Ninten-Dos

-Increased 3^rd Party support

Don’t get me wrong, Nintendo’s first party titles are legendary franchises. Link, Mario and especially Fox McCloud need to be on the new system. But after all the power stars are collected and Hyrule is safe again, the lack of 3^rd party titles leaves gamers feeling empty, especially since we know that 3^rd parties can create some greats for Nintendo as GTA Chinatown Wars showed. But since the days of the N64, Nintendo’s been losing out in this area. While Miyamoto may be a genius, he’s not the only one and without big new hits from Ubisoft, Valve, Konami and the like, Nintendo fans will keep sighing when their logo is the only one not to appear at the end of a particularly awesome commercial. Much as the fanboys love new hardware and old franchises, an updated Wii Sports and a new Zelda isn’t enough to sustain a system for 6 years.

-Backward compatibility with the Wii:

Backward compatibility itself is a great addition to any console. One of the saddest moments in gaming history occurred when I discovered that I couldn’t play Halo 2 on the 360 in my common room  in college. Moreover, keeping the Wii compatible with the Gamecube controller was a big plus with some of the current generation’s best games, like SSB Brawl or Goldeneye. But in Nintendo’s particular case, there’s good reason to continue to support the Wii format: mommy money. Despite losing out hardcore gamers to Sony and Microsoft this generation, the Wii has never the less outsold them by a huge margin because of its simple and innovative control system. When Nintendo figured out that they could co-opt the same people who’d been telling their kids to turn off that idiot box with hits like Wii Fit, it turned their new system into a cash cow. Having disappointed hardcore gamers for the past few generations, Nintendo shouldn’t swing to the other extreme and leave grandma fumbling with 30 buttons. Keep the Wiimote and Nintendo will keep this new demographic.

The Controller:

According to various sources, the big innovation for Café will be its controller, which will include a 6 inch, touch sensitive screen. If this is true, it would be an amazing step forward. Think about the possibilities. Image an FPS where you use the controller to clear out a room of badies, pop open a panel and have to disarm a bomb on the controller screen itself. But aside from interactive game play, such a controller would blend the lines between console and handheld, allowing players to download minigames directly to their controllers and continue the game after shutting of the TV. If these designs, or something like them, prove to be genuine, they will represent a leap in controller design equal to the N64’s analog stick.

Is this the Future?

Ninten-Don’ts

-Graphics on Steroids

Don’t get me wrong, Project Café is going to be a next generation console and should definitely have some power under the hood, especially compared to the somewhat underpowered Wii. But one of the worst tendencies of the industry has been to equate better graphics with better games ever since Sega turned “Blast Processing” into a slogan. For it own part, Nintendo made the same mistake with Star Fox Adventure, which allowed you to see every hair on Fox’s face as you raced through an 8 hour long Zelda rip off. More recently, Sony and Microsoft have tried to bolster sales of numerous identical shooters by plugging how many millions of shades of grey your grizzled marine will encounter. Story, control and gameplay need to be at the heart of any good system. Plugging the system because its HD or can render ever more detailed shadows means that Nintendo is more focused on the arms race between silicon chips rather than gamers experiences.

-Peripherals

Occasionally, a great peripheral like the Rumble Pak comes along and becomes an industry standard. Most of them, however, end up like the Power Glove: difficult to use, unappealing after the first week and so over hyped and uninspired that they end up sitting in a cabinet with our old Gameboy link cables. When a company starts pushing specialty items that can connect to a system, it suggests that the system is incomplete and incapable of delivering a good time by itself. If Nintendo starts pushing Café’s connectivity with the 3DS or launches with an updated vitality sensor, it means they know the console is no good.

-DVDs, Blueray players and 3DTV

Trying to turn a gaming system into an all-purpose entertainment system is often an expensive but futile proposition. Very few people buy a game system because they can post achievements to facebook or upload pictures to it. This is especially true of DVD players, which were a useless addition as most households already owned one. They drove up the cost of consoles in the current generation and blue-ray may be poised to do the same at even greater cost. Higher prices and distracting from the games will do little to enhance gamers experience while draining their wallets. But at least these are marginally useful. 3DTV is an expensive magic trick that became irrelevant to gaming once the N64 was released. Passing off a background popping out at gamers is the ultimate distraction and would demonstrate that Nintendo has so little confidence in what’s going on in front of the screen. The wow factor will wear out quickly, but unlike useless peripherals, it can’t be put away and will drive up the initial purchase price. Nintendo would do well to remember the last console which they pitched for its advanced 3D effects was the Virtual Boy.

Whatever comes out on stage at E3, it is sure to be big. The question is, will Project Café explode onto the market, or will it explode in Nintendo’s face?

From the offset it doesn’t look that way; it’s actually rather promising. Travelling back to the time of King Arthur, it’s quite a departure for the Sonic franchise, but one that brings with it some excellent production values. The opening, pre-rendered cutscene sets the tone and the stylish main menu is very cool, capturing the feeling of that long-foregone era whilst also adding the quirkiness expected of a Sonic title. The hand-drawn cutscenes keep up the quality, even if the story is a nonsensical mess featuring characters that look strikingly similar to some of Sonic’s old friends such as Knuckles, Tails and Shadow. It may disgrace English history, but it’s rather easy to follow and keeps the game moving at a brisk pace throughout.

And the visuals keep up the impressive production values, offering some of the best graphics seen on the Wii so far. A lot of the levels may be a bit brown and grey in colour, but the texture work is excellent and the characters – especially Sonic – look outstanding, particularly when the framerate manages to keep up with all the action.

Although that isn’t such a mighty feat as one might imagine. There’s still a degree of fast paced action here, but thanks to that sword it’s severely slowed down, tiresome and generally boring. The production values might stand out, but that doesn’t constitute for poor gameplay – a trait that seems to crop up in Sonic games recently, along with the criticism that it might be a bit too on-rails at times.Sonic and the Black Knight takes this and basically plays out as a straight-up, on-rails game. You just hold down forward, occasionally needing to swerve and jump over obstacles; but really, these instances are surprisingly rare.

The bulk of the gameplay consists of fighting enemies. You’ll hold forward till enemies appear, and must then swing the remote about the place until all the enemies are dead. There are no suggestive movements here for sword swings, it’s just the dreaded waggle; and the unresponsive controls don’t help matters. You’ll swing and then wait for Sonic to perform the action about a second later. This delay can get extremely frustrating as enemies are quick to attack the majority of the time, with QTEs becoming particularly aggravating. It just drags the combat down to terrible levels of mediocrity even worse than it was to begin with. Sonic should be all about speed, but that aspect only lasts for a few seconds as enemies continually pop up over and over again, forcing you to stop and take them on. There is no variety here at all, and the enemy types are at the bare minimum. There are some bigger foes, but that just means you need to swing the remote twice the amount of times than usual. There are no unique ways to take down particular enemies, there‘s just more waggle in store.

It all just consists of stop-start, stop-start gameplay, with unresponsive controls and bland level design. Massive corkscrews and giant jumps are no where to be seen; instead, you’re just running through castles and woods on a linear path, slicing up enemies as you go. It’s not fun, especially when you end up repeating each stage a couple of times with only a few minor differences on each run. The only other game mode is a poor arena battle system which uses the same terrible sword combat with up to four players. It would be best to take a pass on this.

And I suppose that applies to the rest of the game as well. Sonic and the Black Knight can be mildly enjoyable for about an hour, but eventually the gameplay leaves a sour taste as you just want the little blue guy to soar free, blasting through each level at full speed without a care in the world. He doesn’t want a sword to participate in some terrible sword play, so stop providing him with these redundant gimmicks. Another disappointing effort.

These missed opportunities do not diminish the enjoyable elements of this game. First, the idea of the game itself is a very novel one. In essence, the player controls characters from the Super Mario and Sonic series as he plays through Olympic events. There’s a certain tongue-in-cheek humor involved with some of the events. Seeing Donkey Kong and Dr. Robotnik figure skate, for example, never ceases to be hilarious and is always a conversation starter. Second, many of the events are executed very well. The curling event simulates the sport very well and the motion controls correspond to the real-life curling actions of throwing the stone and sweeping the broom. The ice hockey controls are a throwback to the video games of yesteryear and have aged surprisingly well. Third, the inclusion of the balance board adds more realism to the experience. Already-solid events like snowboard cross and ski cross are made better with the inclusion of the balance board to simulate the footwork that these events require.

This is always hilarious.

However, there are certain issues that prevent the game from becoming a classic party game. First, the controls for some of the games are just impossible to master. Speed skating requires the player to swing the controller left and right on straightaways but swing it differently on turns. The only problem is that the transition from straightway to turn isn’t defined in a clear manner so the character’s rhythm is lost. Short-track speed skating requires the players to waggle the controller on straightaways and hold it at a 315° angle on turns. Yet, because it’s short-track speed skating, the player has all of three seconds between phases. Thus, the player will skate into a wall far too often. Second, the balance board integration, while innovative, can only be used in single-player mode. Nintendo has sold millions of copies of Wii Fit. It’s not inconceivable that a house might have two balance boards or a friend may bring his when he wants to play. Thus, there should have been a multiplayer balance board option. Third, the event selection leaves something to be desired. The skeet-shooting event was one of the more popular and fun events in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. The lack of biathlon, which incorporates skiing and shooting, represents a missed opportunity to create a fun and new experience.

In closing, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games is an entertaining game that has a strong multiplayer experience. While there are some innovative elements, control issues and a lack of true innovation in the party game genre means that the game is not as strong as it could have been.

The Beatles: Rock Band holds the distinction of the most anticipated video game ever. All of the blockbusters such as Grand Theft Auto IV, Halo 3, and the yearly release of Madden cannot hold a candle to the amount of hype that The Beatles: Rock Band received over this past summer. The appearance of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr for a grand total of about two minutes was main story of E3 2009. The game was featured on television shows that wouldn’t normally give thirty seconds to video games on a normal day (Today and The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien are two that instantly come to mind).

The hype isn’t unexpected. The Beatles defined a generation and constantly innovated, expanding the limits and expectations of what music could do. Even after their dissolution in 1971 and the deaths of John Lennon in 1980 and George Harrison in 2001, their music has endured through the generations and has influenced contemporary music.

Yet, there is potential for such a game to fail. Music games that have featured a band-specific focus have not fared well critically. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Guitar Hero: Metallica, and AC/DC Live: Rock Band have not been able to equal the same Metacritic scores as their full band competitors: Guitar Hero World Tour, Guitar Hero 5, Rock Band, and Rock Band 2.

The instruments look great and play like the Rock Band 2 ones. For some, this fact is a negative more than it is a positive.

Luckily, The Beatles: Rock Band does not fall into the same pitfalls as the band-specific games before it. It plays exceptionally well, utilizes the license effectively, and offers tremendous fan service. However, there seems to be room for improvement, especially in the areas of song selection and innovation.

The best compliment that can be paid to the game is that it continues in the tradition of excellence that has characterized the Rock Band series. Every gameplay related aspect of the Rock Band series remains intact, with a few slight modifications. This statement means that there is no over-charting, broken vocals, or dumb shared star power meter. Basically, the compliment is that it plays like Rock Band, not Guitar Hero. Additionally, the vocal section has been expanded to include vocal harmonies. Up to three players can sing a different vocal part depending on the song. Because the riffs of The Beatles’ songs are not complicated, the game encourages the player to try their hand at singing and playing at the same time (to that end, the premium edition of the game bundles a microphone stand).

However, if the game consisted solely of the songs of The Beatles with a traditional Rock Band overlay, players would be disappointed. Suffice it to say, the game does not slouch in license utilization. Every song has a unique setting, and throughout the career mode, players experience Beatlemania firsthand. They see The Beatles’ humble beginnings in the Cavern Club, the British Invasion of The Ed Sullivan Show, to the pandemonium of the 1965 Concert at Shea Stadium, the 1966 concert at Budokan, Abbey Road Studios, and the concert on the Apple Corps rooftop. Each setting is recreated accurately and with careful attention to detail. The wardrobes of the Fab Four match what they wore at each of the actual concert venues. For the songs that were not played live, a “dreamscape” enables the songs to come to life in a fantasy world. The outfits from The Magical Mystery Tour make an appearance in “I Am The Walrus” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” gently glosses over the fact that Ringo quit the band when the song was recorded (that’s probably for the best).

"We'll be coast to coast with our favorite host...Ed Sullivan!"

The recreated settings don’t begin to scratch the tip of the fan service iceberg. Rare records are offered as rewards for progress throughout the career mode. Diligent fans can listen to The Beatles’ Christmas fan club record and view outtakes of the band rehearsing for The Ed Sullivan Show concert that launched the British Invasion, for example. Additionally, the inclusion of new remasters of every song represents the first chance for fans to hear The Beatles in rich clarity (the bass in “I Saw Her Standing There” just kicks, there is no other word for it). Simply put, the fan service in The Beatles: Rock Band makes Super Smash Bros. Brawl look like an absolute joke.

This game is not without fault, though. As American Idol judge Randy Jackson would say: it’s all about song choice. Though the game avoids the pitfalls of previous band-centric games by sticking to the main band’s catalog (there are no songs by “friends of the band”), some of the songs have no business being in this game. One such song is “Within You Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows”. This track is off of 2006’s Love album, which is a composition of clever remixes and cues for the show performed by Cirque du Soleil. The song is a good song, but it is easy to question the judgment of including a song created after half of the group passed away. The album Help! is underrepresented though it marked an important turning point for the band’s sound (folk rock and the expansion of the traditional rock and roll music). Additionally, the final number of 45 songs leaves something to be desired as the career mode can be completed in only a few hours. Though downloadable content will remedy the relatively small amount of songs, the first real batch will not be released until late October and it favors the overrepresented late Beatles catalog by a heavy margin.

Furthermore, the Rock Band platform does not match the innovation that characterized the music of The Beatles. Aside from adding the vocal harmonies, the core gameplay mechanic hasn’t changed. It should have. On a considerable amount of songs, four distinct parts were played aside from vocals: lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass, and drums. However, the only guitar option is simply titled “guitar”. John and George did not play the same part on “I Wanna Be Your Man”, yet the game only offers one choice to the player. For a band that pushed the envelope of accepted musical norms, one could expect that a video game developer could push the envelope of accepted video game conventions. There is no hard and fast rule that says a game must only use four controllers, and if there is, The Beatles: Rock Band represented a perfect opportunity to change it.

Three stringed instruments there...too bad you can only play two

Yet, when examining a game such as this one, it is evident that the pros outweigh the cons by a significant margin. The negatives of the game don’t make the game unappealing. Rather, they only represent grievances particular to my musical tastes or a missed opportunity that was never really on the table. The game still stands incredibly well on its own merits and should be played and enjoyed by all music and video game fans.

The Star Wars universe is one of the most expansive in modern fiction and allows for the creation of games that explore the initial success of the films. The lucrative franchise has given birth to some of the most impressive games but also shows how such a popular entity can be misrepresented and misconstrued.

From its initial announcement, The Force Unleashed has been advertized as the ultimate Star Wars experience. An experience which will not only let the player control Darth Vader’s omnipotent apprentice, but guarantees that the “force will blow your mind”. This promise is seemingly fulfilled at several points in the game because of the engaging storyline and the beautiful level design, but it is diluted by unabashedly annoying enemy design and interruptive technical glitches.

Although fans of the Star Wars saga may find it particularly predictable, the story is still intriguing and fills in the largest gap in the canon. The main focus is on the secret apprentice of Darth Vader, but his own journey sheds light on the dissolution of the remnants of the republic while explaining the circumstances surrounding the establishment of the Rebel Alliance.

While the story unfolds, you will travel to some beautiful locales. Both new planets and familiar places are among the bright and vivid worlds the apprentice explores as he attempts to complete his master’s bidding. Many of the levels are made up of wide open spaces that show phenomenal art direction and allow the apprentice to use his full repertoire of force powers. Yet often times the apprentice is contained-both literally and figuratively-in dark small corridors of space stations.

In addition to the story and the level design, the game does a number of things right, particularly at the beginning. Before you take control of the main protagonist, the player has the ability to fight as Darth Vader on the Wookiee planet of Kashyyk. The game gives an enticing preview of what an all-powerful Sith lord has at his disposal as Vader can force grip, choke hold, and throw his lightsaber among other deadly moves. The prologue level is one of the best parts of the game as you are in a vivid world, able to use all the force powers, and technical glitches do not hamper the experience as they do in later parts of the game.
It is the initial success of the game that makes the shortcomings of the later levels all the more unacceptable. Almost immediately after taking control of the apprentice (aptly named Starkiller as homage to the original name of Luke Skywalker) it becomes apparent that like in so many other games, the player must accumulate all of the force powers and powerful combos.

The prologue’s ease is completely reversed as the apprentice has problems mastering even the most basic skills of lightsaber combat-reflecting laser fire. At the same time, the apprentice has the ability to lift things with the force as monolithic as Tie Fighters but the power is often times rendered obsolete because of the horrid targeting system. In most games where there is an automatic locking system, the way the camera is facing will determine which enemies are targeted. In one of the biggest design flaws, the targeting system in The Force Unleashed is based upon what Starkiller is looking at. This makes beautiful level design burdensome as the confines of small corridors further illuminate problems with the camera.

In an ironic turn, once the player gains experience and chooses which force powers to power up, the enemy design makes the use of force powers less effective. Throughout the game, the player gains force spheres by gaining levels and finding holocrons which allows player to strengthen force powers, force skills, and force combos. However, once the player attains these powerful upgrades, the enemies become less threatened by the force. Some gain force shields and others can block lightsaber blows with ease, therefore making the most simple of enemies a difficult and frustrating affair. Adding to the frustration, many times enemies will glitch, either not having a health bar or simply stuttering around. This coupled with the fact that the player can only load from specific checkpoints (many times placed before unskippable cutscenes) makes many harder sections of the game simply not fun.

When Starkiller faces off against Jedi masters, the force powers become almost useless. Many of the fights will feel like they are more based on getting lucky hits with a lightsaber than any sort of skill or strategy. Lightsaber battles, a staple of the Star Wars experience, are never epic—rather the game relies heavily on the archaic God of War button press mini-game to dispose of bosses as well as the larger enemies such as Rancors and AT-STs.

The gameplay tends to lose most elements of fun and every sense of being fair due to the drastic changes in character design and the unoriginal boss battle mechanics. Yet there are still sections of the game that will prove awe inspiring to fans and non fans alike. As mentioned before, what really saves the game experience is the overall presentation and intriguing story. The game has incredibly imaginative and beautiful worlds and likeable characters which create a Star Wars film experience. One can argue that some characters mirror those in the films and that some take away from established themes, but they are crafted well and combined with John Williams rousing score, add emotional weight to the story.

The Force Unleashed is a Star Wars fan service-filling in holes in the canon and allowing players to have control of mystical force powers. It was promised to give the ultimate Star Wars experience and was hyped to be one of the best games of the year. While the game has impressive elements, unpolished and uninspired gameplay mechanics and frustrating enemies do not allow The Force Unleashed to achieve greatness.

Some people cried foul after the Wii launched without a Mario game. However, after the mediocre reception Super Mario Sunshine received, Shigeru Miyamoto and the team at Nintendo promised to reinvigorate the franchise. Luckily, Nintendo has kept its promise and brought a new Mario game that is completely fresh—whether it be control scheme, musical score or artistic design. The game keeps with the traditional Mario game structure while the change of setting allows for an unprecedented imaginative world. While the Wii has preached to the casual gamer, this is one of the first titles that really crosses into both casual and hardcore gaming realms because it includes something that will appreciated by all.

Mario games are not known for their story–something still apparent from the moment you begin to play the game. Much like Super Mario 64, Princess Peach calls for Mario to come to her castle because she has a gift to give to him. Upon his approach to the castle, Bowser, Mario’s longtime nemesis, attacks the Princess, Mario, and the ever present Toads with Peter Pan-like flying galleons. Before Mario can catch up, Bowser and his minions jet away into space.

Mario comes into a contact with a cute star named Luna who then introduces him to the leader of a flying observatory, Rosalina. Mario is filled in on the problems which have plagued the inhabitants of the observatory and is promptly asked to assist in recovering the power stars that power their spacecraft. Bowser has once again stolen the power stars and spread them through a variety of galaxies so as to slow down his pursuers. Mario’s principle mission is to recover enough power stars to re-initiate the observatory’s power. This task that seems to be daunting even for the famous Italian plumber, and thus Rosalina instructs Luna to assist him during his quest.

The collection of power stars is nothing new, and could seem very unexciting to a veteran Mario player. But then again, who plays Mario for the story? It is the brilliant efforts by the team at Nintendo to redesign every world that Mario journeys to that makes the game really special. One hardly has anytime to think about the repetitive nature of the storyline as the player is almost immediately thrown into an amazing galaxy.

Every galaxy is made up into several planets, all of which have their own individual parts and none of which you will see repeated. The level design in the game is one of the most, if not the most, impressive ever seen in a video game. Once you think that you have seen it all, Mario will land on a planet where he travels into the inside or travels into more traditional sidescroller with freshening elements like changing gravity pads. These new elements make the gameplay more challenging and thus really make the overall experience that much richer to any Mario veteran.

The way Mario travels between the planets is also unique and utilizes the motion sensing technology in the Wii remote. Sometimes planets will be connected by a series of blue stars with which the player can point the cursor at and then pull Mario along. This movement style is also worked into several challenges at the end of the game that prove to be exhilarating. In addition to the blue stars, Mario will often times find one of Luna friends who is desperately hungry and requires star bits to transform into a launch pad to another planet. Star bits are another collectible in the game in addition to the traditional coins. Whereas coins replenish Mario’s depleted health, star bits can be used to feed Luna’s friends but can also be used to attack enemies. Luna’s primary function in the story is to serve as the pointer on the screen with which players can use to pick up star bits and to aim star bit attacks. Of course she is also there to provide the much needed moral guidance and explanation of puzzles.

One comes to appreciate the different level design through the exploration of the various galaxies. Whereas in other games, players find that the search for the same item every level can be tedious, in Super Mario Galaxy the design of the planets is so intriguing that players will find that they explore every nook and cranny to discover every hidden area.

To create even more diversity within the level design, Mario also is able to don different costumes that will give him different powers. At his repertoire is the ability to change into a bee, springman or a boo, the ability to throw fireballs, and the ability to turn into the ice man who freezes any water that he walks upon. All of the different costumes add even more ways to explore the already impressive worlds. However, some of the costumes evince some of the problems in the game.

One such problem is the camera. The player has very limited control of the camera as it is usually fixed through the entirety of the adventure. This proves to be a problem in some of the later stages when precise jumping is necessary, especially when trying to get several challenge stars or when Mario turns into springman. It is noticeable at first when Mario runs on the underside of a planet as the controls quickly switch and make circumnavigating a planet challenging. The camera also makes the bee parts of the game unnecessarily difficult because it is often times hard to judge whether Mario is above or close enough to a honeycomb to land. Luckily this is really the only time the camera becomes a major issue in the gameplay and thus does not really make a large impact on the overall experience.

Even if the camera sometimes proves to be difficult, the tight controls based off of the genre defining Mario 64 setup are near perfect. Controlling Mario will be of no real challenge to experienced players but is simple enough for the most casual of gamers to pick up and enjoy. The Wii remote functionality is limited, something that proves to be beneficial. It is used for the aforementioned traveling between planets and picking up star bits, but it is also utilized nicely into the combat. By shaking the Wii remote, the player has the ability to do a spin attack which proves to be essential in several boss battles and causes enemies to drop different items than through the traditional jump-on-the-head method.

More importantly, the motion control functionality is used intermittently with various mini games and thus do not become tiresome. When many Wii games go wrong with their inclusion of motion control for every basic action, Super Mario Galaxy gets it right–only using it for certain elements that enhance, not detract, from the gameplay.

Combined with the gameplay and tight controls, the audio and graphical presentation really make Super Mario Galaxy stand out from any other game available on the Wii. The game is simply the best looking game from a graphical and an artistic standpoint as all of the worlds are intriguing while made all the more interesting through the vibrant color pallet. Like the graphics, the audio is one of the best found on the platform. The mix of classic and new sounds is a symmetry that is phenomenal. Players will not only hear the classic Mario songs and their remixes, but also hear fully orchestrated tracks that are memorable.

Super Mario Galaxy can be summed up by stating that it is a return to form. Not a form in the sense of structure, but rather of feel. While playing this game one will surely notice that it is fun and more importantly, different that everything else. The game includes many of the elements that made previous Mario games so memorable while almost completely reinventing the experience due to the new control scheme and the sensational level design. Nintendo’s mascot has never been better, and this adventure is not something anyone can afford to miss.