Splinter Cell Blacklist co-op modes partially detailed
FIFA 14 on PC won't use Ignite engine
Ace Attorney Trilogy coming to iOS next week
Far Cry 3 editor jazzed up with Blood Dragon shinies
Epic Mickey 2 for Vita coming June 18
Weekend Confirmed Episode 43
by Garnett Lee, Jan 14, 2011 12:00pm PSTWhatcha' Been Playin? gets off to a big start this week with a lively discussion on the windup to the end and boss fight in Uncharted 2, first impressions of LittleBIGPlanet 2 and Ghost Trick, and, of course, an update from Cataclysm. Garnett, Jeff, and Billy then move on to your continuing comments on the topic of reviews before considering whether you can be addicted to buying games and what happens when a pay-to-play MMO goes free-to-play. Top stories like the brewing storm over Splosion Man developer Twisted Pixel calling out Capcom mobile for ripping off their game, anticipation of the Battlefield 3 unveiling due to come at GDC, and rumors of a Final Fantasy XIII sequel finish the show on a strong note in the Front Page.
Weekend Confirmed Ep. 43 - 01/14/2011
Subscription Links:
- Subscribe to Weekend Confirmed in iTunes
- Weekend Confirmed is also available in the Zune Marketplace
- Subscribe to Weekend Confirmed via RSS
We've got a handy player to listen to the show right here on the site if you like:
Listen to Weekend Confirmed Episode 43 (player window will pop-up)
And if you're on GameCenter, you can play the show here:
Download Weekend Confirmed Episode 43
Weekend Confirmed comes in four segments to make it easy to listen to in segments or all at once. Here's the timing for this week's episode:
Whatcha' Been Playin?: Start: 00:00:00 End: 00:34:10
Whatcha' Been Playin? and Cannata-ford: 00:35:15 End: 01:08:00
The Warning: 01:09:00 End: 01:41:40
Featured Music "Chemistry" by Tyrannosaurus Grace: 01:41:40 End: 01:44:56
The Front Page: Start: 01:44:56 End: 02:15:04
Tailgate Playoffs Wild Card Special: Start: 02:16:05 End: 02:28:37
The Featured Music segment presents Tyrannosaurus Grace, a 5 piece Pop Rock band from Ellensburg, WA. founded in late 2009 by childhood friends Tim Held and Justin Foss. They released their first self titled album in October of 2010 and currently play shows all over the Pacific Northwest as they continue to write and record new material all the time. The members are: Tim Held-Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Justin Foss-Guitar, keyboard, audio production, Jeff Gerrer- Bass, David Hoffman- Drums, Lakyn Bury-Vocals, guitar, keyboard. Their album is available on iTunes, Amazon.com, and CDBaby.com. Their website is tgraceband.
Original music in the show by Del Rio. Get his latest single, Small Town Hero on iTunes. Check out more, including the Super Mega Worm mix and other mash-ups on his ReverbNation page or Facebook page.
Jeff can also be seen on The Totally Rad Show. They've gone daily so there's a new segment to watch every day of the week!
Our Official Facebook Weekend Confirmed Page is coming along now so add us to your Facebook routine. We'll be keeping you up with the latest on the show there as well.
Comments
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 18 replies.
Battlefield 2 was a 64-player game. Bad Company 2 on the other hand is only a 32-player game and from what I understand has smaller maps. Similarly there's also the worry about Crysis 2 being less open-ended and dumbed down compared to the first game, which reportedly couldn't run on consoles because of the size of its levels (combined with the quality of the engine). There has to be a reason open-world games like STALKER, Crysis, and Mount & Blade don't have console versions.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 6 replies.
Upon completing the game, I have concluded that both sides are right. On the reviewers' side, the visuals, combat, role-playing elements, and individual lines of dialogue are competent, but wholly unremarkable. On the other hand, there is a certain soulfullness to the experience that just doesn't exist in the vast majority of video games. The tragic plight of the characters, the gut-wrenching soundtrack, and the simple premise of a father fighting for his daughter don't diminish the flaws of the game, but they certainly make it worth playing.
I don't love the game. It is unpolished, sloppy, and disappointing in a lot of ways. But I am absolutely glad that I played it. I've never played anything quite like it. The ideas driving the game are fantastic, but the execution doesn't quite match up to the game's potential. In this way, Nier's metascore of 67 is both completely accurate and wholly inadequate as a measurement of the game.
Ultimately, you have to play Nier to know if you will like it. A number cannot tell you.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
This got me thinking about boss fight/game endings and I disagree with the guy on show on one big thing. I want my boss fights to use all the things I've learned through the game. I like when games throw in a different game type here and there but I want the ending to be the main mechanics if its going to have a boss fight.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
Week Americas Japan EMEAA Worldwide Totals
1 110,079 49,839 176,050 335,968
10 689,792 130,447 942,103 1,762,342
totals
Lifetime 2,195,526 171,370 1,794,018 4,160,914
Sales
Little Big Planet has more than doubled in sales after 10 weeks on store shelves. I hope LPB 2 does twice as much and I can't wait to give my money to Media Molecule.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 4 replies.
As for the rating topic, a better example for me would be movies; I read a crap load of reviews of movies that are done by much smarter people, I still formulate my own opinion (ie: Avatar was terrible) but it is nice to have different points of view from different people who saw it differently.
For example, I pay more heed to Danny (TRS) when he talks about music in movies, but Jeff when he talks about games and especially when he does board games. Adam Quigly (/Film) and I usually share the more cynical movie reviews but I am make sure to ignore anything Brian Brushwood says about Avatar.
I played Red Dead Redemption because of how highly rated it was, and did not like it. It shared the same problems of GTA 4 with pacing, all missions acting like tutorials, controls, repetition, and goose-chase of a story making me lose motivation to play on. But I'm glad I tried it, so I could cement why I don't like these games.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
Speaking of game center after I wrote my review for it (5 stars) I read the review after mine and Joe blow said (yes that was his name) that he didn't like the app because he 'didn't care' what 'players thought about games' and that all he cared about was medicritic scores
I personally found that to be very silly, arrogant and thick headed of him because what's so great about a number it doesn't tell you anything about it like say look at red steel 2 on game center the score is like 4.5 but if you read the reviews all the bad reviews are 1s and they all say the same thing 'you need wiu motion plus to play this and I didn't even get to try it" and all the good reviews are eights and higher praising the game for it's controls and persission. I bought three wiu motion pluses when I headed that game would need it because I loved the first games multiplayer so much(Dino boy FTW) and when I saw these reviews it made me angry that they reviewed it without playing it but I new that the game would be my kind of game but I wouldn't know that from just a number
All time: Original Halo, Windwaker, Ocarina of Time, FF7
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
The DSi is indeed a region locked system, particularly as applies to downloadable games and games that are either DSi enhanced or DSi only, which is to say, regular DS games are still region free. Ghost Trick, for instance, can be played on any DS system regardless of region.
The excuse given by Nintendo (that I heard on the grapevine) is that it has something to do with parental control settings, and the fact that each region has it's own ratings board.
There have been some cases of Japanese 360 games being made region free by the publisher in order to gain the benefits of import sales, but given Nintendo's reputation for keeping their property on lock-down, I'm not optimistic about this happening too often, if at all.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 4 replies.
I don't have a problem with supernatural elements in games though. Annoying boss fights and enemies, yes, but that's a game design issue, not a context or writing issue. Every culture has their own supernatural myths and legends, and any plot that centers on digging up the past provides a great doorway for looking at these myths. Indiana Jones has the Lost Ark and the Holy Grail...both are supernatural elements.
I remember battling my way through Atlantis in the first Tomb Raider (and Tomb Raider Anniversary) and loving it. It was a great way to take a supernatural story, and write into a supposedly grounded adventure.
A very controversial and mysterious ending too, because it might be going against your character to be doing what you can. But you also have a choice, and some people might not even see that "alternate" ending. The ending emphasises the character interaction which was the best part of the game, and I loved that cohesive design.
It comes out of nowhere to blow you away, and it becomes unforgettable.
Great to have the issue put out there on a popular public forum. Thanks guys!
You must be logged in to post.