411 Games Fact or Fiction 07.26.11: NPD, GoldenEye, Voltron and More
Posted by Adam Larck on 07.26.2011
Will the Star Wars bundled 360 help raise interest in Star Wars Kinect? Is it surprising that Duke Nukem Forever took the #2 on the NPD? Is it good that the script for Uncharted is being rewritten? 411’s Jordan Williams and Todd Vote debate these questions and more in this week’s 411 Fact or Fiction: Games!
Welcome back to another week of 411 Games Fact or Fiction. I'm Adam Larck, and I've been enjoying Bastion and trying to make my way through the Old World Blues DLC in New Vegas. Other than that, I just got Earth Defense Force in for review, so I've been jumping into some random bug blasting.
This week, we have Todd Vote and Jordan Williams going head-to-head. Let's see how these two do. Time for banner!
1.) You're amazed that Duke Nukem Forever got No. 2 on the June NPD list.
Jordan Williams - Fiction: I think the hype surrounding the game and just the general morbid curiosity worked in the games favor. Plus along with it being the only show in town in the FPS war in the month of June it was at least poised to make SOME sort of money based on the fact that the vast majority of the gaming fanbase at the moment likes FPS games and will buy them no matter the quality. Of course this trick isn't going to work again in two years when the next Duke game comes out.
Todd Vote - Fiction: Name recognition and anticipation can go quite a long way. As I said in last week's 4PC, Duke had the name value advantage over other titles like Shadow of the Damned. The real tell in how good Duke was received will show in whether or not he has any staying power on the list. My guess is he will drop significantly on next month's list.
Score: 1 for 1 - Even with name recognition, I still figured the reviews for this game would drive people away.
2.) It should come as no surprise that Capcom announced Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
Jordan Williams - Fact: You knew this was coming. Is it bad? Yeah. Is it bullshit? Double Yeah. But the fact is that Capcom has been conditioning us to NOT trust the vanilla version of the game for the last TWENTY YEARS. I think it's a practice that honestly has NO excuse in the age of DLC and Update Patching. But shady and early-adopter screwing it is...you should NEVER be surprised when Capcom re-releases a fighting game.
Todd Vote - Fact: Why would this surprise anybody that has ever bought a Capcom game, ever? When has Capcom not made a Super, Hyper, Deluxe, Turbo, Ass Kicking, Nut Punching, Ultimate Edition of every single fighting game they have ever made? Well most of them anyways, right? But even more importantly, why are people up in arms about this? I mean is it really all that different than a Platinum Edition of a game releasing featuring all the DLC everyone has bought at a discounted price? Sure with UMvC3 it is new content and not previously released stuff, but think about the additions. If they were added like other DLC, it would cost you probably well over $40 to acquire all of that.
Score: 2 for 2 - I'm not surprised about the game, but I'm surprised that they admitted there was going to be more DLC for the first game but they made this instead.
3.) The Star Wars 360 bundle will help drum up interest in Star Wars Kinect.
Jordan Williams - Fiction: I think the bundle will appeal to Star Wars fanboys that really want the package but I don't see it drumming up excitement for Star Wars Kinect AT ALL. If anything it seems like the custom console is the star of the show and Star Wars Kinect is simply just a plus.
Todd Vote - Fiction: It makes me want an R2D2 Xbox 360, that is about it. The noises it makes when powering up and opening and closing the disc trays is the clincher for me. Kinect and Star Wars Kinect would just be add on bonuses. Even the bad ass Xbox can't make Star Wars Kinect look any better.
Score: 3 for 3 - The 360 looks decent, but I only really want that white Kinect to go with my system. However, this still won't help Star Wars Kinect.
4.) GoldenEye 007 will be better received on the 360 and PS3 than Wii.
Todd Vote - Fact: Well half fact. I think it will do okay on the 360.Not too sure on the PS3. The 360 crowd loves a good FPS game, and a classic like this should do okay.
Jordan Williams - Fact: If only because of the stronger multiplayer presence. I am not sure how nostalgic 007 actually is nowadays but the biggest thing everyone remembers is the multiplayer and how fun it is. And seeing as how Nintendo is online-multiplayer challenged...the only way this can go is up.
Score: 4 for 4 - If it was the original game, it may sell well, but I think people are going to realize the game hasn't held up well over the years.
5.) You'll check out the Voltron game coming this fall.
Todd Vote - Fact: I need to see more. Right now I am interested, but it could go either way before the game is actually released.
Jordan Williams - Fiction: I didn't even know there was a Volron game until 4 seconds ago. Still not interested.
Score: 4 for 5 - I'll probably pass on this one. Looks intriguing, but nothing wowed me about the reveal.
6.) Mega Man Legends 3 really was canceled due to lack of fan support, not because of the creator leaving.
Todd Vote - Fiction: The support is there for this game, just check the forums. Well what little I have seen about it anyways. Hell to bring it full circle, some of the complaints I saw about Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom was that it was being made instead of Mega man.
Jordan Williams - Fiction: Oh, Capcom. This is just NOT your year, isn't it? Capcom can try to spin all it wants and say that MML3 was cancelled due to lack of support...and since it was such a niche game with such a small fanbase (Face it.) they COULD get away with that excuse on face level. But anyone in the know knows that once Inafune left that the creative power behind Megaman went with it. Megaman might not be as popular as he was 25 years ago but if Capcom REALLY had someone on board who could take Megaman to the next level or at least breathe some life into it they would've hopped all over it. But the fact is that Capcom lost the one person who cared enough about the Blue Bomber to care. And it seems like that is affecting everything Capcom does. You think the "Re-release/Update" pattern of ALL of Capcom's major games (Dead Rising, Resident Evil, Street Fighter, MvC) is a coincidence? Their creativity walked out of the door a month ago and now they are hurting for it.
Score: 5 for 6 - I think it was 50/50. Let's be honest, most fans probably didn't want to help or comment until after the game was canned.
Bonus Question) It's a good move by Burger to just rewrite the Uncharted script.
Todd Vote - Fact: It is always a better idea for a director to work from his own visions as opposed to another director. With Burger already having to work within the confines of Drakes world, it is good that he gets his own take on it instead of having to use someone else's.
Jordan Williams - Abstain: ...You know what? I don't care about the Uncharted Movie. Burger can rewrite the script and they can get new directors and actors and whatever but a good movie Uncharted will not make. It borrows so much from existing Adventure/Action Films that I don't care enough to see it translated to film. The fun is in playing it.
Adam Larck - Fact: The script sounded pretty far off base from what the game is actually about. So, it's great to see that Burger is starting from scratch to try and make it true to the series. However, I wonder how much reign Burger will have with the movie. If he can rehire some cast, does that mean we may still see a new Nathan Drake?
The pair finish this week going 5-for-6. What do you think? Agree or disagree with their answers? Let us know. See you in seven!
