One of my favorite demos from E3 2009 was Treasure’s Sin & Punishment: Star Successor for the Nintendo Wii. Always a fan of shooters and high action games, Star Successor delivered both in spades. The demo was just a single level, and you could choose either of the two playable characters (each with their own different styles of play). The game will make use of online leaderboards, a great stat tracking system, and will offer tons of replay value for those that look to aim for perfection.
Sin & Punishment: Star Successor is out on Sunday at retail, so shipments should be arriving by mail Monday or Tuesday. With all the big games that were recently released and with the ones coming up, I really hope Star Successor doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. For people who complain that there aren’t enough hardcore experiences on the Wii, they need to take a look at this game. It really doesn’t get much more hardcore than this.
This would make a great Under the Radar game…
Dang. Now, David Jaffe has made a fool of himself many times in the past in drunken tirades, emotional outbursts, and poorly thought out forum posts, but here he didn’t deserve the noise that Olivia Munn was tossing his direction. I’m guessing that G4 will have this video pulled soon, so enjoy it while you can.
Note: I’ve had some emails wondering why I haven’t reviewed games or dropped editorials onto the blog lately. Part of that is due to me saving up material for Gamer Theory, part of it is just me being a little lazy. I’ll do something soon other than the podcast or a YouTube video dump…I promise.
A video surfaced this morning showing off a benchmark test for the GPU that will power the 3DS. What’s not clear, however, is what other specs are under the 3DS hood that will be working in tandem with the PICA200 GPU. While benchmark tests rarely reflect what actual gameplay will look like, you can get a good idea of the types of effects that the GPU is capable of by checking out the video below.
Brad, Sean, and I give our reactions to the E3 2010 press conferences. Sean is new on the podcast, but it’s most likely just his first in many appearances. We give our grades on the three main conferences, tell what our favorite moments were, and also bag on things that didn’t go so well. Enjoy the show!
Note: If you want to check out Sean’s work, you can find him at http://www.anime3000.com.
It’s episode #44 and we talk about E3, Morgan Webb’s comments on Super Mario Galaxy 2, and what we’ve been playing. Enjoy the show.
Note: I was planning one embedding Morgan’s comments video, but G4 had the video pulled. Sorry.
As development toward launching Gamer Theory creeps along, we’ve got the forum system up and running. Plenty of features and tweaks are still being added to the boards, so if you join now you’ll have to put up with some dust, but we’d be happy to have you join up and get posting. This weekend is the official launch of the forums.
If you want to register and start checking them out, head over to http://www.forums.gamertheory.com and post.
Note: Best Game Ever is a series of posts I’ll be doing dedicated to the best games ever made. Each game I profile will be a game I’d accept as someone’s answer to the question, “what do you think the best game ever is?” So please, do not email me and tell me I’m stupid for posting about game X when game Y is clearly superior. And you never know, game Y might be the next game profiled. For more in the series, check out the “best game ever” category in the side bar.
ActRaiser.
Released in 1991 in the United States, ActRaiser was one of those games that if you happened to stumble upon it became an instant favorite. Developed by Quintet and published by Enix, ActRaiser is part simulation and part action game. The odd combination of genres really make the game something unique, and it’s a shame that the series was left by the wayside as time has gone on.
About 75% of the game is played out in a Sim City type of experience where you’re building towns and eliminating dangers for your citizens. It’s a very simplified take on the city building mechanics, but there’s something really addictive about it all the same. Your goal is to have your villagers not only build their city, but to also explore the surrounding areas and bring back items that can help you in the more action-oriented segments.
The action portion of the game is fairly intense, even if it was made easier than the Japanese version. The game has huge bosses, some tricky platforming (partly due to sketchy jump controls), and a good variety of enemies. These portions are mostly to bridge the gap between major developments in the city building stages, so not much in the way of narrative happens here. At the end of the game, the final action sequence has you facing off against every boss in the game one after another, making for an intense marathon.
One of the most memorable aspects of the game had to be the music. Before ActRaiser, no other game had brought such intense and rich music to the table. It really was amazing. The game ended up winning the award for best music in a game that year in Electronic Gaming Monthly and many still cite it as one of the best game soundtracks ever made.
This is one of those games that you simply need to experience to understand as it’s still something that would be considered unique, even by today’s standards. The game is available on Nintedo’s Virtual Console service, and it’s still fairly easy to find in used game shops or online.
Here’s hoping that one day Square Enix will decide to give the series a proper continuation.
Brad and Rahmel join me for another edition of the Stupid Gamer podcast. We dig into the leaked premium PSN details, Insomniac going multiplatform, Killzone 3 announcement, and much more. Enjoy the show!
It’s episode #42 and Brad and I talk about some recent news and Iwata’s statement that Sony is no longer a threat and that Apple is the enemy of the future. Enjoy the show. Seriously, enjoy it.
Note: Best Game Ever is a series of posts I’ll be doing dedicated to the best games ever made. Each game I profile will be a game I’d accept as someone’s answer to the question, “what do you think the best game ever is?” So please, do not email me and tell me I’m stupid for posting about game X when game Y is clearly superior. And you never know, game Y might be the next game profiled. For more in the series, check out the “best game ever” category in the side bar.
DuckTales.
Developed for the NES by Capcom and released in North America in 1990, DuckTales was one of several great Disney licensed titles to come out during the 8-bit era, and it is usually one of the first games brought up when discussing the great platformer games on the NES. It was quite popular in its time, and despite some quirks in the gameplay, it has help up wonderfully over the years.
You play as Scrooge McDuck as you work your way through five levels, of which you can play in any order and even revisit once you’ve finished them. There are hidden treasures in nearly every inch of each level, including two hidden special treasures that can unlock an alternate ending. The gameplay is fairly straightforward as Scrooge’s attacks are limited to swinging his cane or using it as a pogo stick to jump on enemies. There are tons of hidden areas in the game as well, so exploration is just as important as combat.
The game itself isn’t terribly challenging, but it’s addictive and memorable. Anybody who played it remembers the sound of Scrooge’s pogo cane, at least one of the hidden passages they found, and how they used Scrooge’s golf-style swing to send a rock flying to knock down a treasure chest. The game can be completed in around 45 minutes or so, but it’s worth playing through multiple times. I probably play through it at least twice per year.
It’s unlikely that this will ever see a Virtual Console release, so you’re left hunting down the original cartridge if you want to play it legally. But honestly, few games are worth it like DuckTales is. At last look, it was only $3-$5 on eBay, so that makes it a great bargain for retro gaming fans. It’s definitely one of the best games ever.
