darling is more deserving of our affection. (Keep in mind that the following categories are not weighted equally.)
*I would pick the latter in every battle mentioned.
Level Design
This is a matter of preference, but my vote would go to Galaxy 2. The original spent much of the time in earlier galaxies introducing players to the gravity-defying running and jumping, but the sequel assumes players are ready for deadlier obstacle courses and more outlandish challenges. In many instances, the levels are designed to keep Mario moving as fast as possible, so that the player is never waiting too long on any particular planetoid. (This is especially true whenever Yoshi’s Dash Pepper shows up). Bonus points go to the sequel’s bird races for being much less infuriating than the manta water slides.
Through your ears and into your dreams, this week’s show is sure to keep you up at night. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker disrupts Nick, Tom and Tony’s sleep cycles, but that doesn’t stop them from getting into their offline lovebox. Meanwhile, Justin and Tom pray to cyber-elf Beesus in Mega Man Zero Collection and Kaz unleashes* a doghouse death orgy in Snoopy: Flying Ace. Plus, the blood-soaked side of E3, Justin merch and respawning bears.
*Woof!
Relevant Links:
Tiny Cartridge’s List of DS No-Shows
Jeremy Parish’s “Over the Line”
The column is going to be short/sweet this week, mostly out of necessity. Due to my recent Internet struggles, my downloadable consumption has been minimal lately, but I still found time to try out a couple decent DSiWare games. Expect a much bigger followup in a couple weeks.
A Kappa’s Trail
DSiWare/Nintendo
500 Points
If you really loved Kirby: Canvas Curse but was bummed by how easy it was, you might want to embark down A Kappa’s Trail, a DSiWare game from Brownie Brown. Like Kirby, this game asks players to draw a path to the goal for the starring amphibian. Only this time, absolute precision is required, and a giant hand threatens to pull him back to the beginning. If you can get past the lousy camera controls and somewhat daunting difficulty – good luck on a bumpy subway! – A Kappa’s Trail is cute, rewarding and fun. Also, any game that references the pork army from Mother 3 can’t be all bad, right?
The Rumble Pack may not be in attendance at E3, but it’s there in spirit. This week, the guys skip the trays and go straight for all of the trailers, previews and press events coming out of the big event. They delve into Kinect, Move, the 3DS, Zelda and so much more in a super-stuffed episode. There’s not enough time to play it all, but there’s certainly time to talk it up. Don’t let Justin’s shooter fatigue get you down!
Relevant Links:
Pirate Baby’s Cabana Battle Street Fight 2006
Episode 142: Rumble Baby's Cabana Trade Show E3 Fight 2010 [ 0:01 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (324)Microsoft:
Early takeaway - Call of Duty: Black Ops is not that bad looking, especially once the player was out of the tunnels. The spooky gameplay didn’t do it for me, but the jungle looked lush and great, and the chopper gameplay was nifty. It reminded me a lot of the main campaign of Bad Company 2. Metal Gear Solid: Rising looks interesting but I’m not all that excited to go back into the confusion that is the MGS universe.
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Heroes like Kratos and Marcus Fenix have garnered a lot of attention in recent years, but this week, Justin and Nick chat with Christian Nutt, Gamasutra’s Features Director, about why he thinks these guys are just empty cranky-pants. Instead, the guys salute* games like Heavy Rain and Mother 3 that emphasize character depth and humanity. Nutt discusses how solid writing can go a long way towards creating a more believable, fleshed-out world. Perhaps we’ll see a shift at E3, just as long as the marketing muscle doesn’t get in the way.
*Also, their shorts, of course.
Relevant Links:
Christian Nutt’s “Characters. the Building Blocks of Your Reality”
