Starting on this Wednesday, Microsoft is going to be running a few XBLA titles “on sale” for a week. The titles on sale this time around are Bankshot Billiards 2, Frogger, and Hardwood Spades.
Bankshot 2 is discounted from 1200 to 900 points, which both Frogger and Spades are set to drop from 400 to 300 points. If you’ve been waiting to grab any of these titles, it looks like you will want to wait until they drop in price.
When the Wii’s unique controller was first unveiled, many critics pointed to the Metroid Prime 3: Corruption demos as the ultimate selling point. Some even declared the remote and nunchuck controls superior to the much-beloved mouse and keyboard. Unfortunately, Corruption was pulled from the launch, and pushed back to an unspecified date. What gamers lucky enough to snag a Wii got instead were games like Red Steel, Far Cry Vengeance, Call of Duty 3, and Medal of Honor: Vanguard, all of which received mediocre reviews at best.
As usual, gamers would have to wait for Nintendo’s own effort (via Retro Studios, in this case) to show everyone how to treat their system right — even if it took nine months longer than promised. Fortunately, as with most nine-month waits, Corruption is a joyous delivery.
Corruption concludes the Metroid Prime series, once again featuring bounty hunter Samus Aran kicking copious amount of Space Pirate ass as she explores an alien world — or in this case, four or five worlds. Instead of the traditional Metroid set-up of one “hub” area and several sub-locales, Corruption puts Samus’s Gunship to use and has you jetting back and forth between planets. But that’s not the real innovation here, so let’s get the control discussion out of the way first. Bear in mind that, since my personal FPS experience consists entirely of the Metroid Prime series and Goldeneye 64, I won’t be able to make valid comparisons between the Wii’s “point and shoot” interface and dual-analog or mouse/keyboard controls.
While the game offers three degrees of turning sensitivity and an option to use the traditional lock-on, most experienced gamers will probably opt for the “Advanced” control boasted about in the game’s ads. After an initial adjustment period, Corruption‘s interface becomes largely intuitive, with A used to shoot and B to jump. Some modifications from the other Primes‘ controls were necessary due to the Remote’s lack of buttons, though. For example, now you fire missiles by pressing down on the D-Pad. The remote is also occasionally used for certain gestural interfaces, like pulling levers and turning dials, which are well-executed and help immerse you in the game’s world.
The Morph Ball activation is found on the nunchuk’s C button instead of on your “active” hand. While rolling around in third person, most of your controls remain as you probably remember them, although Corruption adds the ability to jump by flicking the Remote up. This maneuver effectively marginalizes the classic “Bomb Jump” technique (now only required once, to get an optional pickup), but it doesn’t always seem to work as expected; I found that I got the most dependable jumping results when Samus was absolutely still, so you might want to keep that in mind.
The Z button lets you lock on to a target, which is still useful in this “free aiming” world for your homing missiles, side-jumping, and — perhaps most importantly — grappling. On that subject, the nunchuck controls Samus’s Grapple Beam thusly: when locked on to a viable grapple point, flicking the nunchuck forward deploys the grapple, and pulling back tells Samus to flex her muscles and yank off detachable pieces of plating and whatnot. It’s a great change to see the Grapple being used as an addition to Samus’s already-formidable arsenal, as some enemies can only be defeated by the physical force it provides — either directly or by stripping away armor — and the gestural interface for doing so is brilliant in both concept and execution.
Overall, I had very few problems adapting to these new controls. Most of the issues I did have were centered around the awkward placement of the – button (used to change visors) and + button (used to engage Hyper Mode, which I’ll get to later), especially with the Home button being nestled in between them. There were definitely times when I went to change visors in the heat of battle and came perilously close to either resetting the game or going back to the Wii Menu, which would have been disastrous. The only other problem I had was occasionally hitting the C button when I wanted to hit Z or vice versa. Everything else worked as advertised, and found the control scheme to be highly efficient and immersive.
Of course, like any Metroid title, most of your cool tricks have to wait until you collect the necessary upgrades. At least Samus starts off Corruption better-equipped than usual; you won’t have to earn the right to access your Morph Ball Bombs, Space Jump, or Charge Beam this time, and you quickly re-acquire your Missile Launcher and Grapple Lasso. Everything else you’ll have to find as you explore the worlds of Corruption. This includes some “old standards” (Spider Ball, Screw Attack, etc.) as well as some new tricks.
In Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, most of Samus’s new toys centered around the game’s “light and dark worlds” theme. In Corruption, they mostly center around the new Phazon Enhancement Device (PED Suit) and the Hyper Mode it enables. Early on in the plot, Samus’s body begins to generate Phazon, the corruptive energy/goo that has defined the series. The PED Suit allows Samus to channel some of her energy into ultra-powerful Phazon blasts that quickly dispatch her enemies (some of whom can enter Hyper Mode themselves) while becoming essentially invulnerable. This great power, however, runs the risk of corrupting Samus with Phazon. Leave Hyper Mode on for too long and she’ll need to discharge quickly, lest she be overcome.
Balancing the risks of Hyper Mode with the need to harness its power is just one of the problems players face as they play Corruption. Space Pirates, environmental hazards, native predators, intricate puzzles, enormous bosses, and of course energy-leeching Metroids all stand between Samus and the completion of her mission — and they’ve got new tricks of their own to keep Samus on her power-suited toes.
Players will have to keep their eyes and ears open throughout the game, but this shouldn’t be a problem as Corruption continues with the series’s impressive production values. Metroid Prime and its sequel Echoes produced some of the prettiest visuals and sweetest sounds on the GameCube, and Retro has brought that same attention to visual and aural detail to the Wii. Nobody purchased a Wii for eye- or ear-candy, but the system can definitely still provide it when asked, and without any noticeable slowdown.
Of course, the Wii simply isn’t as powerful as the other systems out there these days, and it does show if you know where to look. The graphics don’t always stand up to close inspection, which is especially noticeable with regards to doors. The Prime games pre-load the next room when you activate the door to keep gameplay seamless, but some rooms take longer to load than others. Especially complex rooms will leave you staring at a closed, pixelated door for upwards of maybe seven seconds, which can be highly inconvenient if enemies are around. It’s not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things, but Metroid games feature a great deal of backtracking, so you’ll encounter the same slow doors frequently. As far as problems with the sound goes, I don’t recall the Remote’s speaker being used for anything; hearing a metroid’s shriek right in my personal space when one latches on to me would have been awesome. If the speaker was used, it was so subtle I didn’t notice.
Other than the controls, perhaps the biggest functional change between Corruption and its GameCube predecessors is what it is missing rather than what has been added. Unlike in the previous two Prime titles, there is no beam switching in Corruption; Samus still acquires beam upgrades throughout the game, but instead of switching between them, their effects just stack onto the basic beam. This eliminates a lot of the largely pointless switching just to open doors, but also eliminates concepts like enemies that can only be defeated by a certain type of beam. Super Missiles, Power Bombs, and Beam/Missile Combos are also lacking, although there are approximate analogues for the first two and the Combos weren’t really all that useful in the first place. In fact, there definitely seemed to be an overall “lack up power-ups” feeling, which I think was partially caused by not starting at zero; your initial armaments would represent upwards of four or five power-ups in previous titles. Finally, Corruption lacks any sort of multiplayer mode, although that’s not much of a loss; the multiplayer in Echoes always felt sort of tacked on, and the Metroid Prime Hunters DS title suggests that any future bounty hunter deathmatch action will be confined to its own spin-off series. I could definitely see an online MPH game for the Wii using Corruption‘s control scheme in the future for those who want it.
Corruption doesn’t completely ignore the Wii’s online functionality, however. Throughout the game, you receive credits for certain achievements: beating bosses, scanning enemies, and scanning lore entries. There is also a fourth type of achievement that earns you a “friend voucher”, usually for miscellaneous things like 100 kills, finding shortcuts, or especially stylish kills. These vouchers can be traded online to receive the final type of credit. This online trading uses your Wii’s system code, not a game-specific Friend Code, so trading is a relatively painless process if the friends already in your address book have the game. Credits can be spent to unlock extras, like concept art, musical tracks, and miscellaneous quirks like a Mii bobble-head for the dashboard of Samus’s Gunship.
Corruption offers around fifteen to twenty hours of gameplay on Normal Difficulty if you make the effort to collect all the pickups. There are also two higher levels of difficulty if you want further challenge or more boss credits. Using the same save file allows you to retain your scans from previous playthroughs, allowing you to concentrate more on survival… or enjoying the scenery, depending on which which way you go. The advantage of free-aiming might actually make Normal difficulty too easy for experienced gamers, who may want to start on Veteran and then breeze through Normal later to pick up credits and scans.
No matter which difficulty setting you tackle first, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption will fulfill a lot of the promises made about the Wii when it was released last year. The first “hardcore” title for the system that was actually designed for it from the beginning, Corruption proves that the Wii is capable of more than just minigame collections and golf games.
This year’s Tokyo Game Show is now wrapping up and all eyes are turning to this evening’s launch of Halo 3. That being said, you almost have to feel for the VC and XBLA titles that are launching this week as they will be overshadowed by one of the most anticipated releases of the past few years. Regardless, Nintendo is sending 3 new titles your way with one of Kirby’s SNES adventures leading the charge in Kirby’s Avalanche (SNES). Also making the leap are Streets of Rage 3 (Genesis) and Legend of Hero Tonma (TG16).
Hit the jump for full details and pricing on these new additions.
Kirby’s Avalanche (Super NESA
Snide comments about the Nintendo Wii’s technical capabilities aside, it’s generally well-known that the Wii cannot output graphics that are anywhere near approaching those of its more advanced cousins. But that isn’t it to say that Wii games must be ugly, as games like Metroid Prime: Corruption prove. The Wii desperately cries out for stylish, visually appealing games that, while not comparable to next-gen poster boys like Devil May Cry 4 and Bioshock, has a feel all its own. One such game is Marvelous’s No More Heroes.
Picking it up for the first time, I couldn’t but help but be impressed. Though a bit grainy, the graphics, particularly the character designs, are still very nice. They made me think a little of a comic book. Evidently, this game is supposed to be almost on par with Manhunt in terms of violence, but I didn’t see much if any blood. Enemies just erupted into showers of coins after they were defeated. This, as I later learned, is because the Japanese censors are pretty unforgiving when it comes to blood. Breasts yes, gore no.
Perhaps more importantly than the graphics, the controls felt very solid. In no time at all, I was frantically waggling my Wii-mote at the baddies while my Japanese assistant tried to give my instructions in Japanese-English. I ran into slight difficulties when my lightsaber ran out of power and I wasn’t sure what to do, but after a few moments I figured out how to recharge, and I was back in business. The attacks felt immensely satisfying, and the sound effects did a great job conveying the oomph associated with each strike. The special attacks, from what I could pull off, were equally satisfying to watch, but they were difficult to pull off without glancing down at the control chart every few moments. Still, I imagine that after an hour, the controls will feel like second nature.
The actual gameplay is relatively brief, but it gave a decent impression of the combat. The initial enemies are just a series of goons who will leap in to attack, but are easily dispatched by locking on and swiping them dead with the lightsaber sword. After a few rounds with the average uglies, a Matrix-like agent wearing a suit and sunglasess stirkes with his own lightsaber, even unleashing a special attack or two, but he is also easily dispatched with a few combo hits.
Finally, a blue-cape clad wearing boss attacks, and he is a bit harder than the minions. Between wave-like energy attacks, he periodically lashes out with what can be best described as high-powered laser vision. Getting out of the way isn’t too difficult, but if you’re impatient like I am, you might be in for some trouble. Nevertheless, most of the savvier players were able to dispatch him without too much trouble.
Finishing up the demo, I was struck by just how much fun No More Heroes really is. Although the demo didn’t really convey it, the product will be more sandbox-style, and it’s supposed to be heavy on social commentary. I don’t know about the latter point, but I do think this is the kind of game that the Wii desperately needs if it wants to hold onto the console lead – a stylish, mature game with controls that are fun, unique and easy to understand. With games like these, the Wii can fill the niche that Nintendo envisioned for it. I just hope that the finished product lives up to the few, enjoyable minutes that I had with it today.
A lot has changed since TGS 2006, and the loss of the PS3’s Devil May Cry 4 exclusivity is a big one. Both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 demos were on hand this year, though the PS3 version received a conspicuously larger booth, complete with nice headphones and huge displays.
Is Capcom feeling pangs of guilt, or do they just want to show off the better-looking version? My money is on the latter, though there didn’t seem to be much difference between the two aside from the Xbox 360 version’s colors being a bit more washed out. That, however, may be the fault of the screen.
In any case, Devil May Cry 4 is still one of the best looking games on either system, and it’s never been more apparent as Nero smoothly passed through classical architecture, snow-covered fields and a large castle that is reminiscent of the fortress from the first DMC. It all looks fantastic, though special notice should be given to some of the enemies. The Sin Scissors enemies that you encounter aren’t anything special, but the monsters in the snowfield leading up to the massive fire demon boss were impressive. The fire effects were particularly striking.
There are two modes in the demo, “executioner” and “exterminator.” The first pits Nero against a few simple demons on a snowfield before throwing them into battle against the aforementioned fire monster. It wasn’t difficult to get around its massive bulk and combo it with my sword, but its life bar took quite a long time to drop while it slammed me to the ground and smacked me with its tail. Not sure if it’s because I’m just really bad or because DMC4 is going to be as hard as DMC3. I wouldn’t be shocked at the latter.
The exterminator mode drops Nero into a city infested with Sin Scissors enemies. They move slowly and are easily knocked around with Nero’s sword, so there was no real problem there. This was a good chance for me to practice my aerials because the enemies in the other mode were too heavy to lift very easily from the ground.
I was pleased to see that the trademark gameplay is still extremely smooth. I had no problem sweeping the enemies into the air, juggling them with my revolvers and slamming them back to the ground. Nero also sports a sort of demonic arm that is also useful for slamming enemies around, but I found that I wasn’t using it much in favor of the more traditional gun/sword combination. Whether this is my loss remains to be seen.
Devil May Cry is famous for its wonky camera, and though it got a bit of an upgrade in DMC3, it hasn’t changed much here. For the most part, it did a very good job of giving me comfortable angles for the slicing and dicing of enemies, and it did feature the ability to make limited adjustments. Only once did it get stuck behind a pillar, but that was only a momentary problem. Regardless, I can’t figure why DMC still hasn’t given players complete freedom with the camera in the new generation. Surely the PS3 is powerful enough to handle such a feature? In any case, it’s a fairly minor complaint this time around, and I didn’t really feel any camera-related pain as I moved Nero around the stage.
Playing through Devil May Cry 4 on the PS3, I was pleased to see that the graphics have never looked sharper, and the controls have never felt smoother. There’s no doubt that this is a AAA game and will be a required addition to any PS3 owner’s library.
