Late Night Consoling
As I play a whole lot of games (which should be fairly obvious if you've been reading the Shack for more than a week), I have a lot of pet peeves. I've mentioned my immense hatred of awkward cameras in third person titles (they don't have to suck! Really!) but one thing that really, really annoys the heck out of me is not being able to save when I need to. Now, I'm not so bad as to suggest that I need to be able to save everywhere. I recognize that being able to do so can seriously impact a player's long-term enjoyment of a game, and as I play a lot of console RPGs, I've gotten used to being forced to save only at designated points. But last night, as I played Final Fantasy X-2, I found myself in the absolute worst position ever: I had been playing for over two hours with no save point. It was late. I had to get up the next day. I desperately wanted to get to a save point so I could just turn the thing off and go to sleep, but just when I thought it would finally end, I hit another lame puzzle and less-than-exciting boss fight. Figuring that it couldn't possibly keep that up for very long, I checked a guide online, and was shocked to find that not only did I have another puzzle ahead of me (complete with random monster battles), after all that, I could look forward to yet another boss fight. It was all too much for me, and I turned it off in frustration, losing everything I had done for the previous two hours. Now obviously the next time I try, things will go much faster because I'll know where to go, etc., but boy was I annoyed. Even Xenosaga, which was impossibly long-winded at times had the foresight to give you lots of places to save, so it was really quite surprising to find myself in that situation. Oh well. I guess I'll try my luck again tonight...
| Resident Evil 4, Killer 7 Revealed It looks like the embargo on previews of Capcom's upcoming GameCube titles has finally expired...new previews of Resident Evil 4 can be found at GameSpot, IGN, GameSpy, Planet GameCube, Computer and Video Games and 1UP while new previews of Killer 7 can be found at GameSpot, IGN, GameSpy and 1UP. Also, IGN has posted an interview with Killer 7 producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi, who attempts to explain what the heck is going on in this game and also talks briefly about whether or not we'll see the game released for PS2 in this country. |
| Microsoft (Sort of) Denies Xbox 2 Showing at GDC Eurogamer and Computer and Video Games are both reporting that Microsoft has emphatically denied that the Xbox 2 will be announced at the Game Developer's Conference. But it's not all gloom and doom on the Xbox 2 front, as Eurogamer speculates that Microsoft may opt to announce the system at a separate press event adjacent to the show, a line of thinking that CVG seems to agree with as well. One thing is certain from buzz around the industry: developers seem to be expecting the system to be announced, and many will be downright shocked if it goes unmentioned. |
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| More GameCube Budget Titles Announced Nintendo has announced that Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and F-Zero GX have both been added to their Player's Choice lineup. Starting April 29th, Mario Golf will go for $29.99, while F-Zero GX will sell for a mere $19.99. Also, Metroid Prime, which is already a Player's Choice title, will drop down to $19.99 at the same time. |
| Yet Another DS Mockup Gadget blog Gizmodo, which has offered a bounty for the first pictures of Nintendo's upcoming DS system, has posted another mockup image of the thing. This one appears to come from Lik-Sang (who may have gotten it from somewhere else), and there's very little chance of this being legit. For one thing, it looks like a horrible hybrid of the Game Boy Advance, the GBA SP and the Neo Geo Pocket Color, looking more like the NGPC than either GBA system. I also doubt that Nintendo is going to push two-player gaming on one system. If it really is going to be handheld, chances are that it'll be small enough as it is without two people fighting over it. On a related note, it's been confirmed (as if it were in doubt), that the DS will be playable at E3. |
| N-Gage MMORPG Announced It took a while, but the N-Gage is finally getting a real online title. Sega and Nokia today announced Pocket Kingdom: Own the World, a massively multiplayer RPG for Nokia's handheld system/phone. While there's not too much known about the game yet, it's said to contain player-versus-player combat, 100 kinds of collectable units and over 50,000 collectable items. |
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| Square Enix Rumor Roundup A few interesting Square Enix rumors are up at The Magic Box tonight...one interesting rumor suggests that Final Fantasy XII may be delayed until early next year in Japan, while Dragon Quest VIII will actually be released this year (which if true, would make a stunning turnaround for the Enix side of the company). Also at The Magic Box is a rumor suggesting that another Final Fantasy is in the works for GameCube. And in non-rumor Square news, the company announced today that Kingdom Hearts has officially sold over four million copies worldwide, with more than two million in North America alone. Bring on the sequels! |
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| Xbox USB Keyboard Adapter Available GameSpy Daily is reporting that UK company Datel has released a USB keyboard adapter for Xbox. The $7 cable is said to specifically work with Phantasy Star Online, although if it worked with the regular Xbox interface it would be a godsend for putting music on the hard drive. |
| New Fire Emblem Announcement Soon According to IGN, Nintendo has posted a notice on their Japanese site that they will announce the next game in the Fire Emblem series next month. While we've been largely deprived of this series in North America, Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken was released here late last year as simply Fire Emblem. |
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| Alias Interview Team Xbox has conducted an interview with Patrik McCormack, the producer of the upcoming TV-to-game adaptation Alias. The interview is a nice length, and deals with a number of gameplay topics. |
| Misc. Media/Previews | |
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| IGN has new shots from Pikmin 2 and new media from Mobile Suit Gundam: Senshitachi no Kiseki and The Legend of Zelda: The Four Swords and 1UP has their own look at Zelda: The Four Swords. |
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| CVG is the latest site to post a preview of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and IGN has a hands-on look at Monster Hunter. |
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| Pocket.IGN has posted import reviews of Super Mario Bros, Ice Climber, The Legend of Zelda and Donkey Kong from Nintendo's Famicom Mini line and new shots from Kirby: The Mirror Labyrinth and GameSpy has a new preview of Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. |
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| GameSpot has posted a trailer from NARC (PS2, Xbox). |
From The Chatty
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cajuncook
replyTesting to avoid future embarressment.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SANDER!!!
