I just saw it a few minutes ago on NBC, and it's a month away. That's a good sign, shows that Nintendo is trying to hype it up before its release (like Take 2 did with Vice City), although there is no mention of the pre-order deal. It's the same commercial with the little British girl.
No details yet... but seeing a sequel to the best adventure game released in the past 4 years is great!
Quote:The Longest Journey is considered a true classic within the adventure genre, and has attracted a huge following world-wide. It was voted Adventure Game of the Year 2000 by both PC Gamer and Computer Gaming World, and received numerous similar awards and a large number of rave reviews.
"Hundreds of thousands of players worldwide have wondered when the next chapter in The Longest Journey would come out." says Trond Aas. "For years, both gaming media and fans have requested this sequel, and we recognize that they deserve to get the next chapter of the saga." Early this week the concept was approved, and key members of the original game are already hard at work with the sequel.
http://www.22minutes.com/marg/
Everyone go and support Marg in her campaign to become leader of the Canadian Liberal Party and Prime Minister of Canda.
The Video is the best (yes that actually is Prime Minister Chretien)
This video clip is also very good,(I think I posted it before) It has TC's favorite Who's Line Star (and star of This Hour Has 22 Minutes) narating "The Night Before the Budget" http://www.22minutes.com/realwrapper.php...band_ss.rm
As you can see in Canada it's considered rude when the politicians don't co-operate with the CBC political comedies.
Kirby Tilt ‘n' Tumble
Release Date: 2000
Date: review started 10/24/2001; continued and finished on 5/17/2002
Review republished at Tendo City on 2/26/2003
System: Game Boy Color Only
Developed by HAL
Published by Nintendo
Game Overview: Kirby Tilt ‘n' Tumble (Yes, that's how its spelled in the game... I think it should be "Kirby's Tilt n' Tumble", but it isn't) is a unique game. It is the only Game Boy game that uses "Tilt" technology -- you move the game boy to move Kirby on the screen. This unique gameplay does have some problems, but overall it's good. Everyone should try it, if just to try the interesting tilt technology.
Gameplay: Kirby Tilt ‘n' Tumble is, as mentioned, unique. The tilt sensor in the cartridge means that to move Kirby, you tilt the system. To have him jump up on the screen, you flip up the system. This is a interesting and definitely unique control scheme. While the game wouldn't be nearly as good with normal controls, with the added interest of tilt control it is a lot of fun. As for the gameplay itsself, it is viewed from a top down perspective and you tilt to roll Kirby around on the maps to avoid obstacles, solve puzzles, and kill enemies. While there is no swallowing enemies or other forms of Kirby like the main sidescrolling games in the series, as it is top down and Kirby essentially is playing the role of a ball that can inflate, it doesn't seem like a missing feature because that kind of thing would not work as well in the topdown game style that it is. Even so, it is too bad that Kirby is missing his trademark ability. The game is still a lot of fun to play so those small issues are not enough to bring the score down much.
There is one important issue here: this game cannot be used like other Game Boy games. Because it tilts, using it in a car can be problematic-- if the car shakes, takes a turn too sharply, etc, the game will shake and Kirby will move. Because of this, it is best to be stationary. Also, because you must constantly tilt the system, lighting can be bad. Even when under direct light that normally is fine for most Game Boy games, this one can at times be dark because of some positions you must have it in sometimes to move to some places. If you can live with, or look past, those issues, though, there really aren't many other problems with the game except its short length.
Score:9 /10
Single Player: There are eight levels, each with a boss, and then a mode where you play the levels again and try to get all possible points in each level. After that, you play it again in hard mode. Even so with all that, it is not a very hard game. While not super short, it will probably seem a little short, but since it is a lot of fun along the way, it is a good game. It could stand to have a higher difficulty level though. Once you get good at the game and beat the levels, there is little reason to play again because it is not very hard and has no more rewards. There are no hidden modes or games beyond the hard mode, unfortunately, unlike previous games in the Kirby series (Kirby 2 had several minigames at 100%, for example). Even so, the fun factor cannot be denied so the game gets a good score for the single player game.
Score: 8/10
Multi Player: None.
Graphics: For a Game Boy Color game, Kirby Tilt ‘n' Tumble has good graphics. While they certainly can't compare to Game Boy Advance graphics, they are good for the system it is on. Every level has its own look and its own hazards and environments, and it all looks good. It is about as good as a topdown Game Boy Color game can look. Some people will not like them as much, though. They are definitely cartoonish and ‘cute', as all the rest of the Kirby games are. For some that style may not be appealing, but I liked it and have no complaints about the graphics.
Score: 9/10
Sound: Like the graphics, they are pretty much what you would expect for a somewhat cute Game Boy Color game from Nintendo, and a Kirby game in specific. The music is OK if you like the style of Kirby game music, you will like this. Some may find it too ‘nice' or something', but I think it fits the game perfectly.
Score: 8/10 (this is comparing it to other original Game Boy games, not any other platforms...
otherwise a GB game would never get more than a 4 or 5 except for very rare occasions)
Other Info: This is the only Game Boy game that has tilt technology int it, so if you want other games similar to it, you will have to wait for the Game Boy Advance / Gamecube sequel coming sometime this year, hopefully. The Kirby series, though, has many games in it in many genres-- sidescrolling platformer, pinball, breakout, golf, tetris-style puzzle game, etc, and is generally very good. This game is no exception. I recommend that it should be at least rented to see if you think the game is long enough to justify owning. That depends on how much you like it and how good you are at the game.
Scores:
Gameplay:9 /10
Single Player:8 /10
Multi Player: N/A
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 8/10
Total: 34/40 or % (not the final score-- this is just the total of the parts)
Game Information:
System: PC
Released in late 1997
Review written in Spring 2001; small changes made 2/26/03 for posting.
Review posted at Tendo City 2/26/2003. Edited and partially rewritten 2/26/2004 (for posting at Gamefaqs, and later the current TC homepage). Reposted here on 5/22/2005.
Developed by Titanic Entertainment
Published by Activision
Game Overview: Netstorm: Islands At War, developed by Titanic (Netstorm was its only game) and published by Activison, is a Real-Time Strategy game released in late 1997. Its main focus was on its quite good internet play mode. While the game failed to sell, it is actually quite a good game, despite some problems. Netstorm is unique in that it is a RTS game where the only units that can move are the resource gathers-- military and support units are stationary towers with specific functions and attack areas. This adds to the strategy because placement of the towers is a major part of the game. There is a wide variety of units. They are not balanced all that well, but all players can get all of the units eventually so it works well enough. These units are placed in the sky on floating islands. A (multiplayer) map will have a few large base islands around the edges, scattered resource geysers floating out in the air, and a field of small floating islands in the center. To get to geysers or islands or to build units (towers) of an island, you must build bridges. This is the game's most unique element. It is most similar to Tetris, actually, as the pieces are in many different shapes that you have to link together as you try to expand around the map. Skill at quickly and efficiently laying bridges is vital to being able to win, for if you are blocked off by bridges you will probably eventually lose. This is a problem for new players because quick bridge building takes time to learn. As such, new players lose most all the time to a good or even mediocre player. It takes time before you become good enough to compete with better players in the game, and this definitely would turn some people off of the game. Since geysers are all over the map, being cut off is devastating. And since geysers don't have too much gas in them, and randomly appear around the map, the more territory you have the more money you will make, given enough workers. The key to victory, though, isn't annihilating your enemy's units. It is sacrificing their High Priest. A Priest can be captured when damaged enough, and once captured, brought to a Altar where the victor's High Priest will sacrifice it. Once a person's priest is dead, they lose the game. It is a very unique game. This is probably its greatest strength and greatest curse, as the game is unique and there is nothing like it, but so different that many people will not like how different it is from every other RTS they have played. New players are also slowed down a lot by the structure of the multiplayer system, where at the start you only have a couple of basic units and actually have to unlock the better units in the game by winning matches and sacrificing enemy priests -- this means your enemies, if they are better, will not just be better but will have better units too. Clearly the game is designed so it is best to play against people of a similar skill level and rank, and played in that way it is fun. 9 of 10.
Single Player: Because Netstorm was clearly designed for its internet play, the single player mode leaves a lot to be desired. With no in-mission saving, a fairly long and tedious campaign, and more boring gameplay because there are only large islands and geysers in single player, the single player mode is clearly in the game just so they have one. It will take a while to get through, if you really want to, but probably isn't worth the effort. The poor story doesn't really make you want to progress, either. There are some better campaigns made by fans available for download, however, and if you want a good single player experience you should get them. They have things the main campaign doesn't like branching missions as well. 6/10.
Multi Player: This is where Netstorm is at its best. It was an early online RTS, coming out in demo form in fall 1997, and was probably ahead of its time. With free internet play built into the game, it is very easy to play online. Even here the game is unique -- instead of the average online interface, chatroom, and list of games, it has a ''sky'' where your island -- a small representation of the island you actually have in the game -- flies around, to where your mouse clicks, and joins a game when you click on a spot on a battle ring. That spot is the point (of the 8 start locations around the edge) where you actually start the game. Here, games from one to eight players are played on a map with large islands around the outside and a field of small ones in the middle with the geysers. Though there some problems online because of the fact that almost all players are either very good or no good, because of the small (though steady and probably slowly growing now that it is more available) number of people that play, it is still fun and even now, three years after this poorly selling game released, people are usually playing online. There was even a fanmade patch released late 2003. It broke single player mode, in some ways, but as I have said that does not matter. It added some great features to multiplay like different colored islands and bridges on the minimap for each player. The only real problems with online play are how many people cheat. Because of how the game was designed, cheating is fairly easy and lots of people cheat. Even with this latest patch, cheating is too easy. When past the cheating, though, the game is a lot of fun. But like many other things about this game its uniqueness is a weakness as well. I like the level progression where you unlock more characters as you win more games, but it does hurt new players chances of completing against good ones even more, or even against not so good ones who have more units. However, just getting a file with all the units isn't a good solution because you will then be thrown into playing against people who are far better than you, so following the rank tree is needed if you want to get good. It adds to replay value, though, because unlike most online games it actually gives you a tangible award for winning games (which is something I like about this). I like that. 10/10.
Graphics: Netstorm's graphics are clearly out of date, even though they get the job done. They are old, though, and may make some people not really try the game. This area is, because of the game's age and the fact that the graphics were just OK then, at best, one of the weakest areas of the game. It will even still slow down on a fast computer if you have a huge number of moving units on the screen -- a game limitation, clearly. That doesn't hurt the gameplay much though because again, only resource gatherers, not military units, move. If you can ignore the graphics, there is a good game behind them. 7/10.
Sound/Music: The music and sound in Netstorm is ok. While it won't stand out, it is decent and doesn't seem to repeat too often. Each resource gatherer will make some sound when you click on them, and they are good. The battle sounds are good as well. Overall, a little above average in this category. Nothing special really, but appropriate for the game. 8/10.
Other Info (& Value): While not immediately apparent, Netstorm does have a map editor for single player levels. However, to make a map you must both place the units and islands in the in-game editor you can get and create a text file to go with that map that tells the game everything from what units are enabled in the level for what players start with (it must be listed), and what the alliances and computer player scripts are. This is more complex than it sounds because this file is a text file and figuring out the syntax takes some time. For most people it probably isn't worth it and it would just be better to download some of the good campaigns that other users made. A few are good. The result is few maps made and fewer that are actually good. It is good that it has it, though. And with the infinitely replayable multiplayer as the main focus of the game, any single player is just gravy... 10/10.
Overall, it is a great and unique RTS, but has some definite flaws and limitations and a relatively high learning curve that probably keeps many new players from fully appreciating the game. Still, it is a good game and there is still nothing like it out there. Until there is, it will still be worth playing. One of my favorite RTSes, but I recognize that it is not for everyone.
Score: Raw Scores:
Gameplay- 9/10
Sound- 8/10
Graphics- 7/10
Single- 6/10
Multi- 10/10
Other 10/10
Total- 50/60 or 83%
Final Score (not the total-- this is what I feel the game deserves): 88% , because despite some problems and limitations it is still a good game.
Some links. Netstorm HQ is the main community site. Since Activision took down the Netstorm servers several years ago, they've been distributing the game as abandonware (and are working on patches -- one done, one coming sometime this year).
Mega-what? Metal Gear Solid is coming to Gamecube, according to France-based Newtechnix. Nintendo is working with Konami to develop a new installment in the series. In addition, Nintendo is working with EA to develop sports games. With an announcement this big, it pays to scrutinize your sources. While NEWTECHNIX is pretty reliable, this news has been passed from an Italian media interview with Miyamoto through the oft-mistaken hands of Nintendo Europe and finally to NEWTECHNIX.
Konami's Hideo Kojima has, in the past, considered Gamecube unfit for the MGS series. If this rumor turns out to be true, I get the sense that some compensation (read:money) was involved.
This news is the crown diamond in a necklace of high-profile revelations that have been unleashed by Nintendo in Europe. In the UK, NOE unveiled Pikmin 2 and Kirby's Air Ride, while a French interview with Miyamoto revealed information on the inner workings of EAD. It seems likely that this is Nintendo's way of saying, "We're serious about Europe."
I'm not ripping off my clothes and celebrating quite yet, but the raised probability of an MGS game on Gamecube has awakened an excitement in my spirit.