I probably should have known I’d be in trouble when I asked for emails in a broad sentence like “Send me any questions you have about this vast gaming Mecca!” So, somewhere between 100-200 mails later (I lost count), here I am again. I’m sorry that I couldn’t respond to all of you personally, but that would have been physically impossible. I’m also sorry if some of you asked questions that get no answer whatsoever from me… I really only have the resources to address the hot issues, which I’ll try to do over the course of the next few days. Please know that I read ALL your mails, even the dumb ones, and have considered them in my heart of hearts. More or less.
A lot of people have asked me for a Top 5 list like Gabe did yesterday, but that wouldn’t be very fair… I want to reserve judgement until I see the entire show, and then I’ll give you all the best analysis I possibly can. Today, however, I’ve decided to try and break things down by platform, to see if that makes anything any easier to manage. I’m also going to try to avoid mentioning games that we talked about yesterday.
EDIT: Ok, that didn’t fucking work. I wrote everything out, and it was something like 2.5 pages. I’ll just post some Nintendo-related thoughts tonight, something short tomorrow, and then do a massive writeup when I get home. Sorry, I know you’re all impatient… but remember that good things come to those who wait. Like ketchup, and steak sauce, for example! I don’t know how it applies here, though.
Gamecube
A lot of people asked about Mario Sunshine, and I’m not quite sure what to tell you. The game LOOKS nice, and there are a lot of cute things Mario does when interacting with his environment, but something about this game just failed to captivate me. It felt an awful lot like Mario 64 with better graphics, and I just couldn’t shake that feeling. Mario 64 was a great game, mind you… but it’s not the groundbreaking title I’d like to see. On the one hand, it’s too bad that Nintendo won’t go in terribly interesting new directions w/ the franchise. On the other hand, that means we don’t have to stomach titles like Super Mario Extreme Volleyball Arena Racing, so I guess it’s a draw.
Metroid Prime questions also filled a fair portion of my Inbox. The game looks amazing, that’s for sure… it’s graphically as good or better than Halo, and I’d be willing to bet I won’t have to wade through mindless, repetitive levels. The enemies look cool, and the environments are engaging… in short, it’s great. Or rather, it’s great if you love FPS’s on consoles. I like the game a lot, but I’ve never gotten the hang of console shooter controls, and so I don’t think I’m going to extract the amount of enjoyment out of this that some of you might. I can’t say that this game is a bad mark against the franchise, though… not at all. I know that a lot of people are going to go apeshit over this.
This wasn’t a massive title they were touting, but I’m excited as all get out to get my hands on Mario Party 4. I’ve played it, and it certainly appears to be a fun extension to the existing lineup, with crisp new graphics. I don’t think anybody is going to buy a GameCube for this title, but if you loved the previous iterations I think you’re going to be pleased. I see that Gabe already told the story about how we won him a WaveBird… somehow, I don’t think the Nintendo group counted on fucking Clan Prancing Pony showing up and competing in their little game. Anyway, suffice to say that I BONED our poor enemies, and it was really funny. I feel pretty good about myself.
I don’t own a Gamecube right now, but the fact of the matter is that I’m going to change that situation in short order, if I can. Between the new price cut and the great titles coming out, it’s hard to have an excuse not to own one. Hell, I feel like a big winner for holding out till the price drop.
Game Boy Advance
Unfortunately, it turns out that the Zelda game I played is not what I thought it was. In single player mode, the game IS A Link To The Past. Apparently, in multiplayer there’s some sort of competition to see who can get the most rupees. Now, this isn’t a terrible thing, per se… Link To The Past was a great game, but now that I’ve thought about the possibilities of a multiplayer Zelda game, I feel kind of disappointed. Nintendo: You need to make a multiplayer Zelda RIGHT NOW.
I didn’t pay a lot of attention to the other GBA titles, but I did see a few intriguing new things. For starter’s, there’s a new Megaman title called Megaman Zero, which is pretty interesting. There’s also some kind of Megaman RPG, and a bunch of great looking new fighting games ala Street Fighter Whatever, and Capcom Vs. Fill In The Blank. Sorry, I don’t pay much attention to fighters. They looked nice, though, and Gabe seemed to like them, which says something.
Jesus, it’s late. I’ll see you all tomorrow.
(CW)Safety Monkey is in the hizouse
