2009 was a disappointing year for Wii games. Next year, though, things are already looking up. I’m not usually a fan of getting sequels just for the sake of getting sequels, but by coincidence, the games I’m most excited about next year all have titles ending with the letter 2.
It’s a little disarming to see a videogame that gets so much hype result in a product anything less than stellar. Ultimately, what you think about this game will be determined by how you feel about the Wii.
There’s a long-standing debate in the videogame community about how and how not to write videogame reviews. I think a lot of it stems from the fact that most videogame reviews treat their subject matter as products, rather than works of art.
I got a chance to spend some time with the Mega Man 9 demo last night, and I have to say, they really, really nailed the 8-bit look and feel. They even got the story exposition right! And by right, I mean it was awesomely bad! There’s a secret to how bad it was, and I think I’ve figured it out.
Here’s one for the programmers in the house. Maybe you aren’t familiar with the guy who oversaw Dead or Alive, and the more recent Ninja Gaiden games. He’s a total rockstar. He drinks, smokes, swears, and criticizes everything. And yet, he’s so much fun to read. So when Kotaku posts that Tomonobu Itagaku bets you a beer that PS3 is easier to program for than the NES, it totally makes my day.
Some videogame developers act as though videogames won’t be taken seriously until they affect players emotionally just as much as a touching book, movie, or song. Their hearts are in the right place, but often their minds are not.
Nine Inch Nails’ latest album, The Slip, may be something of a conundrum, but that’s fine – music critics can handle that. However, how would videogame critics handle a conundrum like this?
Gotta love Nolan Bushnell. He’s always good for a sound-byte, whether it’s funny, or just plain thought-provoking. He’s trying to distance “social videogames” from a geeky stigma by comparing them to board games – but are board games really that much less geeky?
When videogames are virtually forbidden from deeply addressing critical events in the world, it leaves us to address something both smaller and bigger.
Much like music, videogames can now be innovative for blending old ideas with older ones.