Awesome read......Very true in some cases.

While I agree that if you took every single piece of fan input you would wind up with one hell of a contradictory cluster fuck, why not complain if you don't like something? There's nothing to be grateful for with Sonic 4, for instance. SEGA isn't giving us anything. We still have to pay for it, right?

I don't know, I just don't think being a "fan" means you have to swallow the kool-aid all the time. I love Castlevania, but if I ever found myself next to IGA at a bar I could give him an earful.

Anyway, you certainly can't please all the people all of the time. But I think the most well informed have the right to complain. If there was no backlash we'd still be getting Metal Gear games with Raiden in them. Oh wait. . .

The thing is, most people complain to people who don't want to hear it. The autumn before RE5 came out I decided to go to the GameFAQS board to see if any new info was available. I found pages of topics bashing the game made by "fans" who somehow felt betrayed (What kind of mental issues would cause one to feel betrayed by the direction a video game is going, I'll probably never know). Now, they were all spouting the "I/we have a right to complain", but none of them complained to CAPCOM. They were people who couldn't change anything going to a random forum to complain to people who couldn't change anything. There was no "Hey, let's sign a petition" or "Let's write a letter to CAPCOM". What's worse, I found out that they originated at the RE4 board and only moved to the RE5 board because that's where everyone was going.

It's not really about the right complain about your opinion, it's about how you choose to voice it. Sometimes you just have to accept that you can't change something no matter how much you dislike it, or how loud you can complain. Yes, game makers like to try new things. Yes, the company needs to make money. No, not everyone is going to like every little decision. What I hate is when "fans" act like every detail has to be passed by them first, and God forbid if they don't like it. They don't realise that they are not a part of the production team and that the developers are not asking for their approval. The only option they have is to either buy/rent the game or not, yet they act like they're some omniscient all-powereful beings who must be obeyed. To make it worse, it's all just a bunch of anonymous white noise eminating from countless faceless screen names.

We can come here and discuss our thoughts and feelings on a game in a civil manner knowing (and more importantly accepting) that we can't magically change things that we don't like about them. We don't make countless topics flamming games in a holier-than-thou manner just because we don't agree with the fucking item menu and expect everyone to agree with us just because we have been fans for more than one installment and think that that fact makes us superior.



If by "earful" you mean "jam a sharp pointy object in the side orifice of his skull" then you could skip the petition and really change what you don't like about Castlevania.

I was just going to suggest that he design games from the ground up, i.e. with the level/stage design/platforming rather than from the top down, i.e. RPG system, fetch quests, etc. Also, stop cutting and pasting hallways to pad the game length. And never let Konami farm the franchise out to M3 again.

Your idea works too, though.

I've said it before, but fans would make the worst videogames. And it's because like you said, all you hear from them is wanting more of the same, cameos of old characters, etc. It's all contradictory and not really well thought out. Your point is taken too about where you're complaining. I had forgot about forum trolls to a certain extent. They never really bothered me, it just usually got old after a while because they'd repeat the same criticsms.

Just a minor point, since you alluded to it. The inventory system in RE5 is intentionally clumsy. It has to be real-time, because it's co-op. And having to fumble around mid battle to move shit around fits real well with the "hey, cover me" dynamic. It adds a little bit of tension that the game sometimes lacks because your characters are so capable.

Yeah. But they always make it sound so easy. Like you have unlimited resources to magically have whatever you want in the game, with no deadline to adhere to or any fear that your game may bomb and run your studio into the ground.

Some have made some pretty sweet mods, though. I think it should be a rule of thumb that only fans who have at least made a mod can grip about a game pre-release. At least they have some experience and perspective about game design and everything that goes into it.

Nice avatar Paul.

I think Gamefan had a policy where they wouldn't slam games pre-release because there was always the possibility the flaws would be corrected, or that the whole was more than the sum of the parts. I don't know. If you can't rail a game before it comes out, you shouldn't be able to hype it much either.

To a certain extent developers hear fan response from forums and things like that. It'd be impossible not to. The only specific example I can cite to personally was someone on gfaqs who worked on the GBA port of SFA3. But designers are people too, presumably who like games, and who may therefore frequent forums. Online response is just one more barometer for focus testing, in a way. And when people do direct their requests or criticisms to the developers (I'm thinking of a recent "region-free" petition for Cave on shmups forums) a lot of people blast them for that because "online petitions never work."

I think it's really just a case of "nobody wants to hear you bitch." Which is valid.

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Backing it up to the MM 16-bit link, I'd rather not see that. I didn't like the Megaman 7 engine that much, even though the game was pretty good, and the one they used for MM 8 and Bass was garbage. The 16-bit X games were phenomenal, though, and if they make Xwhatever they're up to I wouldn't mind it being SNES quality.

I like the idea of making (non-pastel colored) 16-bit styled games again. However, Mega Man has had enough retro attention already. I'd much rather Capcom focus on different retro IPs now.

Hell yeah!

While I'm sure MM10 is good and all, I haven't dl'd it yet. MM9 was amazing because it was a new "NES" game in 2009. It was also one of the better games in the entire series. MM10 is kind of just another sequel, the wow factor is gone. And then we had those PSP remakes, powered up and Maverick Hunters. And those came out after the two collection anthologies . . .

Aside from Strider, what other IPs are you interested in Capcom bringing back? Strider is undoubtably at the top of my list, but I really can't think of many other franchises I'd really want to see return. They just did a 1940 style game and it was crappy. They did Ghosts n' Goblins, though I wouldn't mind seeing another on console. They did a Commando style game that didn't look too appealing.

Maybe a MERCS game with the Resident Evil engine. Or maybe that's just RE5?

STREET FIGHTER 2010 BITCHES
MERCS would be at the top of my list (Strider excluded). That Commando 3 crap was not suitable.
Captain Commando
Forgotten Worlds
Section Z
Saturday Night Slam Masters
Knights of the Round
...Final Fight depending on what Final Fight: Double Impact turns out to be.
And maybe an 8-bit Bionic Commando with the same sprites from the original (ala MM).

Can you imagine the confusion a new Street Fighter 2010 would cause? It'd be awesome.

I can see Section Z working really well because of the puzzle/maze like aspect to the stage progression. Puzzly shooters seem to do well on Live.

From that list I would say Captain Commando is the most likely to get an update. After Bionic Commando got a remake and a sequel, anything's possible.

What ever happened with 8-bit Dark Void? I thought it wasn't going to be a DSI exclusive.

Yeah, doesn't look like Capcom is holding up to the Dark Void promise. I assumed the sales of the 360 game weren't good, too. No surprise.

However, Rondo of Fucking Blood came out on VC today.

VICTOLY!



I know you played the PSP version, but I don't think we've ever talked about it. Rondo is about 999 times better than Bloodlines, isn't it?

Came across this badass cab at a Dave and Busters (you know, where light gun games and trivial pursuit go to die.)

It's like the Ms. Pacman/Galaga combo cab you see everywhere, but better. Because it's got Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., and Mario Bros.

http://www.ultimate-80s.com/Products/Do ... em__9.aspx

I only saw it on my way out, so I didn't get to play. It was sitting next to a 25th anniversary edition Space Invaders cab. I like these repro cabs Namco puts out. Old arcade games had amazing artwork, especially around the monitor bezels. Asthetically, the old Donkey Kong arcade and the bright yellow Pacman cabs are probably my favorites.

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands.

*Takes place between Sands of Time and Warrior Within.

*Uses Anvil (Assassin's Creed engine).

*Can have up to 50 enemies on the screen at a time.

Now, I'm not a fan of the whole "Here's a part of the story that already happened that you didin't know about and that was never hinted at before, but here it is now", but this game looks fricken awsome.

I saw the gameplay reveal trailer on my 360 a few days ago. Yeah, I admit that the game looks absolutely stunning, and that my jaw dropped when I saw the Prince stop time and started running up on waterfalls as if they were solid walls, and then started using the water flowing from the crevices of a ceiling as poles to traverse the environment--I thought that was pure genius.

But still, I really enjoyed the 2008 reboot a whole a lot more than I was expecting, and was very disappointed when I read they were going back to the timeline and aesthetic of the last-gen trilogy. I wanted to see more of the new devil-may-care Prince (I know Nolan North is probably getting a little overplayed now, but I thought he was great in this) the whole camaraderie aspect with Elika and the beautifully rendered cel-shaded environments you got to play through in any order of your choosing. It felt like this new-age, non-linear platformer that came out of the left field for me, and I just found it so refreshing I wanted to see more of it. All in all, I found the overall package to be a such a fulfilling game in the end, what with all the light seeds you can go out of your way to collect whilst exploring every facet of the world.

Did you ever get around to playing the reboot? If so, what did you think of it? I'll admit that the more dynamic acrobatics felt a bit automated (I know a lot of people have given the game a lot of slack because of that), but there's a certain "flow" about it that appeals to me a lot. Whether it be the awe-inspiring animations they took the time to create for the Prince and Elika, or the fact that Elika saving you is in fact a "game over" without killing any of the immersion, which I can most definitely appreciate. Watching Elika use her celestial powers to save you from certain doom helps the game flow a lot better than having to go through the trouble of being asked whether or not you want to continue after being greeted by the same game over screen over and over again.

Yes, and I loved it. I think I was somehow expecting a derivative of Sands of Time, which I didn't want; and, thankfully, didn't get. I could go on for paragraph upon paragraph about what I loved (I guess I should finish that review I started), so I'll try and keep it short.

The main thing that really I loved was that I got the same sort of feeling that I had when I first played SoT, but the reboot wasn't just a thinly veiled carbon copy. I heard that the developers looked to the original PoP for inspiration, and not only did they keep the similar vibe but also made it feel fresh. You had the one-on-one (well, two-on-one) combat, a "hollow" place that you had to traverse, sparse enemy encounters (though the original did have progressively more enemies, it was still no here near SoT), and the knowledge that you were trapped until you completed your quest.

The freshness really shines with the cell-shading, and not just because it's a departure from SoT's artistic style. Yes, the land has been deserted for eons. Yes, it's been overrun with darkness. You know what, though? The sun still works. The land isn't a mix of gun metal gray and baby shit brown just because the fan's been hit. The areas consumes by the evil are varying blacks and blues that, in a shocking move on Ubi's part, doesn't require you to adjust the brightness on your TV to see what the hell you're doing. Then, when you heal the land, the colors change without prejudice to the rest of the palate. Greens, yellows, oranges, reds, you name it, it's there. Yet, even with the healing light, the people are still gone. They've long abandoned what they once had faith in. The crumbling palace in the Sands of Time was eventually fixed; but more importantly the people were restored. The Prince set out to fix his mistake, going for that storybook ending. The reboot had you restoring a beautiful land to what it once was, but what it once was included its people. People who weren't there and didn't leave because of the darkness, but left because they no longer believed. If a land with a society of people is said to be "full of life", then a land without would be dead. Healing the land brings the vibrant colors back to life, but the land is still "dead". The vast vistas showing the greatest distances only show you that you've healed a shell. There's no way that could have been translated with the realistic graphics shown in the earlier videos.

And, yes, I couldn't get enough of the interactions between the Prince and Elika. "I thought you said you lost your ass?" "Donkey!" Priceless.

^ That was a terrific analysis, man. Couldn't have said any of that better myself!

Part of what appealed to me about Prince of Persia's world was how everything in it felt organic, as if it had its own sense of time, place and history. What I also found very interesting in particular was the strange and surprising contrast between the corrupted and healed vistas; the world of darkness actually felt more alive and inhabited than the world of light. The corrupted world came off as this vicious hive mind that was always hell bent on killing our hero; you could see and feel Ahriman's influence through all these sentient abysses, tendrils and his four Corrupted. The healed world, on the other hand, regains its former identity and beauty (blossomed flowers strewn across revived gardens, sun-bathed landscapes, the works), but has now developed this new sense of loneliness and wonder not unlike the Forbidden Land in Shadow of the Colossus. The foreboding evil is purged from the land, but as you said, the land has been forsaken and nobody is left to inherit it. I think there's a certain "quiet" beauty in that.

Some of the best video game tributes I've ever seen. As if Queen weren't awesome enough, my two favorite songs by them encapsulate the greatness that is Galaxy and Brawl.

Super Mario Galaxy - Don't Stop Me Now
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOh968qao74

Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Bohemian Rhapsody
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ylffy9O2 ... re=related

Thanks! After what we just said about PoP and what you pointed out in SoTC, I can't believe that Hideo Kojima once said that he didn't consider video games a form of art.





FUCKING. EPIC!