Jeffrey Forner
Screenwriter
- Joined
- Jun 19, 1999
- Messages
- 1,117
As some of you may know, Nintendo has been giving gamers around the country the opportunity to play some of the upcoming games for their new next-generation system via Cube Clubs. Basically, they set up a whole bunch of game kiosks and let people try out games. I had the chance to attend one of these tonight, and I thought I might share my impressions of some of the games on display with you all.
Star Wars: Rogue Leader
My God...
Sorry, I screwed that up. Let me start over. My God...
I suppose I don't need to go off on a tangent on how great the graphics are. You've all seen the screenshots; you've all downloaded the movies. Let me just say that as good as all those media files may be, they don't look as good as when you see the game up close, in person, and on a really good display.
Aside from the size and scope of the levels, what impressed me the most was just how much stuff happened at any point during the game. Most games throw enough bad guys at you to keep you busy but not so many that you could never kill them all yourself. In this game, you must pick and choose what you attack, because if you go after every bad guy, you'll never win. Case in point, at one point during the Battle of Yavin, you'll find yourself bombarded by several dozen TIE Fighters (much like in the movie). Not only can you take out the TIEs, but you can also go after the several dozen laser cannons scattered around the Death Star surface. Since your priority is to eliminate the TIEs, you can just have your wingmen go after the cannons if you please (or assist you in taking out the TIEs).
Among the levels I played includes: The Battle of Yavin, The Battle of Hoth, The Ison Corridor, Razor Rendezvous, and the first half of The Battle of Endor. I also got to see some people play some of the other levels, but I didn't play them since I want save something for when I get the game. Rest assured, it will be worth it, but it's going to be a long wait, even though I already have my Japanese Cube ready to go (sans the mod) for November 8th.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Playing this game was like putting on an old shoe that had been restored to its original luster. Fans of the first game will know what to do the minute they get their hands on it, which will make it even more fun. There are number of new moves and changes that I haven't quite figured out yet, like how to grab someone or how to throw and item you don't want anymore. Still, this game had me and most of the attendees hooked. It was easily one of the most popular games at the event. At every station for every game, you could expect to go head-to-head with three other opponents. This is definitely going to be a big game, folks.
Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet
There wasn't much to play on this game. You basically had your choice between three levels. One was a standard field where you could walk around and explore. The graphics on this part were very sharp, very detailed, and very colorful. The quality of the characters models staggered me. However, it did run a bit choppy at times, indicating as to why it was pushed back to 2002.
Another level had you squaring off against a giant T-Rex boss. This level looked good too, and ran at a perfectly smooth frame rate. The only problem was, I couldn't figure how to kill the T-Rex. So I gave up and tried the third level.
Now this one excited me the most. In it, you got to take command of an Arwing, and fly over this very cool looking ice mine, trying to fly through 10 gold rings in order to open up this force field gate. Since I'm a big fan of Starfox 64, I loved getting the chance to step into an Arwing again. It's been far too long, but what they can do now with this new system certainly makes it a better experience. The quality of the landscapes (obviously) is much improved and the Arwings fly surprisingly fast through the level. I should mention that the frame rate on this stage never missed a beat. When the game does come out next spring, I hope it has more missions like these, since I suspect I'll be more eager to play them than the commando missions.
Super Monkey Ball
Now, I didn't really get to try this game out a lot. In fact, all I did was play one round of one of the mini-games. Was it fun? Yes it was. Were the graphics great? They were okay, but SMB isn't necessarily about jaw-dropping graphics. If the quality of this one little mini-game is any indication, the rest of the game should merit a purchase.
I also got to see demos of Eternal Darkness, Madden NFL 2002, and Pikmin, though I did not get around to playing those. It was also nice to find out what they were saying in Luigi's Mansion at last. Oh yeah, and totally whooping people's asses in Wave Race was a real treat.
If you get the chance to attend one of these Cube Clubs, I highly recommend that you do so. I had a lot of fun and am looking forward the U.S. launch more than ever.
------------------
-J.Fo
"Why do I always get a warped one?"
[Edited last by Jeffrey Forner on October 28, 2001 at 06:27 PM]
Star Wars: Rogue Leader
My God...
Sorry, I screwed that up. Let me start over. My God...
I suppose I don't need to go off on a tangent on how great the graphics are. You've all seen the screenshots; you've all downloaded the movies. Let me just say that as good as all those media files may be, they don't look as good as when you see the game up close, in person, and on a really good display.
Aside from the size and scope of the levels, what impressed me the most was just how much stuff happened at any point during the game. Most games throw enough bad guys at you to keep you busy but not so many that you could never kill them all yourself. In this game, you must pick and choose what you attack, because if you go after every bad guy, you'll never win. Case in point, at one point during the Battle of Yavin, you'll find yourself bombarded by several dozen TIE Fighters (much like in the movie). Not only can you take out the TIEs, but you can also go after the several dozen laser cannons scattered around the Death Star surface. Since your priority is to eliminate the TIEs, you can just have your wingmen go after the cannons if you please (or assist you in taking out the TIEs).
Among the levels I played includes: The Battle of Yavin, The Battle of Hoth, The Ison Corridor, Razor Rendezvous, and the first half of The Battle of Endor. I also got to see some people play some of the other levels, but I didn't play them since I want save something for when I get the game. Rest assured, it will be worth it, but it's going to be a long wait, even though I already have my Japanese Cube ready to go (sans the mod) for November 8th.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Playing this game was like putting on an old shoe that had been restored to its original luster. Fans of the first game will know what to do the minute they get their hands on it, which will make it even more fun. There are number of new moves and changes that I haven't quite figured out yet, like how to grab someone or how to throw and item you don't want anymore. Still, this game had me and most of the attendees hooked. It was easily one of the most popular games at the event. At every station for every game, you could expect to go head-to-head with three other opponents. This is definitely going to be a big game, folks.
Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet
There wasn't much to play on this game. You basically had your choice between three levels. One was a standard field where you could walk around and explore. The graphics on this part were very sharp, very detailed, and very colorful. The quality of the characters models staggered me. However, it did run a bit choppy at times, indicating as to why it was pushed back to 2002.
Another level had you squaring off against a giant T-Rex boss. This level looked good too, and ran at a perfectly smooth frame rate. The only problem was, I couldn't figure how to kill the T-Rex. So I gave up and tried the third level.
Now this one excited me the most. In it, you got to take command of an Arwing, and fly over this very cool looking ice mine, trying to fly through 10 gold rings in order to open up this force field gate. Since I'm a big fan of Starfox 64, I loved getting the chance to step into an Arwing again. It's been far too long, but what they can do now with this new system certainly makes it a better experience. The quality of the landscapes (obviously) is much improved and the Arwings fly surprisingly fast through the level. I should mention that the frame rate on this stage never missed a beat. When the game does come out next spring, I hope it has more missions like these, since I suspect I'll be more eager to play them than the commando missions.
Super Monkey Ball
Now, I didn't really get to try this game out a lot. In fact, all I did was play one round of one of the mini-games. Was it fun? Yes it was. Were the graphics great? They were okay, but SMB isn't necessarily about jaw-dropping graphics. If the quality of this one little mini-game is any indication, the rest of the game should merit a purchase.
I also got to see demos of Eternal Darkness, Madden NFL 2002, and Pikmin, though I did not get around to playing those. It was also nice to find out what they were saying in Luigi's Mansion at last. Oh yeah, and totally whooping people's asses in Wave Race was a real treat.
If you get the chance to attend one of these Cube Clubs, I highly recommend that you do so. I had a lot of fun and am looking forward the U.S. launch more than ever.
------------------
-J.Fo
"Why do I always get a warped one?"
[Edited last by Jeffrey Forner on October 28, 2001 at 06:27 PM]
