baum -- It isn't "damage control" that Wii games cost less to make (significantly less). That's a fact. It's also a fact that if a game costs less to make, you turn a profit earlier with fewer copies sold.
Likewise, calling MadWorld or rail shooters niche isn't anything but fact. They are what they are.
NMH getting a sequel speaks to its success.
Not all games can sell like Halo. Psychonauts, Okami, Killer 7, Ico...the list goes on and on. ...
dchalfont -- I'm a late Metroid convert. If you like Mario and Star Wars games...well, you've kinda got the best of both worlds with 'Troid: platforming and adventure in space.
Cagney is right about Super Metroid. It's one of the greatest games ever made. If you are absolutely married to 3D environments, then the Prime Trilogy would be a better place to start. But if you don't mind going back in time to 2D sidescrolling, Super Metroid is as good as it gets.
...th...
StanLee -- I think everyone knew it'd be big. They just didn't expect quite this much. Nintendo games seem to have long legs and sell well over a longer period of time, not with huge launches. It doesn't look like Galaxy even launched like this:
http://news.vgchartz.com/ne...
FPS games have a habit of being rather like games that came before them. That's just the nature of the genre (even if Nintendo likes saying FPA).
If they released another Prime game, I'd buy it first day, beat it and love every second of it. But part of me wants them to keep the Trilogy as-is on consoles. A new handheld title is another story, but I don't want another Prime game on a console unless Retro is building it...and they seem to need a rest from Samus. She's kinda de...
oobob -- I PM'ed you my codes. I'm not sure what happened with Conduit. When you get a sec later, hit me back with yours for that. Maybe I entered it wrong.
I am having a HELL of a time adjusting to MWR. I absolutely love it, but it is completely different than Conduit. In TCon, you can leap over someone, do a 180 in midair, and nail a shotgun head shot before you hit the ground. MWR doesn't reward running and gunning that way (as cliche as it is to say, it's a more realist...
I'm with Seferoth. Rail shooters are a niche genre. A 6-hour long, ultra-violent brawler? Niche. And it sold niche numbers.
OTOH, COD sells well. Even with absolutely NO marketing. Because established IP always tends to sell better. RE, too.
And NMH? It sold about 400,000 copies. Enough to turn a profit and get a sequel green lit. Even though it's got brawling, it's a much more ambitious (and longer) game than MadWorld.
According to EA, Wii gam...
80-85 seems about right to me for this game. You HAVE to dock it a certain amount of points for the hit its visuals take, fewer people in multiplayer and the lack of voice chat.
But the brilliance of IW's initial design always shines through, as the reviewer notes -- "Other than the SD graphics, variations on multiplayer, and pointer controls, this is still Modern Warfare." That's a good compliment, considering people didn't think this game could be done on Wii.
...
Yeah, that makes sense to me. Dedicated Mario platformers are fairly rare, and Nintendo likes to rev up the hype for them. There's no way they'd release NSMB and SMG2 side-by-side. Mario Party? Maybe, but as it's a cash cow of a casual title, I think they'd want to publicize that more.
A downloadable game -- like the recent Excite Bike -- would be cool.
Now if they'd just do a downloadable Zelda...like a Majora's Mask sequel...
The first game had some challenging levels, but I'd be up for a harder game, overall. Just give us a release date. With NSMB as a holiday title, I'm wondering if Nintendo would decide to drop SMG2 in March to fill in the Smash Bros. "early AAA title" slot, or if they'd wait and space out Mario for holidays each year.
Agreed, mastiff. Gimme a demo of Other M and I'll be a happy camper.
'Bout time.
Conduit 2, I'd guess.
[spoilers]
The ending of the first game pretty much guarantees a sequel, IMO. And TCon was their first time trying to establish their own IP, so they probably want to fix the problems that the first game had. MWR's online crushes HVS's effort, so I could see them trying to respond.
Retro also has...whatever the hell they're working on.
I can't imagine Galaxy 2, Other M, Zelda, AND something from Retro all launching in the same year. I'd absolutely love it, but I can't see it happening. At least one of them will have to be pushed back, and Nintendo never rushes Zelda.
The game DOES look better in motion, but that's because it's a fast-paced game. I'll be the first to say that giving the visuals a 7 would be kind. But compared to a game like Conduit, it's also much larger and there's so much more going on. You could fit TCon's infirmary map comfortably inside some of MWR's maps, and still have three quarters of the level...while airstrikes are being called in.
Otherwise, I agree with most of the review. Score is a bit high, IMO. I love the...
I'm all for seeing Zelda sooner, rather than later, but I'm starting to get the feeling that Nintendo may once again follow their pattern with Twilight Princess -- use LoZ as the swan song for one console, while simultaneously launching their new console with it.
2011?
I'm not sure if we're gonna get Zelda...but keep in mind, Retro has been quiet lately. Very, very, very quiet.
As for S/P, sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.
Dual analog isn't going to be obsolete; it works well for certain games. A "regular" game pad works great for fighting games, racers, some sports games, etc.
OTOH, IR/pointer works better in other games. FPS is one of them. It's faster, it's more precise, and it's more customizable. Dual analog feels clunky by comparison.
I have no idea why it's controversial to think this. I read in the GI thread that it's "opinion" on IR/pointer's superiori...
I was a huge Sony fan last gen, Hatch. I don't know how it qualifies me as a "fanboy" because I find good games on Wii. VoR just ticked off more than three games that are very good. I'd add TW10, Punch Out, Zack and Wicki, LKS, Fire Emblem, Paper Mario, both Boom Bloxes, both Pro Evos, both Trauma Centers, Kart, Extraction, de Blob, MadWorld, Conduit, HotD, Warioland, both Excite racers, Batallion Wars 2, etc. etc. etc.
If you've only found three games worth playing ...
Hatch -- You said yourself "technically more accurate." If something is more accurate and faster, how is it not better in a genre that is dependent on accuracy and speed? And as Sidar said, the reviewer saying you have to point in the middle of the screen the whole time is a complete lie. You CAN do that if you want, but you'll have to shrink your bounding box the entire way. In MWR, I certainly don't.
Corruption, Conduit and COD4 all have good control schemes. In ...
A chunk of Galaxy's most difficult levels were past the 60-star threshold, though. Maybe they plan on upping the difficulty earlier.
That said, one of my favorite levels in SMG was the space junk galaxy, which put a stupid grin on my face. Wasn't the most difficult, but I loved it.