Heavy Fuel - October
27, 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. The Salt Lick has the best barbecue in Texas. Someday I
will eat there again.
Don't say we didn't warn you.
Videogames.com put up a snippet from a rather interesting
Sakaguchi interview today, wherein the Man talked about the FF movie
and FF XI. It all sounds good, but it raises just as many questions as it
answers: how can they be changing the script to the film at this point,
when most of the footage must have already been rendered? If Sakaguchi
says the development team's too busy just working on PS2 and PC versions
of the game, does that rule out Xbox development? How far advanced is FF
11 at this point anyway? I think I've heard more about 11 than 10 at this
point... odd. Still, good to hear that work on both is proceeding apace -
the success of these two projects may mean life or death for the company,
so here's hoping they don't screw up too badly.
Onward.
| Take 1 |
| I just finished the Swamp Temple in Majora's Mask. Man.. this game is
incredible. Stunning graphics, sounds and music to die for (the Zelda
overworld theme is back!!!!), and a great storyline = best game on the
N64, bar none. Add to that the addition of a -lot- of character
interaction, where things you do affect the rest of the game, and the
Bomber's Handbook is just cool! :)
As for the PS2... Hah. I did not get one, but I did go to my co-worker's and play his.
*yawn*
SSX is probably the most fun game for launch, and sure it's cool, but
man it has some seriously glaring flaws. You actually have a button
(Select) that you push if you get stuck somewhere. Correct me if I'm
wrong... but you don't get stuck if the game's designed well, right?
Played Timesplitters (TWiNE is still cooler), Madden 2001 (long live
NFL2K1!), X-Squad (hah that one was returned REAL fast), and UT (no
multiplayer makes UT a boring game) as well. Just not impressed in the
slightest.
And just to make one thing infinitely clear... I am not a Nintendo
fanboy. I hate them.. I normally call them Nofriendo. Majora's Mask is
now one of two games I own (the other is Smash Bros). This game is
truly better than anything you can get on the PS2 right now.
And next week, those of us who were smart and bought a Dreamcast get
Shenmue! :)
----
Brad Williams
|
Nofriendo? That's a new one. Not a lot to say, except that
from what I've heard the comparison might have been a little less
favorable if you put Zelda against TTT, DoA or Kessen. Still, my gut
reaction is that Zelda's well worth getting, and I'm gonna try and
pick up a copy once this current crunch period's out of my way.
| Take 2 |
| I pre-ordered my PS2 back in February. I'm not
sure how many pre-orders they had at my EB, but the EB a few
miles away, that my friend went to, said they had 700+ pre-orders.
The guy working at my EB said EB won't have systems in stores for
non-preorderers until April. I casually drove down and picked mine
up with a smile. I was #25 on the list. I can't play it, since it's
a gift and all, but I'm happy about purchasing it. People can bash
the system all they want. I don't hate any consoles, but there are
a lot of haters out there. Most of these people are usually jealous
that they couldn't get one, or they purchased a Dreamcast earlier in
the year. I know people who used to be one of those 'PSX RULES!'
type of person, but they decided to buy a DC since it was out at the
time and have since converted to a Sony hater for some reason. I don't
get it, really. About the price, sure it's $299.99, but it plays DVDs
and is backwards compatible with old PSX games. I think it's money
well spent. I don't mind shelling out the few extra dollars to get one now. |
Sounds reasonable enough, and I'd likely feel the same way if I
didn't already have a PSX and DVD player. No argument here.
| And in other news... |
| Since today is a free topic day, I'll ask this
again:
Why does Konami hate me? Suikogaiden is out in Japan; no one tells me. It has
an ice cube's chance in hell of coming here, and I can't speak Japanese. To
top it all off, no import store in the Lower 48 seems to carry it. Crap in a
hat.
-Megane |
If it's any consolation, I think Konami hates all of us, not just
you. But seriously, I personally don't think this is that big a deal.
Suikogaiden's not even a proper RPG, if I remember right, but more of a
text adventure with some nifty anime graphics. If you were a big fan
of the Suikoden/Suikoden II plotline or just really liked the
graphics, I can see why not getting this game might hurt you, but the
fact is such projects almost never make it over here to the US. Still,
I'm sure someone'll make a translation FAQ eventually, and you'll be
able to play through with that. Just wait a bit... and in the
meantime, go easy on Konami, lest they decide to retaliate by not
releasing their GBA Castlevania title in the US. I'll break down
crying if that happens.
Can the PS2
get down and funky like a sombrero wearin' crack monkey?
(I just now made that up!) |
| After reading many harrowing and heart-wrenching tales of people doing
their best to acquire a PS2 on launch day, I've decided to relate a story
of a similar situation I was in recently. On October 18th, Sega released
Samba De Amigo and the accompanying Maracas in the US. Frantically calling
around on the morning of the 18th revealed to me that no one had the game
in yet. Not only that, most folks seemed to think I was kidding about the
maracas. Even the fine folks at GameFellas seemed unaware that a US
release of the maracas had been in the works. Ironically enough, the only
shop in range anticipating the delivery of any was the Arboretum Software,
Etc. After work, I stopped by, picked up one of the two sets they
received, and paid for it. That's about as harrowing as it gets.
Before I go any further, let me offer a quick comparison of a PS2 to Samba
De Amigo:
True, there were 500,000 PS2's released in the states vs. 10,000 sets of
maracas. I walked into a store and bought the maracas right off the
shelf. What legitimate, by-the-book owner of a US PS2 can say that?
Advantage: Samba.
A PS2 uses controllers that are externally indistinguishable from the Dual
Shocks that we've been using for the past 3+ years. Samba has the maracas.
Advatage: Samba.
Even your friends who aren't gamers would marvel at your PS2 simply because
of the raw hype surrounding the system, but won't care much about the
games. The same friends would marvel at the sheer oddness of the concept
of a maracas simulator, and will probably actually join in on the other set
of maracas. Advantage: Samba.
A PS2 allows you to play DVD's. Samba de Amigo, however, allows you to
interact with a spastic crack-monkey and dancing bears using a musical
instrument. Advantage: Samba.
A PS2, two games, a second controller, and a memory card: $500. Samba De
Amigo, Dreamcast, a VMU and two sets of Maracas: $370. Number of
worthwhile games in PS2 package: zero. Number in Samba package: 1. Plus,
that $130 difference can buy you Soul Calibur, Chu-Chu Rocket, Sonic
Adventure, NFL 2K, and a second controller, with enough left over for
lunch. Advantage: Samba.
Do I need to go on? Don't get me wrong; I'll give the PS2 as much of a
chance as the next guy, and as soon as they can throw together a game or
two that warrants purchasing a system (MGS2, FFX...), I'll buy it. But I
am far, far more excited about the Dreamcast and (original) PlayStation
lineups for this holiday season than anything the PS2 will have available
before year's end.
-Anson |
Samba de Amigo scares me deeply - peppy music and dancing monkeys
just can't be a good thing. So I'll just say this: while, by many
accounts, the PS2 may not be all it's been hyped up as, I must
question whether embracing any game that features dancing bears and
salsa music is a wise alternative.
Sombreros... freaky! *shudder*
| It's just... nifty! |
|
Chris,
I owner of a PS2 and am writing to give you my opinion of it thus
far.
Let me start off by saying considering the way some were going on about
how horrible the aliasing problem was, I didn't really notice it in Kessen
(the only game I own which isn't anti-aliased at all) or DOA2, (which
doesn't boast full screen anti-aliasing). But to be fair, I am only running
the game through an S-video cable, since by tv doesn't boast composite
connections. The following is my opinion of the four games I picked up at
launch (I prepurchased, so I didn't have to camp :>). SSX is my new
favorite game. It is extremely fun, technically flawless, and is the
coolest game (IMHO) since Fear Effect. The gameplay is kind of like Road
Rash (the 3DO version) meets Tony Hawk meets, well, some snowboarding game
(SSX is my first). Props have to go out to the hot urban soundtrack and the
hyper-cool announcer (RAhziel of the Roots) who calls out moves as you do
them and constantly comments on your performance, getting extremely
sarcastic if you are screwing up. Madden is indisputably the best Madden
ever, all of the gameplay of the classic series, 128 bit graphics and a new,
extremely realistic physics system which makes the running game much more
dynamic. And for people (like me) who spend too much time playing Chrono
Cross and are thus sadly ignorant of the style of play of every player in
the League, the Madden tells you (i.e. telling you whether or not your
running back runs over people or around them). Dead or Alive: Hardcore has
very fast, fluid gameplay, painfull looking moves, a ton and a half og
animations, and a wonderfully interactive (you can kick guys into walls and
through windows!), multilevel, fully 3D backgrounds. Kessen is the strategy
analog of Square's FF7, a game which attempts to reach out to a bigger
audience by embracing the possibilities of technology and lowering the level
of difficulty a bit, but which also attempts to retain all of the features
its traditional fans love about it.
Now onto the none PS2 game related stuff. The audio, when run out
through an optic cable, is very high quality, load times on PS1 games (well,
Fear Effect, the game I tested) are noticably shorter, the graphics of PS1
games are a little cleaner (once again, I only tested FE), and all things
being equal, DVD movies look much clearer than their VHS counterparts (I
have a JVC S-VHS VCR which sends signals through a S-video cable the same as
my PS2 and I tested my two copies of Darkman). I am sorry if this seems
like a fluff piece, but I just cannot find much wrong with the PS2.
- Mark |
No comment, but good to know. Thanks for the report, dude.
| Why Can't Chris Count?
Must be due to lack of sleep... |
| Chris,
The Ender Series is a tetralogy (tetra = four), but we know you know that...
which brings me to my question (yes, I know your mom probably covers this topic
weekly): just how much sleep are you getting, dearie? Remember, you should
shoot for at least 6 hours...and sleep intake is not cumulative... i.e., if
you miss your daily quota, you can't make up for it by sleeping double the hours
the next day... sure it'll partly alleviate the CRS involved with prolongued lack
of sleep, but only slightly... So grab that pillow and off to bed with you, mister!!!!
As for the PS2, I'd hate to rant and rave (total lie: gloating is fun), since
it'll probably be a touchy topic for some until around March or so, I'll sum
it up very briefly: =)
Princess Jemmy, who won't practice what she preaches in order to enjoy the damn console...
|
I'm touched, Jemmy! How kind of you to worry about my sleeping
habits. But fear not, I know full well that I'm not capable of
functioning well on less than 7 hours a day. I go to bed at 2, but I get up
at 10, so all's right with the world, fear not.
As for the Ender thing, I guess I could point out that Xenocide /
CotM was originally just supposed to be one book before it got too
big... but then we'd have to get into the fact that Speaker for the
Dead was originally supposed to be totally unrelated to Ender, and only
later did Card decide to graft on the hero from the original Ender
short story, thereby forcing him to write a novel-length version of
the original... but that's neither here nor there. Fine, I can't count,
I admit it. And I'd hidden my secret shame so well for so long... until
you uncovered it. I salute you, madame. You have bettered me once
more... for the moment.
[cue maniacal Dr. Claw-esque laughter]
| Determination rewarded |
| Chris,
Yay! another free topic day! I can try to get this letter printed
again!
All over the GIA and and everywhere else where people talk about game music,
I see a tremendous amounts of praise for Yasunori Mitsuda' soundtracks. I
agree that he is exceptionally talented, and that his scores for Xenogears,
and Chrono Trigger and Cross rival or exceed Nobuo Uematsu's Final Fantasy
scores on many fronts (though I must admit that while I tend to enjoy
Mitsuda's scores overall, Uematsu has a real talent for show-stopping songs
jumping from out of nowhere from what had been a fairly average soundtrack
overall, in FF7 and 8.), but I have noticed one composer that seems to escape
notice more than I'd like: Hitoshi Sakimoto.
His soundtrack for Vagrant Story was one of the most gripping and powerful
soundtracks for a game that I have encountered in over 18 years of gaming. I
was immediately struck by the quality of his collaborative work on FF Tactics
with Masaharu Iwata (who actually wrote my overall favorite track for that
soundtrack, Ultema The Perfect Body, himself; the two also collaborated, I
believe, on all of the Ogre Battle series games.) as I played through the
game three years ago; I had not purely enjoyed a game soundtrack this much
for some time. I was similarly wowed by the VS soundtrack from the opening
sequence to the last measures of the ending credits.
Any rabid Mitsuda or Uematsu fans out there, please take no offense, or take
offense quietly, but in my opinion Sakimoto is a good cut above either of
theme when it comes to writing a soundtrack for a game. In both FFT and VS,
it didn't sound as though just a soundtrack had been written for the game, it
sounded as if a SCORE had been written, and for me, that makes a lot of
difference.
Mud Pepper |
Hey, you'll get no argument from me. FFT is right up there with Chrono
Cross on my soundtrack list, and I'm looking forward to getting the Vagrant
Story OST someday... I just haven't gotten around to it. I don't think he's
better than Mitsuda - they have very different styles, especially as of
late. CC's OST is of course very direct and the music is a key element of the
game, whereas Vagrant Story's soundtrack was understated to the point of
being ambient. Still, I think the two are equally good, if not directly
comparable.
| I should just shut my
big trap |
| CJ,
"The alarm went off, and I woke up, crawled over to where the alarm was, and
wondered for a moment if the PS2 could possibly be worth another four hours
of sleep. Had a good laugh about it. Went back to bed. The end."
Buddy, you just need to calm down. Why the hell would you suggest a
friendly topic about PS2 buying antics if all you're going to do is bash it
to death? And why be so two-faced about the whole thing? One minute you
praise the Dreamcast (constantly) while saying PS2 buyers are wasting their
money; then the next you're saying you're getting one too.
I think we all understand your opinion. Please sit down now.
-Red Raven, tired of being told to buy a fucking Dreamcast |
I'm honestly not trying to bash the system, I'm just questioning how
good it actually is at this point... you know, debating the current gaming
issues? Kinda my job description. Clearly for many people the PS2 is a good
investment, just not for me at the moment. Getting a PS2
was never more than a joke - I did wake up at 6, but I never seriously
thought I'd stay awake for more than a minute. It was a gesture, nothing
more. That said, I think my opinion is clear on this point, so enjoy your
PS2 and I'll stand back and let you enjoy it, ok?
| The best of both worlds |
| Chris,
I have a PS2 (w/component video and Dolby 5.1, no less) AND Zelda:MM.
In terms of overall experience, once the visual/aural novelty of the PS2
wears off, no launch game holds a candle to Link. Honestly.
Granted, SSX and Madden are terrific in their own right, but nothing beats
the feeling of exploring the world of a new Zelda game - especially with the
good ol' overworld music!
Joshua Jarvis |
Well ok then.
| A bit o' gasoline on
the console wars' fire... |
| I keep hearing ideas of how hype is the only thing keeping Sony up on top,
and that Gamecube is going to dominate when it gets released, despite that
fact that that's true for almost EVERY new system. Suddenly, an idea comes
to mind: A commercial that might benefit BOTH corporations.
A black screen fades into a dark, gloomy field, with dark purple clouds of
thunder and lightning abound. A pair of silhouettes are visible. The
pointy-eared one draws a sword, the other has a glowing ball on the end,
getting ever larger.
(Switch to Other half of field)
Another pair of silhouettes are visible. One has a bandanna whipping in the
wind, the other practicing some marshal arts moves and aiming with her
guns.
The screen is quartered horizontally, and you see the eyes of all four
generals: Link, Samus, Solid Snake, and Lara Croft.
Suddenly, the Sony armada charges forward, bringing in tow the latter half of
the FF characters, various weapons poised to strike, the DOA girls, dashing
and bouncing their way to the massacre, and Gabe Logan gears up his
9mm.
The Nintendo franchise counterparts are cringing the onslaught, but ready to
do whatever it takes. The Chrono Trigger team is planning their double and
triple techs, the Super Smash Brother crew is making its collective defensive
pose, eyes bobbing up and down with every step nearer, and Bond is searching
his pockets for that Golden Gun of his. Just before they collide for the
inevitable, a humongeous lightning flash occurs, blinding the screen to
white, then a fade out to black, with the following text on it:
The war begins now. Whose side are you on?
Hope you all enjoyed my thoughts, and for a decent laugh or nod, how about
sending in your own ideas?
Calling up Madison Avenue,
Aleksandrs Bomis |
Ok... can you say, "massive copyright issues"? We'd be more likely to
see Bill Gates giving Janet Reno a big ol' hug than to see any of the
console companies give their competition screen time. It's certainly a fun
prospect to contemplate for geeks like us, but at this point the Game Cube
is so far under everyone else's radar that it just wouldn't make any
sense, realistically.
Besides, you forgot Dreamcast and Xbox. Sonic and Mr. Bill will make
you pay dearly for that, Mr. Bomis...
Closing Comments:
I'm hungry, time to post this thing and grab some dinner. All of
you PS2 partisans and Zelda zealots are more than welcome to carry your
war into AK's waiting arms, as long as you work in an REM reference
here and there. See you Monday.
-Chris Jones, can't
understand why everyone goes to sleep so early |
