411 Games Fact or Fiction 05.01.07: StarCraft 2, Pokémon, the Tomb Raider remake, and More!
Posted by Tommy Coloma on 05.01.2007
Dan Owen and Jay Bryant give us their thoughts on StarCraft 2, the new Pokémon games, the engrossing nature of video games, the "new" Tomb Raider game, SqaureEnix's 10-year commitment to the next Final Fantasy series, and next generation AI in this week's Fact or Fiction Games.
Get ready for another edition of Fact or Fiction games. This week Dan Owen and Jay Bryant take some time out of their busy week to enlighten us about recent video game news and happenings.
Jay Bryant is one of the Games Section's newest writers. He will be doing reviews and previews. He has already done a preview for Mortal Kombat: Armageddon for the Wii and he's scheduled to do a review for Bionicle Heroes. Don't forget to check back later if you want to see if that title is worthy.
Let's get started -
1. StarCraft 2 is a game that people should be excited about.
Dan Owen: Fact
StarCraft was a revolutionary real time strategy game. Anyone who says that that game wasn't great is a liar. The teams were balanced well and you had to play with good strategy to really succeed. I have little doubt that StarCraft 2 would do anything but expand on the greatness that was the original. The best thing about StarCraft was that it had free online support from battle.net. Now, I know that Blizzard's latest game, World of WarCraft, costs money to play online (but only a little), but they would likely revert back to the free Internet support if they switch back to real time strategy games. Unfortunately, there is a little taint to that fact. Blizzard is absolutely in love with World of StarCraft, and the fans that loved the StarCraft / WarCraft games have begun to move towards the WoW-type games. So it's a game that people should be excited about, but not be as excited as much as they should be.
Jay Bryant : Fiction
As someone who has never played StarCraft period, I can't say I (or anyone like me) would be excited.
Score: 0 for 1
2. After all these years, you still have the urge to "catch 'em all!"
Dan Owen: Fact
I'm not gonna lie. Earlier this year I brought my Game Boy to a particularly boring class and played the original Pokémon Red game. I got through three of the gyms in a week before I had to start paying attention because I hadn't already learned the material. Nothing brings me back to the good old days more than playing a little Pokémon. Not to mention the game is unique, engrossing, and a ton of fun to play.
Jay Bryant : Fiction
The urge has pretty much left my system. Every time a new game comes out now, I think of the hours it took to build the perfect team in the last game and how I'll have to repeat it over and over. Just doesn't grab my attention like it did when I was in elementary school and had nothing better to do. With finals, a job, and a social life, catching Pokémon doesn't rank high on my list of things to do.
Score: 0 for 2
3. As painful as it is to admit, games are less engrossing than other forms of media such as movies and books.
Dan Owen: Fiction
Not at all. I think that video games are more engrossing than most books and movies. I can sit down to play a video game and just absolutely lose myself in it. With movies and books, it can be harder. When you are playing a video game, you are often going through a story that is at least somewhat similar to that of a movie. Except you are also living out the story because you are the main character. In movies, you tend to feel detached because you are snacking on popcorn and are just watching the action. But the video game lets you live the action. As for books, well, the potential to fall asleep while reading most books is too high to say it is more engrossing than a video game. Of course, there are always exceptions to this, such as books like Harry Potter and movies like Ocean's 11 (which I absolutely love).
Jay Bryant : FICTION!!!
I almost didn't even dignify this with a response, but that's just not how we do things around here. Nothing beats video games period. A fine example would be The Godfather game versus the movie. I won't lie - I don't think I was even alive when the Godfather originally came out in theaters. I did rent it though, just to see what the hype was about. At the end of the movie, I really didn't care much or even remember a lot of what happened. Now, when I got the Godfather: Blackhand Edition, I hoped for a better experience, and oh did I get it. Not only did it totally engross me in the story, but I enjoyed every part of it. I remember the characters, the scenes, the plot. I remember everything. Real talk, watching the movie did help. Let's just say when I drove up to the poll both and saw the arms down, my jaw dropped before the action even started. Games have a way of really making you feel connected with the story and characters that other forms of media can't even touch. Just in case someone would like to argue that it's unfair since I used a game based on a movie based on a book, I would just like to point you to the Metal Gear series... I rest my case.
Score: 1 for 3
4. Tomb Raider: Anniversary, the upcoming remake of the first game in the series that will make use of an improved version of the Tomb Raider: Legend engine, will be worth picking up.
Jay Bryant : Fact
The Tomb Raider Anniversary Edition will definitely be worth picking up. The best way to explain this is with to think of the game as an actual female. The original Tomb Raider games are like the girl you know who looks great (and has huge breasts), but doesn't have much else to back up the looks. Those first games sold mainly because of Laura's cleavage. We as gamers wanted there to be some kind of substance to back up her looks and give us a real reason to play the game. Enter the Anniversary Edition, and we now have the reason we've been looking for... and she looks even better. She's more of a classy sexy compared to the slutty sexy of the original.
Dan Owen : Fiction
This game never did much for me. It really was all about Lara Croft's boobs, and I would really rather pass up on that for a game with a little more substance. I like large breasted women just as much as the next guy, but there is a place for that and a place for video games. I'll be passing on this game since we all know the main improvements are going to be graphical.
Score: 1 for 4
5. Ten years of cross-platform Final Fantasy XIII games is a great idea.
Jay Bryant : Fact
Ten years of Final Fantasy XIII is a great idea... for SqaureEnix. They are going to milk this for the next ten years, and I can't blame them, because the fanboys will be out in full force to grab every game they put out. SqaureEnix 1 Consumers 0.
Dan Owen : Fact
I say Fact, but tentatively. As Wonko said, the consumers are going to buy this game. They could make a game all about buying shoes, and as long as it says Final Fantasy it will sell at least some copies. Fact of the matter is that people will just buy this game on name recognition, so obviously it's a great idea. Plus, knowing SquareEnix, at least some of the games they put out will be pretty good, so you can't argue with that. I put tentatively, though, because I think that 10 years could be too long. If they stumble out of the starting bat, SquareEnix will lose a bunch of fans. If you stick with the project for 10 years, it could lead to alienating a large chunk of the fanbase.
Score: 2 for 5
6. Next Gen enemy AI is still as brainless as it was in the past.
Jay Bryant : Fact
Next Gen AI is just as brainless as the last, for now. We've got better graphics, and more power, but I still feel like I'm invincible no matter what game I play. Granted when it comes to sports games and some shooters, you can demolish the idiot across the globe rather than the idiotic AI, and they can actually hear you talk trash.
Dan Owen : Fiction
I think that we have seen some improvement in the enemy AI. Granted, it hasn't been across all video games, but there has been some improvement. I think that the improvement really started with the advent of sliders. These might have been around before the "next gen," but they never really took on the effect that they now can have. Playing with sliders allows you to customize the game to however you want. If you want to play against a brainless enemy, you can do that. But you can also up the level to where you have the exact challenge you want. I think the fact that you can tailor your game experience to your heart's desire is more than enough to prove that the AI isn't that brainless any more.
Score: 2 for 6
A final score of 2 for 6. That's it for this edition of Fact or Fiction. Don't forget to join us next time. It's just a rumor, but I heard that missing a week is just as painful as being cooked by a rampant robo rat.
