Ask 411 Games 02.08.10: Game Genie, Bo Jackson and LOOOOOOOOOONG Development Times!
Posted by Mathew Sforcina on 02.08.2010
Why the hate for Final Fantasy VIII? Will Bethesda come alive and announce The Elder Scrolls: V? Why hasn't AKI Corp. used the AKI Engine More? And where's my Simpsons Arcade, something something demon blade? All these, and more, dumdeedumdeedore!
Hello, and welcome to the only Games Q&A column written by a guy who can't help but think that there's some deep significance to Fallout New Vegas being the first sequel of a game whose ‘third edition' won a swag of awards and was widely praised as it switching an obscure 2D game into the third dimension, and also selling like hotcakes, with this new sequel being both non-numbered AND set in a city you could confidently call Vice City and get away with it.
But I'm sure it's just a coincidence.
Anyway, got some questions that need answers, and my hand is feeling better, so let's get this started. But first, BANNER!
Got a question about Video Games? Email it to ask411games@gmail.com, or, if you must, leave it in the comment section. Because without you, there is no column, just a colmn.
There we go. Now onto the questions. First cab off the ranks is Da Mayer
Now my Wii has fell about 3 times and now everytime I play its fine until I start playing SD! vs RAW 10.
When ever I play the ROYAL RUMBLE I finish it and then it freezes. No other match does that. So I ask, Is it the Wii or Game? & is there anything to do to fix it?
Game disc has no scratches.
The problem is just that match in RTWM, Career & Exhibition. Any superstar, still same problem.
Well, there's an easy way to test this. Find a friend with a Wii, take over the disc, put it in his or her Wii, play the Rumble, and see what happens.
Without doing that and seeing the results, I'd say that it's a combination of the two. Some minor glitch in the Wii has a problem with the ending celebration graphics and sound of the Rumble's finish. As for trying to fix it, if it's the game, then depending on when you bought it, you might be able to return it, if you don't mention the war falling over bit.
If it's the console… Try calling Nintendo. They might be able to help you. But again, don't tell them it's healthy about the falling over.
Denton56 has some questions.
Ok, a few questions.
1. What's the story on Bo "Jesus" Jackson on Tecmo Bowl? I know that Bo Jackson was a great player, but none of the other great players during that time where THAT good on the game. So why Bo?
For those of you who don't remember, Tecmo Bowl was a 1987 Arcade game better known for it's 1988 port to the NES. The second game to feature official NFL teams and players, and the first to be considered good, it's widely remembered with warm feelings by those who have played it.
But for all it's love, it has it's quirks. In some regards it sacrifices realism for gameplay, and with real players comes real stats, some of which translate well, some of which don't.
And that leads us to Bo Jackson, playing for the LA Raiders in the game. And while several people in the game are good, Bo… Well, take a look yourself.
So what happened here?
It's a combination of real life stats meeting the gameplay mechanics. Bo Jackson was a superb athlete, playing at a professional level for both American Football AND Baseball, which is really impressive. His 4.12 second 40 yard dash still remains the top verified speed in the NFL, and that's the kicker. Bo was considered the fastest guy in Pro Football. So, of course, he has the highest speed stat in the game.
But here comes the gameplay mechanics. Tecmo Bowl, despite mirroring American Football to a pretty good degree in some regards, is more a game of keep away than of Football. Unlike the more modern games, players in Tecmo Bowl tended to just go after whoever had the ball, while whoever had the ball would just try to keep away from them. Thus, the guy with the fastest speed stat in the game is suddenly the single best player in the game, since although in real life his speed is merely a good asset, in Tecmo Bowl it's the whole game. (And yes, neverAcquiesce, the system was done purposely, to try and match the teams to their real life counterparts.)
There were several other quirks with the stat system affecting gameplay, but Bo's the most famous one, since he's the easiest to exploit and the most obvious one. Although it doesn't work in two player, since he's the runner in just one play, so naturally if you're playing LA, just always defend against that one and you're probably going to be OK.
2. Why has history given FF VIII the shaft? It got me back into the series and I always considered it an exceptional game. It seems to catch a lot of flack these days.
Because it's different. And different is bad.
Well, sorta. I'm sure there will be some corners of the Net that LOVE FFVIII, the fact is that they tried a totally new gameplay mechanic, Guardian Forces, and that didn't sit well with some people. Final Fantasy does have somewhat of a, uh, ‘traditional' methodology, so when they try something new and different, that might throw some people off.
Others were OK with trying something new, but didn't like the GF system. And I'm sure some people think it's just ripping off VII again.
Various people have various opinions, and the combination of all of them lead to problems. So at the moment, VIII is hated. But give it a few years, and it might make a resurgence.
3. I'm sure this has come up before, but why did the Simpsons arcade game NEVER get ported? Every other arcade game made it's way to consoles. Even now the show's still popular and no one has offered a download.
Considering this is the 4th edition of Ask 411 Games, no it hasn't.
Ah, The Simpsons Arcade Game. I do indeed love that game, it's one of the best arcade games ever, in my opinion, which is not very humble.
For those who haven't seen it, and/or need a fix…
No, why hasn't this game made the rounds? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games have, when they were made by the same company, Konami, and The Simpsons runs on the same engine, so why hasn't this game, which is very popular, popped up on XBLA/PSN/VC/etcetc?
Well, EA has released a game on the Iphone that they're calling The Simpsons Arcade, but it's not the same game. And that's part of the problem. EA owns the rights, right now, to publishing/making Simpsons games. The Simpsons Arcade was made by Konami. And that's the rub. Whereas Konami and Ubisoft were able to reach a deal, thus giving us TMNT: Re-Shelled, getting Simspons Arcade ported or even more unlikely updated would require EA, Konami and Fox (and The Simpsons) to all sit down and agree on stuff. And given that EA is not exactly championing the cause of Downloadable Arcade games… It's a hard sell. But not impossible.
Cactus is back with a question.
This may need a "history lesson" answer, but what ever became of the Game Genie, Game Shark, and other such devices? The only thing I see in stores these days is a chip for the DS. I don't normally condone cheating, but playing GoldenEye 007 multiplayer was SOOOO much crazier with Walk Through Doors activated.
Well, there's two issues here.
The first is what happened to them. Well, the Game Genie was part of that sole generation. Today, the only brand in town is the Action Replay series, which has it's DS cartridge as it's main seller, but it does have a Wii and 360 products, so the market is now pretty much all Datel. And really, there's probably only room for one company in this field, so that's probably for the best.
But really, is there a need for them now? Most games these days have the crazy stuff built in as achievements, you earn the alternate costumes and game play methods by finishing the game or unlocking the achievements. A lot of games have cheats to get more lives, or have just done away with the whole concept. There's not THAT much left to cheat that's not impossible to do due to the amount of code involved or is online and thus not at all moral.
Today, the cheats are built in, thus leaving the devices out in the cold. Practically.
Yo!
Next up is Justin.
1) Devil May Cry started its life as Resident Evil 4. Did any other games start out as sequels to other franchises before they became their own IPs?
Actually it was meant to be Resident Evil 3, but let's not get bogged down in technicalities.
Well, sticking to franchises, and with there being no eventually link between the two… There's not many off the top of my head. You can argue that Puzzle Bobble, a.k.a Bust-a-Move fits the description, as it branched off the Bubble Bobble series.
The Sims is pretty much the only other option I can think of, given that it began as another in the long line of Sim-Whatevers, in this case Sim-Architect. But once they noticed people were spending more time with the Sim whose job it was to test the house for liveability than with the house designing, they switched gears and then made huge oceans of cash.
But by all means, I'm always willing to accept help from you readers. Know of another example? Tell me so!
2) What is the most time that has ever elapsed between the announcement of a game and the release of a game? I just wonder because rumors say Duke Nukem forever is still out there.
It's not. At least, not as Duke Nukem Forever anyway.
Well, Spore is an early contender, as pre-production began in late 1999 and it was finally released in September 2008, 9 years later.
However, Prey, released in 2006, has that beat, as it was announced in 1995, and thus had 11 years in development. But that involved a lot of stops and starts.
Prey seems to be the winner, as Too Human was almost 10 years, Team Fortress was 9 years, and most other games known for long development times tend to clock in at 7 or so. However, there are still challengers in the fight, Alan Wake is up to 5 years, but seems slated to come out in 5 years. Starcraft Ghost, should it ever make it, is up to 8 years. But the only real competition is Shenmue 3, which is dead at this point, but should it be revived and done, was announced back in 2001, so it will hold the record. But that's a long shot.
And for an opinion question...
3) Do you think that either Project Natal or Sony's motion device will have considerable success?
Arc probably not, Natal might. I base that on the assumption that Arc is a dead end for Sony, but Natal, if the tech works, could be extended by Microsoft to other fields and computers.
In terms of their uses as video game devices, I'm hesitant to commit either way, but long term, Natal will have an impact, Arc won't. In my view.
The Salms.
Why no Target Terror love this week?
Because no-one cares. At least when I gush over Tara, the readers get a hot chick out of it, Target Terror no-one really cares about. So there.
The Dutch.
How the hell is Aladdin hard?
Well, having never played any of the various versions, I had to rely on the question asker. Did you find it easy then?
Guest#6332 didn't really ask a question, but for the record: No, I have never been anywhere in America. I'm Australian. I live in Australia. The question inferred that they not repeat themselves. Hence I went right away from the US. Sure, you could get a bunch more games out of the US, but most of them would have, to some degree, some overlap with previous games' locations. Not that that's a bad thing, but the question wanted new stuff. Sure, I think that Fallout San Andreas, Fallout New Vegas Stories and Fallout Boneyard Stories will all do gangbusters. But they do have a whole world to play with.
neverAcquiesce has a question that I've thought about myself.
And another: I assume AKI owns the engine used for the WCW and WWF games, as well as the Japanese versions. Why wouldn't they continually release more games based around the best wrestling engine, well, EVER? Is it a fear that, especially in today's wrestling climate, any non-WWE game would suffer? Cos you think they could strike a deal with TNA or even ROH/several indies to license wrestlers for inclusion. I would think the market for a great wrestling game made for video gamers could rival an okay wrestling game made for wrestling fans.
I think an ROH/Indy game might have legs, DGUSA/Evolve V Davey Richards kafuffle notwithstanding. Suffice to say that the AKI engine has seen some use since WWF No Mercy, with Def Jam Vendetta and Fight For New York (which rocks, BTW) both using it, before someone at Def Jam decided that they would rather an engine that was a bit more music based as opposed to one being good was needed for Icon.
But since 2006 syn Sophia, the company AKI is now called, has only used the engine to make some games based on the Ultimate Muscle manga/anime series, called Kinnikuman Muscle Grand Prix. So it's become a little detached from the pure wrestling system, but with a little touch up I'm sure it would work.
As for why… No interest from a North American publisher. If only there was a company, like a TNA, that wanted to make a video game and needed someone to buy the rights…
Guest#6225 asks about another lost arcade port.
Was was Jurassic Park - The Lost World (the arcade shooter) never ported to a console?? That game fucking ruled!!!!
Again, clearance issues. While it would be a fairly easy game to port (it used the same setup as House of the Dead, so it wouldn't he hard to port, you'd wager), but given it's a Dreamworks game, and thus is now owned by EA, Sega and EA would have to come to an agreement. And that's somewhat unlikely.
And finally, The Thunderthief is back.
Is TES:V in production? If Bethesda had brains in their heads, which they obviously do, they'd definately develop a fifth. Is there any information about this game? There are rumours I think that it will be in Skyrim, but those are unconfirmed.
No, well at least not public, full bore production. Whenever it is brought up, they've said that they aren't making any announcements, now or in the near future.
My guess is that they are a little busy with Fallout, and Wet, and everything else they've been doing for the past couple of years. If I was a betting man, I'd say that at E3 this year, as well as showing off Fallout New Vegas, Bethesda will announce TES:V for a, say, Early to mid 2012 release.
But what do you guys think? Leave a comment, or a question, below in the comments, or send questions to ask411games@gmail.com. But for now, goodnight.
Count me as one who loves Final Fantasy VIII, as it's actually my favorite game of the series. Yes, I know the normal complaints (love story, no MP, GFs, etc), but the game was one of the most beautiful ones ever released on the PS1 and the storyline I thought was quite epic, as it gave the characters a more human feel (plus, let's face it, Seifer Almasy was just fucking badass).
Posted By: Adam B. (Guest) on February 07, 2010 at 11:19 PM
I beat Aladdin when I was 8, though I only beat it on SEGA with a sword. Maybe if I were reduced to apples it would be harder?
Posted By: The Dutch (Guest) on February 07, 2010 at 11:31 PM
The Salms.
Why no Target Terror love this week?
Because no-one cares. At least when I gush over Tara, the readers get a hot chick out of it, Target Terror no-one really cares about. So there.
=======================================
I love you! Have my babies!
Salmonella is a troll. His Target Terror jokes are getting tiresome. Kudos for putting him in his place.
Posted By: Rhinan Laville (Guest) on February 07, 2010 at 11:42 PM
I think Bethesda has been mum about TES:V because there is a lot of competition in the genre now (most of them trying too hard to be better than Oblivion), so they are waiting for the right time and place. They better put it out before DIABLO III though, because otherwise it'll get stuck on the 3-5 years worth of games-to-play list that will develop while I eat/drink/sleep DIII.
Opinion question this week: Do you ever think Nintendo will release a full fledged Pokemon game for a console? Since they announced that Gamecube games would be on discs I've always assumed they'd at least put out a remastered set of the old games, but they all just end up on handhelds
Posted By: Cactus (Guest) on February 07, 2010 at 11:47 PM
Two reasons why Final Fantasy VIII is/was hated:
1) Not many people liked or understood the Junction system and found Drawing to be a real bore. Funny thing is that there is an Auto-Junction feature a newb can use and that there are better ways to get magic than Drawing.
2) It was not Final Fantasy VII-2. At the time, most gamers' first RPG was FF7. When they heard of FF8, they thought it would be a sequel. What they didn't realize was that there are 6 other FF games before FF7 and that they played very different from each other. Thus, a lot of those same gamers were in for a shock with FF8 and did not like what they got.
Posted By: bluedragonx (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 12:20 AM
Hmph. Well I may gush over Target Terror, but I can also correct you on your mistakes.
Simpsons the Arcade Game did get ported to DOS as well as the Commodore 64. The graphics were downgraded horribly and the port was pretty bad overall but it is the original arcade game. So take that.
Posted By: The Salms (Registered) on February 08, 2010 at 12:23 AM
1) Devil May Cry started its life as Resident Evil 4. Did any other games start out as sequels to other franchises before they became their own IPs?
Didn't Perfect Dark on N64 reportedly start out as a Bond sequel?
Posted By: ausjimmy (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 02:06 AM
The only thing I hated about FFVIII, was the 3 hour final boss fight! Holy crap that was torture!
Posted By: Nick (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 02:17 AM
That Mega Man vid was awesome!
Posted By: MMX (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 03:17 AM
What ever happened to Pro Wrestling X, this game was being developed by some indy guys and was even featured on a issue of Tips and Tricks in the states, that was about 4 years ago, haven't heard any new news regarding it.
Posted By: Kurruption (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 03:37 AM
FF8 could have been fantastic, but Square really screwed up. There were few RPGs with a more interesting and likable cast than FF8. It was an underrated pick for best music in a game. The story was enjoyable for the first part of the game...basically, the first two discs were amazing. Unfortunately, somewhere around the beginning of the third disc, everything went to hell. The last two discs pretty much killed the entire game. The missions, side quests, towns, dungeons...almost everything got noticeably longer, duller, and overall worse. It became a chore to even play the game. But the most offensive part was the storyline. The plot points that were revealed in those last two discs...I wouldn't expect anything that bad from the worst fan-fiction writers.
Also, the junction system was complete trash. The modifications were cool, but it made every battle (normal or boss) consist of nothing but holding down circle on the attack command, then using Selphie's full cure overdrive when her health got low. Magic was pointless to use, because you'd be draining your own strength, hp, etc. just to inflict a few extra points of damage. Which, after already spending so many hours at the damn draw points, I was not willing to do. GFs took too much time to cast and really didn't do that much damage either. The best offense was the normal attack command.
Oh, and as a bonus, the leveling system sucked too. FF7 (and most other RPGs around that time) was fun because you could power level and crush everything or--like me--be lazy and refuse to level up/fight unneeded random battles at all and just try to scrape through battles while being 30 levels under the recommended level. There was no point to level up in FF8...there was no point to even include the level up system in it.
Posted By: Pwnage (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 04:40 AM
I wish AKI was making TNA games. Midway and Southpeak are the biggest hacks ever.
Posted By: Guy (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 04:55 AM
Regarding FFVIII:
It is without question the worst of the bunch. I think Square made a great looking game back then for PS1 but the story and completely boring ass characters within were so terrifyingly bad they had no choice but to slap the Final Fantasy name tag on it so they could actually sell it. Can't sleep? Play this frigging nightmare. You'll be out in no time. Thank god IX was so good. FFVIII is the "cool story bro" of video games.
Posted By: Ultra Gepetto (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 09:27 AM
Hmph. Well I may gush over Target Terror, but I can also correct you on your mistakes.
Simpsons the Arcade Game did get ported to DOS as well as the Commodore 64. The graphics were downgraded horribly and the port was pretty bad overall but it is the original arcade game. So take that.
Posted By: The Salms (Registered) on February 08, 2010 at 12:23 AM
Wow Salms, you really are a total cock. Who did you blow to get a job on this site? All you have is the Target Terror references that were NEVER FUNNY IN THE FIRST PLACE and you point out mistakes in your colleague's column to make them look bad? Real classy dude.
Posted By: Bolabear (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 10:10 AM
"Regarding FFVIII:
It is without question the worst of the bunch..."
Posted By: Ultra Gepetto (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 09:27 AM
I don't know about you, but I'd take VIII over I any day of the week.
Posted By: Guest#5432 (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 10:30 AM
People didn't like FF VIII because they didn't like FF VIII. What is this crap about it being different? All the FFs are different, and plenty of games are different overall yet can be popular, and are popular. There are lots of different genres even in the RPG genre, and plenty of different developers, not so much now anymore especially in the US, but still in Japan and maybe for the DS nowadays.
I didn't like the story or the characters. I thought both of these elements were sorely lacking, and for me those are the most important parts of an RPG. The music was okay and the gameplay was okay, but neither were anything that I felt the need to ever replay. I couldn't stand Squall or Rinoa and their lame "love story" that failed since both characters were so weak in my eyes. I don't mean this to criticize those that love the game, these are just my opinions and feelings on it, and since these are all very subjective of course they can vary between people. It appears that for the most part people had the same feelings as me this time around, but there are plenty of games that I like that weren't popular either so I identify with the people that love FF VIII as well.
I don't like most of the FFs actually, especially the more recent ones. I might skip XIII entirely. It's probably about time I abandoned jRPGs because I don't like the direction they're going and the fact that not many get released these days anyway.
Posted By: Guest#6520 (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 10:37 AM
Appreciate the Mega Man love! It seems like everyone has forgotten how awesome Mega Man is and was.
Posted By: JWestmoreland (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 10:39 AM
Does anyone have ANY info on Champions Online?
I have been joking with a friend for a couple of years now that if they made a version of City Of Heroes/Villains for XBOX 360 I would buy it and give it a shot.
I was excited about it actually happening, because I'm not a big fan of PC games. But ever since it was announced, there have been many different rumors and some misinformation on when it will/if it will come out.
Is there any truth to there being issues about a subscription fee? Not only would I have to buy XBOX Live Gold(I currently have silver), but I have heard that there will be an additional monthly charge.
So, what's the hold-up? Is it fee related or an actual issue with the game itself?
thanks for taking the time...
Posted By: Polish Post (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 11:16 AM
Aladdin for the Mega Drive?
Awesome, yes. Hard, no.
(in my opinion, anyway).
Posted By: Maffew (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 11:21 AM
FFVIII had several problems, starting with being 4 discs instead of 3. When playing FFVII, getting to disc 3 was like "YES! WE'RE ALMOST THERE!" cause you were...all that was left on disc 3 was the final build to the battle with Sephiroth, then all the side quests.
FFVIII, however, made you keep going...and going...and going...and go-well, you get the idea. It dragged FOREVER and caused most people to not finish the game (I remember stopping on disc 3 for several years then had to start all over again cause I forgot what was going on...I can pick up FFVII at ANY point and play).
Another problem was the junction and drawing systems. When the way to obtain magic is so bad I wanna go back to classic FF and BUY the spells, something's wrong (FF1 is the shit, BTW, but only if you get the remastered version with the extra stuff...took the glitch out though).
And probably the most important reason...it didn't feel like a FF game. No quest. No warriors of light. Just some neo-emo fag story about love and revenge. Even the Ultimecia storyline seems tacked on just to have a plot point. And CID isn't a playable character? Total FF bogus!
Bout the only thing it had going for it at the time was how gorgeous it looked.
This is all irrelevant cause we all know FF6 is the best one.
Posted By: Ramsey (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 11:39 AM
Southpeak should just hire aki to make the ps3 and xbox 360 tna game if they have the rights to those game systems. I mean Syn Sophia is probably on tna's radar given the fact that the first gamer was supposedly inspired by wwf no mercy.
Posted By: wishful thinking (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 11:48 AM
Question: Is there any possiblity that Capcom would release AVP The Arcade as DLC for PS3/360?
Posted By: Truff (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 12:08 PM
Fawlty Towers. Nice.
Posted By: neverAcquiesce (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 12:40 PM
I have a question Mathew... Will you buy me a pair of Motal Kombat cuff links as featured in the Games R's?
Posted By: Todd Vote (Registered) on February 08, 2010 at 12:49 PM
With all the customization option available today, AKI (or whatever you said they were called) could just put in a generic roster & let the users create movesets, entrances, wrestlers, etc, etc. Other than the All Japan guys, they pretty much did that visually with the rest of the roster for VPW2.
Now that the 6 sided ring is gone, there's no reason they couldn't hook up with TNA to put their license on it simialar to how they did with the first VPW 64/WcW-nWo World Tour game. They put like what, 20 WCW-nWo guys in & the other 40 or so were just re-colors of Japanese/international wrestlers. Those games were so good & as much the AKI games are brought up in every single game forum as being the best, nothing ever changes in regards to a new game.
Posted By: Byzdalmyt (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 01:00 PM
"This is all irrelevant cause we all know FF6 is the best one."
Posted By: Ramsey (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 11:39 AM
Exactly, thank you
Posted By: Ultra Gepetto (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 01:12 PM
The main characters of FF VIII were really lame. Squall and Rinoa (I never used her.) were rather unlikable. The supporting characters were better, but not wonderful. The plot was also a touch odd at times.
I did however like Laguana.
The badguys were a bit more interesting. I liked Seifer, and his cronies more than the good guys.
As for the game play? I actually didn't mind the junctioning, drawing or GF's. It gave us some really neat summons to use. That, and have we had a cooler mini-game than Triple Triad? I don't think so.
Posted By: Torvald (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 03:32 PM
Love FF8, its the only psx game i still have. Also, i can do the bo jackson with WALTER PAYTON
Posted By: dogpound7382 (Guest) on February 08, 2010 at 03:40 PM
FF8 is hated because the story was so bad. Squall is the worst, most boring protaganist in any RPG I've played, and a lot of the story plot points were just silly. The gameplay was fine, even if the drawing/magic system ran counter to each other. Seriously, drawing magic to buff my stats means I'm never going to use magic as an attack. GF's were okay, except they made every character the same. That's my main problem with the game system. Thanks to GF's, the only difference between characters were their Limit Break attacks. That's it. Every other combat option was exactly the same no matter who was in your party.
It had some good points. The Card game was fun and complex. The first part of the story was cool, taking missions as mercenaries. But the story goes downhill quickly.
Posted By: August (Guest) on February 11, 2010 at 01:08 AM
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