I don't pretend to understand the circumstances surrounding my occasional interest in RPG's. Like Tycho said it hits about every three years or so and when it does I usually pick up two or three titles. Then I inevitably get to points in the games that remind me why I hate RPG's so much and that usually snaps me out of it. Then I can go back to playing something fun like Soccer Slam or REZ.
I agree with Tycho concerning Doom 3. What we saw at the show was certainly a cool technology demo but it hardly deserves best of show. It's not that I don't like it, I just don't think it's all that interesting. We only ever saw one or two enemies on the screen at once during the entire demo which doesn't seem very Doom like. In fact the only thing about it that did seem reminiscent of the previous titles was its apparent lack of a story and its same old satanic art direction. From what we saw the story seems to be the same old "oh crap a doorway to hell opened up and now freaky shit is coming out." That's enough to get me killing monsters but it's certainly nothing revolutionary in the world of first person shooters. Then there's the art direction, which appears to have been done by that weird guy from your algebra class who never washed his hair and drew swords and pentagrams in the margins of his notes. I guess a guy impaled on an upside down cross with a goat head might have been cool when I was in seventh grade but now it just looks silly. I'll give you that the monsters and environments were well constructed and looked very real but the problem is their original concepts seem totally uninspired. Sure it's the best looking hallway with pipes that leads to a room full of boxes I've ever seen but it's still just the same old pipes and boxes. For me the game of show has to be Panzer Dragoon Orta. No other title on the show floor, with the possible exception of Zelda looked as interesting. When I say interesting I don't just mean the graphics were cool. I mean this title is a work or art that was actually interesting to look at. The designs for the various creatures, environments and vehicles are so astounding they put most big budget Sci-Fi flicks to shame. I'm still looking forward to Doom 3 but I'm not expecting anything more than another Doom game from it. I'd love for them to prove me wrong.
Do you live in or near Sunnyvale California? Do you know where Golfland USA is? If you answered yes to both of those questions then you my friend have homework. I have received a couple reports that Metal Slug 4 is at that very arcade right now just waiting for you to go down and play it. So your homework is to get your ass down there, drop some quarters in that son of a bitch and then tell me how it is.
Speaking of Neo-Geo games I have put up a new article in our Land of the Rising Fun section. This time I give my impressions of King of Fighters 2001. Travis from Videogame Depot says they are scheduled to get some more copies of KOF 2001 in next week as well as some home systems to play it on. He also said Metal Slug 4 should be arriving in his shop soon which is very exciting. I tend to get a few mails each week from people asking about the Neo-Geo. It seems many of you are interested in getting into the scene but you're not sure where to start. Well to help you out I am working on a new article for Land of the Rising fun that will explain the finer points of getting started collecting Neo-Geo stuff. I'll try and layout the basics concerning everything from the Neo-Geo MVS arcade system to the Neo-Geo color Pocket. I'll cover things like how to avoid getting ripped off and what to look for when you decide to get your first arcade machine or home system. If you have any questions regarding any aspect of the Neo-Geo feel free to send them to me so I can include them in my write up.
-Gabe out.
