Super Mario World arrives, Mass Effect delayed and Duke Nukem never? – Welcome to the column that does not know if it’s coming or going known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I’m your host that like many watched the Superbowl. The game was rather boring after the first half but I stuck thru most of it until the Bears had firmly fallen apart. Prince was amazing, I wish I could find a good quality mpg or wmv to watch it again…. There were only three commercials of mention in my opinion (Blockbuster – Mouse, Coke – Grand Theft Auto parody, & Budweiser – Spotted Dog). Was the Lingerie Bowl on this year? I didn’t see it mentioned around like previous couple of years. Hey you watch your game, and I watch my game, thank you.
Ode To Morgan Webb
Ahh Morgan in a very nice black and white shirt. This is a picture from her younger days on TechTv. The simpler days, where Morgan didn’t have the camera on her, the spotlight following her every move. The time when I wished I would have met her, asked her out and played the night away. I might have had a shot; I might have been a contender. Excuse me; I think I’m going to go weep now.
Quick news stories of interest
Amazon.co.uk is taking pre-orders for the long-awaited Duke Nukem Forever and has even given the game a speculative release date of September 29, 2007.
However, in a statement on its website 3D Realms, the developer of the much-delayed first-person shooter, dismissed rumors of release dates and even criticized any retailers taking pre-orders. “No, you cannot pre-order the game”, it says matter-of-factly. “If you see some online store saying ‘we are taking pre-orders’, they’re just trying to get your money (they usually also make up their own supposed ‘insider release date info’, too). There is no release date set; we are not taking pre-orders for the game. End of story.”
And if that outburst wasn’t clear enough, the tirade against release dates continues: “The release date of this game is ‘when it’s done’. Anything else, and we mean anything else, is someone’s speculation. There is no date. We don’t know any date. If you have a friend who claims they have ‘inside info’, or there’s some game news site, or some computer store at the mall who claims they know – they do not. They are making it up. There is no date. Period.” You’ve got to pity the guys at 3D Realms, they just can’t get a date.
BWHAHAAHAHAAHAHAHAH, excuse me for a moment, I thought this vaporware title was done with. For those who don’t know…Duke Nukem Forever has been a long running joke in the gaming industry; constantly pushing back any supposed release date until most of us are convinced that this game will never come out. Now, I’m one of the biggest fans of the Duke Nukem series; I played the old game (2d and 3d) in college a ton, wanted a movie and wanted very badly for this game to come out. But even in my heart, I doubt seriously this will ever happen. And it certainly can’t live up to expectations. Here is what needs to happen, and I’m being honest. Release the old 3d game to XBOX Live in the next few months w/ at least 4 people multiplayer. Any gamer that is at least a teenager will probably pick it up. If sales are strong and they should be, push to finish the new game. In the meantime, we can go kick some ass and chew bubble gum, and guess what I’m all outta gum.
Virtual Console Mondays
Nintendo of America on Monday released three new Virtual Console titles to the Wii Shopping Channel. The games include the S-NES classic Super Mario World, the Turbografx-16 effort Vigilante, and the Genesis project Gain Ground.
The two-player compatible Super Mario World stars Nintendo’s favorite Mushroom Kingdom characters in a traditional platformer setting. Gamers travel through 74 areas and find 96 exits, all the while using the run-and-jump skills of Mario in addition to all-new ones, such as the ability to temporarily fly after donning a feather. Players can even use Yoshi. Super Mario World is widely considered to be one of the best S-NES games available. The title will set downloaders back 800 Wii Points.
In Vigilante, gamers become a martial artist who fights a variety of street thugs on his way to rescue the kidnapped Madonna. Enemies attack with all sorts of weapons, from pipes and guns to chains and even on motorcycles and players can punch, kick, or use a nunchaku to protect themselves. Vigilante costs 600 Wii Points.
Finally, the two-player Gain Ground takes place in the 31st century after decades of peace and prosperity. Fearing the inability to prevent an alien attack, the United Earth Government creates a war simulator called Gain Ground, which goes haywire. Gamers must journey into the system and shut it down. Players must battle through five different time zones and use a variety of different characters, each with unique abilities, to walk away alive. Gain Ground retails for 800 Wii Points.
All three of these games I’ve played extensively. Super Mario World was arguably one of the most fun titles on the Super Nintendo. It introduced the world to Yoshi, a loveable dinosaur that could perform all sorts of tricks and became an icon in his own right. This was also the last Mario title until Paper Mario many years later which was in the old traditional platform format. Vigilante was an underappreciated TG-16 title which played out like Double Dragon. Good if you had a couple of hours to kill. Gain Ground, I’ve went on about this column many times as one of the best games for Sega Genesis. Fun in single or two players, its 50 stages of shooting with some elements of strategy in order to get your guys out alive. If you don’t have a Wii or a Sega Genesis, it is also on the Sega Genesis classics for PS2 for $20 (and includes many other Sega Genesis classics) and is Genesis perfect. All I ask is if you play it, give it more than 10 minutes…you’ll come to appreciate it.
XBOX Moment
Mass Effect delayed
I had received information on this game roughly a week ago before the announcement came down that the current release date of May 18 is invalid and we don’t have a release date at this time. Translation: fancy way of saying delay and to expect this game realistically before christmas but that’s about it. Seriously, I have seen the E3 preview video of this game and it really is nothing short of amazing. It’s almost overwhelming. It’s set in the future and is half rpg and half fps by my estimation. You explore new worlds and at the same time you are unraveling a huge mystery central to the game’s main story arc. The true gimmick or innovation at work here is the dialogue system. Supposedly you’ll have more choices and be able to do more things to convince the person you are talking to, to see things your way and give you information or help you out. Subtle face changes will become apparent and give you clues regarding their involvement in the mystery. To give you an idea of the quality behind this game, these are the same people (Bioware) who were behind Jade Empire and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. Quality games, this will have people talking for a long time. I hope we @ Upcomingdiscs get the chance to snag a copy so we can bring it to you.
Arcade Classic of the Week
Elevator Action
I bring you another personal quarter muncher for me this week. Love or hate that freaking Elevator, this was a great and fun game for its time. You were Agent 17: Codename Otto and you had to go up and down elevators and escalators and behind red doors to gather secret documents. In the mean time you had to also defeat the agents by jump kicking them, shooting them or my personal favorite; squashing them under an elevator. Then if you are able to get to the bottom level; you could drive away in your fancy sports car. Only to populate another building with more floors for the next level. You could also shoot out the lights which would add a difficulty to both you and the enemy where you could only see the whites of their eyes. This game had an excellent sequel; however it never lived up to the success of the first. Taito Legends for PS2 has an excellent port of this title which I recommend to anyone wanting to experience this game.
PS2
SnoCross 2: Featuring Blair Morgan
AR Tonelico: Melody of Elemia
MVP 07 NCAA Baseball
Romance of the 3 Kingdoms XI
Winning Eleven: Pro Soccer 2007
PSP
Capcom Puzzle World
Winning Eleven: Pro Soccer 2007
XBox 360
Winning Eleven: Pro Soccer 2007
DS
Diddy Kong Racing
Lunar Knights
Winning Eleven: Pro Soccer 2007
Well soccer seems to be the flavor of the week. Heck, I didn’t even know there was 11 Romance of the 3 Kingdom games. I think I lost track at #6 or #7. Not that they are all that different. Nice to see a baseball game this early, but this is the only advantage EA has when it comes to baseball left. Expect a cheap price point too. At least there is some decent handheld goodness this week with some racing and some puzzle games to fill those knights (puns, gotta love them). Unless you need some Diddy Kong, I’d use my gaming money this week to get something at Circuit City and their 20% off 19.99 and less sale.
Some Final Thoughts and Mutterings
Not much to report gaming wise this week. I did not participate in the Halo 2 play-a-thon for the Halo 3 beta-a-thon. And I probably will not be purchasing Crackdown either. I’m kinda wondering about the beta in general because the tentative release date is November and I know they need to make christmas, but I think it’s going to be a hard climb for that. I will probably play some Halo 2 in the next 6-8 months once I’ve played Rainbow Six Vegas enough. I will be also holding some Ebay auctions next week, gaming wise I will be including some Sega Genesis carts, PS2 & XBOX Games as well as some strategy guides. I finally realized I needed to sell some strategy guides for games that I will never get. 🙂 Have fun kiddoes.
As Always,
Kedrix of Aldrianian
(*The Forgotten One*)
