Pre-E3 Thoughts.

E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo), the gaming event of the year, is almost upon us, and things are starting to heat up.

The new Legend of Zelda game is going to be detailed there, but there have been a couple of possible leaks. According to posts from 2chan, a popular Japanese board, the game may possibly be out of the development phase. Here are some details.

Game is all but finished. Putting on final touches.
There will be a playable demo at E3.
Time travel does occur and it happens through the use of a new blade. (not the master sword)
Link’s hometown is much bigger than in previous titles.
There will be several “Majora’s Mask” esque sidequests.
Character interaction will be more involving than in any previous title.
The dungeon field dungeon method is changed, and one of the changes confirms a straight dungeon to dungeon portion of the game.
The current name of the girl in the picture is Adelle.
Combat is extremely fluent and innovative. No previous Wii title can give you a good example of it’s unique style.
The game relies heavily on sword combat versus other items.
There will be less items, but they will be used more frequently.
There will be another main weapon added for an alternative combat style.
The game will feature significant portions of flight.

Interesting details. This may serve to be one of the biggest mysteries and biggest games of E3.
(link)


Activision/Blizzard are gearing up for E3. They are prepared to show more content for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, and StarCraft II. Although they may save the jucy details for BlizzCon (Blizzard's own convention).

Along with these two major events, hundreds of games will be announced and further detailed. Sonic Colors, for example, was just announced late May, and Sega will surely give more details.

E3 is shaping up to be an interesting and worthwhile event to watch.

Games in the Movies, Volume 2

IN THE WRONG: The Resident Evil series (2002-2010?)

It pains me so much to write about this movie series. I wanted to like it, I really did. The first movie, titled just Resident Evil (2002) was alright, taking a few liberties but following a Resident Evil-eske plot, but it lost a lot of what made it Resident Evil. The sequel, Resident Evil Apocalypse (2004), further expanded on the plot of the first movie, losing almost everything that was Resident Evil sans names. The third movie, Resident Evil Extinction (2007), lost everything that had to do with Resident Evil. Not even the names could take it apart from any other generic zombie movie nowadays.

The first thing I would like to adress is the character development. The games had a sense of creating characters that are both lucky and not afraid to show their flaws. For example, the heroine of the first movie, Jill Valentine, was a special forces officer, but was very nervous when it came to the attacks of the zombies. The movie version of this character was more of a gun-toting badass than anything else. In the movie, they introduced a new character named Alice, which served nothing but a superhuman that could do more action movie retardation. The characters themselves completely tore the movie apart.

Another thing I would like to mention are the settings. The first movie was going in the right for having it take place in a mansion, a la the games. After that, they tried to bring it into the city itself, a homage to the second and third games. This was still understandable, but Racoon City is suppossed to be a smaller town, not a bustling metropolis. The third movie turned it into a wasteland. You heard me right, a wasteland. This was a wild turn, and helped it break from the games and have barely anything to do with them. Great job writer and/or director.

Fun fact: The writer and director didn't play the games, and only followed plot summaries. Huh, maybe THAT'S why these were trainwrecks. And the funny thing is that these are actually doing well in the theatres, well enough to get a 4th movie, Resident Evil Afterlife (2010). I'm going to go see that movie JUST to see how bad it is.

Games in the Movies, Volume 1

There have been quite a few video game adaptation films in the past couple of decades. Some of them are pretty good, and some are well.... Not so good. Let's take a look into what you can do right, and how you can miserably fail in this new segment.

IN THE RIGHT: Silent Hill (2006)

Now THIS is a shining example of a video game movie done right. Sure, it doesn't follow the plot of the game, but it doesn't have to! The Silent Hill games were all about drawing you into its atmosphere, and scaring you without cheesy jump scenes. The main thing is that the movie retains this same creepy and unsettling atmosphere that made the games great in the first place. The director took some liberties, but at least he sat down and played through the games (I'm looking at you, director of the Resident Evil movies).

The characters felt as if they were in the games. Their reactions to their surroundings were perfect, and every character has interesting personalities. Whether it be the mother who is desperately searching for her daughter in Silent Hill, or the cop who gets dragged into silent hill with her, they all clashed and meshed together perfectly.

I would reccomend this movie to even people who don't play video games. It has alot going for it, and even if you don't catch all of the references, you'll be in for a treat.

Next week, I'll take a look at the abyssmal Resident Evil movie series.

In the News - May 24th, 2010

Recent gaming news can be a little... Interesting. Take this one from Kotaku.

Stuff Your Wii Remote Inside A Baby (Kotaku, May 24th)

"It turns out Majesco is completely serious about Babysitting Mama, the latest profession being taken up by our favorite cooking, gardening, and crafting superstar. Due out this holiday season for the Nintendo Wii, Babysitting Mama features more than 40 different activities, all revolving around a plush baby with a Wii remote stuffed inside of it."

I wish this wasn't serious, I wish it wasn't.

"Players will rock the baby, bounce the baby, feed the baby, and change the baby, all the while trying not to stare in horror at the nunchuck cord snaking out from the depths of the baby's innards."

This... Has to be the worst idea I've heard in a long time for a video game. Enough with the shovelware!

[Link]

Super Mario Galaxy 2's Sountrack Uploaded To Youtube (Kotaku, May 21st)

"Someone's uploading tracks from the Super Mario Galaxy 2 soundtrack to YouTube, under the name of Mahito Yokota, the game's composer. Whether or not it is actually him doing this, the music's there, and it's beautiful listening."

Very nice! Even if this is close to the illegal side, the score in this game is amazing.

[Link]

Now Playing - May 17th, 2010

Another volume of Now Playing.

NOW PLAYING: 無双OROCHI Z (Warriors Orochi Z, PC)

Another entry into the popular Warriors series, Warriors Orochi Z sticks with the same old formula, but still somehow feels fresh and interesting.

The Warriors series has always been about being the lone hero, hacking and slashing through hundreds of enemies and then clashing blades with the commander. Z takes things to a new level, merging the worlds of the two main games (Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors).

The combat is same-old, same-old, but it adds a new 3 character combat system, in which you select 3 characters at the start and can switch them out at will. This keeps the gameplay fresh, and helps alot when facing tough enemies that need to be tanked.

There are a few gripes though. For one, they don't seem to add much content through each version of the game. Z only adds 4 new playable characters and one new costume per character. That being said though, the game is essentially 2 games in one, and is a great bargain for Warriors fans.

In the News: May 6th, 2010

Welcome to a new segment: In the News, where I look into recent gaming coverage and give my two cents.

The Top 50 Video Game Franchises Of All Time, Voted By Gamers (Kotaku, May 6th, 2010)

"The 2010 Guinness Book of World Records Gamer's Edition features a list of the Top 50 video game series as voted by the gaming public. Which series came out on top between The Legend of Zelda, Call of Duty, and Halo?"

Yikes, I can already see some problems here.

"Instead of opting to go with game review scores or a board of experts, this year Guinness put the top 50 video games series category in control of the players. A noble sentiment, but one that leads to results that scream popularity contest."

Exactly. With results such as Halo being number 1, and Call of Duty being number 2, I can see the frat boys phoning in. Honestly, they should've gone with the experts, because even extremely popular series are completely ignored on this list (including Megaman, Street Fighter, etc).

[Link]

This Is SEGA's DRM Solution (Kotaku, May 6th, 2010)

DRM (Digital Rights Management) is always a picky topic with gamers. Sega seems to have a solution with their new game, Alpha Protocol.

• You do not have to have the disc in your drive to play the game. 


• The game can be installed on up to 5 different computers at any one time using the license key the game comes with. 


• There is a limit to the number of computers you can use Alpha Protocol on at any one time, but Sega says that the company is not restricting the number of computers you can install the game on over the life of the product. 


 • SEGA will provide a version of the game without DRM using a future patch that it expects to make available 18-24 months after the game's release.

This is perfect, considering the game doesn't require the disc to play, and the fact that they're going to patch the game in the future so that DRM isn't a problem. Genius.

[Link]


That about wraps it up for this week, folks.

Elements.

 The elements are essential in daily life. Think of ice, water, fire, wind, earth, light, and darkness. These elements make up our life as a whole. You can't live without at least seeing all of them. 

Elements in games are very personified. The characters sometimes harness them to cast spells or use attacks. In some games, the elements are their own beings, each having a seperate personality. They're essential in games as well, because without them, getting through would be practically impossible.

For example, in Tales of Symphonia, an RPG for the Nintendo Gamecube, the elemential beings are used to unite two worlds that were split apart. They're essential in the plot, and are used to bring the main characters closer together. They have to fight for the elementials, and by fighting together they make pacts with them.

The more you look at these games, the more you see the connections to nature and the elements. From Final Fantasy to Resident Evil (that's a stretch there, haha), you can always find elements where ever you go.