Sit down, you're rocking the boat - April 20th, 2000 -
Chris Jones
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this column are those of
the participants and the moderator, and do not necessarily reflect those of the GIA. There
is coarse language and potentially offensive material afoot. A few days ago my truck
mileage hit 052250, but I missed it. Don't say we didn't warn you.
Between an argument I was having with my co-workers the other day, and reading a review
for the import N64 Pikachu virtual pet game, I had a startling realization: cartoons are
way, way better than I was a kid. I'll admit there's a certain nostalgia for GI Joe and
Transformers, but another recent debate reminded me how truly horrible He-Man was. (I
don't know if it's just me, or if everybody past 22 or so turns into a Friends episode
where they just sit around and talk about retro stuff.) I won't even mention the evil that
was the Smurfs, or Gummi Bears.
Whereas today, I'm not ashamed to admit I think Batman Beyond is a quite watchable show
- I'm sure I would have been totally floored by it as a kid. Starship Troopers and Men in
Black are also not bad. And even if you hate and despise Pokemon, you've got to admit that
the designs are pretty good (at least in being appealingly cute to little kids), and the
plots are somewhat varied. Compared to Transformers, where every episode broke down to
"Megatron comes up with sneaky new way to steal energy/destroy the Autobots but is
foiled by his own greed and stupidity", Pokemon is freakin' Shakespeare.
No point to any of this, I'm just filling space. Which I've done, so onward!
| Who would want to watch TV instead of the PS2? |
| Chris, You have the wit and writing ability of Allan and the style of
Thor. Keep up the good work and let's hope you stay for a bit longer than they did. |
You're full of crap, but I appreciate the compliment.
| Anywho, I do not believe that a tv-using console system will replace the
PC. While these new ubersystems may completely eat up the PC's game market, the fact that
a PC can constantly improve (not just processor speed, but maybe new peripherals like the
printer and scanner were, or crazy new software) will allow it to always offer just a
little bit more. Also, what if someone else in your family wants to use the tv? I really
wouldn't feel like lugging the PS2 around to another one. Finally, I think typing out a
term paper on a low res tv (compared to a monitor) with a keyboard on my lap or something
to that extent would be just completely uncomfortable. Peace out,
Darian Knight
P.S. I know this is a loaded question, but it might be a good column topic. Which PSX
Final Fantasy game did you enjoy more, 7 or 8? Notice I did not ask which is the best,
which is completely subjective. Because although I realized that 8 was technically a
better game, the story did not pull me in like 7's, and I ultimately stopped playing it. |
While it's true a PC is more upgradeable than a PC, it's also much more expensive. I'll
admit it, I'm a console gamer because I'd rather spend $300 on a system instead of $3000,
as much as anything. As for multiple people, these days a PS2 plus a decent (not great) TV
to hook it to still costs less than a computer. Or just have them watch on the second TV.
You have a point that a TV might not be ideal for writing a term paper, tho.
I enjoyed the heck out of both FF7 and 8. Really, they both met every expectation I had
for a Final Fantasy, although I will admit I'd rather play lots of Triple Triad than race
chocobos ad nauseaum. Beyond that, it's a little hard for me to compare the two, because
they had different aims as games - FF7 was a prototype RPG on the Playstation, where
Square got a feel for what it could do, and FF8 was an experimental piece, where Square
got a feel for what it could change. If the PSX FFs follow the same pattern as the SNES
FFs (prototype, experiment, masterpiece) FF9 could be very, very good.
Yes, I know we always talk about Final Fantasy, but too much is never enough.
| Antici..................pation |
| Metal Gear Solid 2 at E3... Argh! Will May 12th EVER COME!?! Why can't I
go to E3? Oh, the torture of it all... -CTZanderman, entering his stasis pod only to
emerge on May 12th |
I sympathize, but at this point we don't even know what system it'll come out on - it
could be Game Boy Advance, which would be interesting but not all that earthshaking. And
even if it did come out on PS2...
*Chris imagines MGS2 on PS2 and experiences deadlock, as all available computational
cycles are used to imagine Solid Snake breaking necks in a photorealistic world*
*kill proc*
Er, yes, as I was saying, even if it did come out on PS2...
*Chris returns to deadlock*
*kill and block proc*
even if it did come out on... that system... it'd still be months before we could play
it. So you're better off keeping it out of your head, believe me.
| I don't buy my worms in cans. Freeze-dried
only. |
| Hmmm, what a can of worms to open. I'm pretty heavily into both console
games and PC games, but I have to say, I prefer console games for various reasons. Some I
overcome for the odd game of StarCraft, but others can just be too much for me to enjoy
even the best PC games. My problem with PC games is a lot of the newer ones seem to be
either a really complicated engine wrapped around a little game to sell it, or a lot of
time spent on intricate but aimless level design that shows off the engine's different
aspects, and flashy graphics to make a company's $$60,000,000,000 licensing fee for said
engine seem worthwhile. As a result, single-player games tend to suffer, and while I play
the hell out of the first Quake, StarCraft, and Unreal Tournament, it's never in
single-player mode. This is a gross overgeneralization, which I'm aware of, but the fact
is a great deal of the top sellers in the PC market are not primarily meant to be played
in single-player mode. I enjoy kicking my brother's ass 60 to 7 in Quakeworld, but
sometimes I want to see a decent story. I've played the PC games people tend to cite as
breaking this trend, but honestly haven't been impressed on the level that, say, Metal
Gear Solid's plot affected me. It's not just a plot thing, either -- StarCraft just isn't
as fun to play single-player as, say, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. I'm really not
sure why. And as for multiplayer? I like online play, but sometimes it's just more fun to
play Power Stone in a room full of real -live- idiots, rather than those who spout
"bAnAnAmAn: hehe eat it" from Ohio.
Two last minor things: I know I'm not the only one who has a hard time sitting down
where I work to kick back and relax. Keyboards were -not- meant for gaming, and the best
game pad I've ever used on the PC was a NES controller, soldered to a joystick adapter.
And when it comes down to it, those game design differences can be a bit much; when I want
to play my favorite genres on the PC, namely fighters, Mega Man-style side-scrollers, and
1942-style shooters, my best bet tends to be snes9x.
I could draw this to a coherent close, but I've drawn this out far enough as it is,
so... Zoi.
--
Andrew Procter |
I agree with you about the PC not being as satisfying as a console, but I'm still not
sure why. From what I've seen of Starcraft, the FMV is at least as good as FF8, if told
from a somewhat different perspective. ("Kill it!" Heh.) Perhaps it's just that
I'm more used to seeing dramatics on my television from programs and movies, and I tend to
go into the same receptive mindset when I'm playing a PS game. The same might not be true
of the PC.
Online play isn't nearly as fun as a 4 player game on a console, either, even on a LAN
with microphone support. Though this might have something to do with the fact that PC
games tend to take advantage that things can be hidden on different screens, which tends
to lend a more strategic aspect to games, whereas everything's out in the open on a TV.
I have PC playing friends who would fight you over that keyboard comment, but since you
like side scrollers and fighters as opposed to shooters and RTS games, maybe you're just a
console guy at heart.
| Do you print empty e-mails with only really
really long boring subjects that say dumb things like "Microsoft Rules! Long live the
X-Box!" and "Consoles suck, PCs rock!" |
|
Apparently I do. Who knew?
And you forgot a question mark at the end, genius.
| 's wonderful, 's marvelous, 's Krusty |
| Hi. You've probably got tons of other stuff to read and sift through, so
I'm going to be nice and make it short and sweet. In an old issue of Nintendo Power (I
think Feb '97), I remember reading that there was this Super Famicom RPG coming out in
Japan called Marvelous: Another Island Adventure. It looked interesting and very similar
to EarthBound with its modern-day setting and characters. After that six page preview, I
never heard anything else. I've tired looking for a ROM, but no one knows what I'm talking
about. Do you know anything about this game? Was it canceled or something? Did its title
get changed? Thanks for your time,
~ Stefanie ~ |
I'd never heard of it until you mentioned it, but Marvelous: Mouhitotsu no Takarajima
was a Super Famicom only release in '96. The game looks a little more action/adventure
than RPG though. Surprisingly enough, Gamefaqs has no information other than publication
data. All I could find was a review of the game here. If you really want to
play it, importing the actual cart may be your best bet.
| round and round and round |
| I don't have a lot of video game soundtracks, but I do have a number of
albums based on video game soundtracks. The problem with a lot of these albums is the
conversion of a repeating jingle into a proper musical piece with beginning, middle, and
ending.
My favorites are Creid(which I like better than Xenogears, the game it's based on),
Final Fantasy Pray, and Secret of Mana+. I found Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec to be
dissapointing - the best tracks are the ones taken straight from the game(i.e. Liberi
Fatali and the Ending), and the orchestral versions of game music didn't sound as good as
the originals.
-Sanagi
PS Watched Gundam Wing yet? I can't believe I heard animated characters use phrases
like "consciousness expansion" and "the god of death is back from
hell!" on American television. Now if we could get Cartoon Network to show Lain... |
You may have a point. I don't have that many arranged albums, but the regular OSTs that
I really like have a lot of songs that I could potentially listen to in an endless cycle,
like FFT, or have tracks that are set up more along the lines of real songs, like Chrono
Cross.
I've seen a bit of Gundam Wing, and it looks about as good as can be expected for a
non-NGE giant robot anime. Not a lot more to say beyond that.
| Polygons could kill you and your entire family
while you sleep |
| Yes theoretically the PS2 can launch missiles. The PS2 could also control
the moon landing. The fact is the prohibiting factor against the PS2 being used as a
missile guidance system are 1) No terrorists have a PS2 dev kit (at least I hope not). 2)
There are much better solutions for making a missile guidance system (such as a Power Mac
G4 with much more versatility and more available dev software). 3) really most PCs now can
be converted into missile guidance systems, it is just that if a system can handle more
that a gigaflop, it is classified as a "Super" computer. They really need to
change this so that a Super computer is like 10 Gigaflops or 50 (or when they achieve it a
teraflop). --
BeerGoggles_FromMARS
Daniel Kaszor |
I guess the real question is if systems should be classified as supercomputers based on
their relative power, or if they should be classified based on if they can do certain
tasks or not. Obviously I feel government should go with the relative standard, but not
just so I can have the latest and greatest computer hardware.
As technology gets more powerful, people will inevitably gain the ability to do
potentially dangerous things, but you've got to have faith that they won't. After all, you
can buy a powerful explosive in any neighborhood in the country, (gasoline) but by and
large people aren't blowing things up. You can make chlorine gas with nothing but water,
table salt and a lot of electricity, but people generally aren't gassing each other in the
streets either. Just keep that groove tech comin', and things will be OK.
Probably.
| Like yin and yang |
| Chris Whenever I see a debate about a PC or a console being better for
games, the argument usually centers around specs and polygons, but I think both will be
around for a long time because technology is not what sets them apart. The main difference
is just as simple as the interface. Each can generally do different genres better than the
other. There is no better way (IMO) to control a FPS than a mouse and keboard. Sure
Goldeneye was great, but it was the latency free, sittin next to your buddy multi-player
that made that game so great. Also Half-Life at 1024x768 is just more enjoyable than at
640x480. There is just more detail. Age of Empires would be almost tedious without a
mouse. Anybody that played the palystaion version of Rainbow Six can tell you why a lot of
buttons are needed for some games. HDTV will eventually help resolutions out, but until
somebody creates a mouse and keyboard that feels natural when I'm sitting on a couch, I'll
still want my PC for certain games.
On the other side are sports, fighting, and platform games. Go drag out your old copy
of Mario 3 for your Nintendo. You might still get some enjoyment out of it. Now download
the ROM and play it. Even though current emulators can almost mimmick a NES almost
exactly, it's just not as fun. Same thing for SNES Mario Kart. Games like those need the
more natural feeling controls of a console so you can focus more on the game than
controling it. Even a PC gamepad doesn't have the same feel. It's hard to kick back and
just play at a computer desk even with a cushy executive chair.
RPGs are probably the on genre that can be done on a PC or a console. There are
definite style differences between console RPGs and PC RPGs though. I have yet to see a
console game as open ended and non-linear as some of the D&D licsensed PC RPGs. They
don't translate very well either. FFVIIPC anyone? If the interface had been completely
redone with graphical menus and a point and click selection or more logical button choices
(ie hit enter to select the menu choice rather than whatever button was chose to be the
same thing as the PS X button,) and with better debugging, it could have been just as
great of a game on the PC.
Everything I have mentioned above does have a solution, although I'm not sure what some
of them are, and until somebody figures them out and starts using them, I'll just buy both
my PC and my console games.
Gargen |
You're dead on with your comments, and I can't think of anything to refute your
arguments. So I'll leave that up to the readers tomorrow.
Closing Comments:
Well, you heard me - get to it. Figure out if there's any potential setup that could be
comfortable for playing console and PC games, or give me some more X-Box goodness. Even
stuff on soundtracks is cool. I'll be waiting.
-Chris Jones, only 1100 miles from the next numeric palindrome |
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