You can tell that these guys love their own name, as Crysis is developer Crytek’s followup project after 2004′s FarCry. The game takes place in 2020 when a mysterious asteroid crashes on the Spartly Islands in the South China Sea. You and your US Special Ops group are sent to investigate, only to find out that the Korean military has beat you to it. Korea closes off the island and tensions build between countries as your team tries to infiltrate the crash site. Just when things really start to get heated, the asteroid cracks open and an alien the size of 20 football fields/pitches rises from the rubble. The ship creates a huge sphere-like perimeter where everything inside becomes a frozen wasteland, including a part of the islands. US and Korea quickly forget about their little fued and become buddies to try and stop the alien invasion. The main objective: Get to the top of the ice sphere where it’s weak, enter, and blow up the alien ship inside. The story changes throughout the game depending on how you complete certain objectives. When squad mates die, they die for good. This can lead to difficulty when you need them later on.

Because Crysis’s groundbreaking graphics are so integral to the game’s gameplay, you must talk about it first to fully explain how gameplay works. Crysis uses the newly created CryEngine2 to introduce fresh elements never before seen in gaming. The attention to detail makes the comparison to real-life uncanny. Clouds are created in real-time and act like they would in reality, so expect great battles in the sky. Other elements recreate the effect of the human eye towards objects allowing the game world to look better then ever before. When things move, your eye sees a slight split-second motion blur beginning from where it starts and ending with where it stops. This effect is not usually used in gaming, and thus objects moving instead go just frame-by-frame. It’s appears here, then it’s there. In Crysis, moving objects use that blur to make everything look eerily lifelike as if you were seeing it in person. There’s also Depth of Field, which is a term for how your eye reacts to objects close or far away. The example used in a tech demo was looking at an enemy soldier through a cover of foliage. You could see the soldier clearly, but the foliage around you is slightly blurry. Shadows blur based on their distance from the object instead of being the same all around. Everything in Crysis is fully interactive/destrucable. If you walk through a fern it will react to your character. Shoot any leaf, on any tree, and it will react to your bullets. Trees and buildings can even be knocked down, which can create some interesting battle situations. The islands are under a dynamic day/night cycle, so while you’re doing things time will change. Natural disasters and weather will also produce during your mission, creating infinite scenarios. Crytek wants Crysis, like real-life, to be all about variables and dynamics.

In 2020, you and your squad are equipped with Nano-Muscular Suits, or suits with microscopic robots that can arrange themselves to alter your abilities. The suit configurations are things like Speed, Strength, and Armor, and can change your situation greatly if you use them correctly. They can all be switched in the field also, but don’t try fumbling with your suit while aliens are picking off your buddies. Weapons are fully customizable, and you can choose everything from your gun’s bullets, to attachments like a flashlight or grenade launcher. You’ll have to choose wisely to complete your objective, but your weapon is completely under your command.

The final build of Crysis is set to feature 32-player online combat. Solo and team-based Deathmatches, along with Capture the Flag come as no surprise. What may though, is the new Power Struggle mode which is targeted towards veteran FPS gamers. Power Struggle will have you getting resources to buy weapons and vehicles, and will result in long battles. It will be interesting to see if this mode will work, as it could become the next staple in online FPSs

Crysis has some pretty visuals, no doubt about that. Eye-candy can only take you so far though, a game to back it is the key. It’s also going to be a pain on most modern computers. Predictions at nearly 3.0ghz processors minimum, it’ll take nothing short of SkyNet to run. EA and Crytek need to deliver one hell of a game to make it all worthwhile. If we can find a space station that fits the requirements, we’ll review next spring.

The Call of Duty team is using painstaking detail to add new material for the third installment. Core gameplay elements, like the control scheme, are to remain the same. The key improvements in CoD3 are things that add more realism to the overall feel of battle and can potentially add whole new aspects to the game. With a well-aimed grenade you can destroy an enemies’ cover and vice versa.This could change gameplay dramatically, because like in real war, you can’t hide behind a crate for a too long. Smoke is now highly detailed and reacts according to environment. Throw a smoke bomb under a tank and the smoke will rise up the sides instead of through the vehicle. These are the type of things that you probably didn’t notice were missing from CoD2, but you’ll be grateful for in CoD3.

The biggest addition to the series are the new “Battle Actions”. The term can apply to the new one-on-one tussles with enemy soldiers, or the new actions you make in order to get past a scenario. For instance, rowing a boat takes the use of both analog sticks to get a steady flow going. Instead of just pressing X to set a mine, you actually have to go through the motions. Battle Actions and the other changes are meant to add a new dynamic to the game and add even more realism to the WWII setting.

Call of Duty 3 is set during the Normandy Breakout of WWII, which takes place after the momentous D-Day. The Normandy Breakout lead the Allies into the dash across France and became one of the Axis’ greatest losses. All four of the Allied Armies played a big part in the breakout, and you will be playing as each throughout the game . In CoD3 you take the role of English, US, Polish, and the rarely seen in gaming Canadian soldiers. As you play each campaign you’ll notice some characters effecting and even appearing in other campaigns. The acts of the Canadian army may directly effect the US army, for instance, and you may see the soldier you just played as helping your new character. The CoD3 team is also attempting to make the games more dynamic by giving the player different means of taking out an enemy. Before, if you were told to snipe, you had to snipe. Now, you can instead choose to ambush your opponent if you feel it’s the better way.

Treyarch is really pushing multiplayer in this one with 24-player single and split-screen internet modes. In teams-based battles or on your lonesome, you be able to play all the classic modes and the additional War mode with new vehicles like jeeps and motorcycles. In team battles, some of these vehicles support multiple riders, so expect some fun moments to spawn from side-car drive-bys. The new War mode pits the Allies and Axis against each other as they try and hold certain positions in order to win the match. Everyone plays as a specific class like Riflemen or Medics who each have their own special abilities. These abilities improve throughout the match if you use them, so people who do their job are rewarded. The CoD3 team wants the battles to be as in-depth as PC shooter and top previous expectations of the franchise’s multiplayer.

Call of Duty 2 was the 360′s best-selling launch title, and developer Treyarch is trying to live up to expectations with the third sequel. With success like that, they could have chose to just add new missions and let the game be as it is. Instead, they are trying to add new elements to make this the most realistic WWII game ever made. With a deep single-player mode and ambitious online multiplayer, our trigger fingers are itching already. For now, feast on our videos and screens for the Wii version and the 360/PS3 version. We’ll review at launch.

You play Frank West, a Shrek-like photojournalist with a sense of danger, investigating rumours of zombies at the local mall. It becomes pretty clear on the helicopter trip down that the rumour is true, and Mr. West decides to solve the mystery on his own. The helicopter that drops you off is due to come back in 72 hours. Your mission is to save as many people as possible and make it back to the rendezvous point on time. Once inside you find security guards with a barricade of park benches against the front doors, holding back clawing zombies. People are throughout the mall with guns and other makeshift weapons, taking positions and getting ready. As you’re exploring the mall, suddenly an old lady sees her poodle outside with the zombies and makes her way past the security guards. She pushes the barricades out of the way, runs out to save her poodle, and I’ll give you two guesses on what happens next. It sounds campy because it should be. Dead Rising is more of a humorous zombie gore-fest than a Silent Hill type scare. The game’s plot has somewhat of a B-movie feel to it to help out the theme.

Once the zombies break through it’s all about surviving those 72 hours. These 72 hours are not real-time, but actually an in-game time system that’s really about two hours. Yeah, Dead Rising is two hours long. Capcom wants Dead Rising to be a game that’s as replayable as one like GTA, where every time is a new experience and it never really gets old. Though you can just attempt to survive by yourself, the goal is to save as many others as possible. In the bottom right-hand corner of the screen there is also a kill meter so you can rack up how many zombies you’ve slayed. Take great pictures of the zombies with your trusty camera and your stats will boost. Another similarity to GTA is the fact that even though there are some side objectives, they aren’t mandatory. These side-quest help unravel the mystery of the zombies and completing them while saving other people in the mall will unlock a better ending. Dead Rising is made to play like an arcade game or an adventure, whatever floats your boat.

Everything you can get your hands on inside and outside is at your disposal. See that park bench over there? Pick at up and whack some zombies upside their decaying heads. Head into the sporting goods store and grab a football so you can have fun watching it rebound off of them and their surroundings. Grab a guitar from the music store. Pick up a watermelon from the grocery. Take a car from outside or a pair of hedge clippers. Head into the toy store and and don a play Mega-Man suit that shoots tennis balls. Speaking of Mega-Man, a lot of Capcom references dot the Dead Rising mall and finding them is a great extra. Just about everything from the mall plants to even coffee cups can be used as a weapon. If you can see it, it is most likely you can sling it a zombie.

A zombie slayer’s got to eat, and in order to keep your life up you’re going to need to raid the mall eateries for some food. There are over 50 items you can eat and drink and some give you a life bonus if you heat them up in the microwave, for example. Down time will be split eating and in the security “safe area” where you can save your progress. The most impressive thing about the game is our real the mall feels. It’s the first game to really get down the feel of a big mall with all the stores and the layout. You can have fun for 45 minutes just goofing around the mall.

This is what Capcom is going for. Eating to survive, grabbing the nearest item, having fun knocking zombie’s blocks off, running amok in a realistic shopping mall. If Dead Rising comes out and everything flows together, it’ll be as close as you’ll ever be to being trapped in a mall full of zombies. Just saying that sounds awesome. As always you can expect Club Skill to have a review before the undead strike Europe in September.

Do not be afraid FF fans. FFXII’s system is new, but not so different that you can’t recognize your beloved series. All the original commands return; such as Magic, Attack, Items, etc. In combat you control Vaan, FFXII’s main hero, as you choose a target to bring your smackdown upon. A small trail of light connects your character and your target, and Vaan will then position himself accordingly. The main difference in the gameplay lies in the animations. You and your enemy move around and adjust to each others positions, rather then attacking from afar or simply running up to attack each other and then resuming positions. The user can also pick from Passive and Active modes, which offer fighting with and without pauses while giving commands respectivly. Don’t expect Dynasty Warriors-esque battles with people constantly moving and flying. The action in FFXII gives a nice median between it’s older brothers and the traditional action game. This is meant to give FFXII a more realistic feel, and the fans a nice breath of fresh air.

Naturally, controlling a whole party this way would be cumbersome, so Square-Enix has added the new Gambit system. Each party member has a certain number of Gambits they can hold which increases with new levels. A Gambit is a specific action, or routine, assigned by the user which an A.I. controlled character can make. Each Gambit requires a target and an action and are listed by priority. For instance, let’s say one of my party members has four Gambits. The first one has attacking as the action, and the nearest enemy as the target. The second one may have “Cast cure on target if he/she/it drops below 40% HP” as the action and Vaan as the target and so on. This way, as soon as the character enters battle they will first attack the nearest enemy, then heal Vaan if neccesary. You can also use this system on Vaan himself, so all you have to do is sit and watch some battles if you please. If you have Vaan’s assignments up you can switch characters and mid-battle. This can help save some battle you were just letting the A.I. fight, or give you even more control over your party members. The Gambit system makes sure that the user has influence over what the A.I. is doing. Think it’s too complicated? You can always just leave the “attack closest enemy” action on your party member’s list so they just hack and slash until you decide to interject, though this would be a lot harder to pull off.

Leveling up has minor changes. You get experience with each battle, but now you also get license points, or LP. Experience still upgrades your HP, MP, defense, etc. But in order to use different weapons, armor, spells, or skills you need an license. You may need 25 LP to get a license that upgrades your healing spell or allows you to use a bow and arrow. Then, you will need to buy that spell or weapon at a store in town. And while we’re talking about buying, wild creatures don’t drop Gil, The FF world currency, anymore. Instead you’ll have to sell the stuff the drop for money, like rare items. Some stuff will never change, like chocobos or irrestibly cute talking things. The plot for FFXII is also gearing up to be solid as usual.

Square-Enix is attempting something new with Final Fantasy XII. With a mix between 70% turn-based RPG and 30% Zelda in the battles, it’ll be interesting to see if it’s a stew of love that the fans appreciate. Keep in touch, we’ll be hitching a ride on a chocobo later this year.

Sony’s Playstation 3

It’s like the Death Star of the video game consoles. The Sony Playstation 3 is a technological powerhouse: Blu-ray player, HD next-gen console, and multimedia center. On the surface, the PS3 promises to be the next big thing in electronics like the PC or MP3 Player. Announced at E3 2005 at the same time as Nintendo’s Wii console, the Playstation 3 showed off flashy (If pre-rendered) movies with fantastic graphics, notably the talk of the show: Killzone 2. With the champion’s belt from the last round, Sony is sitting in a nice position going into the console war. So much has happened since that E3. Will the Playstation 3 be a runaway success or a catastrophic failure?

What They’ve Done Right

You sitting there reading this article. You know that those amazing videos from E3 2005 were not actual gameplay. You know for a fact that those were CGI, pre-rendered, target videos. You know this because you are a hardcore gamer. Casual gamers don’t know this, and therefore Sony wins.

The Playstation name is a brand now because of the enormous success of the PS2. Casual gamers were the reason for that success. Millions of people around the world bought the Playstation 2, and half of those bought it because it was “The Playstation 2″ and that first holiday when it launched was utterly insane. That is where us hardcore gamers come in. We’re the ones who create the mass shortages and initial millions of sales at launch, after that we’re done. The casual gamers are who control the industry. The people who buy consoles for their kids or themselves, but don’t really follow gaming with a passion. As far as a casual gamer knows, that Killzone 2 trailer is the PS3. That’s what it’ll look like. Sony doesn’t care that you call bull on their trailers, because frankly in the scope of things, you don’t matter. David in 7th grade who showed all his friends the “awesome graphics of this new Playstation” is who matters.

That, and the fact that to the casual consumer, Sony is the main reliable company of the big three. Most casual gamers see Nintendo as too kiddy and they don’t know too much Microsoft since they’ve only just grown into their gaming company pants. Unlike the hardcore, casual gamers don’t factor stuff like quotes from executives or durability of product when purchasing. Hardcore gamers look at buying a video game system as an investment into the company. Most casuals know simply that they had a PS1, and they liked the games. Then they got PS2, and they liked those games. The Playstation 3 is their default console for the next-gen.

Most gamers look at Sony’s antics and scratch their heads. The fact is, Sony believes that your money isn’t what they were looking for in the first place anyway. Come November 11, 2006, the people who they want to buy a PS3 will not believe that Sony copied Nintendo’s controller, will have no idea who Kaz Hirai is, and could care less if Sony copied Xbox Live. That’s something that you wouldn’t know from internet message boards. The truth is, the way you think the industry is is completely wrong if you judge it by what other gaming fanatics on the internet think. Sony knows this.

What They’ve Done Wrong

The problem with Sony’s logic here is that they’ve catered to the casual gamer so much now that they’ve alienated the majority of the hardcore. Everyday all a gamer is pounded with is more bad news or quotes from Sony.”Sony’s control now named PooS”, “Problems with Sony’s Cell Processor”,”No Rumble feature with the controller.” There has been more bad news then good when it comes to the PS3 ever since the announcement of the price.

Ah yes, the price.

This is where Sony’s strategy fails. When I said that Sony believes that the casual gamer is more important then the hardcore gamer, I was right. Sony is trying to use their strategy from the last generation to win this one, and that’s hooking the casual consumer. They’re confident that this will get them on top. The difference here is that the PS2 wasn’t $600. It was $300 ,and even though that was still a pretty penny at the time, consumers didn’t have high costs of living like they do today. People were ready to take that next leap, not only in gaming, but also in digital media in general with the jump from VHS to DVD. People aren’t as ready for the leap to The Playstation’s Blu-Ray. There is no outright demand, nor noticeable growth in Blu-ray as a medium like there was with the DVD surrounding the PS2′s launch. The $600 PS3 of 2006 is not as a desirable item as the $300 PS2 of 2000. Sony doesn’t realize that going into the $600 mark is an investment, and most casual gamers aren’t going to make that investment.

“It prints money.”

What Sony is doing is banking on the casual gamer to win them another round, and thus alienating the hardcore. And there’s the rub. They don’t realize that this is not the “PS2 2006″, and there’s a good chance that casual gamers won’t even buy this console at this price. Hardcore gamers know what it is and what it can do, so some of them may feel comfortable spending that $600. So not only are they beating at a dead horse in the mainstream market, they’ve also managed to shoo away the only people who had a chance on buying it.

It doesn’t help that The Three Stooges at Sony have something stupid to say nearly every day. Ken Kutaragi, Phil Harrison, and Kaz Hirai, all Sony executives, are the main reason for the die hard consumers loss of faith for the Sony brand. I’ll let you decide. Ken Kutaragi’s best: “The PS3 is not a game machine .“ “The PS3 will instill discipline in our children and adults alike. Everyone will know discipline.” “Microsoft shoots for the moon. Sony shoots for the sun.” Phil Harrison: “The PlayStation 3 is a computer. We do not need the PC.” “When we brought the PlayStation to the market in 1994, we introduced real time 3-D graphics for the first time.” And my favorite, Kaz Hirai: “Every time we go down a path, we look behind and [Microsoft's] right there – we just can’t shake these guys. I wish that they would come up with some strategies of their own, but they seem to be going down the path of everything we do.” “The first five million [people] are going to buy [the PS3], whatever it is, even if it didn’t have games.” Everytime Sony opens their mouth a fan somewhere dies.

What They Need To Do

Hire a PR who knows how to speak English. Please. For all of our sakes.

Show gamer’s what we’re paying 600 smackers for. Line-up games and say “This is why you should buy our system” instead of “Buy our system because it’s a Playstation”. The Playstation 3 has just as many third-party titles in the works as the Micrsoft 360, but Microsoft is so much better at letting their gamers know what’s coming up down the line. You’re not in the position to just show us a little at E3 and then makes us wait until November for more info. The mystery scheme works for Nintendo because they have an inexpensive system and consumers know enough about the games to take a chance, no one is paying $600 for anything unless they know exactly what it is they’re getting back.

The Blu-Ray Disc: Will make or break the PS3.

Get Blu-Ray out there immediately. Electronic stores need Blu-Ray setups next to DVD setups do people can truely be wowed by the features. Many people could justify purchasing a PS2 because not only were the games promising, the image quality increase from VHS to DVD was so impressive they were literrally wowed. Most consumers have never seen Blu-Ray movie. Put Blu-Ray players in stores, even if they don’t sell well. Put the Blu-ray movies next to the DVD’s on the rack so people know it’s there. Do it now and that’s about three months you have to get the consumer associated with this new media. So when the PS3 comes out, people can say “Hey, it’s a Blu-Ray player too!” instead if “Oh, it plays these Blu-Ray things too”. If Blu-Ray is really as amazing as you make it out to be, proper exposure could make the PS3 huge.

Stop being so cocky, it comes across badly. Nintendo and Microsoft are both much improved from the last generation and can easily take you down if you continue with your attitude. Don’t underestimate your competition. Microsoft for example, instead of belittling the competition they instead support cooperation between the big comapnies. This may be unrealistic and they might not even mean it, but it still helps public image. Nobody likes a jerk.

Final Analysis

That price is a hard sell Sony, even for your loyalists. But you can pull it off if you do it right. Give the consumer what they want. They want games with mind-blowing graphics, movies with mind-blowing visuals, and an ultimate media center for their homes. If you can make all that come together with a little bit of flair, $600 won’t seem so expensive after all.

CS Console Wars Battle Plans
Microsoft – Nintendo – Sony

Nintendo’s Wii

At E3 2005 Nintendo revealed their entry into the next, or as they would say, “new” generation of video game consoles. Codenamed Revolution, the goal of this system was to deliver a fresh new experience to gaming that none of the rival consoles could emulate, and thus bringing non-gamers into the industry with it’s simplistic and intriguing controls. Speaking of emulation, in 2005 it was also announced that the Revolution would allow users to purchase and download games from Nintendo’s past eras of the NES, SNES, and N64. Later on it was revealed that SEGA Genesis/MegaDrive and Hudson Turbografx16 games would be available on Nintendo’s Virtual Console. The Xbox 360 has had a year’s head start, and the Revolution, now named Wii to symbolize the remote controller and the no longer exclusive industry, is ready to enter the homes for the holidays around the same time as Sony’s PlayStation 3.

It’s going to be a busy holiday season, and Nintendo needs to secure a spot on many a wish list.

Nintendo’s booth at E3 2006

What They’ve Done Right

Nintendo has brought out the big guns. At launch we can expect two of their major franchises and have hopes for a third: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, and possibly Super Mario Galaxy. On top of that they have other projects in the works, like Super Smash Bros. Brawl, along with titles from Kirby, Animal Crossing, and Donkey Kong.

A problem that the GameCube faced throughout it’s lifespan was that people never knew when they were getting the characters they bought the system for. The only ‘true’ Mario titles were Sunshine and the Paper series, with Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and the sports titles as backup. Metroid had the Prime series, Zelda had Wind Waker, Star Fox had the weak Assault and Adventures, Donkey Kong only had Konga and Jungle Beat, and apart from SSBM and AirRide, Kirby didn’t make an appearance on the GCN at all. Even so, that’s still a good number of games. But the problem that GCN owners had was that they didn’t know when these games were coming at the time. Nintendo wasn’t very good at saying, “This is what’s coming out and this is what’s coming down the pipe.” People bought the GCN expecting those games to deliver because they had the Nintendo brand, but unfortunately many of those games were sub-par. With the Wii, everyone knows what’s in the pipeline out and the fans are excited.

Maybe the first game to sell one console and boost another?

Nintendo is realising their mistakes from the last generation; Nintendo online was an oxymoron until the DS’s WiFi Connection. Now they’re fully integrating online play into their games with WiiConnect24, which will allow developers to send new add-ons to games through a twenty-four hour connection to the player’s console. With pre-paid points or credit cards, gamers can buy NES, SNES, N64, Genesis/MegaDrive, or Turbografx16 games and save them onto an SD card or hard drive. This opens up many possibilities with the Wii remote and favourites of the past.

And finally, Nintendo nailed E3. Going into the show people had doubts about whether Nintendo had the firepower to take down Sony and Microsoft’s graphical beasts. Sony and Microsoft’s press conferences (Sony’s especially), gave everyone what they wanted: the straight facts. Release date, price, games, it was all spoon-fed to the press. Nintendo instead worked on a different route, deciding to instead tease everyone until the were hyped about the announcements. Nintendo let everyone know their vision for this generation and slowly let loose information. And when you got out onto the show floor, the lines aorund the Nintendo booth were packed and the Wii still had a sense of mystery about it. That, plus things like the secretive Super Smash Bros. Brawl trailer got people hyped for a machine that was only a murmur before. Gamers and developers are now excited, wanting to see what the controller can do, and waiting on Nintendo’s next move.

What They’ve Done Wrong

The motion sensing Wii controller is supposed to introduce a new control scheme that will get even the most adamant non-gamer into videogames. This is all well and good, but some game developers have no desire to change. The Wii also has GameCube controller ports and the system’s Virtual Console controller, but Nintendo is trying very hard to push the remote-style controller. The head behind Castlevania, Koji Igarashi, has stated that the series is not fit for the Wii on many different occasions. “…I’ve noticed that Castlevania might not fit the controller. Wii is targeting some short gameplay, whereas Castlevania is a longer game. Once you get into the game you’ve been playing for so many hours it doesn’t really fit with Wii.”

Even more evident of his feelings surrounding the controller were this statement; “When it comes to Wii, obviously the controller has a unique feature, but I just can’t come up with a good idea that utilizes it. I mean, clearly you can with a lot of time.” It seems that no one has told him, “Hey, you can use a normal controller too!” and that could potentially lose some third-party series for Nintendo if developers go exclusively to another system due to misinformation.

“Oh yeah, we have that controller too…”

The secrecy helps in some cases, but in others it’s just annoying to the consumer. For instance, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will be sold on the Wii and on the GameCube. Some future Wii owners are concerned that the Wii’s remote will not feel as comfortable as the GameCube’s controller, so they are debating about which version to get. Again, the Wii has ports for GameCube controllers, but Nintendo has yet to confirm that the Wii version will have the option to choose between each control scheme.

The Wii’s Wi-Fi setup has caused confusion, also. Look around the Internet and some sources will tell you that the Wii can go online using Nintendo’s WiFi USB Connector, which a lot of current DS owners already have. Nintendo has neither confirmed nor denied this. Suspense is great, but there is a fine line between hype and confusion.

What They Need to Do

Nintendo has put themselves in a bind in some cases around the Wii. As with the controller, most likely the reason they aren’t pushing the GameCube and VC controllers is because they fear the consequences. If developers start ignoring the Wii remote it will become another failed Nintendo peripheral, and they can’t afford for that to happen. The way to counter this is to deliver some great games at launch that really make the Wii remote shine. After the possibilities are opened up and developers are aware that this can truly enhance gaming like Nintendo claims, there is no longer a need to shove the remote down their throats. Then you can tell them, “Yeah, but if you really want to go back to these controllers you still can”. We really don’t need to play Madden with the remote, but if we’re going to, we also want the option of playing with a normal controller.

If done right, an online Smash Bros could achieve greatness.

The biggest problem is online play. It’s great that Nintendo is embracing it, but now they’re not sure how to make it work. There is one main factor that’s messing everything up: Gamers want Xbox Live features for multiplayer, but Nintendo wants to keep it simple, and above all, free. You can’t have both. Under a free service, Nintendo can’t as easily enforce rules against misconduct or swearing over voice chat. Nintendo has always been and probably always will be a family-oriented brand. They can’t afford little Timmy being cursed out by Pikachu on Super Smash Bros. So their solution with this on the DS was to use friends codes to enable voice chat. This didn’t bode well with gamers who wanted more freedom. Nintendo needs to set up different types of rooms for different age groups. A kids’ room can have voice chat diabled in online matches unless someone is registered on their friends list and vice versa, and an adults’ room can have free for all voice chat. The Wii should have different profiles for each user, and each user should have control settings when it comes to online play. This hurdle can be overcome in many different ways; Nintendo needs to just put their minds to it.

And most importantly, keep the hits coming. Don’t make the same mistake as the what happened on the GameCube and keep your all-stars buried in a vault somewhere. We love our Marios and Zeldas, so keep giving them to us.

Final Analysis

You’re back in the race Nintendo, and if you correctly play the cards you’ve always had since the days of the NES, you could possibly come out of this battle on top. The games are what you’ve got, and with the graphical powers of the PS3 and 360 it may be all that you’ve got. So you’re going to have to deliver big to take them down. But you’ve come prepared; you have the deadly Nintendo All-Star Army on your side. Use them well and you may just become the ruler of all consoles once again.

CS Console Wars Battle Plans

Microsoft – Nintendo – Sony

Microsoft’s Xbox 360

On November 22, 2005, the first fighter in the console wars came out headfirst, guns blazing. Unless you were playing Microsoft’s clever online riddle “Ourcolony” game, The Xbox 360 came out of nowhere. One day people were having fun playing Halo 2 on Live, and the next there was a MTV special unveiling a brand new console. A week later, E3 fed you all the 360 info you didn’t know already. Microsoft delivered a swift blow to the gut to their competitors by launching a legitimate next-gen console so early. If we didn’t see it coming, it’s not too hard to believe that Nintendo and Sony didn’t think they would have it looking that good so soon either. So for the few who could find them, the Xbox 360 was the hot item for the 2005 holiday season. The mad dash from consumers to get into the next-gen is over now though, so Microsoft is going to have to deliver to insure that interest stays in their direction with the Wii and PS3 heading to the shelves.

The Xbox 360 Zero Hour event.

What They’ve Done Right

The 360 has an image. Most people accuse the Xbox 360 of being the reincarnation of the Dreamcast because of the similarities between the two. But, the Dreamcast had two major downfalls that the Xbox has already been able to overcome. First of all, the Dreamcast came at a time when people were not ready to buy a new video game console. The success of the 360 so far defeats that problem. Secondly, Sega never gave the Dreamcast an image. It was a box that played games. Microsoft has given the 360 a “Remix/ New-Age generation” image. Even if you think it’s tacky, you can’t deny that it’s there. Think of the 360 and you’ll realize how much of an impact their marketing has. You don’t think of little kids playing an Xbox 360, you think of college students wearing indie clothes and being too sexy for themselves, laughing as they pass around a controller. They’ve been able to drill the thought into your head, “This is a cool, mature, gamer’s machine,” and that sells. Little Billy wants one so he can be cool, and Big John in college will buy one because he want to have a cool looking dorm.

Dead Rising, one of the 360 titles that contributes to the mature image.

Microsoft also has good relationships with third-party developers. They currently have the kind of relationship that Nintendo is trying to regain. They support and monitor projects done by outside developers, and this support brings a constant flow of games in for the 360. So far the console hasn’t had a drought when it comes to software. Even in the boring gaming days of summer, Dead Rising is about to be released in the US. A steady stream of games is what helped the success of the PS2 last round, so it’s important that Microsoft keeps this up. They’ve also proved why Xbox Live is worth that moolah you pay every year. Microsoft has established the Marketplace, the Xbox Live Arcade, the Gamercards, and the overall community. Now they’re working on Live Anywhere, which will let you take your stats with you. Gamers get the feeling that Microsoft cares, and that they are constantly trying to improve themselves. If gamers feel like you care, they have no problem dishing out more money for better improvements. Microsoft understands this, and so they are trying to keep the Live community as close-knit as possible.

What They’ve Done Wrong

Earlier I said that Microsoft has the kind of relationship with third-party developers that Nintendo is trying to get. Replace that “third-party” with “first-party” and the roles are reversed. In the age of expensive next-gen games, it’s going to be hard to convince developers to keep their games on one system when they know they can just as easily port it to the others and make double their money. In this case, a lot of 360 titles will be ported over to the PS3.

And as far as the games go, they need to widen the spectrum. Nearly every game announcement on the 360 is an FPS, Sports, or GTA-clone title. Yeah, the mature image is great for the hardware. After awhile though, I will have shot enough Nazis, aliens, police officers, and socc-er- footballs to not care anymore

The marketplace is great, but it helps when people know when the content is out. So far, every major release in the marketplace has been followed by two or more weeks of speculation and guesswork. People like to know when they’re going to spend money so they can plan ahead, don’t announce an add-on for a game and then not tell your consumers when it’s coming out.

For future reference keep Peter Moore in a nice padded room, preferably with duct tape on his mouth. He’s a nice a guy, and he has nice intentions, but when he talks it’s like a train wreck waiting to happen. “Next-generation games will combine unprecedented audio and visual experiences, create worlds that are beyond real, and they’ll deliver story lines and gameplay so compelling that it’ll feel like a lucid dream.” We’re still waiting on that lucid dream, buddy. I see your point, but it doesn’t make it any better.

Mr. Moore says, “Yaargh, blah smackitysmackity.”

What They Need To Do

Microsoft needs to establish some first-party juggernauts to take on your Metal Gear Solids and Super Smash Bros.’. They need more system sellers, and instead of banking on the Halo 3 hype machine they need to get started immediately. The multiplatform route worked for them in the last generation because the Xbox was arguably the most powerful system. If a game was released on the PS2 and the Xbox, you could justify getting the Xbox version because it looked better. This will apply for Sony in this round if the PS3 is all it’s cracked up to be. The 360, like the Wii, needs games that people will have to buy the system to play. They can only ride the Halo gravy train for so long.

Don’t announce Live Marketplace features unless you have a release date to go with them. Developers will argue that the speculation creates more hype, but you can get just as much hype by releasing it a month later then normally but at least giving a release date. Most consumers would rather have Street Fighter II announced on June 20 for a release on July 15, then have a June 30 release that everyone speculated about until three days prior.

Other then the wacky release dates, the Marketplace has been a success.

If see that your games are all starting to fall into the mainstream category, work on some other properties. Look for some RPG, Adventure, or Action games being developed and try to get a piece of the action. If all else fails, Microsoft needs to get started on their own. The 360 has a nice constant release of games year round, but it needs more in the constant release. People who would not buy a 360 because it doesn’t suit their taste may change their mind if Microsoft can find/create the next great gaming icon.

And let J.Allard do all the talking from now on.

Final Analysis

So far so good. Your problems are minimal, Microsoft. There was a slight slip-up with that Core vs. Premium fiasco, but now that that is over you seem to know where you are in the industry and you’re staying that way. Remember what got you there, don’t throw all of your chips on Halo, and keep the consumer first. You’ve got a good chance to win this thing. We can’t wait for that lucid dream.

Stay in shouting distance! Next Wednesday we’ll take a look at the house that Mario built, Nintendo and the Nintendo Wii. Awesomeness ensues.

CS Console Wars Battle Plans
Microsoft – Nintendo – Sony

New Super Mario Bros. is the the first side-scroller for the plumber since Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. and is the direct sequel to Super Mario Bros. 3. The story is to the point: Mario is walking with Princess Peach, sees castle on fire, runs to save castle, finds out it was a diversion, Baby Bowser grabs Peach and runs away, Mario chases. The opening cutscene is no longer then twenty seconds. After that, you immediately get launched into World 1-1 and all of the nostalgia starts coming back. For any gamer worth his or her salt, picking up NSMB is like growing a new limb. Once you figure out how to use it, it’s completely natural and you feel like you’ve known it all your life. I see a Goomba, I stomp. I see a block, I jump. It’s like finding a long lost brother. Nintendo realizes all of this, so there is no tutorial or help text at the beginning of this game. You’re just in. This is another great quality of NSMB, the fact that I can turn on my DS and in be in the level in a matter of seconds. Nineteen as a matter of fact, is how much I counted from the time I pressed the DS’s power button to actually getting in the level. NSMB is portable gaming they way it’s meant to be, great in short bursts or in long sessions.

The touch screen displays a map of your progress and the amount of Star Coins in hand along with any power-ups. Star Coins are used to open up the Toad Houses, which give out extra lives and power-ups while also letting you save. Three Star Coins are found in each level’s hard to reach spots. Getting them all is a good challenge if you want to make the game main adventure to last longer or if you’re going back for a second go around. In game the A and B buttons are jump and holding down the X and Y buttons is dash by default, but this can be changed from the Options menu. You know the objectives. Make it from the beginning of the level to that flag at the end without dieing, in as little time as possible, with as many coins in your stash. After all of these years, it’s still amazing how validating it feels to get an extra life or to reach that stupid flag. Gameplay mechanics are the same, though some tried and true elements are familiar. “?” blocks still give out power-ups and coins, but joining the Mushroom, Star, and the Fire Flower are the Mini Mushroom, Blue Shell, and the Super Mushroom. For those who’ve been living in a time warp for 30 years, the Mushroom makes Mario grow a little and the Fire Flower gives him the ability to shoot fireball from he palms Super Saiyen style. The Star, which is not as great as it once was thanks to the new Super Mushroom, gives invincibility for a given time. The Mini Mushroom shrinks Mario so he can jump higher and fit into small pipes. This is an idea that should be developed more in future sequels but, since you can’t defeat enemies while small it becomes more an annoyance then an actual asset. The Blue Shell is similar to the Tanooki suit from SMB3 in that Mario actually wears it and it gives him new abilities. He can swim faster, hide in his shell with a press of down on the D-pad, and can go into a shell spin if you hold Dash. On the earlier levels when enemies are lined up and in the underwater areas this is especially helpful. Finally, the Super Mushroom is one of the most satisfying power-ups to hit platformers in recent years. Mario turns Kong-sized and you then proceed on stomping everything that gets in your way. It’s great when you can rampage through the enemies and obstacles who were completely embarrassing your pride moments before. New to Mario’s move set in a Mario Bros. title is the wall-jump, first seen in Wario’s games and the Big M’s 3D installments. I like the wall-jump because it feel like something that belongs in the game. Like all things in NSMB, it takes skill and reflexes. Also, Nintendo is good for putting it in moments that don’t seem repetitive so it doesn’t wear thin.

The worlds don’t get old either. Even though they’re all familiar you never feel the need to beat a level just because you’re tired of it. There’s old World 1, the grassy oasis that gives you the fuzzy feeling inside, and then seven others. A desert, snow, island, haunted, and mountainous area are all here along with two secret Worlds. The secret worlds must be opened by using alternate paths, and are a good bonuses to the perfectionists out there. Out of all the areas I must say enjoyed World 3, the island, the most. The laid-back pacing of the palm tree’ed beaches and the underwater segments were fun breathers after the speedy Desert World, and I’m one who usually hates underwater areas in platformers.You’ll be doing everything from balancing on tightropes to trying to stay on very, very, unbalanced toadstools in NSMB. The levels throughout the game are creative though, so none are out there to the point that they’ll throw you off.

The sweet chimes that come with nabbing coins or getting 1ups are still as good as ever. Sound and music quality is crisp in New Super Mario Bros. The new soundtrack is a blend of the old Mario Bros. themes, with a little mix of new stuff that sounds like something from Super Mario Sunshine. The graphics are pretty cool too, or “swish” as some of my UK co-staff would say. Backgrounds are not too simple or too complex. Everything from the brick blocks, to enemies, to Mario himself appears to have depth and weight even though they are all on a side-scrolling plane. The enemies have returned like the Koopas, Goombas, Piranha Plants, and Bullet Bills. New baddies are mostly extensions of the basics, but there are some original creations like the crows which can cause some anger management issues. The main difference is within the bosses. Instead of facing Bowser on every world like past SMBs, each World has a different boss that Baby Bowser calls forth to take you down. Bowser still shows up, but it’s nice to not have to fight the same guy over and over. This also gives each world a more unexpected feeling then the games in the past.

When I firsted booted up NSMB, I was afraid. I was afraid that Nintendo would make the game too easy, the multiplayer too boring, or the game too short. Lucky for me, they came through on the first two. My only quam with New Super Mario Bros was the fact that it all ended too quickly, and the minigames. By just playing through I beat the game in little over a week. Usually this is my main problem with games. I’m the type of gamer that never replays games, but I’ve had the urge to replay NSMB over since beating it to find the hidden levels and bonuses. The short adventure is a problem, but not enough to discourage a purchase. But there’s also the minigames, which most DS owners played a year ago on Super Mario 64 DS. The minigames come off as laziness on Nintendo’s part for just slapping on old ones with one or two new games. I appreciate the thought, but recycling minigames is a move I’d expect from a minor league company. The single and multi-cart multiplayer isn’t too shabby, though. You can fight over stars with another player as Luigi in what results in a surprisingly fun mode.

Thanks, Mario. You haven’t failed me yet. I like the enemies, the new features, the sounds, and just about everything else. If only your game was a little longer, and your minigames not rehashed, this could have been a classic. But that still doesn’t keep New Super Mario Bros. from being a must-buy for all DS-ites. Buy it as soon as possible, relax, and let the nostaliga flow. Just try not to get all teary eyed when that level end theme plays once again.

+ Great platforming action
+ Nice Audio/Visuals
+ Short learning curve

- Short adventure
- Same mini-games from Super Mario 64 DS

Resistance takes place in the 20th century, changing up the past. Europe and Asia have been all but demolished, sorry Brits, by mysterious alien forces. The Queen’s army is down so only a small ragtag crew remains to fend off the beasts. The U.S. comes to the rescue, sorry Brits, with ranger Nathaniel Hale who joins the resistance. You must play as Mr. Hale and restore peace in order to the land.

The E3 demo is set in the underground base for the humans, and the aliens have found thier way in. They jump and snarl everywhere and you must take them down before they get too deep into the compound. If you see creatures jumping on top of your crew, don’t stand there and watch. The game will have “hero moments” so you can shoot that nasty critter off his face. Weapons have a primary and alternate fire, and different types of grenades are in-game. It’s from the Ratchet & Clank creators, so you know it’s diverse in the weaponary. The hedgehog is a grenade that explodes into spikes that cover an area. The auger has a normal shot and a shot that drills through walls. The weapons all give off a sick sense of glee win used correctly.

And yes, the graphics are pretty. Though not yet too far from something we could see on the 360, Resistance’s realism cannot be denied. The colors come from the “dirty futuristic FPS” palatte of greys and brown. Glass shatters, dust flies, and all this happens with the sounds of bullets whizzing past your ears and shrieks from unknown foes surround. The lighting and textures on the walls and floors is downright amazing. Since most of the monsters are actually mutated humans, it’s downright creepy to see them walking up to you. The have coils that stick out of their backs and it best to aim for them while atacking. Yeah, they kinda look like the monsters on all of the Gears of War ads, but it was cool enough that we didn’t care. Resistance puts you into the experience. The final game will also feature 32 player online matches, and two player co-op.

Insominiac will have to do something to set Resistance: Fall of Man apart from the rest of the FPS fare. This PS3 launch title looks promising so be sure we’ll keep you updated. More screens at the image gallery.

Similar to Ubisoft‘s Red Steel, Samus’s movement is controlled with the analog stick on the nunchaku while her targets are pointed at with the Wii remote. The in-game hub will remain the way it has in the other Prime games with the exception of the beams displayed in the lower right-hand corner. Instead of you being able to switch between each beam, each one you get will eliminate the previous like in Super Metroid. In the E3 demo, Samus’s grappling beam is used to pull away enemy weapons. Many other beams and upgrades will make a comeback, like the X-Ray and Thermal Visors. New ones will also show up, like a beam that can shoot throw solid walls. The Screw Attack and Wall Jump will be more deeply intergrated into the adventure also.

Metroid Prime 2 made the mistake of trying to combine the Prime lock-on system with multiplayer and ended up failing. The Corruption team is dumping the local multiplayer in order to completely focus on the single-player adventure, though they have not completely denyed the existence of WiiConnect24 support. Scanning is back, but it’s less tedious now. The difficulty and amount of backtracking have been reduced for the third installment. Like in Metroid Prime: Hunters, you will have control over what planet you go to. You can fly back in forth between planets at any time. As far as graphics go, real picky people will notice the differences. Light is shinier, shadows are darker, textures are more texturized. The main difference is the fact that enviroments are more complex. Especially in areas with a lot of machinery, you’ll notice that a lot more is happening around you. This helps contribute to the feeling of a living, breathing, world.

Not much information is known about the last Prime title, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, but be sure that we here at Club Skill will spoon-feed you the updates as they come. We’ll also have a review for Prime when it comes out with the Nintendo Wii.