Cammie Dunaway announced her resignation from Nintendo, effective October 1. She will reportedly be leaving the game industry altogether.
Dunaway, who has been in charge of the company’s marketing, is possibly most well-known for her appearances at the company’s E3 briefings. She has become a polarizing figure in the community, because while her tenure was a very successful one for the company, some blame her for the company’s casual shift.
Starting this week, you may see some changes around here. Hopefully you’ll be pleasantly surprised! We’re adding new writers and features, expanding our coverage of the unplugged scene and the iPhone and iPad game world, and bringing you more reviews during the busy fall season.
Questions? Comments? Or just want to write for us? Let us know on Twitter, in the forums or at editors[at]snackbar-games.com.
The PlayStation Move motion controller released late last week, and the pack-in, Sports Champions, is inevitably going to be compared to Wii Sports. The game has a similar structure, casual appeal and introduces players to the new control scheme. It’s a tough comparison, as Wii Sports made its system the most popular console on the planet almost single-handedly.
Thankfully, it holds its own.
The title contains six sports: Archery, Beach Volleyball, Bocce, Disc Golf, Gladiator Duel and Table Tennis. Each has its own Champions Mode single-player campaign with increasing difficulty and various arenas, as well as score challenge and multiplayer options. And while the games all play differently and are executed to varying degrees of success, there’s an overarching theme that makes it different from Nintendo’s offerings: these are games, and developer Zindagi Games isn’t afraid to mess with the core mechanics to make it more game-like.
Archery is what has gotten the most hype, with its two-Move play being the focus of the accessory’s advertising. (Thankfully, you can also play with only one controller.) It’s very similar to Wii Sports Resort‘s archery mode, but with some twists. Players get points by splitting arrows, hitting watermelons and ripping open flying bags of coins, and sometimes they can block opponents’ shots and otherwise manipulate their environment. It’s all very competitive, and makes for a dynamic experience. Of course, there are also simpler variations on the theme for people who want that.
Bocce is the surprising star here. For those who haven’t played (and there are many), players try to throw a medium-sized ball to get it as close as possible to a smaller ball. It plays like a cross between bowling and curling, and it’s a good showcase for motion control. What makes it fun here is the differing play surfaces, from a an official-looking court to a random playground with paths, benches and trash cans. There’s a real strategy in placement, and each round feels like a different task.
Disc Golf is what you’d expect if you’ve played previous motion-controlled titles. Zindagi seems to have nailed disc physics, and standard tactics like curving shots work well. (Or, well, accurately. It directly correlates with your skill level.) Gladiator Duel is rather strange, as you’re out there with old-style swords and shields, and hitting in different places nets different damage. You can also damage the shield, discouraging its use, but it’s a small blocking tool and overuse seems unlikely.
Beach Volleyball is the dud of the collection. While the Move shines with precision movements and pointing, it’s not so great for sticking your arms high in the air or detecting whether your arms are in a good position to hit a ball. Table Tennis is what you’d expect and nothing more, but there’s not much more it would make sense to add.
Instead of using custom avatars, players use specific characters, each with their own sport they excel in. (Of course, none of their sports are in this game, so there isn’t a clearly dominant character in each.) While potentially a bit too stereotypical, each has his or her own personality, and that’s refreshing. In another “hey, it’s a game” move, there are unlockable characters attained (for the most part) by beating Champions Mode in each sport.
Aesthetically, the game isn’t particularly astounding. There’s obviously a focus on making things look high-definition, as everything is shiny, clean and modern. Otherwise, things are fairly nondescript. Compounding that is the game’s audio, which, while not obnoxious or anything, is the least memorable of any game in recent memory. It’s okay, though, because the focus was on getting the gameplay right, and with the inevitably short development time of a launch title, it’s good to narrow your ambitions.
Sports Champions isn’t enough to make the Move worth purchasing on its own, but it was a necessary title to have if Sony wants to attract the Wii crowd, and anyone who picks up the controller should go ahead and give it a try.
Yuji Naka’s PROPE studio has gone off the deep end. Again.
The creator of Sonic and NiGHTS left Sega to pursue other projects, and so far those projects have included tapping cardboard boxes and playing catch. Seriously, it’s been weird.
Just Half is no different.
In the game, you drag your finger across the screen, passing through marked spots while you do. The goal is to make the line divide the screen in exactly half. It’s harder than you’d think, especially when the game makes you run through wildly-spaced points. The second mode, Perfect Half, just makes you divide the screen in half without any points, but it’s a much harsher standard to meet.
The app has a nice visual style, too. Everything seems very technical and computer-y, and it works for a game that’s worried about how many hundredths of a percent you’re off. The music is a little strange, but it’s not a big deal.
That’s it. That’s the entire game. There’s no multiplayer mode, there are no minigames, there are no twists. Nothing. It does keep some records if you like that kind of thing, but it seems like there’s not enough to make it fun.
Here’s the weird thing, though. It works anyway. I’ve played Just Half for a couple of hours now, five minutes at a time. And that’s the kind of thing you want in an App Store title, right?
Developed by PROPE, Just Half is a universal app. It is currently available for 99 cents.
This week we watch our panelists’ scores plummet while discussing HD remakes and yet another appearance by the 3DS.
Andrew Passafiume: +355
Graham Russell: +134
Eric Schabel: +65
Shawn Vermette: +210
Duke Nukem Forever returns
Duke is indeed returning, as Take Two announced recently that Gearbox, the studio behind Brothers in Arms and Borderlands, was taking the reins of the Duke Nukem franchise. There’s no news on how much of the game will be based on the original work by 3D Realms, but no matter how you slice it, Duke Nukem Forever is alive again.
Andrew 80% = +30
Graham 50% = +0
Shawn 65% = +15
3DS release date and price to be announced by TGS
The Tokyo Game Show came and went with no mention of the official 3DS release date or price. The good news is that we won’t have to wait much longer, as Nintendo has announced they’ll tell us the release date, among other items, on September 29th.
Andrew 10% = +40
Eric 55% = -5
Graham 85% = -35
Shawn 90% = -40
Xbox Live Gold price hike
This rumor has been fermenting for a long time now, but we’ve finally gotten word of its confirmation. Unfortunately for Xbox 360 owners, Microsoft has announced that starting on November 1, the price for monthly, quarterly, and yearly memberships will increase across the board. Monthly memberships will now cost $9.99 rather than $7.99, quarterly will now cost $24.99 rather than $19.99, and yearly will now be $59.99 instead of $49.99.
Andrew 65% = +15
Graham 5% = -45
Shawn 15% = -35
Odin Sphere is widely acknowledged as one of the most beautiful PlayStation 2 games ever made, and Muramasa was similarly lauded on Wii. Now, rumor has it that both will look even better soon, upgraded with HD graphics and prepped for release on PSN and XBLA. No word yet from Vanillaware regarding this rumor, but the Australian ratings board now lists both as being multiplatform.
Andrew: I can see both Odin Sphere and Muramasa selling rather well as downloadable titles; both games lend themselves well to that format. Side-scrollers in general seem to be a perfect fit as downloadable titles, and I think it will give Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners a chance to catch up on two games they may have missed. Muramasa especially, considering it was a Wii exclusive title. Odin Sphere: 85%, Muramasa: 85%
Graham: Foreign ratings boards are a godsend for leaking things, aren’t they? And they’re usually right. I’d say Odin Sphere is slightly more likely to release for two reasons: first, it hasn’t had a modern system release like Muramasa on Wii. Second, it would likely be the first to release, and poor sales or other concerns could see the project tabled before a second release. Odin Sphere: 90%, Muramasa: 85%
Shawn: These are games I’ve heard a lot about but never got a chance to play. Considering the large amount of sales ports of older games seem to rack up, I think it makes sense to rerelease them on XBLA and PSN too. Odin Sphere: 75%, Muramasa: 65%
Well, TGS has come and gone with no confirmation of the launch date for the 3DS, but that hasn’t stopped more rumors from coming up. The newest rumor was started by a Japanese accessory maker’s tweet mentioning a new line of products for Nintendo systems releasing in November. Now, it could be the standard holiday order coming due, but why mention it if it is just the normal order?
Andrew: Both the tweet and the account itself were gone in a matter of hours after the information leaked. I’m going to guess that it will be released by the end of November at least in Japan, and probably here in the States around the same time. I think that release window allows them to get in quite a lot of sales in a short amount of time, like the original DS and Wii before it. But at the same time, these rumors pop up all of the time, so for all we know we won’t see the system out until early next year. 80%
Graham: Yeah, let’s be clear here: the rumor is a November release in Japan. It’s entirely possible that releases elsewhere will be delayed. (Personally, I hope not. Ever since one left my hand at E3, I’ve felt a void in my life. A 3DS-shaped void. And preferably a shiny blue one.) I think the deleted account means it’s more likely to be true, but who even knows at this point? Oh, right. We will before the end of the month. 75%
Shawn: I think that Nintendo needs to either release it in November of this year or wait until next summer, but then, I didn’t pass my marketing classes so I could be missing something. As far as the rumor is concerned, I think the fact that the Twitter account disappeared, along with the tweet, says something about its veracity. Unfortunately, that doesn’t tell us much about when the 3DS will come to the US. Due to my responses previously on this subject though, I’ve got to say I believe we’ll get it here before Christmas. 70%
