Last of my E3 reports. This one’s about all the other stuff I saw that I can write a few sentences on. But for the non-gamers, it’ll go under a cut.
Ratchet: Deadlocked – Only got to play briefly. I’m a big fan of the Ratchet & Clank series, and I think they hit their peak with the second one. They’re trying to make the transition to combat based multiplayer, and while it’s not the same as the older games, the spirit is still there. And I think that’s what matters most. Anyway, I was thrust into a tournament. A four on four death match or something. I don’t know, we didn’t get a whole lot of explanation on ANYTHING, and the controls have changed a bit. But my team still won, because I think I was the only one concentrating on doing something other than killing folk. I spent a bit of time capturing Nodes, which are basically miniature battle stations with two automated laser turrets. Capture it, and it fights for your team, and you get a boatload of points. I wager that was the object of the game, being map control. Either way it was fun, and I look forward to playing it online. Hell, I bought my network adapter for something didn’t I?
The Gameboy Micro – This thing is tiny. It’s about the size of my cell phone, and the screen is about the same size. But the resolution is pretty astounding for such a small screen. But other than that, there aren’t many improvements that I know of. Maybe a better processing unit, who knows. Nintendo was pretty tight-lipped about hardware this E3. The thing’s smaller and more portable I suppose, but I don’t see any reason to replace my (limited edition) SP.
Mario Kart DS – Felt like I was playing Mario Kart 64 on a DS. Which is great. Mario Kart 64 rocks. We played on the infamous wi-fi network in a four-way race-off (three convention-goers and “Charles the Celebrity Player”). I got in fourth due to a bob-omb and lightning bolt played against me at the last minute. The prize for playing was a stylus with a little Mario Kart on the top of it. I had acquired two because one was on the ground that nobody noticed, so I gave my other one to Gabe. Come to think of it, I didn’t even use the touch screen to play. I wonder what one would use it for? Other than that, a fine game.
Pokemon XD – A new full Pokemon RPG made for the Gamecube. The new mechanic as far as I can tell is that the enemy will occasionally use “Dark Pokemon.” Your scanner will pick them up, and you’ll capture them away from the enemy (read: “Rescue”) in the same fashion you’d capture a wild one. Now I’m a fan of the Pokemon game series. I am. I fell in love with Red and played it countless times. But it still felt like I was playing the same old game. The same excruciatingly slow game. Anyhow, I got a free stuffed Pikachu for playing that I’m giving to Liz, since she loves the Pokemon more than I do.
The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie’s Revenge – It was interesting. I’m a little weary about this game, as I am any adaptation of movie to game, but it was interesting. Combat was based around three costumes: Pumpkinhead Jack, Santa Jack, and Jack Skellington Classic. In the classic costume, you fight with what seems to be raw ectoplasm as a whip and stuff. You can pick up certain things and throw them at enemies with it, pick up enemies and throw them at other enemies, or just beat the hell out of your enemies. Pumpkinhead jack has some fire breathing thing, and Santa jack lays down presents. The presents I haven’t seen do much else besides act as decoy (which is enough I guess). I didn’t play too long. I wasn’t that impressed, other than visually. We’ll see how it does when it’s finished I guess.
And that’s all I can think of. I really only tested and watched what I was interested in and swagged it up. I didn’t check out New Zelda. I don’t own a Game Cube, so I’m in no hurry. But I hope you enjoyed my reports. No more unless I think of something I forgot.
Personally, I always found the Mario Kart series to be the fastest way to alienate your friends through videogames ever.. Unreal Tournament, Street Fighter II, and the Smackdown games come close.
Heh… I say the fastest way to alienate your friends ever is fucking up majorly (i.e. party wipe) in an instance in World of Warcraft, but that’s just me ::grin:: However, playing pilot & wingman on Double Dash with one’s significant other is a great bonding experience, and you get to scream at the television TOGETHER. Awww!
That does sound fucking adorable.