Many of the games shown in this video are shown too briefly to make any kind of substantive observations. Let's see how it goes.
2008
DSi: Slimmer, SD card slow, internal flash memory, bigger screens, internet browser, DS online store, and 2 cameras. Over the past few years, I've faced several road blocks when designing software fore the DS because it lacked many of these key features. Once again, Nintendo supplies the hardware/features that I need to design my innovative games freely.
The fashion game: Looks to have very high production values considering the detailed customization and the 3D graphics.
Nintendo Pedometer & Wii Fit for my pocket? Sign me up. I loved my Pokemon Pikachu with its built in pedometer when I was in middle school, and I look forward to this next step. Nintendo had to find a way to put Mii's on the DS. They're the best tool Nintendo has to make games personal and accessible to the broadest audience.
The Kirby game looks just as colorful as other games in the same series.
The Valkyrie Profile, Chrono Trigger, and the Shiren The Wanderer look very traditional in their core RPG design. Let's hope at least 2 of these 3 have some tricks up their sleeve.
The Soccer game looks slick. It appears that many developers have figured out how to make nice looking 3D DS games. The implementation of the Mii's fits, and the game appears to support a range of detailed stats.
Sooo many RPGs. I guess they come with the territory.
Professor Layton looks as dashing as ever. In other words, it looks like more of the same.
2009
The Iwata, Reggie, and Miyamoto Mii's are charming. I'm not sure what kind of game/software they're in.
Mario & Luigi look like they're control with the touch screen for battles. Interesting change.
Wario Paint/Ware: Looks like Mario Paint. Plays like Wario Ware. Perhaps everyone makes micro games and shares them for content that's always unique. Either way, this game has piqued my interests.
3D picross. I liked 2D picross. Hopefully they'll find an intuitive way to manipulate the camera. The rubik cube DS game's camera controls are pretty complicated and finicky.
More RPGs. Such is Japan.
Much of the Wii game footage is too short to deduce anything. There's a lot to look forward to this fall and next year from the Wii. The games shown in the video run the full gamut of "casual" to "hardcore" games and from familiar to new IPs. There'es something for everyone.
October is almost upon us all. In preparation of what will undoubtedly be an incredible month for gaming and gaming purchases (Guitar Hero 4 and LittleBig Planet with Vision Cam are to blame) I have decided to give everyone a glimpse into what I've been mulling over in the way of Critical-Gaming content. I can't take a break now. The last time I did this was before I took my vacation earlier in the summer . I feel that posting the list gave some readers something to look forward to, which in turn kept me focused and on track. I did a lot of writing after then, but I unfortunately was unable to get to these topics. Sonic 1,2,3, Rush, Rush Adventure review, repair, and re-imagining of Sonic next-gen gameplay . Uncovering the design and depth in Pikmin's origami folded level design. DS design series. Taking a look at the DS games that pull of various DS specific design elements most successfully. If I write an article every day, I would still trail behind my ideas. Certainly...
Writing a video game review can become very difficult for a number of reasons. A limited amount of time for a reviewer to beat a game can put a lot of pressure on that particular reviewer's gameplay experience. Word limits can be constraining. Games can be massive and/or segmented so that simply describing the game can take pages. And the lack of developed competitive communities can put a freeze on any accurate assessment of game balance. Throw in issues with embargoes, review codes, and lock boxes and you a royal mess that is the current state of video game "journalism" (sometimes more aptly referred to as the video game enthusiast press). To the people who write game reviews, I want to express up front that many reviews contain real nuggets of insight even if such treasured content is buried in a sea of feature lists and a plethora of other redundant content. For the most part, however, game reviews and the scores/ratings that accompany them are bunk. Many have already...
Good core music-rhythm design: SHAKE, RAPID SHAKES, POSE, DANCE . Between these mechanics, the various rhythm patterns, and the 6 shaking zones Samba De Amigo can create more significant variation than most music-rhythm games. For single notes, the player can perform a "trick shot" by shaking the two "maracas" in the same position at the same time. This option gives players a way to increase the difficulty of relatively simple sections while scoring more points in the process. The core design is very similar to the Elite Beat Agents/the Ouendan series for the Nintendo DS. Shakes = TAPS. POSE = DRAG. DANCE = SPIN (where players can put more energy in to this mechanic to earn more points). Furthermore, the game is designed around creating an interactive sound scape of percussion as opposed to an interactive music track like in Guitar Hero. In Samba De Amigo, players aren't making music. Rather, players shake and dance to the beat. Not enough negative feedback ....
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