Mass Effect LE only available online, DS only releases 21 games this week and there can only be one console – Welcome to the column that only decides to sling mud after they washed their hands completely of it before known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I want to teach the world to sing. Seriously, because most people are just tone deaf! I did end up getting Half Life: Orange Box for 360 and will start playing it as soon as I get off the silly Halo 3 single player. Sure I would occasionally touch the multiplayer but I want to be done with the single one once and for all (provided I don’t go back and start playing for the skulls). Everytime I read about Orange Box; I just really really want to play it. I have also asked my girlfriend to unlock the full game of Puzzle Quest & download Bomberman Pack #3 (rumored to dropped today). So what does that mean fellow gamers? One, I’m letting my girlfriend play a game first and will probably rely on her heavily for points to go over in the review. Two, expect to see both HL: Orange and Puzzle Quest under game reviews by this time next week. This is so I can free up my gaming for Guitar Hero 3 on the following week. Whew. I probably won’t even download the demo to GH3 (it is out this week) since I don’t want to waste the time. Oh yeah, I still haven’t played Yaris; but somehow I don’t think I’m missing much.
Some pictures really defy that whole explanation thing. I think Morgan is paying homage to the role of Cleopatra here, but I’m not entirely sure. Perhaps I can play the stout and venerable Julius Cesar. I’m afraid it would come out like Sid Cesar however rather than Julius. That and all the time I would be looking behind my back and wondering when I’m going to be killed by a close friend.
Xbox 360
Quoting an unnamed Singaporean Toshiba official and the marketing director of an Australian retailer, an Aussie electronics web site lit the gaming internets afire with Xbox speculation today.
The site, SmartHouse, reported that a new Xbox model (they don’t call it an Xbox 360) with a built-in HD-DVD drive and other goodies will debut either in late 2008 or at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
According to the SmartHouse report, the new Xbox will include the following features:
– Built-in HD-DVD drive
– Larger hard-drive
– “Extensive wireless networking capability”
– 1080p playback
The article also claims Toshiba and Microsoft have explored the idea of including a dual HD TV tuner, electronic program guide capability and a newly-standardized mp3 player docking port.
If the article is accurate, the two companies have also kicked around the idea of creating an “open standard chassis system that allows an Xbox to be slotted into a HD TV screen over 40-inch. The open standard bays will allow hard drives to be upgraded and expanded similar to the way that users can upgrade the hard drive on a PC.”
I’ve also heard that pigs can fly. Pretty much this would be a nice laundry list of what I would do with the 360 if I could navigate the controls at Microsoft. Bill Gates, fear me! Anyhow, I’d hold this with a grain of salt until we see a whole boatload of more proof. Sure an integrated HD-DVD drive would make sense but Microsoft is holding onto that ship and seeing what actually happens before they make the jump with everything in one. Wireless networking, that should be a given but Microsoft might implement this next console. The idea of making the 360 more PC like has been thrown around since the old Xbox. The reason why they don’t do it is simple. People play console games because they appreciate simplicity in configuration; the pick up and play feature. To make them like a PC then bridges the gap a little closer than most want. We fear change and change isn’t pretty.
Xbox 360
If you were hoping to waltz into your local EB/GameStop on November 20 and pick up a Mass Effect Limited Edition, it looks like you’re out of luck. According to the game retailer’s website, the Limited edition will only be available as an online purchase. And I quote:
This is an ONLINE ONLY Limited Edition. This item WILL NOT be available in stores.
This seems like an odd move, but who am I to question the logic of the great EB Games? So as not to cause any confusion, EB Games isn’t the only place you can get the Mass Effect Limited Edition, you just won’t be able to get in their stores. Whether or not it will be available at other brick and mortar locales remains to be seen.
As if some exclusives weren’t silly enough, now one of the most anticipated games of the year is sporting an LE that EB and Gamestop decided to make available only through the website. My guess? That Halo 3 LE led to this. When I went into EB Games to pick my Halo 3 LE, there was two problems; 1) the packaging issue with flimsy pegs and they took up a lot of space and 2)there was a ton of them. So much in fact that I’m guessing while sales for Halo 3 was extremely strong, the LE was probably a little disappointing in retrospect. So, the next hot game that sports an LE, in this case: Mass Effect, gets pushed back to online. This is their way of saying we do not ze care about ze limited edition, we spit on you. Hack Ptooie.
All Systems
Notice how so many games are going cross platform? What if you could run your PS3 games on your Xbox 360 and vice versa? That would end so many petty flame wars and futile discussions. Gamers could talk about games and not consoles. What’s more, consumers could purchase hardware based on price and quality — like with DVD players. This is the monotone console future Silicon Knights’ honcho Denis Dyack sees. In an article he penned for Official Xbox Magazine, Dyack lays out his vision:
Imagine a unified platform — one console for all gamers — that would bring a massive paradigm shift to the games industry, where games would become better in quality, cheaper, and more widely available. Sound good? It can happen. Better yet, it’s inevitable. It will happen… A one-console future is a future I think we can’t avoid – and thankfully, it’s a future where everyone would win.
“The market is also split in an unhealthy way between the major manufacturers. Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony all may have equal marketshare this generation, making it extremely difficult for third-party publishers to choose what platform to focus on.
Not that it’s easy for first-party manufacturers, either. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo have put tremendous resources into trying to make the best hardware, including spending significant amounts of money trying to get exclusive mega-titles like Grand Theft Auto on their system first.
Despite all this, it’s still not enough. The economics of the proprietary models seem to point toward spending more money and receiving fewer returns with each generation, with no clear winner.
Denis lives in a fantasy land right opposite to the one where pigs fly (dang it, I already used that joke this week). The most obvious problem with this is competition. If you have one console, creativity is usually out the window. Competition drives creativity by making consoles different to create an edge. If everything becomes vanilla then we get bored and we create a situation where gaming would become stale. It also sounds like the kind of thing that would become government controlled. Then anybody who thought outside of the box would be assimilated and forced to buy toilet paper that felt like sand paper. We would also be forced to date 5’5″ blonde girls with large knockers; hrmmm perhaps this ain’t so bad.
Well we had XBLA games based off crappy little cars and now we have crappy little games based off of crappy little TV….errrr just kidding. Partly. Well the TV series ain’t exactly setting the world afire. You will get to play as the good guys and defend Galactica or you can be the bad guys and play as the Cyclons and rid the world of human scum. There are 8 ships (4 on each side) and you have special weapons as well as defensive maneuvers. If you ever wanted to do a barrel roll, here is your chance. Expect single and multi-player options as well.
Exit was first released on the PSP. The idea was that you play as Mr. Esc, an escapologist who is trying to navigate fires and earthquakes as he gets away from hospitals, office buildings and underground locations. Along the way, you need to help trapped individuals who have different abilities to navigate the problems ahead of you. It has that flash style of graphics like Alien Hominid but actually looks to have an interesting premise. I want to like it from what I’ve seen but will have to wait for more reviews before I take a chance.
Lunar Pool was the first pool game to capture my eye when I got a Nintendo. Actually until recently (silly Bankshot Billiards for XBLA), it probably stood the test of time as my most played pool game. It was very easy to pick up and play and actually made you think as you moved from table to table. Not to mention it was far from easy but felt like a good challenge. So many games today feel the need to be realistic. Lunar Pool is about the only pool game I can think of that excels because it is different.
Imports are starting to trickle in. This is an odd one where you take the role of a ninja called JajaMaru-Kun who has to save Princess Sakura from Damazu-Dayuu. This game was a spinoff of Ninja-Kun. Primarily action in focus, this game was a mid eighties smash for Nintendo Japan. There are also petals that Sakura drops that will yield Jajamaru powerups. In order to advance to the next level, Jajamaru must kill all the enemies on the screen.
The last Golden Axe game to date (we aren’t counting Golden Axe: The Duel) and it was more of the same hack n slash we have come to accept in the previous incantations. This one had 4 characters which included Ax Battler and Tyrus Flare (but dropped Gilius Thunderhead except for cut scenes) and added a giant (Braoude Cragger) and a humanoid black panther (Chronos Lait). Of course they added new moves including ones that involved teamwork. Another feature (borrowed from Castlevania) was that you could choose paths to take which added to the fun. All three games on some level warrant attention this week, I’ll let you figure out which one you want to tackle.
PS2
Harry Potter Collection
The Sims 2: Castaway
Dancing with the Stars
Disney’s High School Musical
King of Fighters XI
Moto GP 07
Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots
Spongebob: Atlantis Squarepantis
PSP
The Sims 2: Castaway
Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles
Warriors of the Lost Empire
PS3
Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights
Clive Barker’s Jericho
Conan
Eye of Judgment
Ratatouille
Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
Xbox 360
Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation
Clive Barker’s Jericho
Conan
Tomb Raider Anniversary
Wii
Rockstar Games Table Tennis
EA Playground
The Sims 2: Castaway
Dancing with the Stars
Namco Museum Remix
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution
Nicktoons: Attack of Toybots
Victorious Boxer
Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure
DS
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody 2
EA Playground
The Sims 2: Castaway
Chessmaster
Ed, Edd & Eddy: Scam of the Century
Front Mission
Imagine: Animal Doctor
Imagine: Babyz
Imagine: Fashion Designer
Imagine: Master Chef
Mega Man ZX Advent
Naruto: Path of the Ninja
Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots
Phoenix Wright: Trials & Tribulations
Pocket Pets
Spanish for Everyone
Spongebob: Atlantis Squarepantis
Zoo Hospital
Dementium: The Ward
Power Rangers Super Legends
Solitaire Overload
Dancing with the Stars for PS2 and Wii? Shoot me, please. Standout games this week include Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles (a game that really should have come out for PS2 due to its compilation nature), Clive Barker’s Jericho for 360 and PS3 (super scary FPS, but yet all it makes me want to do currently is go and play Condemned again), and Conan also for 360 and PS3. Conan is just hack n slash and more suited for the bargain bin. However, it does have the Conan flair and might even involve saving a few wench…err maidens. Tomb Raider Anniversary using an updated Tomb Raider Legend engine comes to 360 and a slew of female based Imagine: games invade the DS. Cause apparently the only jobs that are suited for tutorial to females on the DS are a Vet, taking care of Babies, designing clothes and cooking. Way to push the female movement there. I find it also interesting that Dementium: The Ward for DS gets released a couple days after the first 18 games for DS hit this week. Yeah, cause I’ll need a strait jacket if I ever try to keep up with every piece of crap that hits the portable nintendo monster week after week.
Going back to gaming; my girlfriend and me have amassed 10 of the 12 achievements in Bomberman Live. I think that’s pretty cool that we have worked on it together and accomplished so much. We are missing the girl power achievement and the 10 wins in a row in the ranked tournament. The girl power one requires some coordination of the other players. The ranked tournament one however on the surface looks to require a whole lot of skill. I don’t think that’s true for the simple fact nobody plays in the ranked tournament. So if you can set it up to have your friends in there at the same time you can probably join that game with no problems and boost away. It would be very nice to get 100% on Bomberman Live since that is the first real game we have both played together. Next, Puzzle Quest. I think this actually proves the concept of those who play together, stay together. I hope Sarah sticks around, in gaming and life she has been absolutely wonderful. Thank you sweetie. Take care kiddoes.
As Always,
Kedrix of Aldrianian
(*The Forgotten One*)
