Play Fair or Get Out
September 30, 2002
First of all, let me begin by saying that I love the Xbox. I honestly believe that it is the best system on the market, and has some truly amazing games on the horizon. However, something that I find very disturbing has been happening recently. A few days ago, it was confirmed that Microsoft had indeed bought acclaimed developer Rareware from Nintendo. That alone, I don’t have a problem with; but immediately after the acquisition was confirmed, rumors began spreading that Microsoft was planning on purchasing Capcom as well, and possibly Sega too. Read more
Quantum Redshift
September 30, 2002
Created of former Psygnosis members–responsible for the future racing genre benchmark Wipeout and which is now disbanded–Curly Monsters has produced an Xbox racer called Quantum Redshift. The relation to Wipeout is made obvious early on in playing- is this all these people can do? Technically beautiful yet inspirationally bland, Quantum Redshift looks good, handles well, but is dȪ? vu in total. Read more
Nintendo E-Reader Thoughts
September 29, 2002
Nintendo has always been a pioneer when it’s come to accessories for video games. In the days of the NES, for example, we had R.O.B. the robot, the PowerPad and the Zapper light gun. Even indsutry standards, such as analog sticks, back-up memory and the D-Pad were Nintendo’s. No one can deny Nintendo constantly pushes forward with innovation, especially with their latest gadget, the e-Card Reader. Read more
Aggressive Inline
September 27, 2002
After the insane success of the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series, a plethora of imitators and wannabes emerged to cash-in on the extreme sports craze. Unfortunately for the consumer, many of these games aren’t even worth a second glance. Enter Acclaim on its eight little wheels with Aggressive Inline. As an aggressive inliner myself, I quickly feasted upon this game’s delicious banquet of gameplay. I can guarantee those interested will not skitch away disappointed. I think what made the THPS series so popular was its universal appeal and near infinite fun factor, and AI definitely builds upon this formula. For those who haven’t played THPS (all 5 people of Earth’s population), the basic premise of the Career Mode is to score enough points in a real-world environment by completing trick-oriented goals to move on to the next. AI takes all this and then throws its own innovations into the pot for good measure. Read more
Nintendo Needs to Change: Second Opinion
September 27, 2002
Nate, being the resident Nintendo fanboy, I am, of course, here to tell you that you’re wrong. The main reason you’re wrong is because you bring forth the same criticisms and arguments that people talk about all the time, yet Nintendo has not really changed. It’s those very things that you complain about which allow them to be so successful and the most profitable gaming company around. For I don’t know how many years know, Nintendo has been named the largest games publisher again and again. Nintendo may not be the hippest, most popular thing among the mainstream, but they’re the company making the most profits. Most publishers only have one or two games that sell like Nintendo 1st and 2nd party games, and it’s because Nintendo knows what they’re doing, whether you like the way they do it or not. Again, look at what you’re saying. It’s the same thing people have complained about over and over, yet you guys fail to realize that Nintendo is in perfect working order. Their games are almost always critically acclaimed, they sell better than all other games in the week and month they are released, and it has been this way for a long time. As long as Nintendo is making the money this way, they’re not going to listen to you because what they’re doing works, but let’s break it down anyways. Read more
Nintendo Needs to Change
September 25, 2002
On June 6th of this year Nintendo’s recently-appointed president Satoru Iwata announced that his company will be making many changes because “the effort to produce machines with better technology has reached its limit.” Nintendo is now going to be focusing on games more than ever, and this could mean that the GameCube could be Nintendo’s last system. It certainly sounds like they are going to stand firmly behind the GameCube for some time.
I fully support Nintendo’s decision to place more emphasis on games since this is what they have been best at since the beginning. In reality Nintendo needs to take more drastic measures than what they announced. Nintendo either needs to totally change their image and overall approach to marketing and gaming in general, or they need to do what Sega did last year, and that is back out of the hardware business altogether.
I like how Nintendo is becoming more and more modern by slowly showing more and more violent and graphic games like Resident Evil and Eternal Darkness. I also enjoy the fact that Nintendo still supports the games for the children. Really what this company should do is not be so secretive about their upcoming games. I believe that turns away customers. No other software developers are as secretive as Nintendo. I can see some secrets, but it has gotten ridiculous and annoying.
They also need to not be so stubborn about online gaming, since that is the tool of the future and they really believe it is a big gamble. It may be in the beginning but with enough good online games, they will generously profit from online games. Both of the other big hardware companies, Sony and Microsoft, have plenty of online games and even have their strategies fully mapped out. If Nintendo wants to compete they have to go online.
Also, Nintendo should start producing sequels that are actually sequels, not just upgrades to previous games. For example, Wave Race: Blue Storm was not really a sequel and Mario Kart 64 comes to mind. Majora’s Mask was not a sequel to Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Super Mario Sunshine looks a lot like Super Mario 64, and according to some, it basically is Mario 64. Metriod Prime is going to be a huge flop, and hopefully the next Zelda game is an actual sequel and not just another Ocarina of Time with cel-shading. Nintendo has so many huge franchises under their belts. If they would just drop hardware altogether they could dominate the software business.
Since Nintendo most likely will not go online, and since they will continue to be stubborn, and the GameCube will continue to have no games that nobody wants, Nintendo’s hardware days are numbered. I really think they should save their money now and leave the hardware business. Imagine playing Mario on Playstation 2 or Xbox… Of course Nintendo would make so much more money that way. I cannot believe that I am saying this considering how much of a Nintendo fan I have been my entire life. I’ll say it one last time: Mr. Iwata–drop the hardware business.
The Thing
September 20, 2002
In 1982, John Carpenter unleashed up on the world a creation so hideous, so vile that it could only be appropriately described as the Thing. Picking up where the cult classic movie left off, the Thing and its minions are trashing an Antarctica base laboratory in Universal Interactive’s The Thing. A sequel story worthy of its predecessor, gloomy-convincing graphics, and smooth gameplay make The Thing a solid sci-fi action thriller. Read more
Totaled!
September 18, 2002
Choose it. Paint it. Wreck it. That’s the name of the game in Majesco’s demolition derby title Totaled!. This is not a place for any Sunday driving. Get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and your totaled! Pick an arena and a challenge, then choose from almost a dozen different styles of cars with the paint job of your choice which vehicle you want to destroy. A great idea, but poor execution puts this title in the junkyard. With frustrating game physics, load times slower than grandma in the fast lane, and some rather pointless challenges, Totaled! smacks the joy in demolition derby somethin’ fierce. Read more
Turok: Evolution
September 18, 2002
Turok: Evolution is the prequel in a series known for technologically-advanced dinosaur battles. It brings the same armored reptilian annihilation as the previous three Nintendo 64 titles. Gamers looking to increase their first-person shooter library won’t be adding anything incredibly new besides some cool aerial pterodactyl-flying combat should they decide to invest in this game. But what Acclaim’s new title offers is good, and fans of the series will be proud to enter this into the family. Read more
NFL Gameday 2003
September 15, 2002
While the PSone version of Gameday 2003 can’t compare with the version for the PS2, it’s still a solid romp filled with tons of hard-nosed play, a vast selection of plays, and some bodacious cheerleaders run interference during the load screens. If you still haven’t upgraded to the PS2 or want a good football game to take on the road with your portable PSone, NFL Gameday 2003 offers plenty of pigskin for the buck. Comparing it to my PSone Madden game from a few years back, Gameday sports more options and more advanced controls. The one thing that frightened the heck out of me was the 15 blocks of memory needed to play the General Manager mode. Read more