The Negative Edge News Report 08.08.07
Posted by Tommy Coloma on 08.08.2007
This week I give out some PS3 shopping advice, defend Itagaki's Heavenly Sword comments, mourn over Mega Man's remains, and tell you why you should be watching Claymore.
I'm going to have to cut things a little short this week. It turns out that people actually read my column. Proof? I got an invite to preview Eye of the North at the Arena Net offices over in Seattle thanks to that little bit I wrote about class-based MMOs. So... I'll be out on Tuesday, which happens to be the day that I usually spend typing this column up. I'll talk about my findings next week. Until then, take a look at what I was able to put together in the four hours that I had before I left for the airport -
The news as I see it
Getting a PS3? Consider your options first!
The 80 gig PS3 is now out in the wild. Right now it's $600 for the system and a copy of Motorstorm. Honestly, that's a really shitty deal. First, you get an Emotion Engine-less system. People say that backwards compatibility isn't important, but looking at the 360 and all of the regular Xbox games that I still want to play on it, I'd say that having 100% compatibility is a must. Probably moreso thanks to all of the quality PS2 games that are already out and that have yet to be released. Maybe you have a PS2 right now, but you know that it's going to conk out sooner or later. Second, besides a gimped system, what does the extra $100 get you? Twenty gigs and a game that you probably didn't want in the first place. Wouldn't it be cool if you could pick a game that you want and put in your own 80 gig hard drive with the $100 you saved by picking up the 60 gig system? That isn't a pipe dream. You really can do that with the $500 60 gigger. You'll even end up with a spare 60 gig hard drive when all is said and done. Sell it or save it for a rainy day. If you're going to get a PS3 in the near future, think about the possibilities first. You can thank me later.
Itagaki doesn't like "Hero sequences." I don't either...
While talking about Heavenly Sword in a recent interview, Team Ninja head Tomonobu Itagaki revealed that "I've never played a good game where the developers put a big icon of the button you're supposed to press onscreen ... I look at Heavenly Sword and it seems really half-assed, because it's asking you to do all these button-timing sequences but you are not getting much payoff from it."
Most of the responses and comments that I've read concerning Itagaki's statement pretty much make him out to be a total ass. While I think that he could have shown just a little restraint, I don't think that he is totally wrong about the whole "big button icon" thing. Maybe things were lost in translation, so here is my interpretation of what he said -
He's probably referring to the whole rope sequence at the beginning of the demo. In that sequence, you're sliding down a rope while people on the other end are cutting it to keep you from reaching them. Before the rope falls, you're supposed to press whatever button or direction flashes at the bottom of the screen. The problem is that you really aren't in control of what you're doing. Instead of watching the screen and reacting to whatever is coming your way, all you're doing is looking at the bottom of the screen and pressing whatever button is currently flashing. Where's the fun in that? It's just like Resident Evil 4. You have to press A+B or L+R or whatever sequence flashes on the screen at specific times in order to avoid some immediate threat. Why can't I decide to duck or jump or move to the side at the appropriate moment instead? Pressing a sequence of buttons? Again, all I'm doing is watching the bottom of the screen instead of naturally reacting to what's happening. This isn't Dragon's Lair and I'm not running the game off of a Laser Disc.
If the above is what Itagaki is trying to say, then I totally agree with him. That really is a half-assed way to do things. Going back to the rope sequence, we should be allowed to decide when to jump to another rope. I don't like it when my hand is being held. If precise jumping is a problem, I'm sure that the Sixaxis' motion control features could be used to compensate. Of course, doing all that for a fifteen second sequence wouldn't be very cost effective, so I can sorta see why they took the route that they did.
Itagaki's comments did not go uncontested, as Kyle Shubel, Heavenly Sword's producer, countered with the following - "My response to Mr. Itagaki would be that the intent of the Hero sequences is to empower the player to experience events that would be nearly impossible to play in a natural platforming state... for example, making the player run down ropes, leaping from rope to rope as they're being cut from underneath you, all while dodging other objects - that would be a frustrating experience to 99 percent of our users if we were to force them to do that manually."
I don't think that he gives gamers enough credit. Maybe gamers aren't as good as they used to be because of how dumbed down games have become, but when challenged, we can do some amazing things. The thrills of doing things with skill and finesse - we need more chances to experience them.
Lolo is a puzzle game that features a blue ball with arms, legs, and eyes that is on a quest to save his friend Lala. In each of the 50 levels, you are required to collect heart containers. Once all of the containers in the room have been picked up, a chest opens revealing a jewel which must be picked up in order to open the door to the next room. Of course, levels get harder as you get progress. This game is a compilation of some of the puzzles from previews games in the Eggerland series in Japan along with a few new levels for good measure. It's definitely worth picking up if you like puzzle games.
Fun fact - Lolo and Lala have shown up in various Kirby games as enemies. This shouldn't be a surprise since all three of those characters were created by Hal.
Back in the day, a new Mega Man would be cause for celebration. Gamers that were swayed by the awesomeness of Mega Man 2 and 3 could still hope that a sequel would come along that would bring The Blue Bomber back into prominence. The Mega Man X series had some things going for it, but it was soon hit with the sequel bug that it's predecessor experienced. As newer series were introduced and sequel upon sequel came out for them, I eventually started to lose interest. I can only take so much. Today I took a look at the EBgames web site and guess what! They don't seem to care either as the new Mega Man games that came out this week aren't even featured on either the front page or the DS page. It's telling when a game that comes out this week is being overshadowed by games that came out a few weeks back and games that haven't even been released yet. I'm not saying that Mega Man Star Force is bad. It could be the best game in the Mega Man series ever. I just don't care. And that, my friends, is beyond sad...
The Anime Circle
There are a lot of Anime series out there that don't get as much attention as they deserve. Everyone knows about Bleach, Melancholy, and Naruto, but how about older series like Tenshi na Konamaiki or newer ones like Nodame Cantabile. Since I'm watching that stuff anyway, I thought that I might as well write about them. It gives me a chance to reflect, and it gives you a chance to find out about some of the shows that you wouldn't normally watch. I'm not going to be doing full-on reviews; I just want to pass on enough info to spur interest. I'm always open to suggestions, so if there is a series that you think that I should take a look at, feel free to email me about it. While the purpose of this section is to inform the masses about some of the lesser known series out there, I will on occasion talk about some of the more popular ones at the moment. It's nice to vary things up every once in a while...
And what does this section have to do with video games? Well, pretty much every series that I talk about will end up as a video game down the line. It's true. It's so true...
Claymore
Claymore takes place in a somewhat medieval setting. In this world, humans are constantly attacked by shape-shifting creatures called Yoma. Not only are these creatures extremely strong, but they can take the form of humans, thus being able to live amongst their victims without fear of discovery. In order to counter this threat, a secret organization has been formed. By implanting Yoma flesh into humans, this organization has been able to create hybrids which can not only stand up to Yoma, but can also detect them even when they are in human form. These hybrids are known as Claymores, after the huge swords that they often wield. Unfortunately, it is the fate of all Claymores to lose their humanity as their Yoma powers increase. The more they use their abilities, the closer they will be to becoming full Yomas. The knowledge that some day they will become the very things they are hunting causes most Claymores to live solitary lives.
The Anime and Manga focus on one particular Claymore named Clare. On one of her missions she befriends a boy who reminds her of herself before she became a Claymore. We follow her as she struggles to hold on to her humanity while protecting both herself and her new companion.
Why you should care:
I've been watching anime for close to ten years now. Not too many things surprise me these days since I've pretty much seen it all. When I first started watching this series I thought that it was good, but it didn't really blow me away. The concepts were cool, but I felt like I'd already seen this stuff before. Then I got to episode five. At that point the series went into flashback mode. It took me a little while to figure out what was going on because I thought that I was watching a different branch in the story with a new set of characters. However, at one point one of the characters is revealed to be someone that we already know from the previous episodes. At that point my interest was immediately piqued. The reason? Thanks to that revelation, I could already predict what was going to happen to the new character that was just introduced. Unfortunately, that particular character was built up in such a way that I did not want my prediction to come true. I was already dreading what was eventually going to happen. Those who've seen this series already know which scene I'm alluding to (it happens in episode 8 in the Anime and volume 5, chapter 23 in the Manga). It's already ingrained in my head because of how... overwhelmed I was. This is pretty much the first time I've ever watched something that caused be to yell "FUCK!" in the middle. Not only was this scene surprising despite the fact that I knew it was coming, but it gave the actions of one of the characters a legitimate purpose, which in turn catapulted this series to the top of my "going to buy the DVDs when they come out" status. I know I'm being vague, but I can't really go any further without ruining everything. And I don't think I'm really spoiling anything, because you can see what is going to happen a mile a way. It's just that they did a very good job with making people care. Just go out and download the series or buy the Manga. It's worth it!
The Manga is licensed by Viz in the US. As of now, nine volumes have been released. The latest was released this week (today if you're reading this on Tuesday). Lucky! In Japan they are up to volume 13, chapter 73. You're on your own if you want to jump ahead. If you're a real cheapo, you can hop on over to the Manga section at Borders and just read before you buy read it for free. But that's a little bastardous. You wouldn't do that, right?
- Anime
The Anime is not licensed in the US yet. I expect it to be licensed before it finishes it's run in Japan later this year. Until then, you can find episodes 1-18 here.
As of right now, it would appear that the Anime will end at volume 11, chapter 61 of the Manga. Once all of the episodes of the Anime have been released, you can continue from the Manga at that point. Unfortunately, the author seems to be taking a break until November so if you reach volume 13, chapter 73, you're pretty much SOL until then.
The 411:
This is my favorite series from the past few seasons. The show was already shaping up to be solid, but it was catapulted to greatness thanks to The Scene. While some parts are highly predictable (as I described above), there are still a lot of surprises that balance things out. Most of the characters are likable and you actually care what happens to them. I'm a little disappointed about how slow the release dates are for the Manga (it started back in 2001), but I guess that that's the price we pay for quality. Overall, this is a worthy series to waste a weekend watching.
To be continued...
That's all I have for this week. I'm taking the Super Ace for a joyride. If I can keep myself from being shot down by the Ayako, I'll be back next week.
