SimonM7

Seconded. The best thing about Halo 2's solo campaign by a mile. I still think Halo 1 had more peak moments of absolute awe however. Both games play great though, they have the best AI combat of any game I can think of.

lol

2 is great too, you should be able to find it cheap and it's totally worth it!

Obscure was pretty fun. It's just innocent unspectacular fun really. Unless you absolutely have to have top production values and a life-altering experience it's well worth checking out. The Suffering is cool too. 2 of those out, and with a bit of luck a third one could come out similarly on PS2 and Wii.

Err, Jade Raymond is the game's producer and it's a rare occasion where the hot chick is actually 100% involved and perhaps the one that knows best what's going on.

Yeah I'm quite frankly a bit puzzled about Skies of Arcadia. It sold pretty well, and was critically acclaimed. Sequel should be a no-brainer really.

I want him (anywhere anytime) but I don't believe he's in. In fact I think Snake will be the sole third party character.

I think Shinobi and Gunvalkyrie should've had MUCH more in depth tutorials on how to play them. I haven't seen a single video on a single professional website that reviews games, that actually played like you're supposed to. If you wait on the title screen in GV you'll eventually see an attract mode video that shows some proper gameplay, but it's just too little, I doubt most people even know it's there. So it's sort of Sega's own fault, but it's unfortunate for everybody, because like you say they're great fun when you do know how to play them.

Yeah, Dreamcast Ecco is brilliant. Such a moving sci fi game. Shinobi was resurrected, on PS2, and it was great. It also had a sequel called Kunoichi or 'Nightshade' here which was ALSO great. It didn't quite play like a traditional action game, but relied on a type of "tag" system called "Tate". It had you stringing together foes by slashing them once, each in quick succession. It felt similar to the homing attack in the 3D Sonics, but much, much tighter. Fucking hard as nails however, so not many managed to get anywhere in it. Especially if trying to play it like a "normal" action game. Along with Gunvalkyrie and Jet Set Radio Future one of the most misunderstood and underrated Sega games in recent memory. There was an Altered Beast game aswell but that was just rubbish. Golden Axe is coming, shown only as a CGI trailer so far, but coming nontheless. It's being developed by an external team, but that team also made the horrible Final Fight: Streetwise, so I wouldn't hold my breath for goodness. That's essentially Yakuza. More in common with Spikeout I suppose (which is even closer to Streets of Rage, and pretty neat actually), that game blends a hub world and semi shenmueish elements with "brawler" type combat instead of turn based events. You essentially wind up in random encounters, but the fighting is realtime and you can learn new moves and stuff. It starts out pretty slow but gets really good. Built in "hostess" dating game, batting cages, gambling houses and whatnot suggest Shenmue, but it's really SoR/spikeout in a hub world wrapping.

Of course there's more to it, I just don't think it would survive today because people expect so much more from a game's story. You think anyone who's played the countless Final Fantasies will be even remotely as swept away by this wooden guy with a very odd disinterest in girls and his utterly slow pursuit of a man who - gasp! - killed his father, as WE were? Fans would love it. Fans will always love things, but how could they possibly introduce the game to a new audience and have them care even the slightest? Shenmue isn't cheap. Last time I checked it was the most expensive games project ever, and you need more than a rabid core fanbase. I just think the ship has sailed a long time ago. I loved Shenmue - every Sega fan did with a heart and a Dreamcast - but right now I just think the foundation is too weak and unengaging. It's great in the same way Secret Rings' and Outrun 2's soundtracks are, and people just don't get that anymore.

http://www.play.com/Games/PSP/RNR/3-/3310617/300_March_To_Glory/Product.html There you go. Have fun.

Shenmue III now would just be embarrassing. I don't think anyone truly grasps how silly the plot in that game is by today's standards. If you cherish your fond memories of the game with the badguy who managed to run over a cat, splash a girl with mud, and make an old guy fall over and hurt his back all in one dramatic exit, then seriously - let go. Or wish for a Shenmue 3, but never really mean it.

Ah, right, chu, yes. I dunno, I don't see why it wouldn't work with just the Wiimote. I mean it has an acceleratometerythingymabob in there, so it should be just as capable in measuring your waving it in all directions as the nunchuk is. The CHU would obviously mean pressing the B button, whilst HEY would be conducted with A. You could even be tasked to draw the SC5 symbol at the end of a level the way Ulala does.

Project Hammer better have "If I had a hammer" in there as a theme song. If I had a hammer I'd hammer in the morning I'd hammer in the evening All over this land I'd hammer out danger I'd hammer out a warning I'd hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters All over this land If I had a bell I'd ring it in the morning I'd ring it in the evening All over this land I'd ring out danger I'd ring out a warning I'd ring out love between my brothers and my sisters All over this land If I had a song I'd sing it in the morning I'd sing it in the evening All over this land I'd sing out danger I'd sing out a warning I'd sing out love between my brothers and my sisters All over this land Well I've got a hammer And I've got a bell And I've got a song to sing All over this land It's the hammer of justice It's the bell of freedom It's the song about love between my brothers and my sisters All over this land Okay so maybe just the first verse.

Totally and utterly Space Channel 5. Been in the pipeline for a looooong time now, and it makes perfect sense to wave the Wiimote around like a microphone. SHU SHU SHU! etc.

A multiplatform game like this would get away with offering classic pad support as an alternative in opinion. MK: Armageddon is doing it right me thinks. Oh and this game is brilliant. It's surprisingly huge, and regardless of what hero(es) you're into, it won't disappoint. I've finished it once and I'm on my second play through. (360 version)

IK+ \o/

Well I'll get mine suitably late as Play seems to have sent it to some other Simon in some other Sweden. Oh and taken a week long lunch aswell. Whenever I do get through to them and they send me a new one I'll be sure to talk a bit about how my shredding is going, even though bikinis are everywhere around me. I was hoping there'd at least be a little bit of snow outside when I got this, but it'll prolly be some awkward summer boarding by the time I get it.

Well NiGHTS is a killer app for sure. If the term still applies to "system seller" then count that in. Even if it cost the price of a Wii + the game and came out for consoles people already have, the fans would buy it. They're that dedicated. Heck look at Sonic fans, they're sticking with the blue blur through all kinds of trash, and NiGHTS has that following too, it's just not been as noisy.. since really, nobody expected this to be true. So yeah, even if it comes out in the midst of Prime 3 and Galaxy, I don't think it'd have trouble finding an audience. If you look at the other systems, holidays that crowded is actually rather common, and there's enough people to go around.

@ ZeldaFreak No, I was wrong. I got annoyed and carried away, I apologize. In regards to "Journey of Dreams"; It's especially nice considering the first was called Into Dreams, and the subtitle could be significant in describing a fundamental direction this will take, theme wise. The first game took place inside Claire and Elliot's dreams, making the story rather confined to those two, but if the subtitle isn't engrish and actually means a journey of dreams, I think it's possible that this will involve more people.

Well I guess what I'm saying here is that if he didn't like the Saturn game then he wouldn't like a pretty version of the same game either, but that doesn't mean it wasn't brilliant. I mean I know I rate it higher than any game I've ever played, but I think it's simplifying it a bit by saying "it's old so it's rubbish now, of course you don't like it." That works in many cases, but as Pedro says, I think NiGHTS has aged pretty well gameplay wise, and provided you are playing a representative version of the saturn game, I think his opinion is legit. Even though he's far from good at expressing it in a manner that doesn't suggest it IS shit and that everyone else is stupid.

Sure, but if you can play it like it plays on Saturn and he takes issue with the gameplay there's really nothing you can say, because the gameplay is just as good today, honestly. The thing that didn't age well with NiGHTS is some of the graphics for sure, most notably the clipping and the transparency, but apart from that gameplay should be intact as long as you play it with an analogue pad and know what to do. (Get the orb, then freak out during bonus time for gigantic Links and scores before JUST making it to the goal in time).

Okay then, I stand corrected.

I know there are Saturn emulators, Teppo, we already established that, but they don't even make the games half playable. I've used some to make Guardian Heroes sprite rips. ZeldaFreak is suggesting he's played an even remotely representative version of NiGHTS to base his opinion on, and that's a lie. Unless of course he has a crazy powerhouse of a computer and makes due with a fourth of the framerate. (Doubt even that)

This is just a lie! I thought liars were extinct now that we have the internet to disprove practically anything. You're possibly the biggest idiot I've seen on the net. Anyhoo, indeed back on topic. NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams has apparently been in development for about a year already, and for a game on this relatively modest scale, two yearsish of development time should be enough. Also, I don't think Sega sees a need to rush this out after 11 years, especially considering how highly regarded it is.