411 Games Fact or Fiction 06.22.09: Brutal Legend, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Pre-Order Exclusives, More

Posted by Drew Robbins on 06.22.2009

Will Brutal Legend be both a critical and commercial success? Do you care that Miyamoto is aiming for less of a focus on the story in Super Mario Galaxy 2? Are you getting tired of games with demos that are exclusive only to pre-order customers? Do you prefer easier games over ones that offer up more of a challenge? 411’s Drew Robbins and Armando Rodriguez discuss these topics and more in the latest edition of 411 fact or Fiction: Games!



Welcome to yet another edition of 411 Games Fact or Fiction, and I am your new host, Drew Robbins. Ramon, being both the Boxing editor and the Games editor, is quite the busy guy, so he decided to throw the column to someone else in the section. Someone incredible, someone breathtaking…someone who is indecisive and already has three columns to his credit. And that man, chumps and chumpettes, is me!

Before we get started proper, with introductions, I'd just like to plug something. For fans of Ghostbusters, I can't recommend the new game enough. It's a very short experience but it is sure to send shivers of nostalgia down your spine. If you aren't a huge fan of the movies, just make it a rental. While on the subject, I want to praise the game's physics engine as well. None of the reviews have mentioned them all that much, but without this physics engine, this wouldn't have been the authentic Ghostbusters experience it turned out to be.

Now, onto the introductions!

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Drew Robbins - It is me! Why don't I plug myself a little? For those keeping track at home, this is my fourth column I've held on this site in less than a year. No, I'm not particularly proud of this number but…I'll try to stick with this one for a while longer.

Armando Rodriguez - Armando is our resident "guy with a cool sounding name." He also puts together a weekly news column entitled "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." Recently he reviewed UFC Undisputed 2009, a game I think we can all agree kicks ass…even though I've only played the demo.

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1.) Coming out of E3, Brutal Legend has been one of the surprising hits, even garnering a nomination for Game of the Show in the annual Games Critics Awards. So, Fact or Fiction, Brutal Legend will be both a critical and commercial success.

Drew Robbins: FICTION - As much as I'd love to sit her and claim that Brutal Legend will be the game that finally boosts Tim Schafer to mainstream success, I just can't see it. Acquiring the rights to Jack Black and Ozzy Ozbourne was a great first step, but to be quite frank, the game might be too out there, and the mainstream would feel much safer just sticking to their Halo and Call of Duty games instead of going out on a limb for this awesome looking heavy-metal adventure.

Armando Rodriguez: FICTION - I am sure it will be a critical sucess, but not a commercial sucess. Like Drew said, people are afraid of trying new things (take a look at Mirror's Edge sales numbers) and they will stick to those games they already know. This is a shame because if the game sells poorly we might never see a sequel. One thing is for sure: I am already saving pennies to get this game on launch date.

Score: 1 for 1

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2.) You actually care that Miyamoto is aiming for less of a focus on the story in Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Drew Robbins: FICTION - If you asked me right now if I remember anything about the story for Mario Galaxy, I probably couldn't tell you anything. There was…Princess Peach, she was in trouble…again! And another Princess, named Rosalina, who was a goddess or something? That is about all I remember, and part of that isn't correct. Mario is just one of those franchise that I don't need a story, get me some levels and a collection of interesting platforming challenges, that is all a man needs.

Armando Rodriguez: FICTION - Mario does not need a story. As long as there is a princess in distress, some goombas to stomp on and of course, my main man (lizard!) Yoshi I am a happy camper. Everybody loves Mario because of the gameplay, not because it has a five-star story.

Score: 2 for 2

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3.) Scribblenauts, awarded by three top media outlets (Gamespot, IGN, and Gamespy) as the Game of the Show, will live up to its substantial hype.

Drew Robbins: FICTION - I'm feeling like a real pessimist so far in this column, but sorry, the hype for Scribblenauts is just too much. Much like Natal, it is great tech, and the things it has been able to pull off are incredible. There is a video floating around where Jesus beats up the Kraken in this game, but much like motion controls, I feel that the novelty will wear pretty thin after a while with this game. It will all depend on how clever the puzzles actually are, but I can't see this game being the be-all-end-all that the gaming websites are pegging it as.

Armando Rodriguez: FICTION - Once more I agree with Drew here. Few games live up to the hype and Scribblenauts looks like the type of game that gets boring after a while. That is not going to stop me from trying it, but I don't think it will even be mentioned in the Game of the Year Candidates once it comes out.

Score: 3 for 3…I feel like the comments are going to eat us alive for this one!



Switch!

4.) You are getting tired of games with demos that are exclusive only to pre-order customers.

Armando Rodriguez: FACT - I really hate this. In order to play the demo of the game I need to pre-order the game? That is so backwards! Instead of playing the demo to decide if I am going to purchase the full game, I need to pay for the full game in order to play the demo. That is so wrong. I hate it and I think it is completely stupid. Reward people who pre-order with exclusive DLC or something, but with a demo? Wow, that just screams stupidity right there.

Drew Robbins: FACT - In just the past month I've played two demos that have sold me on games. If it weren't for the demo for UFC Undisputed 2009 coming out, I would have thought absolutely nothing of the game, and certainly wouldn't have purchased it. And I had doubts about inFamous until I played the demo, which convinced me that the game was worth a look. This is the purpose of demos, to get you to buy a game…so why make it exclusive to people who are already going to buy the game anyways?

Score: 4 for 4

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5.) Generally speaking, you prefer easier games over ones that offer up more of a challenge.

Armando Rodriguez: FICTION - An easier game might be good for passing time, but easy games are usually over quick and that means less bang for the buck. I'd rather play a challenging game that lasts me a good time while I figure out how to beat it. That way I don't need to be purchasing new games every other week. Of course, there are also games that are way too challenging and unforgiving, but as a general rule I like the challenge.

Drew Robbins: FACT - I feel it is necessary that I come clean; I am horrible at video games. Yes, it's a sad truth, but games have never been my strong suit. So when given the choice between a game that kicks me in the balls every twenty minutes, and one that is a nice and easy ride, the choice seems obvious to me. For instance, I plugged it at the beginning of this column, Ghostbusters is a perfect example of this. The game lets me enjoy it, free of frustrating difficulty, and because of that, I never ceased to enjoy the game. Sure, it was short, but because of the joyous first experience I had, I've already started a second run-through. With something like Mega Man, a game I loved that clearly didn't love me back, its hard for me to go back for another play through because the first time through was just so rough.

Score: 4 for 5 Finally, some disagreement, because I'm a pansy when it comes to difficult video games!

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6.) Fight Night Round 4 (releasing this Tuesday) is going to be a better sports fighting game than UFC Undisputed 2009 was.

Armando Rodriguez: FACT - If only because they have more experience. UFC Undisputed was a great first entry, but it had plenty of flaws in the AI department and also the game tended to favor strikers, which hurt the balance. EA jas done a great job with the Fight Night series and each game keeps getting better. After playing the PSN demo for Fight Night Round 4 I have no doubts about the game's quality and ability to surpass UFC Undisputed in the quality department. However, I expect Undisputed to be better next year and maybe then it will be better than Fight Night.

Drew Robbins: FICTION - My answer for this might be factored by the fact that I could very well be stuck in the moment, because I'm still shocked at how good UFC turned out. It is just an incredible amount of fun, with a great multiplayer and a career mode that currently has me hooked. The same can't be said for the most recent game in the Fight Night franchise. Round 3 was just too slow and boring for me, and though I haven't played the demo, from what I've heard it doesn't sound like Round 4 has really changed that up.

Final Score: 4 for 6

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Until next time…

Well it looked like a perfect score until I wussed out on difficult games. A good showing for my first column, hopefully next week will be just as good…we already have everyone's favorite guy named Todd booked for next week, how could it get any better?