411 Games Fact or Fiction 10.05.07: The Legend of Zelda's New Control Scheme, Solid Snake's Appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Believing in Halo 3, & More!
Posted by Tommy Coloma on 10.09.2007
411's Greg Bruno and Rod Oracheski give us their thoughts on what’s new in the land of Hyrule, whether Tetris still has legs after twenty-two years, how being in Super Smash Bros. Brawl changes how we look at Snake, Halo 3’s ability to make us believe, The Eye of Judgment’s appeal, and the need to make changes to the Wii remote in this edition of Fact or Fiction Games.
Welcome to another hype-free edition of Fact or Fiction. This week Greg Bruno and Rod Oracheski stopped by to give us the 411 on some of today's most important issues. Before we get started, let's see what they do at 411mania -
Greg did news and reviews for the Games section. One of his more recent reviews was for BioShock. Unfortunately, Greg is taking a little break from 411mania. Before he left, he asked me to pass along the following message -
"It's been a great ride here at 411. I just wanted to say thank you to all the readers and writers here at 411mania, especially Caleb and Ashish for giving me this awesome opportunity to write about what I love. I hope to be back someday when I've gotten some things straightened out. Catch me on Xbox Live! This is Bruno, signing out."
Though Rod just joined us last month, he's already posted several reviews, including ones for Warhawk (PS3), NHL 08 (Xbox 360), Lair (PS3), and Halo 3. He's also done a review for Next for the Movies section. As if that isn't enough, he is now working on a review for Medal of Honor: Airborne for the Games section and The Condemned and the third season of Numb3rs for the Movies section.
Let's go -
1. Despite the new control scheme, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is still just more of the same as far as Zelda games go.
Greg Bruno: Fact
But that's alright. Zelda games don't really need a re-inventing of the wheel, so to speak. They are all a blast to play through and I am just as excited about this installment as I was for the previous games. The only thing I can think of that would be considered stale is the Wind Waker art style. It was cool at the time, but it's being rehashed.
Rod Oracheski: Fact
As Wind Waker showed, and Greg points out, Zelda fans don't really want a lot of change happening with 'their' franchise. The new controls will fit the bill for minor changes on this one. They can work in a few new things in the next... But not too much, or feel the wrath of the Triforce legion!
Score: 1 for 1
2. Tetris Splash will be one of the most downloaded games on Xbox Live.
Greg Bruno: Fiction
Tetris? Blah. I'm tired of the same old block dropping stuff. Geometry Wars will be tough to beat in terms of most downloads.
Rod Oracheski: Fiction
Providing you mean 'of all time' there. Even with new modes added in, people are going to question the value of another version of Tetris, even at $10. I could believe it being the most downloaded in the next month, but I don't know if people are really aching for more Tetris enough to propel it into the ranks of the most downloaded ever.
Score: 2 for 2
3. Having Snake in Super Smash Bros. Brawl cheapens his legacy.
Greg Bruno: Fact
Fact: In a way, yes. I think being in a game with mostly cartoon looking characters does make Snake feel like a bit of a cheap addition. He's supposed to be a serious bad-ass stealth guy and here he is kicking Pikachu in the... whatevers? Maybe they should give him giant eyes, spiky hair, and a floating question mark above his head to help him fit in better.
Rod Oracheski: Fact
What's next, a kart racer? Sure, sure - it's 'just' a video game character from a series that's known for its oddball humor, but I'm not sure that you want gamers to be thinking of the time they snapped Pikachu's neck while they're playing the next MGS game. It seems like a move aimed at cashing in more than a genuine addition, and that makes it cheap.
Score: 3 for 3
4. You are a believer. Both the single player and multi-player aspects of Halo 3 lived up to the hype.
Rod Oracheski: Fiction
Even as a top-quality game, there's no way that Halo 3 could live up to the hype placed on it by rabid fans who waited years to finish the fight, so it loses this one by default. The battles could never be epic enough, the graphics shiny enough, or the controls slick enough to measure up to overbuilt expectation. The extra features, like Theater and Forge, that people haven't seen before will impress, however, simply because people didn't know enough about them to overreach what they were capable of.
Greg Bruno: Fact
Oh wow! The Halo nerd on 411 loves Halo 3. Go figure. Anyway, I found everything about Halo 3 to be just what I wanted and then some. From the ending, to the multiplayer, to the Forge - it all made for one hell of a perfect game. I wouldn't have changed a thing about it. The multiplayer alone will allow gamers to play this for years to come.
Score: 3 for 4
5. The Eye of Judgment is going to be big.
Rod Oracheski: Fact
Like Halo 3 failing the hype test was a default outcome, I think this one is a default seller. There's still a drought of PS3 games, especially now that UT3 is facing a delay into 2008, and people are hungry for something, anything, to put under the tree this Christmas. It doesn't hurt that the game comes with the new EyeToy, so that's going to fuel sales even if the concept of setting up a 3' by 3' space for your cards on the table/floor just to play the game doesn't fly with a lot of people. I'm not sure how many parents are going to be comfortable with spending $3.75 for 8-card booster packs for a game they just shelled out $69.99 for, but when the kids want the camera and this version comes with a game, it seems like an easy sell.
Greg Bruno: Fiction
I don't really know what... hmm.... oh? A new camera for the PS3? I guess that's kinda cool. I don't really see the huge deal about it. Sure, it can do some shiny new things, but I don't really see this becoming something that developers will make as a priority in their games.
Score: 3 for 5
6. Nintendo needs to improve the Wii Remote's button layout.
Rod Oracheski: Fact
If they're going to see regular use in games, the +/- buttons are horribly placed. Hardcore gamers don't like the awkward placement, and casual gamers forget they're there or hit them accidentally and don't know why 'that' just happened. While I rule it a FACT that it needs to be improved, I don't think Nintendo will make any changes at this point as it would add confusion - something they've tried to avoid. If they're going to move buttons around though, it would also be nice to get the power button away from the d-pad. Way, way too easy to hit the power off button while playing VC games.
Greg Bruno: Fact
A million times FACT! I couldn't even play Metroid Prime 3 because it was so freakin' confusing. I kept accidentally morphing when I wanted to fire or look at something. It's extremely aggravating and detracts from the game so much. I don't really know how they could rectify the problem other than allow the use of an Xbox 360 controller with motion sensing on the Wii.
Score: 4 for 6
We have a final score of 4 for 6. Now, it's been said that Princess Mariko looks down on those who fail to visit her favorite column. So, if you don't want a swift boot to the gut, make sure that you come back next week for more Fact or Fiction!
