For the past few days, the internet, as a whole, has been VERY slow for me. I can't see it being on my end. Some sites, like this one, still load fine (most of the time), while at the same time others like Penny Arcade have serious lag. It's VERY annoying, so I was wondering if anyone else has noticed this, and if so, if they knew if it was some large scale problem on the part of a lot of servers online.
I'm relieved, mostly. It's been so long that I'd been seriously worrying about it...
However, it looks like it's surrendered the genre crown to the Total War series, and moved to a more RTS-ish environment (though not totally as it explains). Oh well, it sounds good... less in depth, and different, but still good. I need to get it sometime.
I'll quote it but click the link anyway! There's a video of a PSP game!
Quote:Andy House demos PSP at GDC keynote
SCEA exec sheds light on how Sony intends to build on its power base of hardware supremacy.
Death Jr. Click stream for a larger view, or double-click for full-screen.
SAN JOSE--Sony Computer Entertainment America senior executive Andrew House stepped on to the San Jose Civic Auditorium stage this afternoon and delivered a convincing, authoritative, and encouraging statement to developers attending the 2004 Game Developers Conference. His message was scarcely profound--most of the questions worth answering, such as when the PS3 would be released and at what price point, what games would accompany next year's PSP launch in North America, and the specifics of how Sony would support the just-released hard drive, were left conveniently out of the discussion. But what was covered kept attendees firmly planted in their seats.
The main message House conveyed was that Sony and SCEA planned on supporting developers by continuing to ratchet up the installed bases of their PlayStation and PlayStation 2 consoles and planned on seducing gamers, both hardcore and casual, with additional EyeToy applications and an increased number of online titles.
House referenced the installed base of 100 million PlayStation units worldwide and 70 million PS2 units worldwide, commenting on the much steeper growth curve behind the adoption of PS2 hardware--which is currently 38 percent ahead of the original PlayStation at the same time in its release cycle.
House also stressed the upcoming importance in creating community among the online gaming community (calling online console gaming "the next frontier") and the fact that Sony comes to the budding world of networked console gaming with millions of hours of experience in that area--since SOCOM II's launch in November 2003, in fact, gamers have logged 47 million hours of combined online gameplay, House said.
As far as the upcoming PSP launch goes--and after Digital Eclipse's Chris Charla demoed its in-development PSP title Death, Jr.--House said that "with consumers showing a huge demand for portable gaming, the timing could not be better" for its PSP launch. He predicted that the device would be recognized as being as revolutionary as the PlayStation when it launched and that its ability to offer music, video, games, and productivity applications would make the unit a surefire hit. "And it will have hardware cache...it's a Sony," House added. Looking even further into the future, he claimed it would be the PSP that would lead Sony in the direction of an "interconnected future."
In the single tip of his hat to the PS3 launch time frame, he did concede one strategy Sony was committed to--its own. "Competitive movement is not a factor in the PS3 launch strategy." It was a statement many in the audience suspected could not be applied to Sony's competitors.
Well I already have plenty of dislike for them (while not being able to completely abandon them because of how much I love Star Wars...), but one thing keeps piling on top of another... dropping adventure games for not making enough, cutting back internal production in favor of mostly outsourcing (and less quality from internal stuff), that game quality slope they've been sliding down since about 1999 (in '02 they proclaimed great things about coming back, but have ... erm not exactly delivered ...), the cancelling of Sam & Max II, and now this... Lucasarts is following so many other big American publishers and chopping their Cube support. Hmm, Acclaim, Midway, Lucasarts... and ... less than equal ... support from EA, ActiVision, etc, etc... as I've said before, Japan may have boosted its Nintendo output from the N64 but America has cut it quite dramatically...
Rumor? True. But it's got too much sense behind it to be ignored.
Quote:RUMOR #2: LucasArts is ceasing development for the GameCube.
Source: GameSpot's very own and ever-active forums.
The official story: "I have not heard anything of that nature." -- LucasArts' Heather Phillips.
What we heard: Spurred by lengthy forum feedback, we tracked this rumor to its original source, a recent GamesIndustry.biz piece. The article talked about the general decline of support for the 'Cube among third-party publishers outside of Japan. LucasArts was singled out because of the success of its Rogue Squadron series, one of the few successful adult-oriented, nonsports franchises for the Cube. However, a look at LucasArts' game roster does indeed show a dearth of GameCube titles in the works, even though upcoming PlayStation 2 and Xbox games like Mercenaries and Star Wars: Republic Commando are listed.
Bogus or not bogus?: Officially not bogus. The company line reveals that LucasArts still supports the GameCube. But what good is an official endorsement if there are no products in the pipeline?
... Is this a good time to mention that rumor of a Rogue Squadron collection for X-Box?
Quote:ey publishers quietly scaling back GameCube support
Rob Fahey 15:47 24/03/2004
E3 likely to look a bit barren on the Cube third-party front
Third party support for Nintendo's GameCube continues to wane, with the console set to be bereft of a game based on the Euro 2004 football tournament while Lucasarts has confirmed that it has no more titles in the pipeline for the system.
Both Electronic Arts and Codemasters are working on multi-platform football games for Euro 2004 (EA has the official license, while Codies have the England team license), but neither company will be bringing its game to the Cube.
Although Electronic Arts says that its commitment to the Cube "remains strong" despite the decision not to do a Euro 2004 title, and that it will be releasing a number of games for the platform this year, Codemasters has joined the ranks of publishers with nothing in production for Nintendo's home system.
Also joining the swelling ranks of publishers without any Cube titles in their portfolios (which already includes the likes of Acclaim and Eidos) is Lucasarts, which currently has no titles for the platform on its internal schedules. This is more of a blow to Nintendo than the other publishers, since Lucasarts was responsible for the successful Star Wars: Rogue Leader games on the Cube.
Another publisher, Ubisoft, currently has no GameCube titles on its schedule but says that it will be announcing a number at E3 - and of course, a Cube version of Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow will appear at some point in future, as will a PS2 version.
While support from Japanese publishers remains strong, with Capcom and Namco both committed to the system while Square Enix and Konami are also producing a limited range of exclusive titles for it, western third-party support for the Cube is facing a serious decline this year.
This leaves the system relying largely on Nintendo's own portfolio, buoyed by titles from key Japanese publishers, and the company is expected to unveil a new range of software at E3 including sequels to Metroid Prime and Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker.
Capcom and Namco (Konami? Seems about as low-level of support as they gave the N64... and Square? One game so far.) vs Acclaim, Midway, Lucasarts, Eidos, and limited support from EA and others... The N64 isn't loooking quite as bad in comparison anymore... :(
Looks nice, but I still would like to have one of those Famicom themed SPs more. I mean, I love my old NES and all, but those Famicom systems were classic cheese to the max, whereas NES is just classic cheese to the extreme, and extreme is 1990's, not 1980's like "to the max" is. You can see which one wins the prize.
Anyway, reading about those old straight NES ports makes me grr angry. I mean, we already have Super Mario Bros DX and Super Mario All-Stars SMB. This is basically saying "we are requiring you to get a system more powerful than the Super Nintendo just to play something the Gameboy Color is not only capable of, but already did and improved upon". One thing, they put the multiplayer alternating back in, which is what I wanted them to do with Super Mario Advance 4 (and 2 come to think of it), since alternating is nice, and especially nice when the computer remembers all the details of the two players. As IGN said, at least it's there so you know they updated the emulator software they are using to support it. I guess that bodes well for the NES/Famicom games we'll find in Animal Crossing 2. Zelda seems interesting, but after finding out they were lazy and took out the ability to instantly quit any time from the original Metroid, as opposed to simply remapping the controller 2 buttons that did that to some other button on the SP, I have a feeling I won't be able to save and quit and have to go through the entire game without saving if I want a no death game. Maybe anyway, then again maybe they did remap it for the Zelda port. Eh, who am I kidding? I'm not buying that game :D.
Really, sure the price is a LITTLE lower, but they should have just packed all those games together. Read that quote from NOA and tell me they aren't insulting our intelligence.
God damn it, people, you just love to keep things from old beanjo, don't you? Once again, you've failed to let me in on an underrated yet awesome N64 title. CHOKE ON AIR, YOU BUNCH OF NEGLIGENT SONS (and daughters) OF SEA COWS!!!
So I bought this game recently, for a measly 4 bucks (maybe 5, I don't remember - I buy old N64 games all the time). I heard that it was a sleeper hit, and remembered that those who played it and talked about it on message boards had loved it. So I bought it in hopes that it would be another Rocket: Robot on Wheels, a simple yet addictive title hidden among piles of gaming excrimient.
So anyways, who else was left back at the station when the Body Harvest hype train departed? Well, you sure wouldn't have to walk far to get back on it, 'cos it broke down about a mile down the tracks. Because people are dumb.
The graphics of Body Harvest are simple, but they get the job done. Given that the player gets to run around in enormous fields and cities, the simplicity of the graphics can be excused. The game plays a little like GTA, actually (its maker is DMA). You have to jump in and drive random cars to get across the map more quickly, which so far (I'm only in the 1946 Greece stage right now, but there are different stages which I assume have different cars) range from tanks to motorcycles. However, the gameplay differs between the two games in that Body Harvest is more oriented towards puzzle solving and bug shooting. The shooting parts have been ridiculously easy so far, but I finally got stuck at one point at the end of the stage where I have to fight this huge, hard boss. Oh, and there ARE civilians running around that you can run over or use as target practice, although if you kill enough, you lose the game. :( There are a few parts where you even have to save civilians in cities from invading alien insects.
The atmosphere of this game is the best part! The very first feeling I got when playing was that it felt like Starship Troopers in video game form. I'm a sucker for sci-fi, so this enhances the experence all the more for me. The background music is very creepy, and it gave me an uneasy feeling after listening to it nonstop for a span of a couple hours. A game hasn't had that ability to genuinely creep me out since Silent Hill (for PSX). I doubt it'd creep many other people out, though... it's just one of those strange situations where something very simple can make you and you alone feel anxious and panicky.
The only qualms I have with this game is that the save points are spread far apart! This actually only bothered me when I got stuck at one point in the game (this was before I found the first save point) and ended up running around in circles for a good hour and making no progress whatsoever. I didn't want to play the game, but I wanted to first find a save point before quitting. I actually wouldn't have been stuck, had I known that I was actively being given clues via informations transmissions. When an information transmission arrives, an "E" icon appears next to the energy bar, and I could never figure out what that damned E meant until recently, so I just ignored it. Anyways, the player doesn't reach the first save point until 1/4th the way through the first stage. Then, generally, when another 25% of progress through the stage is made, the player is given another save point.
Also, if the player dies just once, it's GAME OVER. I've died a few times, mosty by either drowning or a large bug landing on my head (they're beamed down from the sky when you fight them). The player should be advised to retrace his steps back to save points often, just in case the shit hits the fan in the middle of a mission.
The puzzles in this game are pretty easy, especially with the information transmissions as an aid. For example, at one point, you need to find a way to break down a blockage in the road, to get a cog from a miller to give to a different character, who in turn opens a water gate for you.
The weapons, so far, are nothing short of awesome. At the start, you're given a standard pistol that can't run out of ammo. Later on, you find a machine gun, dynomite (although I've never used that in battle), and my personal favorite so far, the sun shield. :D This baby is used to reflect a powerful beam of sunlight and fry insects, I suppose to allude to the archetypal mischievous kid who uses a magnifying glass to burn ants.
Hmm, I actually didn't mean to type out such a detailed description of the game. I only meant to see if anyone else has played this game, and to give a heads up to those who haven't. Body Harvest is awesome, so if any of you see it in the store for just a few bucks, do yourself a favor and pick it up. I don't know what games (other than GTA) I can use as a point of reference, since this one is quite unique. It isn't all that much like Jet Force Gemini... it's less concentrated on shooting and more concentrated on puzzles. Plus, it's stages are much longer, although I believe there are only four of them in total. I suppose I'd describe it best as a cross between GTA and Jet Force Gemini (although I'm sure there are better games to compare it to).
