Archive for October, 2009
Discusses what Nintendo will be after the Wii.
With the Wii, Nintendo has proved a lot of things. One of the most prevalent things that Nintendo has displayed, is that video games can get people involved in more ways than by simply holding a controller while sitting on their couches.
Esteemed Nintendo game developer Shigeru Miyamoto spoke with Popular Mechanics recently (via Gamasutra) about the future of games, and specifically the future of the company. Nintendo is in good shape with the Wii (see: piles of money laying around Nintendo HQ), and they will build off their success in the future.
Miyamoto touched on many things during his interview, and one of the main things was how video games are entering more homes everyday, and in newer ways. Miyamoto argued:
"What I've found really in the past four or five years—since the launch of the DS and Wii—so many more people have come into contact with video games that I think there's a much better understanding of what they have to offer and they are becoming a much greater part of everyone's daily life."
With games like Wii Fit and EA Sports Active, the Wii is getting more people involved, as well as re-inventing a new gaming genre, exergaming.
Miyamoto makes his vision clear, in that when he is asked where he sees video games heading in the future, he responds by saying, "As time goes on, I think we're going to see how the system of the video-game console and this interactive interface is going to gradually bleed in to other elements of, say, home electronics and daily life." It is clear that Miyamoto wants to continue with this new trend started with the Wii, which encompasses more of entertainment than just traditional gaming.
The "interactive interface" that Miyamoto speaks of is another key element Nintendo will continue to build on. It is their belief that creating an intuitive experience is one of the key elements to creating a system. This ranges from the Wii's channel interface, to gameplay itself consisting of natural and simple motions.
Miyamoto also touched on a very hot topic, that of Nintendo's console future. When I say touched on, I really mean barely touched on, as he only mentioned two key phrases. He's looking for it to be "compact" and "perhaps even more cost-efficient."
Take from this what you will, but I'm curious to see what you think he means. Is he referring to a Playstation 2 Slim type of upgrade for the Wii? Or could he be referring to a new console?
Vanillaware crafted a smooth and beautiful action title for the Wii in Muramasa: The Demon Blade, which excels in feeling good.
Muramasa: The Demon Blade quickly became one of the top anticipated games for the Wii this year. Its gorgeous hand-drawn graphics and smooth frame rate prove that Vanillaware knows how to make a Wii game look great.
Muramasa is set in the Genroku era of Japan's history in the 17th century, and draws from Japanese tales and rich culture to give a unique feel to the game. Even the vivid, layered backgrounds are inspired from Japanese art. The game centers around Kisuke and Momohime (who's stories run parallel in the game and are played separately). Kisuke has amnesia and can't remember a crime he committed, while Momohime is possessed by the soul of a swordsman. Typical, right?
Mysterious barriers can only be shattered by key Demon Blades.
Even more important in the story is that the current shogun is filled with greed, and is after the all-powerful Demon Blades, which sparks a conflict in the region. To make matters worse, the Demon Blades begin to call forth dangerous monsters to the land. While navigating each area, you run into different characters both for and against your cause. The storyline doesn't branch off with these characters, so much as it leads Momohime and Kisuke into different directions to aid others. Unfortunately, a good amount of players probably won't follow the convoluted storyline so well.
Most are playing the game for its action anyways. The fast-paced combat combines button-mashing/fighting with well-executed timing for different ninja-like moves. Few things on the Wii to date are as satisfying as flicking an enemy into the air, and then crossing them as you dash back and forth through the air with your katana in tow, whipping the enemy down to the ground, only to follow with a swift stab as you plummet downward, sword-first. Muramasa brings a visual flare to the system in its swordplay, and manages to let players dominate multiple enemies onscreen without noticeable slowdown. Sometimes, this ends in huge combos (I got a combo of over 200 against one boss... twice).
Do ninjas get cold?
These ninja moves translate well to the controller. Three options are available for you to use: the Wii Remote/Nunchuk, Classic Controller, or GameCube controller. I'm happy to say that literally all of them work well. Sadly, none of them use a button for the character's jump command. Instead, in Super Smash Bros. style, the scarcely-controllable jump and double-jump of your character is done by pressing the joystick of your controller up.
The advantage to this unwieldy setup lies in the flashy way you can cut up enemies that I described earlier. While jumping through the air, you can push the joystick in any direction to have your character zip in that direction while slashing at enemies. Add that to the parrying, rolling, and reflecting of any ranged weapons thrown your way, and the combat makes up the best part of the game. This game does a great job of making your every move feel very ninja-like.
Players have access to a few items during battle for quick healing both your character and your blade, as well as support items. Blades wear down throughout battle, leading them to eventually break (they repair over time). You need not fret, though. At any given moment, you can flip between up to three different swords you are equipped with, sometimes starting out by slashing every enemy on screen at once.
The blades acquired are short lived in your equipment, though. With 108 different swords to be found or forged in the game (essentially split between Momohime and Kisuke), you'll often find that you'll obtain four or five at a time. Each blade may have different status effects and special moves attached, but these perks typically don't play into your decision to always go with the more powerful ones. Muramasa didn't fully realize the opportunity to let players get more acquainted with the swords to find ones they really like. Even some sort of sword customizing option would have proven more friendly.
Special moves are over-the-top, like doppleganger shadows.
Muramasa is also heavy on the backtracking. Kisuke's story, for example, has him running through a few areas of the game for hours. This sort of constant backtracking in turn keeps piles of enemies appearing on most of the screens, always seeming to respawn the second you turn your back. Even if some of the battles take literal seconds, this wears a bit thin. Combat itself begins to feel repetitive, only to be picked up a bit more once more blades are opened to you.
The enemies range from familiar ninjas to oh-my-god-what-is-that-thing-attacking-me. One of the early bosses is a giant centipede (below), for instance. Each larger-than-life boss is designed with the same care as the rest of the enemies, with striking detail. While some enemies repeat with different colors and a few accessories, there is still a respectable number of beasts to fight in the game.
Sorry, those aren't enormous Creepy Crawlers.
Muramasa has a dash of "side quests," for lack of a better term. Swords can be forged, food can be cooked, and items can be found. Scattered around the levels are not only items, but green flames that represent souls. By collecting souls, you fill up your blade gauges. Souls are also spent when forging new blades. The blade forging tree depends on finding key Demon Blades when beating bosses, as well as balancing your play time between both characters to unlock more swords. Perfectionists will often go out of their way to find every stray soul or item in each screen, and collect every possible sword and accessory.
Plus, you can seek out the optional enemy lairs, which throws literally hundreds of enemies at you, often in groups of 15-20 at a time (depending on the enemies you're facing). The enemy lairs reward players with rare items and accessories, usually making the 10+ minute battles worthwhile.
Delicious. The game's soundtrack and hand-drawn imagery blends together to make a perfectly presented title.
Intricate structure. The parallel stories bring a unique twist to the storytelling, while also being implemented in the design of the blade forging tree.
So many swords. The amount of swords and accessories for players to dig for in the game is incredible. Each successive blade gives you a feeling of power in your combat.
Wax on, slice up. Kisuke and Momohime's acrobatic ninja skills mix well with the controls to make the gameplay entirely rewarding.
Play it again. Two difficulty modes exist in the game, Muso (normal, which strengthens the RPG elements of the game), and Shura (hard). In this way, devoted players may find themselves coming back for more.
See it once, see it again, and again. The excessive backtracking occasionally gets agitating.
Core players want more. The controls may work well, but extra attack buttons for combos and the possibility for more RPG elements like magic would have been a welcome addition and a perfect fit.
Forget what you're fighting with. One of the game's strong suits, the weapon catalogue, suffers from the game's quick pacing. Instead of getting the opportunity and being given the incentive to get acquainted with each new sword, combat benefits most from equipping based on the newer, more powerful swords.
Muramasa has a few issues in its design. However, even if you are easily frustrated by backtracking, the style and execution of each battle and light-RPG element make it worth playing. Muramasa is clearly one of the best games to grace the Wii this year, and is easily one of the best looking games you can get on the system.
Could A Wii game that you play without touching the Wiimote possibly be fun?
Nintendo claims they are "innovators." With the Wii, the DS and the Dsi, many believe that Nintendo has lived up to their claims. Even with these innovations on the hardware side, there is little argument that there is a lack of innovation in third-party developed software. With a few exceptions in games like Boom Blox, not many games find interesting mechanics besides the basic waggle.
So if you are wondering what possible innovation games could offer, I will point you in the direction of "Let's Tap." This is a game so innovative, you don't even touch the controller. Confused? Let me explain.
"Let's Tap" is a collection of mini-games by a new studio named Prope, lead by former Sonic Team head Yuji Naka. The game immediately instructs you to grab a box and place your Wii remote on top of it, button side down. From there on you do not touch the controller for the rest of your gaming experience. You navigate the menus through tapping once to move to the next subject, and double tapping to select it (although you can pick up and use the Wii remote normally).
Then, a menu presents you with five different games. There is Tap Runner, Rhythm Tap, Silent Blocks, Bubble Voyager and Visualizer. There is also an options menu where you can adjust the calibration of your tapping as well as other features.
Yes, you are tapping a box to make little bright-colored stick men run in space.
The first game is what you have probably seen if you have seen trailers of this game, and provides the most "full" game experience. Tap Runner (above) puts you in control of one of four different colored stick men. The goal of the game is to guide your man across a course in a race to the finish. You control your character by lightly tapping rapidly on your box to run, and tapping hard to jump.
The controls have a high point of entry. There is a point where your character will actually run instead of walk, but to achieve this you must keep an almost perfect tempo and power in your tapping. While challenging at first, once mastered you can basically place in the top two of most races. There are over 16 courses, each with an increasing difficulty and an increasing number of obstacles to overcome. As in all the games, you can also play with up to four friends.
The second game is called Rhythm Tap, and it is, unsurprisingly, a rhythm game. It plays similar to Donkey Konga, where you have to time your taps as notes cross the screen. You have to tap in three different varieties (light, medium, and hard) as well as long successions of quick taps and tap from gradually light to hard. The game isn't too deep, offering only 16 songs to choose from, and the notes feel off in certain songs. It is fun in your first play through but due to the combination of the number of songs and lack of harder difficulties, this mode doesn't warrant multiple play throughs.
Covering multiple genres, Tap's third mini-game is a puzzle game called Silent Blocks. The game starts with a tower of red and blue pentagonal blocks with the goal of combining these blocks in groups of three. You select the block of your choice by tapping, and then must rapidly tap to pull it out of the tower. Once 3 are combined, the blocks form a copper-like block. Then you can go back to matching red or blue, or match three copper blocks to form a new kind of block, and so on.
Most of the controls are hard to grasp. You will often find yourself picking the wrong block to eliminate, which can quickly get annoying. It is hard to remove a block without causing a major disturbance in your tower, no matter how you tap. This can lead to games lasting very shortly, depending on how lucky you are. The four player mode offers a competition to see who can eliminate the most blocks, so with all four of you likely removing the wrong blocks you are on equal grounds.
The weakest game in the group is the fourth, Bubble Voyager. You control your "voyager," and fly through space collecting stars and avoiding other obstacles. You tap to keep your character flying, and tap hard to shoot a rocket to destroy obstacles. The four player mode puts you in different ships in a more vertical style. The gameplay is fun at first, but repetitive. The multiplayer option provides a different experience, but was at points too chaotic and not worth replaying.
Let's Tap's eccentric style makes high rhythm combos all the more satisfying.
I say that Bubble Voyager is the weakest of the games because the fifth "mini-game" is not a game at all, it is a Visualizer. Up to four players can create visual designs either with paint, fireworks or a variety of other mediums. Tapping with different strengths creates different effects. It's neat to look at, but I did not return to it after the first time playing it, where I explored all the different visualization options.
Variety. The different games and different modes in each game provide plenty of variety for repeated play.
Cheap. The game is not, in a traditional sense, a full game. That is why the low price point of it justifies the end product.
Innovative controls. Instead of being a waggle-fest like most Wii games, or completely ignoring motion controls like others, Let's Tap finds a unique way to play the Wii. The tapping will feel almost natural after enough time playing.
Sleek style. From the menus to the games, Let's Tap offers a cool, sleek and sharp visual presentation from both a graphical and audio standpoint.
Boxes! You might not even give it a second thought before playing the game, but finding just the right box is even a game itself. And yes, I did try using my gut instead of a box; and yes, it works.
Imprecise controls. The controls, while innovative, are sometimes too imprecise. Especially in Tap Runner you will have to have great control to keep the sometimes villainous tempos that the game requires you to produce.
Little replay value. Most of the games offer little to no replay value, especially if you do well enough on them the first time.
Let's Tap is fun, innovative and a great realization of an odd concept. I would easily recommend this game to people at the price of around $30 (which gets you a new copy off Amazon). You may not have many, many hours of fun with Let's Tap, but the time you do spend with it will be well worth it. And who knows, supporting this game might just create opportunities for more games like this to come to the Wii. I'll tap to that!
Reggie Fils-Aime declares innovation will attract consumers
There was no denying that the past few years have been ultra successful for Nintendo, and specifically the Wii. For the first few years of the Wii's lifespan, it had remarkable sales that had no signs of stopping. That all changed recently, as sales of the Wii began to slow. This led Nintendo to issue the first price cut in Wii history, and recently Reggie Fils-Aime stated that it will be the Wii's only price cut.
Recently Nintendo's President and COO sat down with CNBC and discussed not only the reasons behind the price cut, but also how Nintendo foresees this holiday season.
One key point that Fils-Aime stressed was that this price cut was not because of competitors (the Xbox 360 and PS3) cutting their prices, but rather it was a timed strategic move, to coincide with one of Nintendo's big releases, Wii Fit Plus. Nintendo is hoping that with the Wii's new price of $199, the users who were reluctant to buy the Wii previously, will finally invest, because of its higher value. Fils-Aime went on to explain by saying, "We define value as what you get for what you pay. With Wii - with the USD 50 price drop - you're getting a lot more value."
When also asked about whether or not another price cut would be needed to corral consumers, Fils-Aime responded by saying "absolutely not." Reggie would go on to explain that instead of relying on more price cuts, Nintendo will rally more consumers behind the console by continuing to innovate, and stay ahead of the curve.
He also dispelled any thoughts of shortages this holiday season, as has plagued Nintendo in the past. "We're prepared. We have a tremendous amount of product in inventory, we've been flowing product in for retail. We do not expect to have shortages on our products."
Via Gamesindustry.biz and CNBC
