darkjak

Say what? Very few games apply to my description. Very few games push their hardware to a new level, very few games have new, innovative cutting edge controls. And very few games have gameplay innovations that everyone copies. You're very right that "magic" is a part of the formula. But as you say yourself: that isn't quantifiable and what you consider magic is very individual.

As I've stated before, Link should remain mute. That's a clever way to create immersion, which has been used in the likes of for example Half-Life. But I see no reason why the rest of Hyrule should communicate with text. It feels cheap and old fashioned. Like I said: Zelda-ness to me is a formula of gameplay elements, in combinations with storytelling and controls that both are cutting edge for their times, in combination with graphics that push its hardware to a new level. Plus a whole bunch of technical and gameplay wise advancements that everyone else copies afterwards. What do you mean why? Look through the reviews of Ocarina, A Link to the Past and all the Zeldas prior to that. Look at the top lists over the best games of all time! I read a top list published in a magazine in 2010 yet again stating that Ocarina is the best game of all time. The list contained A Link to the Past as well. But Twilight Princess wasn't mentioned. Nor was Wind Waker or any of the portable games. And this list isn't unique: nearly all top lists include the old Zeldas and ignore the newer ones. Ocarina is the Zelda I played the most and it pioneered in a lot of ways. The innovative combat system, the day/night cycle, the huge free-roaming world, the graphics and the story telling. Ocarina set a new standard for how games should be. Game developers could no longer state that they don't want to develop games for the n64 because you couldn't tell stories. Even PC-gamers had to start talking about Myst and other games with pre-rendered backgrounds to claim that the graphics weren't the best ever. In other words: Ocarina of Time was the Mass Effect/Dragonage of 1998. Like A Link to the past was the MA/DA of the early 90's, Link's awakening was the same for handhelds and both NES outings were the same for the late 80's.

As I've previously mentioned, the thing is that Zelda isn't moving with the times. In essence, Zelda has a formula that's still relevant. The issue is that people see solutions that Nintendo made due to technical limitations and then labled that as "Zelda-ness". I remember reading a magazine two months prior to the release of Ocarina, where a reader wrote an angry entry about how Zelda shouldn't be in 3D, how Link was too detailed because you could actually see his face and how 3D would generally ruin the game. To my understanding, Nintendo are going to get rid of the old-fashioned midi-music in favor of high quality orchestra music for Skyward Sword. So that's one step in the right direction. I hope that the Zelda Cafe will be a true Zelda and crush every other game when it comes out. I have high hopes for a Zelda game. Much higher than for any other franchise on this planet. And that's because of the series own history of excellence. But saying that they're demands is wrong. It's not like I won't buy it if it won't be the greatest game of all time. I am intrigued by the controls, and there's a lot that Nintendo haven't told us yet which may boost it. But this game should have been released in 2008. Releasing it now is nearly pointless. It'll prove absolutely nothing. First they're launching a game for the Wii that's supposed to show how lazy everyone else has been, and prove that motion controls work for core games and that you can make good looking games with the hardware, the thing being that they also say that it's pointless to try, by revealing a new console before the game is even released. It's like Saab would enter the WRC with the current generation 9-3 to show what a potent machine it is, when they're going to replace the current 9-3 during next year. Skyward Sword should never have been shown for the Wii. Instead Nintendo should launch Cafe with an HD Zelda, proving what an excellent new machine they have and what a lineup people can expect in the future. As retro link so nicely put it: Zelda used to be the creme de la creme of video games. If a Zelda was due to come out that year, every other game developer just had to realise that no matter how hard they tried, they would not be able to get any game of the year awards from multi format magazines. Because what would be released that year would in all probability yet again be referred to as the best game of all time.

I'd prefer an angry James Earl Jones.

And how exactly will the mother find out that there isn't a translation into her language? It's not exactly like she'll go out on a gaming forum and go like: "Hi, I wonder if this or that game is dubbed in to my language".

I must say, that I do like it when germans speak german, rather than english with an accent in WWII-movies. However, videogames are a different medium and different rules apply. The point of adding a story in to a game is immersion. And having to read subtitles to understand what they're saying kind of works against that. English isn't my first language either (it's swedish, my second is polish and english comes first at third place), but if you don't know english in this day and age, you're an uneducated t**t (or an ego centered frenchie) who should stop playing videogames and get his lazy ass to school. Of course, in japan the characters can speak japanese and in China they can speak chinese. But I don't think Nintendo should waste their resources translating their games in any shape or form in to the likes of italian, french or german. And most certainly not into any of the PIIGS languages! Perhaps russian and arabic. But if you live in europe in 2011 and are young enough to appreciate video games, you should know english!

To eliminate the need for subtitles. That helps immersion. Just ask yourself: why didn't they all speak elvish or something like that in the Lord of the Rings movies?

What do you guys want to see in Expendables 2? I'd like the movie to include an opposing mercenary team, which would contain: Arnold Schwarzenegger (leader) Chuck Norris Jackie Chan Clint Eastwood The Rock Van Damme Michelle Rodriguez Imagine having a scene where Dolph Lundgren and Jet Li tag team Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan. Perhaps Eastwood could be an old guru kind of guy, who was a veteran from the Korea war, who then became a mercenary in Vietnam. There could be a back story on how Stalone and Schwarzenegger became enemies. And of course Rodriguez could just be a bad girl.

I think that as long as Link remains mute, it would work fine. However, I do think that they should speak english. Once they have voices, regardless of them speaking a real or made up language, you know what they sound like. As long as the voice acting has a high quality, it'll work.

Thus far I agree. What's wrong with GTA's storylines? They're full of with, irony and pays tribute to great movies. If you listen to Shigeru Miyamoto, Zelda to him has allways been about exploring and being part of a magical world. In other words: immersion. Nintendo could acheive so much by just adding voices. You know, those are incredibly hollow words. Anyone who plays a game obviously thinks it's fun. Some people do think that MS Flight Simulator, real time flying over the atlantic with a dull passenger plane is fun. And any game developer working on an idea that isn't working on a game idea he absolutely loathes, will do something creative. I don't get this. Zelda allready has TONS of story. Why not just add frigging voices? I know it's expensive, but for god's sake, poor little indie studios add voices to their games, why can't Nintendo, whom are rich as trolls do it with their flagship franchise? You're a casual gamer in the sense that you don't understand what Zelda really is. Zelda is the franchise that's supposed to show everyone what Nintendo and their game machines are capable of. They're supposed to be the best. And judging by what we've seen so far, it seems so OLD. And I'm not even just referring to the graphics. I have a 360 but I have no clue of what my gamerscore is. But I really do think it would be convenient with a good online system. I mean, just being able to look at what my friends are playing, then join in and play against them. And not having to save down info about my friends every time I get a new game. And a headset so I can chat with them, regardless of what game I'm playing.

You just can't release an adventuregame with no voices and call it AAA. Not in 2011. This game probably will be good, but it's not going to be what a Zelda game should be by now. The lack of voices was understandable during the N64 era, when voices weren't commonplace due to the small cartridges (when in fact the shear quantity of cutscenes in OoT raised the bar on what storytelling was possible on the format). It was even excusable when Wind Waker and Twilight Princess came out, as Nintendo weren't doing very well. But now Nintendo have a console with sufficiently large discs and they've been owning the game industry for about 5 years. By now Nintendo should be able to bury Dragonage and Mass Effect in all areas except for graphics. I wrote that I believe that it'll be short, because the last few games have been. But of course, there isn't much beyond logics to support my theory, which I'm actually begging to be wrong. That's why I wrote that I think that's how it'll be. I'm hoping that the new cool controls will prove to everyone what awesome games you could create for the Wii if you try. I want this game to show the horsepower that the Wii actually posesses. I want this game to own Mass Effect and Dragonage when it comes to both scale, length and storytelling. I want every single multi platform magazine to rate this as the best game ever. Just like they did with all Zelda games up until OoT. But still I strongly doubt it.

Not at all. A Zelda game's supposed to be the best game released that year. SS doesen't look like it's gone with the times. The graphics are unimpressive, even so for the Wii, we know that they're not going to be using any voices and my guess that this game yet again is going to be too short and easy, with very little in the way of side quests. Plus that this game, that's supposed to convince people that the Wii is good for core gamers is going to be released only a few months before Cafe launches. Which actually in itself is confirmation that it can't.

For one, I think that Nintendo have made a huge mistake. This game should have been launched two years ago. Now it's at the very end of the Wiis lifespan, and while Twilight Princess made OK use of the Wii, this game is just not good looking enough to be launched for the Café. This could either be a nice farewell to the Wii, or it could be yet another Zelda that's not good enough to bear the Zelda name. It'll be completely decided by both Skyward Swords and Cafés respective release dates. The controls seem amazing and I am very much looking forward to SS. However, I do hope that Nintendo want to make a longer and more difficult game than Twilight Princess. Also, last year the graphics weren't much more than OK. It's a Zelda game: it's supposed to be the best game on the format in all respects.

I can't find my old source. HOWEVER, it's mentioned during the Microsoft section of the latest Bonus Round episode.

An article about the canceled Perfect Dark, which refers to an interview with some high guy at Rare. I'll look it up for you later today.

Since Rare has officially confirmed that they're only going to be working on shitty kinect games in the future, Nintendo could buy the license for cheap.

The ultimate drool scenario beyond what I've previously mentioned: Nintendo announce that they're going to use all that money they've earned to use some unused high profile franchises. So we find out that: Retro Studios are working on Perfect Dark for the Café, containing all the features included in the N64 original (faces and bodies are randomised, to avoid clone armies, lots of multiplayer options, co-op in single player using a bot, 40+ weapons and so on), as well as online multiplayer and a bunch of other stuff. Nintendo buy Sega's AM2 team, which is working on Shenmue 3, a game which smashes everything else when it comes to graphics and interactivity. It's developed using the same mocap used in LA Noire, it contains real time lighting for the day/night cycle, advanced physics and a city containing about ten thousand different characters, each with different models, voices and movement patterns. AM2 is also going to finish development of Propeller Arena:

I've previously thought about this... and realised it's a bad idea. There's a reason the connectivity between GBA and Gamecube games never took off, or that even the transfer pak for the N64 died off quickly. No game that needs controllers that aren't bundled with either the console or the game will ever catch on. That all Wii2's will be bundled with a 3DS is unlikely. That you'll get one bundled with let's say Starfox Café is even more so! What I can hope for is that certain games will be launched in twin packs, meaning a box containing the 3DS and Café version of the same game, and that you'll then be able to play the same game and wirelessly (and automatically) be able to transfer your progress between the versions, so you'll be able to make progress on your Café library while on the move!

Not only that. Better hardware enables more expansive game environments, better physics and more characters. It might be true that most developers haven't done anything innovative with the power, but quite a few games have gone beyond that.

I don't really get why this guy's so succesful. He does the same jokes over and over, he's got two identical shows, which are a ripoff off the Simpsons, it's badly drawn and it's just pointless. I hope he takes a VERY different approach when doing this Flintstones film. Not to mention I'm pretty tired of everything getting rebooted all the time. The Hulk got rebooted twice within two years, Fantastic Four is getting rebooted after two movies and Ghost Rider is getting rebooted after one movie, without even changing the cast.

If you look at the likes of Just Cause, then that game could make use of a longer draw distance. It's a gorgeous game and all, but while flying a plane, you can see that the trees far away are sprites and you can clearly see the LOD models changing. Call of Duty tries to be epic, but the fact of the matter is that even I, who served in a non-fighting unit during my military service participated in more epic excersises. Want some numbers? 50 men on my platoon vs 50 men on another platoon was standard. I directed traffic when about 100 tracked vehicles and probably thousands of soldiers were fighting in the middle of a large city. Helicopters, fighter jets and transport aircraft were flying above my head all the time. We were "bombarded by artillery", "attacked" by tanks and had to stand guard, ready for a "motor cycle gang loyal to the enemy". This makes CoD feel pretty unepic. A more powerful system could introduce the propper scale in to the game!

"Dual platform" lineup: Buy a Café/Wii game, get the same game for the 3DS for free. Excite racing: a game in the style of Excitebike 64 only with a multitude of vehicles. A challenger to motorstorm, only with Nintendo charms. Waverace Café: A brand new Waverace that displays Cafés superior performance and introduces online play. Pilotwings Café: A Pilotwings that takes the same track as Mariokart, in the way that it contains a selection of levels and vehicles from previous games with improved graphics, as well as a selection of new vehicles and levels. Nintendo GT: Nintendo have no chance to reach out to the core market without a competitor to Gran Turismo and Forza. So a game with a very very wide selection of cars (200+), fairly realistic handling and a few real tracks. HOWEVER, most tracks will be more visually more realistic versions of classic Nintendo tracks. Imagine the layout from Rainbow Road for MK64, only it looks like a spectacular mountain with tunnels and stunning views. Starfox: A brand new in house developed Starfox without any on foot sections. Retro Studios FPS: A game based on a strongly improved Metroid engine. Something original, yet an equivelant to Halo, Killzone and Call of Duty. Realistic or not doesen't really matter. Full backwards compatible Café: Wii and GC compatibility will remain. Virtual console and Wiiware as well.

Why do you consider Kinect Sports to be hugely important? It's a low budget clone of another popular game. And they couldn't even get that right!

The reason it's fine with Mario is because it's allways been like this. The mere fact that Mario is in a platform game is a deviations from his roots in Donkey Kong. So it's not strange that people don't mind Mario racing gokarts or whatever. Mario is quite simply a symbol of games that are colorful and fun. I don't think that anyone would appreciate a Mario with realistic graphics, where a fat middle aged plumber who walks around and sets people on fire to reach tha princess and in the end of the game says "Forget the cake, b***h, I want some peach you *insert condoscending slur for female here*". Zelda on the other hand has allways been Nintendos main AAA title. Zelda, A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time were broadly considered the best games of all time upon release and are usually all included in best game of all time-lists, while Link's Awakening was considered the best handheld game of it's era. While Link's Crossbot Training wasn't terrible, it was certainly not worthy of being called a Zelda. They could have used the same game engine and the same gameplay, only with the change of replacing Link with let's say a space marine and call it "Futuristic Rifle Training". Neither Wind Waker or Twilight Princess reached up to be worthy of the Zelda badge IMO (although at least TP wasn't blasphemy). And even though Mario hasn't had his rep reduced too much because of the deviations, he still has suffered from it. On the N64 I had every single Mario game, except for Mario Party 2&3. On the GC I didn't: there was just too many of them. On the Wii I barely have any Mario games (but that's because I don't have that much money and generally spend less on games). Many games in the Mario franchise shouldn't have been released (like several Mario Party games or that Mario Sports Pack or whatever it's called).

The reason I consider High Voltage to be a candidate is mainly their productivity. Where Retro released MP3 in 2007, it then took them about three years to develop a second game. High Voltage released the Conduit in 2009, Battle of Olympus shortly after and this year we'll probably both receive Conduit 2 and Grinder. Rare were both known for productivity and quality. I think that High Voltage quite soon might be able to reach a high level of quality.