January 2011

The Fight: Lights Out

January 4, 2011

The Fight: Lights Out makes us want to punch people in the face. Not in the way the developers intended, though.

A primer: The Fight, clearly the standout at the announcement of the Move peripheral, has you put into a fistfight with various rough-looking guys that look like they need a good pummeling. It has a dark, gritty nature that few motion games have tried, and the full suite of two Moves and the Eye for head tracking means it has a lot of technology at its disposal to make the game fun. (Using just one Move and a standard controller or Navigation Controller is supported, but strongly recommended against.)

For a little while, it is. Basic punches and blocks work by simply punching in the air, and the game takes your direction and force into account when dealing damage. The game’s a workout, to be sure, as you’ll be putting in full effort to land a particularly nasty uppercut.

The campaign features Danny Trejo as a coach of sorts, which is a great fit for this game. Unfortunately, the writing isn’t up to the kind of thing he usually does, but it’s acceptable since “punching dudes” isn’t the easiest base to write from. The game has dozens and dozens of fights to play through, and online play with the option to watch and bet (virtually) on others’ brawls. But the focus here is on the fighting itself.

The problems come in two forms: the technical glitches and the implementation of special moves. The unlockable moves all require more than just moving your arms, using triggers to, well, trigger these gesture-based attacks. Just like Wii games that try gestural moves, these aren’t smooth and don’t register consistently. Unfortunately, the game is balanced so that their extra tactical uses and damage are needed to get very far. It’s a good thing you aren’t being simultaneously put in a mindset where you think violence will solve your problems. Oh, wait.

The other technical hiccups come when the system starts misreading the Moves’ positions and not detecting them. This is an issue with the system as a whole, but in games like Sports Champions (with largely turn-based controls) it’s not so big a deal to adjust before the next throw or serve. In The Fight, you will be punched repeatedly in the face as you look on helplessly and scramble to recalibrate. It’s a different thing.

So The Fight makes us mad. But it doesn’t make us mad because it’s totally without merit. Really it’s this: a concept with so much promise really should have turned out better than this. When you play, there are flashes of what the game could have been. Then it fades back into frustrating mediocrity.

Spelunker HD

January 3, 2011

PS3 / Reviews / by Gerry Pagan /

Spelunker, originally released for the Atari in 1983, is widely known as an extremely difficult game with what might as well be the weakest main character ever created. While the game was first created in the U.S., it was in Japan where the game’s popularity grew to the point of having a line of toys, comic books, and clothing. It wasn’t until 2007 that Spelunker was again released in the U.S. on the Wii’s Virtual Console. Spelunker HD was first released in 2009 in Japan, with an even harder “Black” version released earlier this year. Now, American gamers can delve into and see just what Japan has found so endearing about a character that can die just from having bat guano land on his head.

Basically a high-definition remake of the original title, Spelunker HD is a brutal, no-nonsense title that can easily drive the impatient among us into a frenzy. Fall more than two feet, you die. Touch a flare that you lit to repel some enemies, you die. Land on water… you get the picture. You burn through lives at a much quicker pace than you regain them, making memorization of stage layout just as crucial as quick reaction to new or undiscovered traps. These get increasingly more challenging as the levels go by, and with 100 stages to go through, the game will break any preconceptions you had about overly-tough platformer titles.

That said, Spelunker HD isn’t just a pretty makeover for the original game. It supports 4-player offline and up to 6-player online play, with the stage layout for all 100 stages changing depending on how many people are playing at the same time. In addition, you can choose to play either in with the HD visuals, or in “retro” mode with the graphics from the original title which can be selected even when playing online. Both modes play the same, but it’s nice to be given the option for those who’d rather prefer the game’s original look.

Spelunker is not for everyone. This isn’t the type of game that will appeal to the more casual gamer looking for a game to easily progress through. If you can overcome all the traps that await you down in the caves below, however, the feeling of accomplishment you’re rewarded with is more than worth it.

Snackbar Speculator: A new beginning

January 3, 2011

Features / Speculator / by Shawn Vermette /

This week we break in a new panelist while prognosticating on some industry-wide events in 2011.

Current score

Gerry Pagan: 0

Andrew Passafiume: +295

Graham Russell: +299

Eric Schabel: +60

Shawn Vermette: +205

Results

Nintendo to reveal fate of Vitality Sensor by end of 2010

Well, 2010 came and went without any word from Nintendo regarding the Vitality Sensor. This doesn’t mean it is dead, but considering the lack of any official mention since E3 2009, it looks strongly like vaporware now.

Andrew 65% = -15

Eric 55% = -5

Graham 55% = -5

Shawn 35% = +15

Medal of Honor to sell more copies than Call of Duty: Black Ops in 2010

Despite Medal of Honor’s respectable 5 million copies sold in 2010, Black Ops continued the series’ strong showing by selling more than 13 million units.

Andrew 5% = +45

Graham 1% = +49

Shawn 10% = +40

PlayStation Phone to be confirmed by Sony in 2010

Despite early reports in September and October that appeared to leak photos and specs on a rumored PlayStation Phone, Sony has continued to remain mute on the issue of what it is, and whether it is even planned for release or simply a prototype design.

Andrew 65% = -15

Graham 85% = -35

Shawn 95% = -45

Xbox 360 or PS3 to surpass Wii in total U.S. sales in 2011

Ever since its launch, the Wii has outsold every competitor in the US, other than the DS. However, it has recently shown signs of weakening its stranglehold on sales, as the Xbox 360 and PS3 outsold it for a few months in 2010. Can the Wii bounce back in 2011? Or has the time come for a new champion of console sales in the US?

Gerry: As much as I want to say that this’ll be true, the fact of the matter is that the Wii is still the popular options when it comes to cheap family gifts. The odds of shovelware being sold on the Wii is much more likely than core titles on other systems, so even if Nintendo doesn’t present a particularly vast and numerous amount of first-party entries, the sales on those and third-party shovelware will more than likely keep the Wii ahead in sales. 10%

Andrew: I very much doubt that the PS3 will ever outsell the Wii, but I think the Xbox 360 has a pretty good shot at doing just that. 360 has continued to sell better than the Wii the last few months of 2010 and Wii sales have continued to decline, so it’s definitely a possibility. With the 3DS coming out this year, I doubt we’ll see any increase in Wii sales or any big releases for the system in the first part of 2011, so it could be Microsoft’s chance to take over. But at the same time, the Wii still sales fairly consistently from month to month, so it may not happen at all.65%

Graham: Sure, the 360 and PS3 gained on the Wii last year, but they did it with price cuts and new peripherals. The peripheral thing is done, and another price cut would have them practically giving away the systems. It’ll be competitive, but I can’t see anything particularly disruptive happening. 40%

Shawn: Considering the relative lack of software for the Wii, mixed with its lower sales of 2010, I’d say there’s a fairly strong possibility of the Xbox 360 outselling it in 2011. The PlayStation 3? Not so much. 80%

‘PSP2’ to release in 2011

While itself still a rumor, there’s growing speculation that this unconfirmed follow-up to the PSP will in fact be released during the holiday season of 2011. If this proves to be true, it will mark Sony as the first handheld creator to be successful enough against Nintendo to release a second system.

Gerry: There’s still quite a few titles that seem to be planned for the PSP, but a PSP2 being released this year isn’t unlikely. We’ve already seen things that look like prototypes for the handheld, and Sony doesn’t really have a good track record with keeping things secret. 90%

Andrew: I don’t know if the rumored PSP Phone and the PSP2 are related at all, but I could definitely see Sony releasing a new handheld this year to go against the 3DS. While nobody believes it’ll outsell Nintendo’s next handheld, I’m sure Sony wants something new on the market, whatever it ends up being. 75%

Graham: If there’s a system that could most justify a successor now, it’s the PSP. The home consoles seem to have enough legs for another year, and the 3DS takes away the PSP’s advantages in the marketplace. If there isn’t another PSP this year, there may not ever be another PSP. 80%

Shawn: I think that Sony will release a follow-up to the PSP at some point. Will it be this year though? I doubt it. The PSP seems to finally be hitting its stride in terms of game releases, so I’d actually think it has another year or so left in it, if Sony continues pushing production on it. 30%

‘Wii 2’ to release in 2011

2010 had the feel of a ‘kitchen sink’ year for the Wii. Nearly every major franchise Nintendo has access to had a new game released for it. Due to its recently flagging sales, and the sudden lack of any major franchises in development for the Wii, will Nintendo be the first to move on to the next generation of consoles this holiday season?

Gerry: 2011 sounds a little too soon for a “Wii2” launch, especially during the year of the 3DS launch. If anything, I’d find it more believable for it to be launched in 2012, after being announced at some major press event. So while I do know it’s going to come eventually, it and the 3DS being released seems like too much, too soon. 15%

Andrew: I think we might hear about a new Wii this year, but I doubt we’ll see it released, especially with Nintendo focusing solely on the launch of the 3DS. It’ll be interesting to see what they do at E3, but even if they do unveil it, I doubt it’ll be coming out this year. 25%

Graham: The 3DS is the type of juggernaut that will drive the year. That said, it’s not unprecedented for the company to release two systems in one year. A new home console to complement a new handheld can make for an interesting package to market. That said, I’m leaning toward a possible system announcement later in the year and a late 2012 release, since E3 2011 is going to be too busy for Nintendo as it is. 20%

Shawn: I know Nintendo has stuck fast to their insistence that they aren’t working on a new console, but the Wii has really started to show its age recently, and it has always been assumed that the Wii would be replaced by a new system earlier than the 360 or PS3. This year though? I think they may ride out one last holiday season and replace in it spring 2012. 40%

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