Our price on NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams dropped to $30 recently, and I decided to go ahead and get it. So far I've put in a couple of hours, and played the first two levels of Helen's story (and have yet to finish the first level of Will's story).

How is it, do you ask? Well, it's definitely not what I'd call "bad." It does have rough spots, though. For some reason, Sonic Team decided that the mission-based level approach from Sonic and the Secret Rings was awesome enough to be replicated (Hint: it wasn't). As a result of this, each "level" actually consists of five disparate missions, only two of which actually involve flying. The first mission is always a standard flying mission followed by a boss fight (much in the vein of classic NiGHTS), but the others can vary quite a bit. My favourite of the lot are the Octopaw missions, which are essentially a race to see how many links you can get in a given time limit. The standard flying missions as well as the boss fights are also really fun. The experience of collecting chips, flying through rings and trying to rack up ridiculous link chains remains as addictive as it was 12 years ago.

The other missions types are...not quite as fun. Some involve platforming with the two children (who control pretty sluggishly), and others have you flying around trying to paraloop Nightopians, or collecting water bubbles in a round arena, or something along those lines. The bottom line is, they're not really developed as well as the main game, and feel out of place. Much like in Secret Rings, it feels like a lot of the missions were put in for silly reasons (story, most of the time), and I think the game would be better off without them, even if the result is shorter length.

The classic flying levels have also seen a bit of a change since the original game. Instead of collecting enough blue chips to break open the Ideya capture, you now have to steal keys from giant birds flying around each level. I don't mind the change too much, although it does make it tempting to focus on the bird flying away from you with the key and forget about trying to get links. The new levels I've seen so far look pretty nice - an Alpine area with snow-capped peaks and balloons, an underwater area and a castle surrounded by large crystals. The graphics are serviceable, although framerate dips do occur from time to time. The music is also really nice, but that's really to be expected - if there's anything Sega has done right in the past few years, it's the sound production on their games.

Oh, and there's voice acting.

It's actually not THAT bad - better than the shitty voice acting typical of most Sonic games, but it's not going to win any awards. I have to say, though...something about NiGHTS talking seems so...off. It's not a dealbreaker by any means, but I thought NiGHTS' lack of a voice added to the mysterious, playful appeal of the character. Here, he/she/it has a weird British accent, which works alright, I suppose. Of course, now that all the characters can talk, Sonic Team has gone and thrown in a whole bunch of cutscenes to bookend the levels. The pre-rendered stuff is stunning as always, but the in-engine cutscenes make my eyes bleed. On top of that the game is very inconsistent about whether it'll let you skip cutscenes or not, which is kind of irritating when the designated helper character (an owl with a British accent, creatively named "Owl") keeps jabbering on and on about the storyline, oblivious of the fact that I just want to start playing already.

There are a bunch of control options - not being a masochist, I opted for the classic controller straight away. It's definitely the best of the options I've tried, but I have one gripe with it, and it may be a problem in the longer run. The Wii's analog stick is 8-way, much like the GameCube, and this restricts NiGHTS' flying motions to the 8 cardinal directions with no granularity in between. You can get used to it in time, but it still doesn't feel quite "right," in the same way that it didn't quite feel right to have to hold down the 2 button to jump properly in Sonic and the Secret Rings (I'm still not used to that, by the way). As a caveat, I never got to play the original NiGHTS into Dreams with the Saturn analog stick, so I have no idea if the game had a full 360 degree range of motion. Still, if there's any game out there that would benefit from something like that, it's this one.

At this point, I'm not regretting my purchase - I was hesitant to buy it for full price since I had heard about the issues, but at $30 it's a pretty good buy. I'd really like to compare it to the recently-released NiGHTS remake for PS2, especially since the PS2's controller may resolve the control oddities I mentioned above.

It's been about 5 months since I got my Wii. I don't usually get consoles this close to the start of their lifetimes, but I made an exception in the Wii's case since I was intrigued by the possibility of new methods of interacting with game worlds. Well, that and the fact that there was a Sonic game on it that wasn't entirely bad. Five months on, I find myself satisfied on the whole, yet still disappointed at certain ways in which the experience has been lacking.

First off, let it be known that there IS good third-party software for the system. I've been largely happy with Capcom's efforts on the system, and Sega has also shown some rare (if rough) inspiration with titles like Sonic and the Secret Rings and NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams. I've heard largely good things about other titles like No More Heroes as well. Unfortunately, good third-party software is far from common. There's a LOT of shovelware on the system, and much of it is either in the form of completely uninspired minigame collections or lousy ports of PS2 games. The Wii has the largest install base of all three current-generation consoles thanks to its low price and emphasis on "casual-friendly" gaming, but so far long-time gamers appear to be expressing dissatisfaction at the third-party software available on the platform, and I would have to agree with their complaints. Nintendo's first-party efforts have been largely solid, if excessively familiar, but what really keeps gamers committed to a platform is a reliable stream of quality third-party software. It's why the DS continues to be a success in spite of its own casual gaming focus, and one of the reasons why the PSP and PS3 are finally seeing success.

The other thing that annoys me about the Wii is how underdeveloped certain aspects of the system are. This isn't a knock against the CPU/GPU performance of the system (it's not even as powerful as the first Xbox, seeing how it lacks programmable shaders, but that's not my focus here) - it's a gripe with the capabilities of the hardware. For one, the 512MB internal memory is incredibly limiting. The lack of significant internal storage has already gimped Guitar Hero III's feature set, and the much-anticipated Rock Band will similarly lack downloadable content. In addition, once the WiiWare service launches, Wii owners are going to find themselves strapped for storage space with downloadable titles vying for space with Virtual Console games. An easy fix would be to support USB hard drives (and Harmonix has already openly asked for such a feature) but it seems unlikely Nintendo will do anything of the sort.

In addition, the Nintendo Wi-fi Connection has proven to be a major hassle. A limited online service hampered by the need for "friend codes" made sense on a handheld with relatively simple firmware and no in-built storage, but on the more powerful Wii it makes absolutely no sense. Why doesn't the Wii have support for the same things that Xbox Live or even PSN does? I've been gaming online since before it was even possible on consoles (1997, with Starcraft, Diablo and Quake) and even those games had far more robust online features than anything on the Wii. No unified friends list, strange and hard-to-remember friend identifiers (which are game-specific for some reason), no support for voice chat peripherals of any kind...WFC is just lacking in so many respects that it's not funny. I do play Super Smash Brothers Brawl online, but it's enough of a hassle that such occasions are rare (compared to say, the times when I log on to Steam and play Team Fortress 2).

I've had fun with the Wii, and there are games, both upcoming and currently available, that I'd like to play on it, but I feel that Nintendo is in danger of squandering its lead if it doesn't address the shortcomings in its platform. Attracting casual gamers is all well and good (and lord knows there are still millions of people out there who shell out money for shovelware) but annoying the core gaming audience who have bought into their platform is far from a recipe for success.

Just when I thought Sonic Unleashed was looking pretty nice

/headdesks

Please stop telling me that the PC is dead or is dying as a gaming platform. It simply isn't true, and it pisses me off.

Thanks.

I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS.



It's hard to overstate my satisfaction.

(Thanks to fatcatlim, who found it at Kotaku, who in turn got it from somewhere else)

GlaDOSたん大好き～

These are some screenshots and cutscene pics supposedly retrieved from Sega's FTP server. Could they be of the mystery new Sonic game "Sonic Unleashed?"

Judging by the graphics (and the fact that the screenshots are at 720p), it looks like it'll be on 360/PS3, but the game seems to follow the same template as Sonic and the Secret Rings (which is a good thing, if you ask me). I'm quite liking the graphical style, too.

Hopefully a trailer or something will surface soon.

EDIT:


...

What

the

fuck?!

EDIT #2:

http://www.sonicstadium.org/board/index.php?showtopic=33148&st=480#
http://forums.exophase.com/showthread.php?t=6266

Argh, so conflicted...the game looks great but...wtf is up with that werewolf Sonic thing?

SNK Playmore recently released some information on the upcoming King of Fighters XII in Famitsu magazine. Having been impressed by the initial trailer for the game from AOU 2008 last month, I read the developer interview near the end. One thing in particular jumped out at me.

--What kind of a matchup will KOFXII feature?
SNKP: Rather than the multishift system from KOFXI, this game (KOFXII) will adopt the traditional 3-on-3 elimination style battle system that's been used since KOF94. By returning to the traditional format and revising the game system that's gotten too complex, we're aiming for a game balance that's playable even for beginners. Instead of complicated combos that makes full use of the game's system, we want to put emphasis on "reading the opponent's mind".

This has me more than a little irritated.

First off, I thought KOF XI's tag system added a lot to the game. It was the first KOF game I had played in a long time that actually felt new and fresh without being bad, and I think the series was better for it. I was looking forward to seeing how the tag system evolved for the next instalment. And yet, they've gone and done away with it together, and gone back to the traditional 3 on 3 elimination format. This is particularly infuriating when you consider that they've just released a remake of what is probably the most-loved classic KOF game (KOF'98 Ultimate Match), which you think would satisfy most people's needs for classic 3-on-3 KOF. Do we really need another game that apes it?

The graphical overhaul is stunning (if you don't believe me, check out these direct-feed screenshots from Famitsu) but if it continues to keep alive the ghost of old games rather than try new things, I will be quite disappointed.

I think I love you.

Part of me hopes that this won't be a pile of rubbish like almost every single console Sonic game since 2001, but the rest of me knows better than to put hope in Sonic Team.

We'll see, I suppose, but the days I would give Sega the benefit of the doubt about anything are long gone.

So Epic Games is on Steam now.

This is probably because I'm weird, but the first thing I thought when I saw the lineup was "Where the hell is Jazz Jackrabbit?!"
I mean, sure, I liked Unreal as much as, if not more than Quake II back in the day (never really played any of the UT games), but if id software can get Commander Keen, of all things, on Steam, surely Epic can post up one of the best PC platformers of all time! And its sequel, for that matter.

Heck, they could probably get One Must Fall 2097 on there too, since it's technically freeware now.

---

My mom has started making suggestive noises about my supposed need to go and, uh, get more "involved" with meeting people of the opposite sex (to which my dad more or less just rolls his eyes). You may recall that I've talked about this subject before. Not much has changed regarding my ineptitude since then. My concerns are also, as you might expect, unchanged.

It seems like any efforts I have to make on this front will require a significant investment of time and effort, which I'm not sure I'm willing to do. On the other hand, I'm not a big fan of matchmaking systems. So I'm pretty much stuck between a rock and a hard place at the moment, at least as far as this problem goes.

Oh well, at least I have more important things to deal with that can put this out of my mind. Like my visa situation -_-

Now the true Brawl may begin!

(Yes, I ended up unlocking him through Subspace Emissary...I had it on Easy anyway, so what the hell)

3609 0747 7730

I'm awful at this game, by the way. :P

Sega Superstars Tennis is looking really fun

Then again, it IS being handled by Sumo Digital, who ported Outrun 2 SP and Virtua Tennis 3 to consoles, and did an excellent job on both, so I wouldn't expect any less.
Too bad the Wii version doesn't have any online features...that would have made it a must buy. I guess I'll have to wait until it's released on PC or I finally fork over the cash for a PS3 or 360.

Or, I could just get the DS version, which is looking pretty good as well.

But it felt really nice.

Awaiting more details (and a high-resolution trailer) with baited breath.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! :D

(more where that came from here)

Mass Effect coming to PC

*Strikes one game off the list of 360 games he wanted to play*

When I was in primary school, there was a locally-published series of books called "Bookworm Short Stories" that revolved around the daily adventures of a group of (somewhat stereotypical) Singapore kids in primary school. It was fairly popular at the time - I still have a few of the old books, but I never thought too much of them (Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl were far superior in my eyes). The publishers would come around to my school about once a semester and try and make us all buy the newest copies of their books, sign up for fan newsletters and so on..it was pretty depraved marketing, now that I think about it.

Anyhow, an idle comment in IRC prompted me to find out what had become of the series since I stopped reading it all those years ago.

The results of my investigation were somewhat...disturbing.

A quick look at the edit history confirms that this is probably the work of Wikipedia vandals (a lot of the questionable stuff was added by one guy and the citations are all nonsense), but it did surprise me for a minute. Although part of me wonders if this post-shark-jump series would be any more interesting to read :P

---

An upcoming release on Steam has me pretty interested. It's a game called AudioSurf, and it was a finalist at this year's Independent Games Festival. The gimmick of the game is that it takes your music (ANY music) and turns it into a puzzle/racing/rhythm game hybrid with multiple game types. It's basically a cross between Rez, Lumines and F-Zero, if that's possible to fathom :P

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger by Daft Punk


God Knows by Aya Hirano


One Winged Angel by Nobuo Uematsu/The Black Mages


and just to annoy the crap out of my friends list, here's
Never Gonna Give you up by Rick Astley


It gets released on Steam on Friday for $10, but you can pre-order it before then and get it for $8 along with a copy of the Orange Box soundtrack preloaded into the game for you.

I'm making a note here.

HUGE SUCCESS.

Oh, and here's one for 0style and penguin35:



And on a completely random note, I saw all 13 episodes of Minami-ke on Sunday and I loved it. バカ野郎！！！

I hate losing. Particularly when the gap in skill level between me and my opponent is really wide. I don't see any point in playing when the odds are stacked against me from the get-go. Yes, I know I won't learn to play better without getting beaten by other players, but I fail to see how getting hammered into the corner and dying because I couldn't react in time teaches me anything at all.

Compounding this problem is my poor execution, half the crap I want to do not coming out thanks to lag (network or input, take your pick) or the emulator turning my stand C into a C throw even though I had let up on the arrow keys a full second ago.

Maybe I just don't have the mindset for games like this.

I thought I'd jot down some brief thoughts on a number of games I've played recently, since I have added some new stuff to my library as of late

Geometry Wars (PC, DS)
Holy crap this is addictive. It's basically Asteroids on crack, with score multipliers, upgradeable weapons, helper drones (in the DS version, anyway), different types of enemies and some pretty funky looking graphics. I could play this all day, except for the need to fulfil bodily functions and avoid getting fired.

The Simpsons Game (DS)
Basically, apart from the fact that it has Simpsons characters and dialogue in it (some of which is pretty funny)...it's a pretty basic platformer. The video game parodies are pretty clever, but I can't really justify putting too much more time into it.

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (DS)
The art is by Hiroaki (of King of Fighters 2000 and King of Fighters XI fame), the turn-based strategy is pretty damn good and the music is pretty rockin'. The AI is ruthless, though, and the story is fairly predictable so far. I would have tried it online, but flipping my router back and forth between WPA and WEP is a pain in the ass.

Resident Evil 4 (Wii)
THANK GOD FOR POINTER AIMING. I can't really imagine playing this game any other way now (particularly since I've never actually played it before). Other than that, the presentation and atmosphere are great, but the dialogue is still pretty bad. I suppose it's a Resident Evil tradition to have third-rate voice actors. I should be glad Leon isn't talking about Ashley sandwiches, I guess.

Upcoming stuff on my gaming hit list:
Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened (PC)
Point and click adventure games forever! *raises fist*

Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Wii)
After that Sonic trailer, there could never be any doubt that I was going to get this game. :P

No More Heroes (Wii)
Impressions have been mostly positive, so I will get this.

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (Wii)
Only after it drops to $30 or less, because this title seems to follow the Sonic Team design principle of taking a game that's pretty good and adding extra tedious and/or crappy bits for "variety."

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (DS)
If only to see how the localization turned out, since I've already played it.

Devil May Cry 4 (PC)
Yes, I know the 360 and PS3 versions are out this week... *grumble*

But truth be told, I should get off my arse and finish Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition and Psychonauts before I buy anything else. :P