411 Games Fact or Fiction 10.04.11 Gears of War 3, Final Fantasy, Diablo 3 and More

Posted by Adam Larck on 10.04.2011

Will Gears of War 3 be the best-selling game on the Xbox 360 this year? Will Diablo 3 will really be out in early 2012? Has Final Fantasy 14 tarnished the name of the franchise? 411’s Justin Weinblatt and Jimmy Chavez take these questions and more on 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'm currently working on getting through Rage. Also finishing up Catherine and a few other games.

Also, as a quick side note, the final column is now live for the Top 50 heroes special feature. You can check it out here.

This week, we have Jimmy Chavez and Justin Weinblatt going head-to-head. Let's see how these two do. Time for banner!





1.) Gears of War 3 will be the top selling 360 game by the end of this year.

Justin Weinblatt - Fiction: I'm not sure if this question is asking whether Gears will be the best selling game of 2011 or the bestselling Xbox 360 game of all time by the end of this year. Either way the answer is fiction. Gears of War 3 had a very impressive launch, but that launch was only about half as impressive as Call of Duty Black Ops. Gears isn't going to overtake Black Ops by the end of the year. Even though it has a month and a half head start, Modern Warfare 3 should outsell Gears as well based on the series' performance and preorder figures.

Jimmy Chavez - Fiction: You have Modern Warfare 3 coming out. It should out sell pretty much everything else out there. Even if it only has two months, Christmas is in December so that should put it over the top.

Score: 1 for 1 - Even though it moved huge numbers in the first week, I still have to think that MW3 will crush it by the end of the year.



2.) It's a good idea for the Gears of War 3 DLC to focus on a new cast.

Justin Weinblatt - Fiction: So far I've only played through one and a half Gears of War games and I don't give half a shit about the generic piles of muscle lumbering around the game. It makes no difference to me if they focus the DLC on old clichés or new clichés.

Jimmy Chavez - Fiction: This would only effect those players that are well versed in the background story. There are plenty of comics and novels that flesh that out more, but if you're unfamiliar with that it doesn't add much to play as characters you know nothing about. Now if it extends the game play then I'm all for it, but ultimately it would add much.

Score: 2 for 2 - I liked the original cast, but I think it's time to move on and let the crew rest.



3.) Final Fantasy 14 Really did damage the Final Fantasy brand.

Justin Weinblatt - Fiction: If a game sucks in the woods, and nobody is there to play it, can it damage the reputation of a series? Final Fantasy 14 was a mess, but it was a very poorly advertised mess. Honestly, Square could pretend the whole thing never happened, and nobody would notice.

In my opinion, the problem is with the JRPG genre in general. Back in the day, JRPGs were popular because they offered a level of storytelling that wasn't found in other genres. Nowadays, shooters like BioShock, action games like Uncharted, and WRPGs like Mass Effect all offer excellent stories along with compelling gameplay. This makes it hard for JRPGs to compete in the western world.

Jimmy Chavez - Fiction: The Final Fantasy series is WELL established, one misfire is not going to bring the whole franchise down. Will it make players a little more cautious when the next entry comes out, but the series will continue on.

Score: 3 for 3 - Sure, the game was terrible. But, like XI, did anyone actually consider this part of the FF series?

---

*~Twitter Break!~*

My own Twitter
411Mania
411Games
411Wrestling
411Movies & TV
411Music
411MMA

---

4.) It's no surprise that 3D gaming has a low approval rating.

Jimmy Chavez - Fact: It's the same with why I haven't bought into the whole 3D Blu-ray thing. Yeah, it's pretty sweet to see every now and then, but having to wear those goofy ass glasses every time to enjoy it is not my idea of a good time. When glassless 3D comes out, then I'll look into it more.

Justin Weinblatt - Fact: If you're referring to the study I'm thinking of, it was about the 3DS in particular. The problem is that the 3D effect isn't being implemented well. Let's look at it this way. Movies like How to Train Your Dragon and Avatar were created with 3D in mind, and are better in 3D format. Movies like Clash of the Titans, the Last Airbender, and Thor were not meant to be in 3D and the 3D effects add little to the experience. It's the same way with the 3DS. Games like Ocarina of Time 3D and Super Street Fighter 4 were made in 2D originally, and games like Rabbids Travel in Time and Steel Diver had 3D added for no reason. Super Mario Land 3D, Kid Icarus Uprising, and Luigi's Mansion 2 seem to make good use of 3D. Hopefully for Nintendo, these games will change people's opinions.

Score: 4 for 4 - Nintendo still needs a big 3D game for the 3DS, because games like what it's been getting will keep lowing the rating.



5.) Diablo 3 will really make its early 2012 release window.

Jimmy Chavez - Fact: I think it will. They announced it so there really isn't any reason not to believe it won't make out then. This isn't Duke Nukem we're talking about here so I'm optimistic.

Justin Weinblatt - Fiction: Betting against Diablo III making its release date sounds like a pretty safe bet. The game has been delayed a ton of times and Blizzard loves taking their time to perfect games. Besides, the game doesn't even have a firm release date. Until any major game, especially a Blizzard game, has an actual release date, I anticipate delays.

Score: 4 for 5 - Honestly, by this point I'll believe it when I see it.



6.) The Amazon Kindle Fire tablet will be able to take a bit of the tablet market from the iPad.

Jimmy Chavez - Fact: As with any electronic product, the longer an item is on the market the more its competitors with catch up with it. Every other tablet is trying to surpass the iPad in either quality, available options or both. Plus if it's cheaper, it will definitely take a share of the market.

Justin Weinblatt - Fact: Only because the question specifies "a bit". Most people that buy an iPad have no use for one. They buy it solely because of the name value. That's why the Kindle Fire has a chance where other competitors have failed. The Kindle has name recognition, and Amazon has a decent sized software library to support the tablet. The tablet should attract the e-reader crowd as well as people who want to be trendy without breaking the bank. The Kindle Fire won't take too much of the market, but it will carve a nice little niche.

Score: 5 for 6 - I think the price point will draw a lot more sales to the Kindle Fire than other tablets.



Bonus Question) Rage, Dark Souls and NBA 2K12 release today. What would you get if you're getting one?

Jimmy Chavez - NBA 2K12: Well, I'm an NBA fan and since it seems like there isn't going to be much of a season (or even one at all) this would be my best beat at getting my basketball fix. It's a decent enough title so it should be enjoyable.

Justin Weinblatt - Spider-Man: Edge of Time: I probably won't get either. The first Dark Souls is on a long list of games that I've been meaning to play. Until I play that one, I'm going to hold off on the sequel. NBA 2K11 featured the best presentation of any sports game I've ever seen, and according to anyone whose played it 2K12 is even better. That being said, I'm not a basketball fan at all, so I'll pass on that one.

Even though you didn't ask, I'll probably be picking up Spider-man Edge of Time. I think that the first Beenox Spider-man game, Shattered Dimensions, was incredibly underrated. With a more serious and focused story and some tweaks to the combat system, Edge of Time can be a truly great game. It's going to exist in the shadow of Arkham City, but Spider-man fans like myself will probably have a blast with this game.

Adam Larck - Dark Souls: I would have said Rage, but considering I already have it my second choice would be Dark Souls. I really liked Demon Souls, and am interested to finally check the spiritual successor out on 360. I may still pick it up soon, but it may be pushed back until later this year due to Batman releasing soon.

The pair finish this week going 3-for-6. What do you think? Agree or disagree with their answers? Let us know. See you in seven!