SimonM7

Really? What about lethal injection and strangelation? What about bludgeoned to death or drowning? Surely there's a difference, especially in how inhuman the act is and subsequently how graphic.

The people you kill in Manhunt are hardly innocent. Oh and don't bunch me together with zeldafreak because I'm defending this game, I think he's nuts personally. I reacted the same way you guys do when I first heard about the game, but actually playing it is different. Thinking Manhunt is a game where you murder innocent victims for shock value is about as accurate as GTA being a "cop killing simulator".

http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/928571.asp?q=driver%204 'ish anyway.

Supposedly 4 was a bit of a redemption.

I agree. I mean it definitely has shock value at first, but then so do movies based on roughly the same subject matter. Saw is about inflicting pain on yourself, sure, but it's essentially the same key question posed; how far would you go to survive? I'm not sure where I stand in regards to all of this, but Eurogamer (the ever inconsistent eurogamer!) had a brilliant interview up with the guys behind the columbine game. They raised some valid points about the competence of the medium in exploring the human psyche. I haven't really processed those ideas yet and come to any sort of conclusion, but in regards to this game I feel it works. Perhaps it works because it looks rather boxy and relies on atmosphere in fact. I think a PS3/360 Manhunt might just be distasteful. Um. Distasteful-er.

Actually, I was quite disturbed by the first game when it came out. I probably still think it was a bit like asking for trouble, and Rockstar might've done better putting a title like Table Tennis between GTA and Manhunt just to not be pigeonholed into "making games to get on people's tits" category. Marileru Mansonmoto like. However, I've developed a bit of an interest in these themes over time, especially thanks to films like Saw and Hostel, maybe even to an extent Silent Hill 4 and the recent film adaptation. Now I sort of see the appeal in the subject matter, and it really isn't just about the "pleasure of murder" or anything like that. Anyhoo, where was I heading with this.. AH yes. I think the trend (beginning of one yeah?) of seeing PS2/Wii/PSP games is promising. If the Wii games can live up to the standard of graphics and animation that recent PS2 games display with some added snazzyness on top and carefully crafted Wii controls, that's an excellent way of enjoying games I think. I mean heck, I'm gonna pick up Okami on friday, and I SO would've jumped on a Wii version of that. I think late PS2 games have truly mastered the art > tech balance, and I think that's what's going to carry Wii games into the hearts of people. While I hope for buckets of exclusives aswell, of course, I still see this as a good thing.

Now THAT looks good. Funny how much the sound of his footsteps and landings do for the feeling of him actually running - as opposed to half twitch/sliding - along those levels.

Still, Burnout + Top Gun echoes in my head. I suppose Afterburner really has that covered though... Where's Climax 360!?

Oh yeah, you're quite right. Not taking postage into account (which would be applied if I ordered off your brit stores) it's only marginally cheaper. So never mind then. I save seven quid personally, and that's on one pad without shipping costs.

Hahah, well, Sonic the Fighters was really rather playable (developed by AM2 (!)), hence not nearly as crazy and fanservice oriented as I'd like! They were also essentially papier maché models.

Sonic in Brawl would be great. I would love it if they simply made a console version of Sonic Battle. That game was a lot better than it got credit for. Sonic the Fighters does not count!

This was slaughtered in reviews and the peeps behind it already have a new franchise in mind written by the same author, leaving the potential for a sequel virtually non-existant. I agree though, while being one of the most glitched and shoddily put together games I've played it's also one of the most consistently enjoyable. I bought it as part of an experiment to buy low rated games to find out if they were enjoyable once you got past their issues (it's my belief that few games are all bad at their core, because regardless of what they ultimately turn out to be, there's usually someone somewhere passionate about creating it) and lo and behold, while Breakdown was rubbish beyond salvation (GRAY TO THE MAAAX) I found Advent Rising to be a diamond in the rough. I played it on Xbox though. gh.ffshrine.org has the soundtrack for download and I insist everyone check it out.

Be careful not to select the same mission twice. It's a bit awkward how they made it so that you can accidentally accept to replay missions essentially without knowing. If you approach someone and they're all "Good job Scott!", you've likely already done that mission. Don't approach them again and "accept", they'll send you on the same mission again. And no, there's no way to actually abort a mission either, so you really do need to go through it again. x2

Absolutely terrifying statement.

http://www.yesasia.com has classic controllers really cheap if people want some. I ordered two myself after realising Super Probotector expects me to conduct my shooting and jumping in two different regions of the cube pad.

What's wrong with letting people in this thread be excited about the game this thread is about?

You really haven't grasped the concept of an apology. You don't say "sorry I hit you in the face with a shovel" then proceed to hit the person in the face with a shovel again. At least you don't if you're striving for credibility.

Shadow Dancer! I wonder how long until the other two Shinobis.

Yeah definitely. Not knowing is absolutely key. That's why I look on in slight dismay as more and more games resort to "one large physical space" where no change in design, lighting or feel will ever surprise you. I mean I can enjoy those games on a pure gameplay level, but they aren't elevated beyond that. I read an interview with Michel Ancel (Rayman, Beyond Good and Evil, King Kong) once in which he emphasised that surprise is key in all design decisions in video games. He talked about controlling the flow of emotions, constraint/freedom, sadness/happiness, through gameplay aswell as through visuals. The hyrule field moment you talk about would according to his design philosophy be a concious choice, and that too is very, very interesting. I tried to present that statement for Tetsuya Mizuguchi in an interview once - drawing parallells to how he's used the final levels in Rez and Lumines - to hear his view on the element of surprise in games. Unfortunately I got a little too greedy with my question (there was more than that in it) so he only answered the first 80% of it.

This interests me. I have an innate reflex or feeling that these games trigger. I felt it stongly when I first played Mario 64, when I first ran up the first hill on Ragol in PSO, when I walked around the Prince's tiny planet in Katamari, and when I got to the ice level in Loco Roco. I have more moments like that but those are the ones that pop up for me right now. I wanna investigate what that feeling is about, and I will one day in a lengthy blog article nobody will read.

I don't even see how it's significant. I have a 360 and an HDTV too, but this is about these two guys not liking the stylistic choices and can't see how a lush magical forest environment with quirky art and nicely designed characters could possibly be considered "good looking" alongside broad chinned action marines from space. I like Gears too, but this is a different part of my brain being impressed and stimulated if you will. The same bits that can still be impressed with a pretty 2D game that measured in polygons would be *shit* since there aren't any.

But it was you who quoted me with a comment attached surely devised to make mine out to be 'wrong'? Judging by your sig I assume everyone already did.

Well, if you watched both trailers and didn't find it pretty and inspiring, then I guess we're just different. Personally? Loco Roco almost made me cry with joy, Okami is bound to do similar things to me, and the offbeat game ideas behind games like this, Eledees and Katamari are a huge reason why I still find videogames intriguing. I find the story element of "a last drop of hope" poetic and moving, even. That's how wo-manly I am. Admidst all the shooting HD res characters in the face, you could literally say I *need* this.

It didn't stop the Virtua Fighter kids.

If it even remotely lives up to that prospect, I'm sold!