The Negative Edge News Report 10.31.07
Posted by Tommy Coloma on 10.31.2007
The death of independent games on Xbox Live, Paul Anderson's other good movie, and this week's game releases.
Welcome to another edition of The Negative Edge. Someone rear-ended me the other day and, although the accident created just a few cracks on my bumper, the whiplash must have done something to my head as right now I'm finding it a little hard to concentrate. Thankfully, I just got a job with medical insurance so I can get my head examined once it starts up on the first of November. In the mean time, I've been working my grey matter with some of Nintendo's Brain games. Are they working? Maybe. I spent a good few hours breaking all of my previous records just to show myself that I'm not completely gimped. I also spent some time playing a few old-school games that require twitch reflexes and I am now at about the same level that I was when I was in grade school (i.e. pretty good). Unfortunately, I'm still not all there, so I decided to make things short and sweet this week. If things seem a little off, just know that I'm not exactly running on all thrusters.
Let's go -
The News As I See It As with all things, safety comes first
According to Shacknews, several independent developers have begin to notice that Xbox live is becoming less indy friendly. Some of the problems associated with on Live include "high royalties, steep competition for room on the service, and a priority on safer projects."
I guess I should have seen this coming. I mean, when was the last time there was something to get excited about on Xbox Live Arcade that wasn't a port, remake, or sequel to an older game? There just haven't been any significant independent games recently on the service. The focus on safe projects isn't necessarily a bad thing though. I have been enjoying a lot of the games that have come through the pipe recently. However, something different every once in a while would make things more interesting, as long as the game is good. We don't want Microsoft to start allowing crap in just for the hell of it.
The Week In Releases
Disgaea (PSP)
Another week. Another good PSP game. WTF is going on?
Remember when the PS2 version was going for $100+ on eBay? Didn't that suck? Thankfully, those who held out can now enjoy the goodness anywhere they go for a lot less. Well, you still have to get a PSP, but that's beside the point.
This version gives gamers almost all of the things from the PS2 version (I've read that some of the voices in the cutscenes didn't make it), plus some bonuses like a widescreen view and Etna mode which allows the player to use Etna as the main character.
I'm almost tempted to say that this is a system seller if you travel a lot, but seriously, the PSP still costs too much.
Tabula Rasa (PC)
I played the beta a while ago and thought that some of the things that the developers were trying to do were pretty cool. I'd try it again just to see whether or not the cloning feature that NCsoft implemented is all it's cracked up to be. It's a feature that could get people to experiment more, but it could also make your choices pretty inconsequential. When I was introduced to the feature, the first thing I thought about was the old Choose Your Own Adventure series of books that I used to mess around with in grade school. At some point, I got tired of always making bad decisions so I'd always keep my finger on the page that I had just come from just so that I could try the other option if the one I originally chose was bad. I'm not going to get to this game for a little while, but if any of you out there feel that the game suffers from Choose Your Own Adventure syndrome, write in and tell me about it. I'm sure a lot of other people would be interested in your thoughts.
Minna de Kart and Minna de Bass (Wii Import)
Despite its budget price, Minna de Kart looks pretty fun. I've been waiting for a good Mario Kart game without all the BS (ie one that is more in line with the SNES game) and this one might be the closest that we ever get to one. As for Minna de Bass, the DDR meets fishing concept COULD be good... but not at the current budget price. I'd say that it would be worth it once it gets a bargain-bin price.
Virtua Fighter 5 (Xbox 360)
360 owners - be thankful. Sega has finally reversed its "no way in hell" stance of bringing the Virtua Fighter series online. Now we can all enjoy getting our asses kicked by people all around the world. Yay?
Sangokushi / Romance of the Three Kingdoms (DS Import)
I've been meaning to check this series out for the past few years now. I know that there have been at least eleven games in the series, so maybe there is something to these titles. Then again, they are made by Koei, the makers of the Dynasty warriors games.
Super Robot Taisen - Scramble Commander The 2nd (PS2 Import)
Here is another game that has a 0% chance of ever making it to America, mostly because of the licensing nightmare that that would entail. Once again, players will be able to use mechs from many different Anime series, including ones from Mazinger Z, Getter Robo, Z Gundam, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, Shinkon Gattai Godanna!!, and Macross Zero to name a few. American fans of the series can at least get the Original Generation series, but still...
Opoona (Wii Import)
This could be a dream come true for the truly lazy RPG player as the whole game is controlled with only the Nunchuck. Then again, the game's "Active Bon Bon Battle System" requires the player to jerk the Nunchuck around to attack enemies, so maybe that evens things out a little in the end.
Castlevania II (Wii VC)
I have never played this game so I'll leave the description up to the Angry Nintendo Nerd.
Sega Ages 2500 Vol. 31: Dennou Senki Virtual On (PS2 Import)
This is part of the Sega Ages 2500 series. It contains the original coin-op version of Virtual On that came out in 1995. The arcade version required the use of two sticks to operate the mechs. Thankfully, Sega was able to recreate the control scheme using the Dual-Shock's thumbsticks. This would be a great game to see on Xbox Live. Until then, this version will do nicely.
A little bit of randomness - The Good Halloween Movie Edition Event Horizon
Did you know that Paul W.S. Anderson can actually make good movies? Everyone knows about Mortal Kombat, but for some odd reason people seem to forget (or maybe they just don't know) that he made this classic as well. I think that he just needs to stick to directing and leave the writing to others. Whenever he directs stuff that he's written himself, the end result is never satisfying. Don't know what the movie's about? Here are some scenes that should give you more than enough reason to check it out -
To Be Continued...
I was driving along Coconut Beach when my car suddenly flipped over. If I can flip it back and make it to the checkpoint in time, I'll be back next week.
