8/26/04

Capcom's been a little shy about releasing classic game compilations in the United States, but now that Mega Man Anniversary Collection has become a critical and financial success, they should get over their stage fright and finally bring the Capcom Generations series to America.  I spent last night playing the five disc collection on the Saturn, and was amazed at both the quality of the games and the number of extras Capcom had included.  There are early design sketches, helpful game hints (if you're Japanese, anyway...), and even secret features that can be unlocked with high scores and other noteworthy achievements.  My personal favorite is on the fifth and final disc... when you beat any of the Street Fighter II games, you win the soundtrack originally written for Super Street Fighter II Turbo on the 3DO!

Out of all the great titles in the Capcom Generations series, only one of them was released in the United States.  It's time for Capcom to correct that mistake and bring the entire series here to the States... the success of Mega Man Collection proves that Capcom Generations has a place here in America as well.

8/23/04

I've been negotiating with the site's host to remove those annoying pop-up ads from the index page.  He's willing to help me out, but in return, I'll need to put smaller, less intrusive banner ads on the top of every page.  I suppose it's a fair trade... it'll take some effort to redesign all the pages on the site, but it'd probably take even more to move to a new server.  Also, to be perfectly honest, I've gotten comfortable here at Overclocked after three years.  Moving has never been a pleasant experience for me, and with my interest in The Gameroom Blitz (and gaming in general) waning, I just don't feel it's worth the trouble of finding a new home for the site.

Anyway.  I've been spending some time with Ubi Soft's two sleeper hits, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Beyond Good and Evil.  I had rented Prince of Persia earlier this year, and because I never removed my save file, I was able to pick up where I'd left off.  Although parts of the game are frustrating (particularly the combat, where you're overwhelmed with aggressive enemies), I still admire it for its solid control and beautiful graphics.  It's certainly a quantum leap ahead of Prince of Persia 3D on the Dreamcast... I had the opportunity to play that recently, and discovered that it was better left buried in the sands of time (or more appropriately, the sand in a litterbox).  We'll never know if the Dreamcast could have handled a conversion of the latest Prince of Persia, but one thing I CAN say for sure is that it deserved better than a stiffly animated Tomb Raider clone seasoned with seven Middle Eastern herbs and spices.

I'll give Ubi Soft credit for doing such a great job with Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, but Beyond Good and Evil is more my kind of game.  I really appreciate how the designers had taken the edge off of its threatening, unearthly setting with a cast of silly characters and lighthearted dialogue.  It's almost like what would happen if Jim Henson were still alive and started making video games in the same vein as forgotten films like Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal.  The cooperative gameplay is a great idea as well, although it begs the question, "If it's so vital to have a second character with you wherever you go, why didn't they just make this a two player game?"  I think Ubi Soft missed an important opportunity here, but the interaction between Jade and her friends  do help create the illusion of a multiplayer experience.  The characters share conversations as they solve puzzles, and when Jade is pinned down by a savage beast, her partner comes running to her aid.  This helps draw you into the world of Beyond Good and Evil... it really feels as though your partners are close friends, rather than worthless tagalongs you're forced to put up with for the duration of the game.  Y'know, like Tails.

Beyond Good and Evil may not have made a lot of money, but it did win a lot of hearts, including my own.  And hey, you can get a lot of money by selling hearts on the black market, so it all worked out for the designers in the end.

8/17/04

I was searching through my Saturn discs for omake (you know, hidden goodies!) and what should I find on Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight but this?

That was a bit of an eye-opener, but as shocking as that was, I was even MORE surprised that I couldn't find any omake on any of my PS2 discs.  Is this a dying art, or is it against Sony policy to include content for other formats on a Playstation 2 disc?

Anyway, I just played Billy Hatcher and The Giant Egg on the GameCube.  I've been pretty annoyed with all the gory and violent games that have been released lately, but after spending an hour with Billy Hatcher, I came to the realization that it's possible to take things too far in the opposite direction.  I'm convinced that Shigeru Miyamoto and Yuji Naka are secretly competing to make the world's fruitiest video game.  Miyamoto makes a game about a bunch of prancing, brightly colored flower people, and Naka fires back with an even more flaming game, starring an obnoxious little boy in a chicken suit.  By the time this battle is over, even Nintendo and Sega's more faithful fans will be scrambling to play Rockstar's latest antisocial fantasy, where the player runs around kicking puppies and taking candy from babies.

8/12/04

I just heard that the editors of Tips and Tricks are working on their own book about the Nintendo Entertainment System, one that's likely to be authorized by Nintendo itself.  This prompted two reactions from me... the first was "Oh shit."  The second was "I've got to finish my own NES book FAST if I want it to find an audience."

I respect Chris B. and the gang at Tips & Tricks, and I have no doubt that they'll do a great job with their own guide to the NES.  However, I've been writing about video games for nearly fifteen years, and I'm long overdue for a shot at the spotlight.  I don't just want this chance at success, I've EARNED it.  And I'm not going to let anyone take this opportunity away from me.

So I'll be taking a break from The Gameroom Blitz for a while.  I'll need to devote all my spare time to the NES guide if I hope to have it finished before the system's twentieth anniversary... and more importantly, BEFORE any competitors hit the bookshelves.

8/7/04

G4 had the chance to redeem the concept of a televised video game awards show... but they blew it in a big way with Gphoria.  People will probably argue that it wasn't as horrible as last year's VGAs on Spike TV, but it's hard for me to fathom how an awards show could be even less relevant than Gphoria.  Thank you, Comcast, for showing me that soon-to-be-washed-up celebrities, questionable musical talent, and an unrelenting barrage of advertising is more important to the game design process than game designers.

Seriously, out of all the people who took the stage at Gphoria, only one deserved to be there... Hideo Kojima, the creator of the Metal Gear series.  Sure, they also introduced one of the "programmers" of the latest Madden game, but I'd bet demons to diamonds that the stereotypical nerd who briefly took the spotlight was just an actor.  When he was heckled and pelted with Nerf balls, it not only confirmed my suspicions, but proved just how much contempt G4 has for the men and women who are the lifeblood of this industry.

When the director of an outstanding film wins an award for his hard work, he's the one invited onstage to receive his prize.  When a brilliant novel tops the best-seller list, the author is given public recognition for her achievement.  Why is it, then, that when game designers excel at their own craft, it's Tony Hawk and Snoop Doggy Dogg who take home the gold?

Judging from this awards sham... er, show, it would seem that video games have made little progress since the days when programmers like Warren Robinette had to sneak their names into their software if they hoped to receive any credit for their work.  Gphoria also makes it clear that video games have made little progress in being recognized as a legitimate form of media, even if they are marketed to an older audience than they were back when Atari was calling the shots.

I recently picked up the Playstation version of the very first Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, and I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed with it.   After playing (and playing, and playing...) Tony Hawk 2 on the Dreamcast, I was expecting the first game in the series to be almost as fun and addictive.  Sadly, there's a lot missing here.  While the later Tony Hawk games may be a little too complicated for their own good, the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater doesn't offer the player enough tricks and combo opportunities to keep them entertained for long.  Also, if you're expecting to just pop the game into your Playstation 2, turn on the texture smoothing, and enjoy a near-Dreamcast quality experience, you can forget it.   It's not just the polygonal graphics that are rough, but the frame rate and gameplay as well.  There's a much greater difference in quality between this game and its Dreamcast sequel than I ever would have imagined.

I was hoping to use Tony Hawk's Pro Skater on the Playstation as a stopgap... something to keep me satisfied until I could find the Dreamcast version of the game.  However, my experience with the game on the Playstation has only made me want the original Tony Hawk on the Dreamcast even more.  It may not have all the features in the later games, but it does give you an entirely different selection of places to skate, and I'd like to try them all on a system that can really do the Tony Hawk series justice.