The Negative Edge News Report 02.13.08

Posted by Tommy Coloma on 02.13.2008

Making a case for remakes instead of sequels, how EA's deal with Hasbro could bring about some truly outrageous games, this week's releases, and more!



Welcome to another edition of The Negative Edge. I'm currently working on a review for Witchblade, volume 1. Didn't I swear that I'd never do a review again? Anyway, you can expect that soon. But, if you can't wait, you can always download the first episode for free on Xbox Live and see what it's like for yourself. Free is good... usually...

Let's go -


The Music Box

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This week's song comes from a game that is about to see a remake on the Xbox 360 and the PS3. There's also a sequel in the works, but I'm not really looking forward to that as much as I'm looking forward to the remake.

Now, for the longest time, I held out hope that some day SunSoft would announce that it would stop making pachinko and board games and would instead work on making sequels to one of their most notable games - Blaster Master. This all changed after I saw the trailer for the remake of this week's game. It was then that I remembered that Blaster Master already had sequels (both 2D and 3D) and that none of them even remotely approached the awesomeness of the original. Now I'm thinking - "if a company cannot possibly surpass a game with a sequel, maybe a remake is the best option after all." I can certainly get behind a Blaster Master remake if it's done well, just like I'm sure that I'll be able to get behind the remake for this week's game if they don't screw it up too much. Then again, when was the last time I played a remake that wasn't disappointing?


The News As I See It

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Would you believe that there wasn't anything to report on this week? Ok, so there was, but time wasn't on my side today, so this is all you get -


EA partners with Hasbro - Is it time for a truly outrageous game?
Essentially, this partnership allows EA to make games based on almost all of Hasbro's properties. Of course, most people are talking about the possible GI Joe games that could come about as a result of this deal, but I'd say that EA could make a much bigger splash by making games based on another property that came out in the 80s - Jem. There are just so many games that could be made out of this series - puzzle, fashion, karaoke, sandbox, action, adventure. Pretty much anything that doesn't involve killing. Jem-related games could allow EA to win over the much sought-after female demographic as well. Can you tell that I'm pressed for time? I really am stretching things.


I watched this a lot when I was younger... Don't laugh!

The Release List

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There are lots of good-to-great releases this week. Let's take a look -

Lords of Thunder (Wii VC)
This was supposedly one of the flagship titles for the Turbo Duo. It's a side-scrolling shooter starring a flying knight who uses elemental powers (earth, fire, wind, water, heart) to take down his enemies. I haven't tried it yet, but I heard that the game sports a badass rock soundtrack. It's definitely something to check out if you're into this genre.

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Harvest Moon (Wii VC)
The virtual console once again saves people from having to deal with those gold-digging bastards on eBay. This happens to be the first Harvest Moon ever. It spawned at least 20 sequels since its release in 1997, so that should give you some indication as to its quality. Oddly enough, there's a new Harvest Moon in stores this week for the PS2. Which one do you think will sell more copies in the end?

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Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360)
"Old-school JRPG goodness." If that description scares you, then this is not the game for you. If it doesn't, then what the hell are you waiting for?

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Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon (Special Edition) (PS2)
This is a port of the PSP version that came out last year. I didn't seem to be too much fanfare for the original version, so you might want to wait for some reviews to trickle in before picking this one up.

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Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS)
This series seems to be very popular in Japan. Three have already been released, but this is the first one that has made it over here. It looks to be a point-and-click type adventure game interspersed with puzzles. It's supposed to feature 130 different puzzles, with the option to download more later.

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RPG Maker VX (PC)
Here's your chance to make that awesome RPG that you've been meaning to put together for the past few years. I'm sure that if you had the means, you too could make something that rivals Final Fantasy VI, right? Ok, so maybe nothing can rival that game, but you can always try.

If you want to see what RPG Maker can do, you can take a look at the sample game that Enterbrain is giving out for free. While it was made using VX's predecessor, it should give you a general idea of what is possible. I tried it and found it to be a competent RPG. Note: To play, you will have to install RPG Maker XP first (it's free for 30 days).

Or, if you don't feel like playing the sample game, you can take a look at the following videos to see what others have cooked up -


Resident Evil-ish RPG


You might want to turn the sound off first...

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New Zealand Story: Revolution (DS)
This one almost slipped under the radar. You know how I just said that a remake of the original Blaster Master would be cool? Well, I think that the opposite is true for this game. The upgraded graphics might be nice, but why re-arrange the layouts so drastically? If you've never tried the original, I'd say skip this until you do. You should find out why The New Zealand Story is praised so much by playing it in its original form first.

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Wrestle Angels: Survivor (PS2 Import)
This looks to be a re-release of a female wresting game made by Success, one of my favorite developers. I remember showing a video from this a little while ago, but I didn't figure out which game it was until today. It doesn't look too import friendly, but I'll just throw it out there since it looks like it was hard to find until the re-release.

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Poison Pink (PS2 Import)
This is yet another SRPG for the PS2. The main difference is that instead of featuring Disgaea-like characters, it uses gloomy looking gothic characters. It's just something to look out for if you like SRPGs but are getting tired of seeing more of the same graphics-wise. I just wish that it didn't have such a horrible name...



To Be Continued...

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Next week I will probably be going to GDC, so expect something different in my next news report. Now, I am out of Iguanas, but it looks like I still have a jumpsuit with a 13 written on it. If I can figure out how to use the jumpsuit to get the strange dog to follow me, I'll be back next week.