Planet Sillicon

Nintendo talks 3DS

By blog on Jun. 17, 2010.

And not before time, either.

So, I had big reservations about this handheld. I mean, what’s with the huge push for all things 3D at the moment? It seems so 80’s to me. I’ve not gone and seen any movie in 3D, and I’ve never felt like I was missing anything. It just seems a bit absurd, sitting there in those multi-coloured glasses.

So when Nintendo announced that, not only less than a month after bringing out the huge and unwieldy DSiXL, they were upgrading the handheld, that it was also going to be 3D, I was disappointed and angry with Nintendo. I mean seriously… I’m getting real tired of Nintendo rehashing the same few games that bring them huge revenues, and then filling shelves with shovel ware to confuse those not in the know into spending money on crap games.

Nintendo finally showed off what the handheld was going to look like at E3 this week, and I have to say, I’m quite impressed with the look of the machine.

When I first heard about the analogue stick, I thought it sounded very out of place with the handheld, but it actually looks alright in there. The larger screens are nicer, too, and apparently the hardware in there to rival the Wii. That makes me think two things; it’s great that the graphics will be that good, and oh my the Wii sucks.

The reports from people who’ve actually had a chance to play a demo are very positive. So far people are all saying really good things about how it plays and how comfortable it is to play. The 3D is able to be turned on or off, which I’m very pleased about, and apparently there’s also quite a bit of room to move in terms of still getting the 3D image rather than the two images separating.

I’m feeling a lot more positive about the handheld, and I’m looking forward to more info on it. Nintendo still isn’t saying much, and they’re still rehashing game after game, but when one of those games is Ocarina of Time, I’m not too irritated.

Nintendo at this year’s E3

By blog on May. 20, 2010.

Nintendo is apparently planning a pretty good line up at this year’s E3.

It’s looking like it will be a pretty big year for Nintendo, and I’m interested to see the reactions after E3 is over. In terms of hardware, Nintendo is going to be showing the new 3DS, which will be great for those of us who are hanging out to see more details of this latest handheld. Nintendo is not the only company going for broke with the whole 3D thing, but theirs is the one that is portable and doesn’t require any peripherals. Quite frankly I’m still very leery of the whole thing, and hope I’m presently surprised.

Software is the key thing for Nintendo this E3, with more information expected on the Wii titles Conduit 2, Epic Mickey, Lost in Shadow, a remake of Metroid: Other M, and of course, the big kicker, Zelda. I pretty much don’t care one little bit about any of the games save Zelda, so I’ll talk about that a little. For the last year we’ve not heard anything on the game. At all. Pretty much since one piece of concept art was released, and a hint that perhaps Link won’t have a sword in this one, we’ve learned nothing in twelve long months. Now, I cherish Zelda games, so it’s pretty frustrating to wait that long with nothing… until now! Or, well, E3. Nintendo has said that they will be showing a great deal on the new Zelda title, including story-line, setting, and a brand new control scheme. I enjoyed the last Zelda DS title, even though trains weren’t really my thing, and I also enjoyed Zelda: Twilight Princess an awful lot, but I’d love to see a soul-sequel to Ocarina of Time, if perhaps with some of the grittiness of Twilight Princess thrown in.

The DS is set to get some groovy new games, too, with Dragon Quest IX, Golden Sun DS, Okamiden, Super Scribblenauts, and Pokémon Black and White. I’m actually quite interested in a few of these games. The Dragon Quest series has been a very enjoyable one, and Golden Sun has also caught my eye. Okamiden has some very cute visuals, but Super Scribblenauts has no interest for me at all. I found the first game tedious, so the second doesn’t seem like a great idea. The Pokémon games are a little interesting, because I do usually give the new ones a try. But I keep asking myself, why? Aren’t they essentially the exact same game? So not sure, but still interested in learning more about that one.

A successor to the DS

By blog on Apr. 9, 2010.

A successor to the DS, titled the 3DS, has been announced and will be unveiled formally at E3 in June.

Details at this point are sketchy, but what Nintendo has confirmed is that the DS successor, the 3DS, will have 3D capability without the need for any sort of glasses to perceive the effect. Nintendo have also stated that the new handheld will be completely backwards compatible, so you’ll still be able to play the full library of DS and DSi titles.

At this point, confirmed details of the handheld run dry, and the rest comes from speculation from newspapers in Japan. Japan’s largest newspaper, Yomiuri Shimbun, says that the 3D technology being used by Nintendo comes from Sharp’s 3D LDC panel, which works by having a thin film suspended slightly above the actual screen, which each eye interprets slightly differently, causing the image to look three dimensional. Personally this sounds like a great way to feel nauseous after a short while of game play, but I’m sure Nintendo wouldn’t have gone down this road should that be the case.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper usually entrusted to break all Nintendo news, has reported that Nintendo is planning to use an analogue stick for controlling characters in 3D, and rumble technology is also expected for the new handheld. Both odd notions to me. To continue with a sleek design, the idea of an analogue stick seems somewhat of a sore thumb, and it makes me wonder if they’re planning on sticking with the same folded design. I certainly hope so.

Supposedly the new 3DS will also have much better battery life and wireless, but the screens aren’t set to go as large as the DSi XL – watch that chunky hardware sit on shelves for a long time to come! – but will have an accelerometer, which is the same technology that allows electronic devices to know when they are being tilted, so you’re already familiar with this if you’ve played a Wii, even if you didn’t know the fancy name for it.

That’s all the info that’s out there at the moment. No one eve knows what the thing is going to look like, but I do have to wonder why Nintendo announced it just days before the DSi XL hit shelves everywhere other than Japan. Just on IGN I saw many comments on the 3DS article from people saying that they’d just cancelled their pre-orders for the DSi XL. Seems a faux par, but still, the handheld is not set to ship until March next year, and that’s only for Japan.

Shall not be getting a Wii

By blog on Jan. 28, 2010.

I’m one console away from having all three current gen systems, but I shall not be getting the Wii.

Now, I know I’m going to anger quite a few Nintendo fans here, but I’m going ahead with this anyway. I’ve extremely fond memories of the SNES, which is still one of my all time favourite consoles, I mean, Super Mario Bros. 3 was one of the best games of all time, there’s no doubt about that! But the Wii, the latest console from Nintendo, just falls dramatically short from where the other current gen consoles are sitting.

Okay so let’s talk tech here, there’s no doubting that the Wii is by far the weakest system of the 7th generation in gaming. Both the 360 and the PS3 support far better graphics, processing, and memory capabilities, and whilst I can understand the Wii was aiming at a different audience, there’s still issues with charging that much for a console that is as limited as the Wii is.

I’ve used the console, and sure it’s fun for a while, but another thing that really, really, and is the clincher as to why I won’t purchase the Wii, is the complete lack of quality gaming on the console. You’ve got about four good games on the entire platform, and yet the game library for the Wii is enourmous, with around 600 titles, but just over 37% of those have been reviewed at or below 60… See where I’m going with this?

Nintendo should learn from what happened with Atari. Crappy games for the Atari flooded the market, and it sent the console under, yet for some reason, the unenlightened are still purchasing this shovelware for the Wii, and there’s tons and tons to be had. There are probably four good titles on this console, but I’ll not be paying the price of the console just to have a go at Mario Galaxy 2, and I don’t like party titles, so all the other Mario titles for the Wii hold absolutely no interest.

So please, Nintendo, please bring us a console in the next generation that’s worthy of the money we spend on it, don’t put out a whole heap of ultra crap games, and stop with the gimmick gaming!

You can’t replace Kirby!

By blog on Jun. 17, 2009.

That’s right Starfy, I’m talking to you, Prince of Pufftop indeed! Yeah, you know you have no right to that title, you’re a starfish! You’re not puffy! You know who’s puffy, Starfy? Kirby! Yeah, that’s who. Don’t give me that look, Starfy, you know I’m telling the truth. You don’t even inflate! No matter how cutely you swim, or how many cute outfits you put on, you can’t replace Kirby!

On a more serious note, that’s what this game feels like. Knowing that Nintendo have plans for Starfy to be the next big mascot, aspects of the game-play started to stand out as being rather Kirby-like. The games play very similarly, they both have this almost super-speed feel to them, even though there are numerous foes, none are particularly challenging, so you just speed right past them. Also Starfy, like Kirby, is altered throughout the game. He joins up with Bunston at points during the game, which makes for a much more tough Starfy. He also has a sort of tag-team mode with his sister Starly.

So I feel a few things about this game. On the one hand, it is fun to zoom around in the water, much less arduous than Mario water levels. And Starfy is undeniably cute, I mean, the Kitty Outfit is adorable! However, I do feel that there are a few draw backs to the game. For one, it is too easy. Granted I have only gone through the first two worlds in the game, but yeah, so far too easy. I am also left a little underwhelmed with the graphics in the game. They are alright, and I know they were going for a certain style, but I know what the DS is capable of, and I think Starfy could have pushed for more.

As for those questioning whether Starfy is ‘too Japanese’, I don’t think so. I know what is being referenced here, the story-line and sound effects mostly, but it really isn’t too much. This is a pick-up-and-play title, so the story-line really isn’t the focus, so if it is a little wacky, it doesn’t matter. As for the sound effects, Starfy’s noises are clearly Japanese, but they are cute and appropriate. I mean a creature with no central nervous system (a brain) probably won’t be capable of speech.

A Star on the Rise

By blog on Jun. 13, 2009.

In my last post I wrote of my mounting frustration, nay, mounting fury, at gamers being given less in gaming, in terms of content and value, for the past little while. Well, as a result of that, I attempted to go out and find two games that were unique, high quality, and held an intrinsic high value, which could be based on numerous different aspects. The two that stood out were a brand new one, and one that’s a little older but I never got around to playing.

I will start with the slightly older one, Drawn to Life. Whilst this game didn’t get the greatest score, you will notice on IGN that the average reader rating is a little higher than the press rating. I believe this is because this game will have had slight appeal for some, and great appeal for others. I am somewhere in the middle, but my SO for instance, really enjoys that aspect which I think was the draw-back for many a reviewer, the creation aspect. She played Animal Crossing primarily to make little outfits for her sprite. I picked it up today because of two reasons, one, IGN listed Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter as runner up best platformer at E3, and two, seeing as it has been out a while now, it was quite cheap, so I thought why not? I have only had time to load it up and play a few minutes, so far I have drawn a planet and a forest. Even as someone who is more interested in the platforming, world overview game-play aspects, I still find this fun. I can just imagine the fun someone like my SO is going to have with it.

The other game I picked up today is brand spanking new. The Legend of Starfy, which scored quite well and made the Editor’s Choice list over on IGN. Stafy is a very cute, very ‘Japanese’ little platformer, and Mr Starfy himself is set to become Nintendo’s next big mascot. Platformers aren’t actually my first, or even second probably, choice for games. Sure I like them, but I am more of an RPG fan. But every so often, you can’t beat picking up a game and just pelting through a few levels. Of course, the really, really good platformers are right up there with my all time favorite games, Super Mario World is up on that list, and it pretty much defines the platformer genre. I have only had a chance to load this one up for a couple of minutes, and what I saw was very bright and fun looking. I think children will go absolutely crazy for this game. I am interested to see how it goes, as I know Nintendo’s pulled out some amazing games in their time, and if they think this little star fish could be a new major mascot, then I bet their is some merit to this game.