411 Games Fact or Fiction 10.20.08: Capcom in 2009, Little Big Planet delayed, Gears 2 vs COD World at War

Posted by Mark Salmela on 10.20.2008

It’s an epic 3 way Fact or Fiction this week as Mark Salmela, Drew Robbins, and Derek Robbins do battle over whether or not Capcom will dominate 2009, Little Big Planet’s delay, Gears of War 2 vs COD World at War, Tokyo Game Show, BioShock 2, and more.




Welcome everyone, to yet another glorious Fact or Fiction. I am your ringmaster Mark Salmela, because Tommy is a bum *just kidding Tommy you know I love ya, but if you ever tell anyone I said that I will knife you*. Since I am your host, everyone and their mother tried out to be a part of this week's Fact or Fiction *ok that was too cocky even for my standards*. But we're going to do it big this week, so I brought on both of the Robbin's brothers to do battle with yours truly in a 3 way *don't look into that*.

So your contestants are:

Derek Robbins: Writer of B3yond the Report and the 10th Hour. Little known fact, Derek is actually a Bulgarian sympathizer. I know, I was shocked too. I always figured he was trying to kiss up to the Japanese by playing crappy games like Disgaea and Earthbound. I kid, I kid, be sure to check out his work.

Mark Salmela: The cooler and sexier writer of B3yond the Report *and by that I mean former writer*. Actually I am 411's resident hooker, as I just kind of fill in the holes when all of the other 411 rats take a week off *which is quite frequently*. Who knows, maybe someday I'll take on a weekly column again. Then again, someday Sony might get their head out of their ass, but we all know how that's going.

Drew Robbins: The baby of our family. Drew is kind of like cousin Oliver. Nobody really likes him, but everyone keeps giving him attention to keep him from committing suicide. But in all seriousness Drew is the writer of Coming Attractions, which is the only column to go up on Saturday's. Hey, the man has a whole day on the site to himself *at least in games*, that's got to mean something.


The face of danger.


So now that I've humiliated and destroyed the credibility of everyone involved, let's get on with the show:



1.) You are upset about the delay of Little Big Planet (For those unaware due to an in-game song featuring two expressions from the Qur'an Little Big Planet has been delayed until the week of October 27 so they can remove/change it).

Derek Robbins: FACT - I've been waiting for this game for a fairly long amount of time...only to have it snatched up from me at the last moment? That's kind of crazy. I'm not sure I even see what the big deal is, so they express the Qur'an? Perhaps I should research the topic before I make any outlandish remarks but it seems to be that aspects of Christianity are mentioned quite frequently in video games and that very rarely causes a problem. Was this delayed in order to prevent backlash? People need to stop being so sensitive I suppose...it's really hampering the way things are.

Mark Salmela: FACT - Yeah, to clear it up real quick Derek apparently putting passages from the Qur'an to music is considered offensive, so Sony was asked to remove it *which they obviously are going to since it has been delayed*. But I do totally agree with your point that all sorts of terrible things are done to Christianity and Judaism on a daily basis, yet they are often overlooked. Anyways, I am upset that Little Big Planet has been delayed, as I think releasing a patch would have sufficed just fine. Little Big Planet is basically built on the idea of sharing content, so the vast majority of users would have to download the patch to go online. But since Little Big Planet has only been delayed a week I am less angry than I would have been if the game would have seen a longer delay *some people reported delays of up to a full month*. That doesn't mean that it's right to delay the game, as this is something that Sony/Media Molecule should have caught in the never-ending Beta testing, but I'm still going to buy and enjoy Little Big Planet, it'll just happen 7 days later than I would have liked.

Drew Robbins: FACT - I remember earlier in the year being so pumped for the new Super Smash Bros, waking up every day to see what Sakurai had updated about the game. There was one day in particular I remembered, though, where he had delayed the game another month. While it wasn't a long time, I was still angry because I felt we were so close and then it was just...yanked away. So here we are again with Little Big Planet, and only 3 days before its released it gets delayed. Now mind you, it is only a week...but darn it, I was pumped for next week! The wait was almost over...but now the wait is extended just a little bit. I think the reason for this delay just shows how overly sensitive the world is, and honestly, couldn't they have just patched it out or something? A day one patch would probably be much less expensive than having a full reprint of the game.


Score: 3 for 3. Critics agree, delaying Little Big Planet = Epic Fail. Sony screws up again…





2.) You are already pumped for BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams.



Derek Robbins: FACT - Bioshock is one of the best games for current generation consoles. It combined a pretty impressive story with an awesome atmosphere, good music, and great gameplay. To see it get a sequel makes me pretty happy. It's certainly not a generic shooter...so I support it getting a new installment. You know, the original game was hailed as the spiritual successor to System Shock 2...and if that sort of mindset can be implemented into this one as well...we'll have another winner on our hands. I just hope that this time it launches on both the PS3 and 360 simultaneously so everyone can enjoy it without that "fanboy bashing". And if the rumor is true that this is a prequel? oooh boy, I couldn't get any more excited. I really can't express how happy I am that this game is getting a second iteration.

Mark Salmela: FICTION - Derek, I say fiction because of what you just said. It should have been a prequel. But if you look at the BioShock 2 teaser trailer you see a little sister all grown up, which is a pretty significant sign to me that it's a sequel instead of a prequel. Now a prequel to BioShock would be insane. I would love to be there are as Andrew Ryan builds Rapture and watch as Rapture slowly decays into what we all loved in BioShock, but apparently that's not going to be the case *because the older little sister is carrying a plush of a Big Daddy, which to my understanding was built right as Rapture fell apart*. I just don't see what's left to explore in Rapture. As far as I could tell all of the conflicts had been wrapped up *considering the evil ending is not canon* and there's nothing really left in Rapture other than maybe a few Splicers that survived. BioShock is a good game, but I just don't see what good a sequel would do *but there are endless possibilities for prequels*.

Drew Robbins: FICTION - Sure, Bioshock was an awesome game. They nailed the atmosphere and the game just looked outstanding, but this isn't entirely surprising coming from the game's creators. This game is from the people behind System Shock, so they are no stranger to great games with great atmospheres. While Bioshock 2 will no doubt be fun, I'd rather see something completely new with its own unique world and back-story.


Score: 1 FACT, 2 FICTION. It appears as if only 2 out of the 3 contestants are actually smarter than a 5th grader.





3.) This year's Tokyo Game Show was disappointing.

Derek Robbins: FICTION - It's hard to say that it was disappointing. I mean, sure, there weren't any super big bombshells announced at the show but that's because most of the big games that are coming out we already knew about. Resistance 2? RE 5? LBP? Street Fighter 4? Yeah, pretty sure those have been covered ad-nauseum. If these games were being announced for the first time at this Tokyo Game Show many people would probably be lauding it as one of the best ever. It showcases that the current-gen future is looking pretty playable and outside of no surprises I really saw nothing wrong with it. Plus, I mean, it *WAS* better than E3.

Mark Salmela: FACT - Well coming from an American standpoint who didn't get to play anything at TGS, yeah, I was disappointed. The giant video game shows such as E3 and the Tokyo Game Show are supposed to be about the announcements, and not just demos. While E3 was far from exciting, as least we had some bombshell announcements *FF13 going multiplatform*. The Tokyo Game Show had no major announcements what-so-ever. I don't consider Resident Evil 5 having split-screen co-op as a major announcement. Hell, even Nintendo's conference two weeks ago had more news than the Tokyo Game Show *DSi, new games, ect*. Whatever happened to Sony's promised 9 new PS3 games? The only new one that I saw was a male fashion game being developed by Polyphony Digital *how wrong does that sound?*. Anyways, I'm sure for the people in attendance TGS was awesome, but for everyone else we got absolutely screwed. Besides, Team Ico's new game wasn't there, and that was the only thing I was looking forward to. The only thing that I did like from TGS was the new Resident Evil 5 trailer where Albert Wesker totally destroys Chris and his dumb bimbo *huge mark-out moment personally, Wesker is a bad ass*.

Drew Robbins: FACT - Now I'd like to start off by saying that the games they showed were nothing short of awesome. RE5...heck yeah! But the thing is, we already knew about these games...and Tokyo Game Show did little more than whet my appetite. For me, what I want from a big time show is big announcements...not watching a bunch of people I don't know/care about playing Street Fighter IV. That actually makes me kind of angry. Those lucky guys get to play Street Fighter IV months before I get to...darn them.


Score: 2 FACT, 1 FICTION. I told you he was a Japanese sympathizer.



ROTATE~!



4.) Nintendo doesn't need to make another Mario or Zelda right now, they're making more money producing titles like Wii Fit and Wii Sports.

Mark Salmela: FICTION - Eventually the novelty of the Wii is going to wear off, and people are going to want some actual substance to go along with their games, and not whatever the hell Wii Music is supposed to be. Nintendo is eventually going to have to make games that appeal to the hardcore fans, as every console needs it's "die hards". Eventually Nintendo is going to run out of ideas for casual Wii games *I mean seriously, Wii Music?*, and people are going to want more. I can picture Nintendo trying to stretch out the popularity of the Mii's and the idea of motion control based games for a few more years, but eventually Nintendo is going to have to go back to its roots.

Drew Robbins: FICTION - If anyone answers anything but fiction on this, I will personally punch them in the face. I know Mark stayed true, but Derek, I got my eyes on you. Anyways, sure, games like Wii Sports and Wii Fit were cool...when the Wii first came out. Recently, that motion control has just kind of lost its charm...after two years, I'd just rather hold my controllers like a normal civilized human. The novelty on these games has just run dry for me, and I'm sure I'm not alone on this one. Now Mario and Zelda? Those games are always great. Remember Mario Galaxy? Holy crap, come on Nintendo, get on the ball with that sequel.

Derek Robbins: FICTION - Glad we all agree on this one. Look Nintendo, I'm super glad that you've found a new user base to target. That's super! The problem is, eventually these guys will get tired of waving their hands in the air (like they don't care) and they'll have to deliver actual SUBSTANCE to keep these guys aboard, as Mark said. I mean, these kids that are loving the hell out of Wii sports are going to grow up and say: "Well golly, I sure do hate owning a system I only play for ten minutes a day." There's the reason that a lot of actual gamers consider the wii "a joke" and it's because of their over-whelmingly casual-friendly library. Don't get me wrong, the Wii is still a must-own system - it does have the best exclusives of this generation, as sad as that may seem - but it does need to re-focus on their core audience in order to gain some of their respect back.


Score: 3 for 3. It's true, Nintendo hates the hardcore, and the hardcore hates Nintendo.


Don't worry, I could never hate you.



5.) Even though it likely won't come out until sometime in 2009, GTA4's exclusive downloadable content on the 360 is still a big deal.

Mark Salmela: FICTION - Honestly, if the downloadable content had come out sometime in the summer, than yeah, exclusive DLC would have been a big deal. But the fact is that it's been almost 6 months now and it'll be another few months before the content even comes out has totally diminished any interest that I once had in it. And to be really honest GTA4 is a letdown in my eyes, as it didn't have the same magic that GTA3 and Vice City did. GTA4 just felt like the same GTA that I've been playing for numerous years now except in HD. Yeah, the story was awesome, but the gameplay was far from original *in GTA terms*. I have moved on from GTA4, and with games like Gears 2 and COD: World at War coming out I'm sure the casual audience has moved on *or is about to move on* from GTA4 as well.

Drew Robbins: FACT - While Mark certainly has some distaste for the latest Grand Theft Auto, I for one, loved the game. Every day, I would come home and turn on my 360 and it would red-ring and I would play some GTA. I'd play for hours upon hours, and there were very few dull moments. Ok, maybe bowling with Roman wasn't the most exciting thing, but it had its moments. Remember that time when you beat Roman at bowling? How epic was that? That is besides the point, I'm sure there are plenty of others who loved GTA IV, and when this downloadable content comes out, I have no doubt that they will be jumping all over it. If I had a 360 still, I know I would!

Derek Robbins: FICTION - I pretty much agree with Mark totally on this one...well, except for GTA IV being a letdown. That game was great. Was it as good as San Andreas...? Nah. But it was still a pretty nice experience. The thing is though...GTA IV came out in May. It's been a little while since it's been released and let's be honest here - most people who fell in love with the game have probably moved on by now. I mean, I know I have. The thing is, GTA IV's DLC is going to be over-shadowed by several other games that aren't just add-ons and I have a feeling that even though the more hardcore GTA fans will jump on this...the DLC as a whole will be over-looked. Good! If you're going to make such a freakin' fuss over the exclusive DLC you should at least release it when people actually care about it. I have a bad feeling Microsoft wasted money on this one.


Score: 1 FACT, 2 FICTION. A huge problem with GTA4: You couldn't openly kill your girlfriend(s). GTA3 would have never done something so stupid. It's an open world, but with obvious b*llsh*t limits.


No one ever did this online.



6.) The PSP has at least a couple of games worth getting this holiday.

Mark Salmela: FICTION - Seriously, I just browsed the list of PSP games that will be coming out before the end of the year, and there wasn't one game on that list that I want to buy. Everything on the list is either a port of a game on the current-gen consoles, or something that will be absolute garbage. In fact out of all of the PSP games coming in the next year Patapon 2 is really the only on that I would even consider buying. At this point the PSP is a joke in my mind.

Drew Robbins: FICTION - Oh...PSP, ahhahahahahaha, what is this, a joke? The PSP has become somewhat of a running joke in my column, and for good reason, it hardly gets anything worth mentioning. Every once in a while it gets an RPG, usually of the Strategy variety, but that happens every three months. During the other parts of the year, the PSP is plagued by constant waves of shovelware and sports games. While I'm sure it has done nicely in the sales department (because of those hip teens and their all-in-one devices), it really hasn't done too well in the "games" department. The line-up for this holiday season consists of one RPG, and the lineup for the near future only holds Patapon 2 and Resistance: Retribution. It must suck to own the lesser of two handhelds.

Derek Robbins: FICTION - Wait, wait...people actually play PSP games on the PSP? Last time I checked anyone who owned one of these things just hacked theirs so they could conveniently play Super Nintendo games on the road Or play the Mother 3 translation on a portable because, let's be real here, we're all doing it. The PSP as a whole has been a pretty shitty system. Its library consists of PS1 ports and...some generally shitty titles. Sure, there are good ones every once in a while that aren't ports - like Crisis Core, God of War, or Monster Hunter 2: Freedom - but for the most part if you own another Sony console you've probably played the best games the PSP has to offer. My favorite three games on the PSP library - Street Fighter Alpha 3, Guitaroo Man Lives! and that one Dark Stalkers game - are all ports. Basically, if you own a PSP you have either hacked it or you hate your system. It's as simple as that. This will not change any time soon.


Score: 3 for 3. It's pretty sad when the former Sony writer and the current Sony writer both openly hate the PSP. And stop tempting me with Mother 3 jokes Derek, I don't need you to provoke me to harass you.



SWITCH POSITIONS~!



7.) Call of Duty: World at War will outsell Gears of War 2 on the Xbox 360 in November.



Drew Robbins: FACT - While Gears of War is considered the second banana among 360 exclusives, Call of Duty has become the king of the shooter market. Call of Duty 4 was able to knock Halo 3 off the throne and become the most played shooter on Xbox Live (for a few months, at least). I have many friends who almost exclusively play shooters, and a year or so ago, all they talked about was Halo. They talked about it, they thought about it, and they even read those books. Until one day...Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare hit store shelves. They instantly took to it, and they really haven't looked back since. Sure, they mention it here and there, but now the game they talk about it Call of Duty. War games...have changed.

Derek Robbins: FACT - The Call of Duty franchise has set itself up quite nicely after four's release. It surpassed even the mighty Halo as the most played game on X-Box LIVE...as Drew mentioned. Gears of War 2 is a nice game and all, but I have my doubts as to whether this game, which was mediocre at best when it came to multiplayer action, will sell more than a game whose predecessor pretty much defined online shooting. Gears 2 probably has more hype than the Call of Duty game but the public LOVED CoD 4 so I think there is no chance in hell that Gears 2 will out-pace CoD: World at War. To be perfectly honest though...I don't see myself buying either. World at War is made by the CoD 3 people, so I'm just not sure it can live up to the name of the fourth and Gears? Please. I hate Gears.

Mark Salmela: FACT - Trust me Mr. Robbins *err… Mr. Derek*, I am in the COD: World at War Beta and it somehow manages to be even better than COD4. While I agree COD3 didn't set the world on fire, COD4 completely changed everything when it comes to shooters *as Mrs. Robbins said ;)*. And even if COD: World at War was a sub-par game *which it isn't*, I'd be willing to bet that it'd still outsell Gears 2 *because it has COD on the box*. My big problem with Gears 2 is that the original Gears of War multiplayer sucked donkey balls and Epic seems intent on keeping the multiplayer virtually the same *and no, adding an extra player on each team and adding a flamethrower does not change up the gameplay*. Sure, Gears 2 will probably have a good single player mode like Gears 1, but it'll also probably be 6 hours long and not worth $60. Meanwhile, I have faith in COD: WaW having a decent to good single player in addition to an incredible multiplayer. Winner: COD: World at War.


Score: 3 for 3. It seems painfully obvious to me that the problem is that Drew Robbins hates good games.



8.) You will buy Halo 3: Recon, even if Master Chief isn't in it.

Drew Robbins: Theoretical FACT - If I were to own a 360, absolutely yes. I loved Halo 3, I played it every day for the first few weeks after its release. The online was great, the single player was decent enough, and everything just kind of clicked with the game. So I'm glad to see that they aren't trying to move away from the latest Halo too quick, and are instead making an expansion. The game has more of a focus on tactics and stealth, so it could very well change up the formula of running and gunning that Halo has been putting out every few years. It seems strange, but I trust Bungie, so I think this game will turn out well.

Derek Robbins: FICTION - So you're telling me that instead of the running and gunning that the Halo series is known for...they're going with a more stealth-based approach? Oh God Drew, that sounds just dreadful. Can you imagine the frat boys lining up outside of EB games at midnight and getting home to play their fresh new expansion only to find out, GASP, they need to be stealthy!? NO MORE RAMBO!? There would be riots! To me, I just don't see myself getting it. I wasn't exactly taken with Halo 3's story and their departure from what they do well to something new? I just don't know if they can do it. Call me a skeptic, but I just don't know if they have it in them to make this a fun title. Plus, the online play - the only reason people bothered with Halo 3 - is the same...so I see no reason to pick this up.

Mark Salmela: FACT - Call me a sucker for Halo games, but I'll probably end up buying Halo 3: Recon. I've heard rumors both for and against Halo 3: Recon having stealth and action elements, which I agree is a bad decision. Why? One of the biggest factors in going stealth is using snipers to kill enemies, and in my opinion snipping in Halo is terrible. I'd hate to have to sit and snipe for an entire level trying not to get spotted. But if Halo 3: Recon keeps the same run-n-gun gameplay that Bungie is known for, and the multiplayer is just as good as Halo 3, then I'll probably pick up Recon. The only question is how much Recon will cost, because if it's $60 it better have a ton of new features for the multiplayer in addition to a new campaign.


Score: 1 FACT, 1 FICTION, and 1 WUSS. I'm still waiting for Halo Kart Racing and Halo Party: Trouble in Paradise.



9.) With Street Fighter IV, Bionic Commando, and Resident Evil 5 all releasing within the first half of 2009, Capcom is the developer to beat in 2009.



Drew Robbins: FACT - Fact, fact, a million times fact. Sweet jeezy creezy, Bionic Commando, Resident Evil 5, aaaaaannnnddd Street Fighter IV in the first half of 2009. Heck. Yeah. Bionic Commando looks incredible already, with some great-looking platforming sections that make good use of the Nathan "Rad" Spencer's bionic arm. Resident Evil 5 was one of the most impressive games at E3, mostly due to the imminently awesome co-op mode. Street Fighter IV is a Street Fighter game...do I really need explain myself? Capcom has already won 2009, and it hasn't even begun.

Derek Robbins: FACT - No doubts about this one. For goodness sakes, you have the game of the millennium (2000-2100), the sequel to the most accessible Resident Evil title ever...and a new Bionic Commando game which will surely send nostalgia sensors over-board. Look, this is all early 2009 too! This isn't even Capcom's FALL lineup. I really don't see anyone coming out of the gate that can beat Capcom and it would take an impressive winter showing to usurp them. I sincerely doubt anyone will release a game next year that will consume as much of my life as Street Fighter IV surely will and...with as amazing as Resident Evil 4 was, do you honestly see RE 5 being anything less than stellar? I don't. 2008 has been a fantastic year for gaming, rebounding off of the horrible year that was 2007, and if Capcom's 2009 is any indication of how things'll be next year...we may be looking at the best gaming year in a while. Good job, Capcom!

Mark Salmela: FACT - Seriously, I'd consider Capcom to be the developer to beat for the first half of 2009 for Resident Evil 5 alone. Add in the long-awaited sequel to Street Fighter 3 and an awesome looking Bionic Commando and I don't see anything that can stand in Capcom's way. Hell the only other developer that even comes close for the first half of 2009 is Sony with MAG *it's Sony, you know it'll get delayed*, inFamous *I bet it'll get delayed*, and Killzone 2. But honestly Resident Evil 4 is considered to be one of the best games of all time, and now they're finally adding in the awesome Resident Evil characters the series is known for like Jill Valentine *you see her tombstone in the trailer*, Albert Wesker, and Chris Redfield *be honest, RE4 didn't really fit into the RE storyline*. While Leon is cool *a guest appearance in RE5 would be welcome*, Chris and especially Wesker are way cooler characters. And need I say anything about Street Fighter 4? We all know it will be awesome. Capcom will own the first half of 2009.


Score: 3 for 3. I just emailed Capcom my social security number, credit card number, and a copy of my birth certificate.



So we finish this week as TOTALLY AWESOME!

I've promised to show Joe Roche a thing or two about video games, so sometime I'll have to take on my old nemeses in Fact or Fiction. But in the mean time I'm assuming things will be returning to normal next week with Tommy back at the helm. So it's been fun everyone, but I've got an absolutely incredible game to play tomorr… err…. next week. Cya when I cya!