Grazza

To be honest, I've always loved graphics and horsepower! I'm more concerned about how image has taken over in other ways. One of my early concerns was Mortal Kombat. I was appalled at the "Fatalities", but my friends all liked it because of the gore and digitised graphics. I'm no softie, as I liked Street Fighter and Virtua Fighter, but people stopped having an open mind about which gameplay was best.

100% agree - a great description of all the games! I still think that things could have been different if Sega had launched the Saturn with gorgeous, sprite-based versions of Sonic, Golden Axe and Shinobi, and called the console something like "Ultra Drive" or "Mega Drive 2" (and not called the remodel that). There was some great sprite-scaling on Saturn. Two of my favourite games were Guardian Heroes and Story of Thor 2 (Beyond Oasis 2). Unfortunately, Sega weren't too good at making sequels. The spirit of Sega was not about mascots or franchises, but about making lots of original games, which, to be fair, they did do with Panzer Dragoon, Virtua Fighter et al. But who am I kidding? The PlayStation brand was too strong. Talking of Shinobi, I miss the days when ninja games (and games in general) weren't about gratuitous violence. They were about positioning yourself and attacking (a bit like Metroid, without the exploration). That's what was so good about Sega (and gaming) in the '90s - everything was fairly wholesome, whatever the theme.

Games are definitely art. Not every game is a work of art, but games are an artform. They're conveying something creative through interaction.

Hmm, I'm not sure if you've got shaking spiders up there yet. I think I read they're from South Africa, and we've only noticed them in England over the past few years. If it shakes in a circular motion whilst upside-down, it's a shaking spider.

I don't know. They look like Harvestmen, but they aren't. A Harvestman has a single, "pear-shaped" body, whilst a Shaking Spider (or any spider) has a segmented body.

I don't normally mind wasps. I've been stung loads of times and hardly noticed it. Plus, they are very good at flying and tend to find the window easily. (Sorry about your girlfriend though - that's obviously a horrible thing to happen.) Queen wasps are very scary though. A couple of months ago I was doing my weight training in the conservatory, when a gigantic wasp flew in. It was so big, I honestly thought it was a hornet. It had stripes, but much longer legs than usual, even in proportion to its massive body. I can only assume it was a queen wasp. Obviously, hornets are very scary too. Other than those and the "dirty" types of fly, I like insects. A tip for those who hate spiders: try and befriend any Shaking Spiders you see! These are the ones with very, very thin legs that make webs in the corner of the ceiling. You can tell it's a shaking spider because when threatened, it shakes in a circular motion. Apparently, these are very tough for their size and can eat the scary types of spider!

Couldn't agree more! Well, I must admit I never played the Master System or Game Gear versions, but the original on Mega Drive is by far my favourite. I know it inside out! And yes, Sonic is not just about speed (or stunts). It was about having the time to find the best routes and hidden nooks and crannies. Also, the visuals and music were very charming. I can remember every Zone (and accompanying music) in the original game, yet I can't remember anything about the Zones in any other Sonic game. I can understand why people like Sonic 2, as that's really as far as the series got whilst retaining its feel. It was just too long and difficult for me, overall.

1) Zelda. A Zelda game is the thing that makes me pick up any Nintendo console, which is why I haven't got a Wii yet. Sure, I pick up the Mario title as soon as possible, but it's Zelda that actually makes me buy the machine. 2) A game that proves motion controls/3D controls actually improve normal, 3rd-person action games. This could be Zelda, Kid Icarus or something else. The pointer controls are very good, but I don't think the current motion controls can be used any better than in Wii Sports. After all, Nintendo itself has not shown otherwise. Hopefully this is a job for MotionPlus.

Up, down, left, right, A, B, C + Start! (Or something like that.) Sonic 2 is my least favourite of the series because I could never get the Chaos Emeralds. Couldn't then, still can't. I can get them all in Sonic 1, 3 + Knuckles, but I just don't have fast enough reactions for Sonic 2's "mini-game"! Thanks to Sonic Mega Collection, I have finally been "Super Sonic" in Sonic 3 + Knuckles, so I'm over it now!

Sonic 2 was far too long, though, to play in one sitting. I remember once I played it for about 3 hours and still didn't get to the end. It just wasn't enjoyable.

Hopefully there'll be some good middleware for any developers who would otherwise have trouble with it.

Just Raven Blade for me.

I'm not doubting them, I'm just saying 2009 and 2010 gives them plenty of time to release everything important they want to for the Wii.

I agree RCT 2 is the best-ever theme park/roller coaster game, but I do prefer the scenarios in the original RCT.

In all likelihood, the PS4 and Xbox 3 will have sophisticated 3D control. Nintendo, though, has created a very strong brand with "Wii", and might get support for Wii 2 in the same way as Super Nintendo and PS2. From a games point of view, they don't honestly have that much left to do on Wii. The early years were Mario, Metroid and Animal Crossing. The only really big game they've yet to make for Wii is Zelda. Let's say Pikmin 3, Kid Icarus and Zelda Wii arrive in 2009 and 2010, I really don't see much left (Star Fox and Paper Mario 3 would be nice).

Wind Waker is not only better than Twilight Princess; it's still the best game of all time! It did the impossible and improved upon the N64 Zeldas. The designers used the extra processing power of the GameCube to truly expand upon what Zelda could be. They didn’t forget important items that help make Zelda what it is: Power Bracelets, Mirror Shield and Fire, Ice & Light arrows. Those (apart from the arrows) and the sword were upgraded automatically, which was neat. Visually, it’s unrivalled, with the best-ever character designs for Moblins, Wizrobes and Darknuts, to name three. It’s the perfect meeting of artistic and technical brilliance. Look at the form of the islands, and how inner and outer correspond, particularly the Forest, Fortress and Dragon Roost, and how you could fly from them to smaller islands by using the Deku Leaf. I always think the brilliance of the game can be demonstrated by a quick visit to Windfall Island. Sail up to it and there are no loading times. Just hop straight off your boat and onto the island, with no jarring transition of any kind. Enter the windmill, play the “Squid†version of Battleships, climb up the stairs and emerge. Then you can hitch a ride up the top (which you can turn into a lighthouse with the fire arrow) and fly off with the Deku Leaf to one of the nearby buildings; maybe crawl through a hidden passage. The islands, even the small ones were mysterious and worth a visit. I loved the sailing, the wind control and even the Tri-Force quest, which provided much variety with lots of unique challenges and mini-dungeons. In fact, the game is so advanced, I thought the full-length dungeons were the worst bit. It’ll be a while before it’s bettered!

I think Wii Sports Resort and Motion Plus have given us a clue. They will arrive approximately 30 months after the Wii launched. Add another 30 months, and my prediction is Wii 2 will launch Christmas 2011 with Wii Sports 2.

Yeah, I agree really. To me, the point of a new IP is to demonstrate a new type of gameplay or hardware. In this regard, Wii Sports is as valid as any. For more traditional games, Nintendo has enough characters - Mario, Link, Samus, Pitt - to use. Completely agree with DCK about horsepower though.

Most of my colleagues are very keen Xbox 360 players. Lots of them are very nice and mature, and enjoy talking about games, but whereas I've played Halo and Metal Gear Solid, I've yet to find someone (at this place) who's actually played a Zelda game. Oh well, I suppose it takes too much time and money to try everything. They love Xbox Live and Call of Duty - fair enough. Of course, there are also Wii owners. Naturally, they don't play Zelda, Metroid etc... We did all like Sega and Nintendo at school, but those were very different days before PlayStation. Everyone who played was really keen on doing it. I would call myself a "keen" gamer rather than hardcore. I'm just interested in good game design and want to try all the best. I've been playing ICO, Okami and Shadow of the Colossus, but, I can't help it - Nintendo are the best! I don't think I'm a fanboy - they just put so much care into the design. PS - Captain Rainbow looks quite a laugh.

Maybe I'm gullible, but I'm pleased with what Iwata and Miyamoto have said since E3. Not that the actual week was that bad: Announcement of MotionPlus - awesome Animal Crossing - nice little game Wii Sports Resort - introduces MotionPlus The latter isn't out until next year, so it's a nice way to introduce the peripheral and demonstrate what future games could be like. As for "Mario and Zelda", well, I didn't expect another Mario. I want Zelda Wii, but didn't expect it to be out this Christmas. It's just that there are a lot of franchises (big and small) they haven't done for the Wii yet. Personally, I don't think it's too early to see glimpses of what'll be out Christmas 2009. It's not like the 30 month wait for Twilight Princess (which, I think, angered people mainly because it was unnecessary. At the end of 2005, the design team considered the game finished). I remember seeing a screenshot of Ocarina of Time years before it was out, and that disappointed no one.

I'm sure it'll be like the N64 RAM pack. They were available separately but, if I recall correctly, also came with various games. I bought one for Turok 2 and then got a spare one that came with Majora's Mask. I think they were about £15 separately. If MotionPlus is no more than £20, I think it'll be fine. The benefits far outweigh the hassle. By the way, I thought the announcement of MotionPlus was awesome. It was the last thing I was expecting, and I'm very impressed Nintendo are improving the controls (before Wii 2, that is). It's like the beginning of Wii 1.5 I'm glad the release schedule is a bit thin, because I wouldn't want Zelda or Kid Icarus before MotionPlus is out!

Indeed. There was even a dungeon where you had to: [spoiler=]Gather ingredients for a cooking pot.

It took me 55 hours on PS2, and that's still not 100% completion (close though). By the way, I was surpised how close they got to Zelda. Not as good as any of the 3D Zeldas, but better than Beyond Good & Evil, in my opinion (this is on PS2 though, I really couldn't say how good the Wii controls are).

Sounds good to me. I don't know why I said DS or WiiWare... a full-disc release would be great.

That's a good list by Emasher, but I'll just say I think we'll get a proper Wii Zelda and the Mario team are working on Pikmin 3 rather than a new Mario. Kid Icarus is probably by Factor 5, and hopefully very similar to a 3rd-person Metroid rather than on-the-rails. Moving into purely what I'd like, the only other thing I really want to see is a 2D Metroid, either on DS or WiiWare: if the latter, it'd be nice if it pushed the Wii regarding sprites, looking more like a good Saturn (Guardian Heroes) or Dreamcast game rather than SNES. As for Retro Studios, I'd rather they finished Raven Blade (MotionPlus?) than have another 3D Metroid before the Wii 2.