• 11Jul 08

  FF Goodness, New Online Games, and a Brighter Future for the Wii

  Haven't made a blog post in a while, so I figured I might as well cram in a quick one.

  I picked up the new Chocobo's Dungeon game for the Wii. I think its a decent game, but the more you play it the more you think there was so much unused potential to incorporate new game mechanics. But as it is, it's not stellar, but I would definitely set it as the current best RPG for the Wii. The rest of the summer is looking pretty bare for the Wii aside from the new MLB Pro.

  On the free online pc gaming front, I'll make a few notables. Combat Arms is the best free FPS I've played. It's made available by nexon and while it's pretty average as an fps its a great free alternative. The only issue would be that since it is free there are a lot of laggers with bad connections playing as well. I haven't played it in a while, though. The other games to speak of are MMORPGs. LaTale and Atlantica are starting their betas soon. It's interesting to see the slow shift in MMORPGs. Most stick with the traditional bland formula. But now turnbased and sidescrollers are popping up more often. Whether or not it'll make a difference is to be seen.

  Lastly, I just wanted to through in a few thoughts for the Wii. 3rd parties are finally stepping it up. I see quite a few interesting games with high production values. A few may hit stores in the fall and winter, but spring will be a good season as well. RPGs, FPS, Platformers are all making the transition. Though the future is uncertain, at the moment, the Wii looks like it'll have a beef up of its library to a decent state by the time we reach the next winter. I kind of feel like nintendo's strategy has finally broken through. First off, nintendo tosses out all their major titles. In doing so, they force a hardcore gaming drought upon themselves, while satisfying the needs of their fans for two years. They have a number of titles left in their arsenal, but 3rd parties will now have a chance to sweep up the remaining years of the Wii. I can't wait for E3 to finally see how things are shaping up. Just a few more days...

  • Posted Jul 11, 2008 12:07 pm GMT
  • Category:
  • 0 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 10Mar 08

  Super Smash Brothers Brawl

  Got it. Played it. It's fun. SSE is as tedious and repetitive as everyone says, but it can still be mildly enjoyable in bursts. Online is good. Sometimes lag is annoying but usually its not bad. Hmm...sadly, nothing much else to say about it. Maybe I'll do a little review.
  • Posted Mar 10, 2008 12:44 pm GMT
  • Category:
  • 1 Comment
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 4Mar 08

  Red Steel 2...

  I haven't updated my blog in a while because no one reads it anyway. But I just felt like writing about Red Steel after getting frustrated playing FPS on standard consoles.

  So if you've been following Wii gaming, you've probably heard of or at least played Red Steel to see what an FPS would be like on the Wii. It still did well, because of lack of competition and so Red Steel 2 should be on the horizon. So what would I like to see improved, added, or changed on Red Steel 2?

  1) Revamped Controls - This is the most obvious thing. The shooting controls were better than normal console FPS but still lacked compared to the now MP3 or even MoH: Heroes 2. Good controls will definitely help this game gain some popularity. It was the biggest problem with Red Steel in my opinion. Other things of mention would be some updates on sword controls. Now, I don't know what should be done to sword controls, and if they can't come up with anything better, I wouldn't blame them on that because that is much more complicated. But at the very least, the shooting aspect MUST be fixed. With a good FPS control scheme, they can't lose.

  2) Standard variety on missions - I never finished Red Steel, but I feel that like any good game, variety is a necessity. It's fun to just barge into a Yakuza stronghold and gun everyone down as they rush towards you. But it also can get old. There was some variety in the game, but it definitely needs more. One thing I personally enjoy is having some AI on your side. So in the next Red Steel I want to see some missions where there is much more of a yakuza war aspect rather than just a lone guy fighting through the horde. The lone guy thing is nice, but having guys follow you, fight with you and die by your side will make you feel more like a yakuza leader.

  3) Better Boss Fights - Boss fights should be the most memorable part of every game. They should be tough, different and cool. Instead of every boss fight being a sword battle, it should mix things up with a gun battle now and then. There should also be a recurring boss(just one) thats tough, annoying but also fun to beat up. This way, you'll wind up fighting this guy over and over again, wondering, "Why won't he just die?"

  4) More sex appeal - Let's face it. Sex sells. Now of course I don't want massive flaunting, but it'd be nice if the graphics were done in a way that the girls actually look attractive. I don't mind ugly guys, cause they'll be dead anyway. An alluring female lead always brings happiness during cutscenes.

  5) Special techniques? - Gaming is meant to escape from reality. Therefore, shouldn't a game be as over the top as it can? This can go in many directions. For swordfighting, building up a rage guage and unleashing a super attack thats flashy to look at. For normal gunplay, the bullet time thing was good but you can take it to the next level with ricocheting bullets, blocking bullets with your sword, one shot kill.

  6) Characters/Henchmen - This kind of ties in to the Mission variety. While its cool to fight memorable boss characters, it'd be also nice to see your own character. Yeah, I know. It's supposed to be you thats why you dont talk and they never show your face. But I prefer it if the main character was actually a character. Not to mention, it'd be cool to get henchmen of your own that will follow you and have different specialties. Such that by following the storyline, in the end you'll get a strong group that will help you out and carry out different mission objectives.

  7) Online - It will probably not be very good. But I would still like an option. Plus bots will be nice as well. This is just one way to add replay value.

  Grueling difficulty levels - This is a tried and true way to add replay value. Even if it is grueling, as long as there are checkpoints and restarts, it won't be as frustrating.

  9) Coop - Once again, if there were more characters to choose from then it'll be possible to add coop. Coop will also add value because playing the same level again(possibly on harder difficulty) with a friend is fun. 2Player splitscreen(must) or online friend code coop(not a must).

  There are other stuff that I would like to see, but for now this is what I can think of at the top of my head. Maybe I'll elaborate more on concepts later. I never bought Red Steel one, just because its lacking in so many areas. While I really want a good FPS for the Wii, I need something that will be memorable, fun, and replayable. Hopefully Red Steel 2 will be good enough to warrant a purchase.

  • Posted Mar 4, 2008 5:41 pm GMT
  • Category: Games
  • 0 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg

See Previous Blog Posts