411 Games Fact or Fiction 12.07.09: Mirror’s Edge 2, Dante’s Inferno, Final Fantasy 13, and The Next Legend of Zelda

Posted by Mark Salmela on 12.07.2009

Is Tekken 6 the best fighter so far this generation? Do we really need a Mirror’s Edge 2? How will Dante’s Inferno turn out? Will the next Legend of Zelda on the Wii really change up the formula? 411 staffers Rod Oracheski and Jeffery Harris debate these questions and more in Fact or Fiction.



Welcome to a very special edition of Fact or Fiction. I am your ringmaster Mark Salmela, because Ramon Aranda is out tying the knot. I know I'm getting tired of him using that excuse as well. But in all seriousness congrats to the boss, I hope you have a great wedding. I'm sure my invitation was lost in the mail… Well it works out for this writer as well because I get that almighty dollar dollar bill-ya'll for hosting fact or fiction. Hey it's my fantasy world; you all just opened it up in a web browser. And please keep clicking, I need this job. This economy is getting rough on the Salms.

This week features the man who only plays co-operative with 4 players and the man who is the master of unlocking… achievements, Mr. Rod Oracheski. His opponent hails from somewhere in California and writes way more stuff then I could ever imagine, Mr. Jeffery Harris. Seeing as how I'm the host I'm going to have to say positive things about the writers, although I reserve the right to flip out if they fail to answer the bonus question correctly. LET'S GET IT ON!



1.) You would like to see a sequel to Mirror's Edge.



Rod Oracheski - Fact: I don't believe this is ever going to be a really big franchise, but I would like to see a Mirror's Edge that polished up a few of the issues with the first game - stayed more outdoors, avoided combat a little more, that kind of thing. Hopefully EA will have realistic expectations (and budgeting) for the game, because while there were a lot of 'wow' moments in the game, particularly those 'not going to make it' jumps, I just don't think this is ever going to be a blockbuster game.

Jeffrey Harris - Fiction: I tried playing Mirror's Edge once and it really gave me a headache. The controls were just way too loose and it really looked like it should be a 3rd person game and not a 1st person one. I'm not interested in seeing a sequel made at all.

Score: 0 for 1 - I'd definitely like to see a sequel, as long as there are no guns this time. I'd rather fight fisticuffs.



2.) Tekken 6 is the best fighter released so far this generation.



Rod Oracheski - Fiction: Best of the generation? It's not even the best released this year! The only way Tekken 6 is the best of the generation is if Street Fighter IV didn't exist. I suppose it could be argued that (particularly for less skilled more casual gamers) the dial-a-combo action in Tekken is more fun, but there's only one king when it comes to balance, style, and skill...and that's Street Fighter.

Jeffrey Harris - Fiction: I love Tekken 6, but eheh, it doesn't deserve the title of best fighter of this generation. The best fighting game of this generation and quite possibly ever made is Tatsunoko VS. Capcom, which 411mania crowned as best fighter of E3. We gave it that crown for a reason folks. Tekken 6 is awesome, and it has Tekken Force, but it does not have Ken The Eagle or Joe the Condor. My official review for Tekken 6 will be coming later though, so stay tuned to 411mania.

Score: 1 for 2 - It's really close for me between SF4 and Tekken. Can I include MK2 from PSN?



3.) Assassin's Creed 2 has the best SINGLE PLAYER mode of any game released in the past several months.



Rod Oracheski - Fiction: I'd probably have said Fact in another couple weeks when Batman: Arkham Asylum moved outside that range but with an August 25th release date, the Batman takes it. Assassin's Creed 2 is a fantastic sequel though. They took almost every complaint from the first game and either removed it or at least alleviated the issues to the point that they're more an annoyance than a hassle. I'm kind of wondering if they can perform the same magic with Assassin's Creed 3, whenever it comes along.

Jeffrey Harris - Fiction: I'm going with fiction mainly because I haven't played Assassin's Creed 2 yet. Also I want to echo the sentiments of Rod that thus far, Arkham Asylum does have the best single-player mode of the year. Arkham Asylum absolutely amazes me how freaking good it is. Batman games, comic book games, superhero games in general are NOT this good. It transcended everything.

Score: 2 for 3 - I'd go with Uncharted 2 as the best single player, then Ratchet or Batman.






4.) You believe the next Legend of Zelda on the Nintendo Wii will actually change up the traditional formula.



Jeffrey Harris - Fiction: Not on the Wii no. The tradition was already sort of changed with putting Zelda on the Wii and what was added there. I don't see much changing for the next one.

Rod Oracheski - Fiction: I believe they're going to give us some new things - Wii Motion Plus compatibility, maybe something that uses the balance board - but they're not going to stray too far from the tried and true formula. They need some big 'Nintendo' titles to get the user base excited again, and that means they probably shouldn't get too crazy with Link and his adventuring.

Score: 3 for 4 - I hope they make the next Zelda more mature. Not gory, but aim it towards real Zelda fans, not kids.



5.) Final Fantasy 13 is rumored to take 50 – 60 hours to beat. You will actually play through the entire game.



Jeffrey Harris - Fact: Heck yeah. I say the longer the game, the better. I don't mind long, epically lengthened games. It makes finishing it and beating it that much sweeter. Sometimes I feel games don't quite have enough on them and could use some more playtime. I'm definitely looking forward to tackling Final Fantasy 13.

Rod Oracheski - Fiction: My record with RPGs this gen isn't great, so history isn't on my side here. Adding to that, there are a ton of games coming out in the spring, so I don't know if I'll be able to put in the 50 hours (let's be honest, though - it'll probably take about 35 in 'real world' numbers) before I get distracted by some other game, forget where I am in the story, and never play it again though I always mean to.

Score: 3 for 5 - I will give it a shot, but it's an RPG, so I'll probably get pissed after 20 minutes.



6.) Dante's Inferno will end up performing poorly at market.



Jeffrey Harris - Fiction: Uh no. Dante's Inferno is awesome. I was quickly addicted to the demo and the things you could do with enemy kills, the fighting engine, as well as riding big nasty hellish demons. If the whole game delivers like that, it will be awesome and sell very well. And when you go to the city of Dis with the great voiceover taken from Dante's literature, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here," it will go down as one of the all time great moments in the history of gaming.

Rod Oracheski - Fiction: God of War clone or not, it's going to have a massive marketing campaign behind it, it looks pretty good, and it'll have some controversy to attract even more attention. This one is going to be a retail success despite any questions about whether or not it'll be a critical one. EA's big trouble is going to be figuring out how they can endlessly milk sequels out of it.

Score: 4 for 6 - Personally I think it'll fail because there's too many other high quality games coming out in a relatively dead part of the calendar. There's not enough money to go around.



Bonus Question: Why haven't you played Target Terror?



Jeffrey Harris - Well for starters I don't own a Wii, so that makes it hard for me to play Target Terror. If there's an arcade version, I don't get around to the arcades much these days either.

Rod Oracheski - Because it's terrible and, unlike Salmela, I'm not being paid to shill it.



…I have no idea what you're talking about Rod…

With a final score of 4 for 6, Jeff and Rod appear to be on the same page for the most part. Do you guys agree? Disagree? Be sure to let your opinion be known below. I have no idea who'll be hosting fact or fiction next week, but one of these weeks you'll see yours truly going head to head with the choke artist himself, Mr. Greg Bruno. Cya!