The Real Story Behind the Video

Actually, I had to model Toad in my 3D Modeling Concepts class. And I used that model for the animation. Why did I choose Toad? Because I figured he would be very easy to model. And he was… Of course I had to also model a question block, tennis racket and a mushroom to make up for his lack of ears, nose, and legs. [If you didn't know, I started college a year ago; which is why you don't see many updates from me lately.] Then after that class, I had to take 3D Animation Concepts. To pass that class, we had to make a short 2-4 minute animation with the character we modeled earlier. The animation had to have a story, so I figured since I had Toad and a question block, I’d have him go through a hard time trying to get the contents of it. I hope you enjoy it!

This video was created with Blender.

The Super Mario Bros. 3 Sky World remix was composed by Sephirot24 of NewGrounds and can be found here: http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/171240

Some of the best memories of many children during their years growing up were spent with their friends and for a lot of people in the late nineties that meant playing video games into the waking hours of the night with their best buddies. Whenever you talk about all the video games that everyone loved to play together, Goldeneye always gets brought up. In fact it is all over best all time video game lists from major companies.

The video game features an amazing first person mode, and even more amazing multiplayer capabilities – and it was fun playing it on a little box of a TV let alone a high tech Vizio. It was way ahead of its time and you could select from multiple different levels and multiple characters. It had a very cool selection of weapons and you always knew it was going to be a fun game and that it was going down when “proximity mines” were selected in the “Complex” – everyone had their own favorite tool, level, and character of choice – it’s what made the game so fun.

The ongoing joke about the game is that no one could be “Odd Job” as when you were that person you had the distinct version of being half of everyone else’s size – making you a very hard target.

Although it was originally a game for Nintendo 64 – a game that sold more than 8 million copies – it was so good that another version of the game was released in 2010 for the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS. This video is a trailer for that game – and it in a panel of game players were asked what makes the game a classic and so likeable to which they replied:

“It was the first game where I could sit down and play the multiplayer part for 4 hours straight.”

and…

“You can ask me at any time to play a game of Goldeneye and I would be down.”

The panel also unanimously agreed that it was the best shooter game in video game history – which many Americans would also say. If you haven’t played Goldeneye (well then you must be either very young or very old or just absolutely hate video games) then I suggest you get on eBay or Craigslist and find a cheap N64 and do so quickly – you won’t regret it!

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This article was written by Philip Rudy. Philip helps to run and maintain www.youreviewelectronics.com which is a web site that gives Vizio reviews.

The game is split up into two modes, Mission Flight and Free Flight. Mission Flight consists of several classes of tasks you must complete, ranging from flying through rings and shooting targets to popping huge balloons. Each main class has three missions for the three vehicle types in the game; the plane, the rocket belt, and the hang glider. They all control very well and are very distinct from each other. After reaching a certain few missions, you unlock different variations on these three vehicles for use in specific missions, the plane becomes the jet plane, the rocket belt becomes the super rocket belt, and the hang glider becomes the… pedal bike. With the exception of the pedal bike, these also control as well as the originals, though I wish they were used more throughout the missions. The missions are enjoyable, but can become a little monotonous during the middle missions when you are not completing creative goals or using the special vehicles.

Free Flight mode is a decidedly slower-paced take on Pilotwings, but that’s not to say it is not fun. The game gives you a brief time limit that can be increased as you collect balloons and sets you off on the whole of Wuhu Island to gather up various items. These include monument information bubbles, balloons, and vehicle-specific items. It can be very addicting and challenging to collect all of them, which you will want to do, as it unlocks dioramas for viewing. One aspect of Free Flight that has split many gamers is the time limit, but the time limit is actually beneficial to the game. If you did not have the limit, you could easily just collect as many objects as you could in 10 minutes and decide you never want to go back, but with the time limit the length is drastically increased. If you want to just absorb the sights and relax anyhow, you can do that.

Pilotwings Resort takes place on Wuhu Island, the same island you may have explored while playing Wii Sports Resort. While some Wii Sports Resort veterans may be put off by exploring the same areas again, it is large enough to have decent variation. A few more islands would have been nice, though.

The game is presented in a very clean way, along the lines of Nintendo’s “Wii Sports” or “Wii Play”  games on the Wii. From a graphical standpoint the game is very impressive and shows off the great capabilities of the 3DS. Sunsets and evenings in particular look very good. The 3D effect in this game is the best I’ve experienced so far on the 3DS; it is non-obtrusive and actually benefits the gameplay significantly! There were missions where the added depth provided by 3D was very nice in judging how far I had to go to make it through a ring and the like. It’s a great indicator of what’s to come 3D-wise on the system.

One last thing that must be addressed is the length. Three-staring all of the missions in Mission Flight will take you about 7-8 hours to complete, while Free Flight will take around 3-4 hours to find most of the items. There is encouragement to replay the missions for perfect scores, though for some reason high scores are not shared through different profiles on the cart, so if you were playing with your sibling or buddy their scores are not compared to yours. There are also no online leaderboards, so the length is cut a bit short.

In conclusion, Pilotwings Resort is a very fun romp. The two modes provided are both enjoyable and addicting, and the game is a great technical showpiece of the 3DS. The graphics are great and the 3D is utilized very effectively. Unfortunately, the game is brought down by its lack of mission diversity, obvious omissions like online leaderboards, and fairly short length. However, these minor bumps of turbulence do not bring down the plane that is Pilotwings Resort. If you have enjoyed the earlier Pilotwings games or if the game even slightly intrests you, I’d say give it a go.

I give it a 8 out of 10 on the Zippy Scale.

This is the main paragraph that stands out:

“Explore a massive, multilayered world that seamlessly blends soaring exploration in a
sea of clouds with intense ground-based adventuring that blurs the line between the
main world and traditional Zelda dungeons. Link™ soars through the skies on the back
of a noble bird and dives beneath the clouds to the continent below in an epic quest
that lays the foundation for the events in the critically acclaimed The Legend of Zelda:
Ocarina of Time.”

So it seems Skyward Sword will be telling the events that lead up to Ocarina Of Time. Along with that information, the press pack comes with some hot new screenshots:

(Click on the thumbnails to see the picture, full size)

The following games were included:

First Party
Launch Games:

• Extreme Sports Cafe (New IP, Combines 1080 and Wave Race + Other Sports)
• Pikmin Cafe (Interfaces with Pikmin 3DS)
• Endless Ocean Cafe
• Nintendogs Cafe Kennel (Interfaces with Nintendogs + Cats)
• Mii Explore (New IP, Multiplayer Adventure Game)

Launch Window:

• Kirby’s Epic Yarn 2 (Launch Window, Multiplayer)
• Wario Ware Cafe (Launch – Launch Window?)

Future Games

• Super Mario Cafe (Late 2012/Early 2013, Paradigm Shift a la SM64)
• Legend of Paper Zelda (Mid 2012, Paper Mario version of SNES Zelda)
• Fire Emblem Cafe (Late 2012)
• Retro Studios IP (Late 2012, New IP)
• Project Sora IP (New IP)
• Monolith Soft RPG (New IP)
• Miyamoto Game (New IP)

Third Party
Launch Games

• Battlefield 3 (Extra Content)
• Street Fighter X Tekken (Timed Exclusive)
• SSX
• Super Monkey Ball Cafe
• Tony Hawk Cafe
• Ridge Racer Cafe
• Mass Effect 3 (Possibly with ME 1 + 2)
• InVersion
• Dragons Dogma
• Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
• Metal Gear Solid: Rising (Extra Content)
• Silent Hill: Downpour (Extra Content)
• PES 2013 Cafe (Timed Exclusive)
• Trauma Center Cafe

Future Games:

• Modern Warfare 3
• Grand Theft Auto V (Launch, Timed Exclusive)
• Dead Space Spin Off
• Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Cafe
• Soul Caliber V (Extra Content)
• Sonic Cafe (Sonic Generations)
• Platinum Games IP (Bayonetta 2)
• Phantasty Star Online 2 (Late 2012?)
• SEGA Game (???)
• The Amazing Spider-Man: The Game
• Rockstar Game (New IP?)
• BioShock Infinite (Timed Exclusive)
• Red Steel III
• Beyond Good & Evil 2
• Doom 4
• Madden 2013 (Timed Exclusive)
• Tiger Woods 13
• Fight Night Cafe
• Need for Speed Cafe
• Level-5 Game (New IP)
• Kingdom Hearts Cafe (Possibly KH3)
• Square Enix Game (New IP)
• Square Enix Game (???)
• Grasshopper Game (New IP or No More Heroes 3)
• Valve Game (Possibly a collection set + new game?)
• Epic Games (New IP, Bulletstorm 2 or New Gears of War Trilogy exclusive to Cafe)

While some of the first-party titles seem plausible, some of the third-party titles, such as Mass Effect 3 and Grand Theft Auto V, when combined with other third-party titles launching this year, such as Modern Warfare III and Battlefield 3, make it seem like too much of a good thing . However, NeoGaf has been right with leaks in the past. Keep in mind, it’s all just a rumor at this point. Take each title with a grain of salt. However if this were true, Would it be one of the greatest lauch line-up’s in console history?

Source: 1up

The game system was recalled earlier this morning by Nintendo and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. A Nintendo spokesperson stated, “We conducted thorough tests on the product before the launch but these tests did not includ excessive hours of gameplay.” She continued with, “The 3DS, like any other platform, should be played while taking a break in 30-minute intervals. If you start to feel a headache coming on, take a break. If you feel eye strain, take a break.”

Apparently, the problems are caused when the 3D is turned up all the way. Nintendo plans to come out with an alternative version of the system in the coming months. Possibly as the spokesperson mentioned a “3DS with glasses.”

[Update: Yes, this was an April Fool's joke. We hope you got a little laugh from it.]

Kinect, Move, and Wii

just have the thing. In the past, the Nintendo DS, DS lite and DSi became popular with their famous games like Mario Kart and DJ Hero. In March they will bring the 3DS to the United States to try to win over some of the hard core gamers. It is being released in Japan on Feburary 26, they have already sold out on their pre-orders! There are reports from Nintendo that they plan to ship 4 Million 3DS units worldwide by March 31st, which 1.5 million will go to Japan. On Launch day there are suppose to be 4,000,000 units available. This I believe will really boost Nintendo’s business with them wanting to gain their hard core gamers back instead of the casual gamers they have gained now with the Wii. Their stock price have fell 21 percent since 2008. They don’t only compete with X-Box, they are also fighting against online games such as Zynga’s Farmville and Mafia Wars, as well as Apple’s iphone and ipads.

Nintendo 3DS

The 3DS is Nintendo’s way of getting yet another handheld gaming machine out there. The new 3DS will feature the wireless web access, multiple cameras, and accelerometers to sense motion, and will also have the 3D images but without the needs of special glasses. The company is working with studios to try to stream 3D movies to the device, and will also have a more powerful processor and higher-definition display. At the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2010, the 3DS was named as the “game changer” for the industry. Lastly, there are 75 titles already announced for the 3DS, nine are from Nintendo’s in-house studio. I look forward to seeing this new 3DS hit the shelves and see how it changes the game industry.

Level Design

Quake

Doom may be the definitive shooter, but when I play Quake I feel like this is the game that perfected the genre. It’s hard, but never frustrating. It’s creative yet never falls flat. It’s fast-paced, while being deliberate. But you can tell this game was one of the original 3D shooters as iD seemed to have fun with this razy third dimension they suddenly could build into – finally, gone the days of 2.5D and its limitations! The level design in this game is fantastic and it actually feels like the developers enjoyed making these levels. I see a key, some armour, and some health in three alcoves ahead of me. All that’s between me and these goodies is a pool of water, so I jump in the water and… fall to another room? I am shocked, I look up, I can see that there’s a pool of water on the ceiling… and then I’m attacked. This level design is messed up, it fits the game perfectly, and almost 15 years after it was released it still seems really inventive. Levels here are not just a series of connected rooms, but mazes to be explored and enjoyed. They are to be enjoyed even when they don’t follow the rules you transpose into this game (ie: water cannot be used as a ceiling!) and even when they disturb you (I cannot shake the disturbed feeling I get in my gut when I see crucified men writhing in pain on walls).

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

The level design of Link to the Past is brilliant. Seriously, play through it and think about how the game eases you into the dungeons. While part of the appeal of the original Zelda game is how it throws you into this chaotic, unfriendly world, the opposite is the case for this LttP. It eases you into everything, but in a way that never feels like you’re being led by the hand. But, what is more impressive, is that the game is, for all intensive purposes, a 3D title on a 2D plane. By the end of the game each room has different levels to it, what you do in one room affects another room, and what happens on one floor affects the other floors. Dungeons are no longer a linear progression through rooms, but have you going up and down stairs and revisiting rooms you’ve seen before – sometimes with the purpose of finishing a puzzle you started in another room. Most people don’t notice this because the game eases you into the thinking required to finish these dungeons so seamlessly. It also makes it hard to put the game down in the later stages because it’s a sort of thinking that isn’t inherently built into our video-game-logic and when games do this it does need to be taught to us anew.

This may not show off level design, but I do love this monster and when I fell from the pond I did have to fight one of these mofos!

Setting

Planescape: Torment

This is what I feel the perfect computer RPG looks like: well-written, the dialogue tree is intriguing, and it’s a really engaging universe. I try explaining the game’s story to people and quickly realize that it’s hard not to get bogged down with the little details, with the quirks of my characters, with the side quests that have added depth to the universe, and all that. Most importantly, I realize that the parts of the game that seem very normal within the game universe actually sound fucking crazy to everyone else. Games can tell a story and games like this prove it. While the technology we possess has caused developers to think the only way to adequately tell a story through games is through a cinematic approach, Planescape proves that you can use a literary approach to create an immersive world.

Earthbound

Earthbound is an odd console RPG in many ways. The setting is suburban America, for the most part, but a twisted vision of it. The protagonists are children armed with baseball bats, yo-yos, ray guns, and teddy bears. The game is filled with pop culture references that never seems out of place. Enemies range from moles to brainwashed businessmen. The combat feels tacked on, as if it merely exists to break up the story. Throughout this all the narrative seems to move seamlessly, despite the fact that when one stops to consider what you’ve done it all seems a bit disjointed. Like Planescape, it create a mood in which the odd can seem normal, but where Planescape uses lots and lots of text, Earthbound uses a lot less text, with a very limited dialogue tree, but very detailed sprites and a setting that most gamers can identify with. It corrupts the familiar to tell its story while Planescape makes the twisted seem normal.

There comes a time in the game when a man falling from the sky to take your pictures doesn't seem so weird until you realize that your entire party is a bit freaked out by it....

[a gussied up repost of a post I wrote recently on my kinda too rarely updated blog, which you people should check!]

You can buy portable hard drives which are placed in classic NES game cartridges. Need an extra 500 GB to store all your Nintendo hentai? Well then you can buy a hard drive in Star Wars, Tetris, Super Mario Bros. 2, Dr. Mario, and Castlevania cartridges. Perhaps you’re favoured Metroidvania series is Metroid instead of Castlevania. If that’s that’s the case, you’re in luck because you can also get 1 TB drives in Metroid, Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt, and Bionic Commando carts! I wish I had the funds to get another HDD, I would totally love to get the Metroid or Super Mario Bros. cartdrives.

That controller seems too big

I wonder how long it is until those craft and nostalgic handy-men/women turn their N64 cartridges into art projects. At the very least, the N64 seems like a good (and much more portable) alternative to the NES harmonica. Also, if someone makes a Gamecube fit inside an NES cartridge, I’d love them. Sadly, I’ll probably need to settle for a Gamecube inside an old NES console.

I think the saddest thing about the disc based systems is we won’t see stuff this cool in twenty years. How will you turn your copy of Crash Bandicoot into a working console?

Welcome to the honeymoon trap.

In most single player games while the second playthrough can never recapture the thrill of discovery and the novelty factor of the first playthough, if the game has good moment-to-moment gameplay that can be enough to keep you going beyond the honeymoon period. If it does not have quality moment to moment gameplay, its stock will drop like a rock on the second playthrough.

No game that I can think of illustrates this better than Batman: Arkham Asylum.

With really good single player experiences, the second playthrough reinforces my high opinion of the game in the first playthough– but with Batman AA I felt like the second playthrough exposed the lack of substance behind the shiny veneer of the first playthrough.

Don’t get me wrong, Batman Arkham Asylum is a really good game and is clearly the best Batman game ever (which is not saying a lot) — but it’s still overrated. However it’s not easy to see why until you make it past the honeymoon period of the first playthough.

A game needs some freedom/leeway in the gameplay to really keep bringing you back– and this is the main thing Batman AA is missing.

Here are some examples of what I mean:

JUMPING

In Super Mario Bros. basic jumping was fun because you completely control the height and direction of Mario’s jump and a mistake can kill you.

You can also do stuff like slick jumping turning hit the ground and slide type moves because of that leeway in the gameplay. And stuff like that is what keeps you coming back (and not the harrowing tale of rescue of the damsel in distress).

In Batman, if you want to jump over a ledge just hold ‘X’ and forward and Batman automatically runs toward the ledge and jumps over it perfectly every time — there’s no technique to employ– no timing, no lining up the jump, no skill necessary.

CLIMBING

Take a game like Infamous. When I climb a building there’s a million different ways to climb the same building (including wrong ways that can result in you falling all the way back to the bottom and thus making you pay attention) — I can climb up a ladder, shimmy across a ledge until I find a handhold to climb up, climb a pole, climb up windows, ect– thus climbing is fun.

In Batman, if I want to climb I need to find a designated spot that allows me to look at it and be prompted to press R1. When I press R1 and Batman shoots his grapple hook thing, he’s always going to climb up the same way– seen it once, seen it a million times.

Thus climbing in Batman is not fun– it’s not annoying either– but not fun– just meh. It’d be nice if there was more variety to it somehow (and/or if they found some other area of gameplay to flesh out to make up for this lost ground).

FIGHTING

In Batman AA, there are a lot of offensive attack moves that are “hotspot” oriented– ie. the vertical takedown, the crashing through the glass, the simplified fighting scheme– that reminds me of Def Jam: Fight for New York.

In Def Jam Fight for New York there was a bunch of “hot spots” (ie. if you press a certain button when the enemy is near a car you’ll do a prearranged sequence where you smash their head in the door of the car) — it was awesome the first time you see each hot spot move but it gets more and more boring and you yearn for the variety and complexity that earlier incarnations of the Def Jam engine (ie the AKI wrestling titles) had.

Likewise in Batman the fighting is fun but you eventually yearn for the added complexity of fighting in games like God of War and Ninja Gaiden.

To be fair, there’s plenty of variety in the gameplay itself, but the problem is the lack of any one gameplay mechanic that by itself is fun to do over and over. The fighting comes closest to this, but it’s not quite up to par with some other games.

To make an analogy– take MLB the Show. The default batting mechanic makes you as the batter have to locate the ball as well as time it to get a hit. If you want to make the game really easy to play so your little sister can play it, you can alter the settings so that all you have to do is press X at the right time– thus making it all timing and taking away the skill in recognizing pitch location.

In Batman, it’s like it’s set up for your little sister with the way that the reversals are all pure timing based (tap triangle and Batman does the rest, no matter where the enemy is), and the striking is all button mashing based. There’s a little bit of skill involved in fighting guys with knives or stun batons in that you need to either hit them with a batarang and then press R2 and triangle to ground and pound, or press x to jump over them and attack from behind, but that alone falls short of gameplay that would keep me coming back.

So a lot of things feel like auto-pilot (ie. the Batarang is auto-aim, reversals are all pure timing as I stated above, the jumping and climbing as stated above).

Like I’m playing Gran Turismo with all of the assists on– which is fine for people that like that, but I wish there was an option to turn these assists off.

It feels like the gameplay in this game is halfway between a game like KOTOR (where it looks like I’m really playing and swinging the lightsaber but I’m really just supervising) and games like Super Mario Bros and Infamous and Twisted Metal 2 and Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (where I really am in full incremental micro level control and not just macro level control).

CONCLUSION

Too many single player games are like a disposable razor: use once and throw away. Granted, lots of games offer things like trophies, treasures, branching paths, ect, to give you a reason to come back and play again, but that stuff, while appreciated, only serves to kick the can down the road. The big factor that extends a game’s replay value indefinitely, the renewable resource you’re left with when the fossil fuels of story and presentation are exhausted, the thing that separates the games that come and go from the true classics is the  gameplay. In Batman AA, the basic moment to moment gameplay isn’t enough by itself to keep the game entertaining– the greatness of the game really depends on the story and presentation and atmosphere (which all lose their novelty on the second playthough) combined with the deceptively shallow, automated gameplay (the shallowness of which becomes much more apparent after you’ve beaten the game).

All the most memorable stuff that happened in my experience with Batman AA was scripted– in a game with deep gameplay you should be able to create your own memories via creative stuff that the game allows you to do– and the prospect of creating new experiences like that on the fly is what keeps you coming back.

What I remember about Super Mario World was how much different stuff Mario could do with a turtle shell (ie. carry it around, kick it up in the air, kick it forward, have Yoshi eat it and gain powers, ect). It’s not the story that sticks out in my mind, it’s the gameplay, and how little things like playing with a shell were fun.

A mega hyped, shiny new video game is like a hot woman in a dark nightclub who starts sweet talking you while you’re drunk– you might be head over heels in love that night– but you don’t really know what you have until you see what you wake up next to in the morning.

Image credit: Tony J. Case