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| Iggy 8587th Post
 
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
     
     
     
     
     
|  "Siren NT" , posted Sat 26 Jul 08:56
To my surprise, Siren NT is a really good game. It doesn’t look outstanding, it’s dumb on purpose, and it’s a lot of fun.
The general concept is a “what if some random Hollywood studio made an adaptation of Siren 1”, so almost every character is American (including Yao, the immortal mastermind of the cult, which is really hilarious when you think about it), half of the original characters (persona) have made the cut, and since most of the memorable scenes are adapted in NT, the new characters feel even more generic and less believable (the Golgo character is Miyata+Shimura+Jun, Sam is half Tamon, half Uzako, and half random witty direct-to-DVD protagonist...). Of course, everything in the game is dead serious.
The general setting stays the same, except dumbed down (there are very few archives, and those who try to flesh out the characters lack the most basic subtlety). The timeline is now totally straightforward as well.
The few new elements added to the scenario are laughable: the black character who takes the heroic role of Takato is heroically killed off screen in the first 10 minutes like a quota from an early 80 movie, and the couple argue about their relationship in a town full of zombies while their dog daughter dog is missing. But their magical parental power of love helps them find her eventually.
Most of the situations of the first game happen in maps of the first game, with even some of the puzzles returning (but the game is more straightforward and action oriented). But since the world is devided between people who haven’t played Siren 1 and rabid fans of it, the c&p doesn’t matter, it’s actually lovely to play the same sequences again with a slightly different setting and better graphics.
My biggest hope I have now would be for the game to end up with one or two massive plot holes as the happy family walks away in the sunset.
As a game, it’s really good (generic Bio Hazard with a big emphasis on stealth), much better than the first ones, and since it’s set in Hanyuda, there are very few guns which is quite a relief. The new sightjack is actually pretty useful, and even though it doesn’t work at all like Mikami’s level in Siren 2, the game borrow some special elements from the game, which is nice.
All the good gameplay elements of Siren 2 are here, but better, and all the bad ones have been corrected. And one of the biggest flaw of Siren 2 is gone: the shibito are finally cute again.
All in all, it feels like Toyama&co tried to parody what Silent Hill has become. Unfortunately, they are still much more skilled than the poor souls who killed the other series after they left, because even when they play dumb, they still come up with much more disgusting, frightening and coherent ideas than anything SH has done since the first games.
If you loved Siren and have a good sense of humor, go for it, now. If you haven’t, this is a good horror game, maybe technically not on par with most current super productions but still well done, with a great ambiance, and a scenario that only feels stupid when you put it in perspective with the original material – lots of (American) games released this year use worse clichés without any shame.
But I do wonder how Siren 3 will turn out...
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| Iggy 8593th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(4):Sea, sex and another random thread" , posted Wed 30 Jul 19:53:
http://videogamerx.gamedonga.co.kr/zbxe/950286
Raidou 2 indeed, PS2 indeed.
Predictabowl !
October. Conversation with demons are back, lots of new demons. A blond young man and an old man appear, and I'm sure we know who that is.
Not so Predictabowl is the addition in the LE of Shin Megami Tensei 3 Nocturne Maniacs Chronicles (fiouu). Nothing is known on the game, but it might be a version of Maniacs with Raidou instead of Dante. If that is so, they would finally be able to reprint the game without any IP problems with Capcom. The game was selling to insane prices on the second hand market, or so I heard.
And, well, it would make sense, since they wanted to make a sequel to Raidou, but the first one bombed rightfully, so adding such a bonus is like two birds with one stone, or something. Very smart decision. Atlus is on fire this year.
[this message was edited by Iggy on Wed 30 Jul 22:45] |
| Nekros
71th Post
Occasional Customer
| "Re(1):Finally, an explanation on C.Viper's ug" , posted Thu 7 Aug 05:34
quote:
She was designed for the American market, with a lot of advice from Capcom USA.
I understand much, much better now.
And Ono : TAKE THE HINT. Please.
LOL, Viper is simply horrible in terms of character design, from EVERY point of view (not only American, or Japanese, or European...).
Abel appeals a lot us players because he fits very well with SF2 characters -they're the most loved ones, you know- and he remarks that generic, uninspired design for LOTS of American action games, like fps and so on. American and European players simply die (at least, the players I use to know) for something that don't have identity and is more simply and generic than japanese games that have -at least- a strong visual style.
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| Time Mage 2699th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(8):Finally, an explanation on C.Viper's ug" , posted Thu 7 Aug 17:16
quote:
I didn't know Dee Jay was designed by an American. Was there any reason why his design was used? Did Cap Japan do some contest for a new character design or something?
For SSFII, two of the four new challengers were designed by Capcom America: Dee Jay and (guess who?) T. Hawk. The two most uninspired designs in all the SFII era are their responsibility.
On the other hand, while I think C.Viper doesn't fit with the cast (too KOF-esque, although if I'm getting used to her), but I don't think she's a bad design per se. I think her unpopularity comes from what EddyT said: She's difficult to use and difficult to win with, and people want to win. That, coupled with the fact that Abel is such an appealing character (very fitting design in the SFII cast, somewhat easy to use, MMA practitioner...), I'm not surprised she lost in popularity to him.
"News flash big guy: You can wax on wax off all you want I'm still... KICKIN' YOUR ASS!"
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| Tai-Pan 251th Post
Copper Customer
| "Re(1):Mmhhh..." , posted Fri 8 Aug 12:49
quote:
For SSFII, two of the four new challengers were designed by Capcom America: Dee Jay and (guess who?) T. Hawk. The two most uninspired designs in all the SFII era are their responsibility.
Wow. I like Hawk too, although I know I'm about one of like, three people on the planet who do.
I fail to see what's wrong with Dee Jay and T. Hawk... Sure, they look boring, but no more boring than Honda, Balrog, Fei-Long or Ryu/Ken. I'm pretty sure that if Capcom Japan was the creator, nobody would be complaining about the designs...
Thats the reason I mentioned Fei Long, he is such a boring design, just a copycat. Why nobody complained about him?
"Those who follow the path of a warrior must be ready to die in order to stand for one's convictions live for one's convictions die for one's convictions"
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| Iggy 8603th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(4):Mmhhh..." , posted Fri 8 Aug 18:13
Actually, I stopped acting smart for a second and tried to remember what I thought when SSF2 first came out.
I think I hated Dee Jay immediately, because he sucked, he looked uninspired, sounded weird, and his background was ugly. He was much improved in SSF2X, but it still wasn't enough.
T.Hawk... His design was just as dumb as Honda or Dahlsim (the fun kind of dumb), he was OK to play with and I really liked his stage and music.
I liked Cammy's background, music and play style, but her design felt strange. I think what bugged me was she had some moves that tried to look powerful, but her sprite was too thin. It didn't match. I think the designers of SF3 learned a lot from her: Ibuki's moves are exactly the kind of attacks Cammy should have had.
And the character I used the most, the only one I used as much as some returning characters, was actually Fei Long. I liked Dragon in WH, but something felt wrong with his moves. He was lacking something.
Fei Long's moveset was just right, and the way he moved actually felt powerful even though he was one of the shortest characters of the game, exactly what Cammy lacked.
Even though there was nothing new in the Bruce Lee cliché, it was played right, and that's not as easy as it sounds.
Of course, he appeared in a game where Capcom struggled to catch on with SNK's more innovative designs and games, he even looked pale back then, and each new fighting game made him look even more forgettable. But now I think about it, he fits quite well in SF2, and has a few good points.
I think I'm actually glad they took him for the home version of SF2².
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| Iron D 2945th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(5):Mmhhh..." , posted Sat 9 Aug 19:09
quote:
Actually, I stopped acting smart for a second and tried to remember what I thought when SSF2 first came out.
I think I hated Dee Jay immediately, because he sucked, he looked uninspired, sounded weird, and his background was ugly. He was much improved in SSF2X, but it still wasn't enough.
T.Hawk... His design was just as dumb as Honda or Dahlsim (the fun kind of dumb), he was OK to play with and I really liked his stage and music.
I liked Cammy's background, music and play style, but her design felt strange. I think what bugged me was she had some moves that tried to look powerful, but her sprite was too thin. It didn't match. I think the designers of SF3 learned a lot from her: Ibuki's moves are exactly the kind of attacks Cammy should have had.
And the character I used the most, the only one I used as much as some returning characters, was actually Fei Long. I liked Dragon in WH, but something felt wrong with his moves. He was lacking something.
Fei Long's moveset was just right, and the way he moved actually felt powerful even though he was one of the shortest characters of the game, exactly what Cammy lacked.
Even though there was nothing new in the Bruce Lee cliché, it was played right, and that's not as easy as it sounds.
Of course, he appeared in a game where Capcom struggled to catch on with SNK's more innovative designs and games, he even looked pale back then, and each new fighting game made him look even more forgettable. But now I think about it, he fits quite well in SF2, and has a few good points.
I think I'm actually glad they took him for the home version of SF2².
A fine example of how people have different tastes. I can't really relate to the whole "looking powerful" thing here. Heck, I barely even understand what Iggy means by that. And I have no complaints about any of the new challengers' stages. Heck, Dee Jay, Cammy and Fei Long's still rank as among my favorites of all time.
There isn't a single SF character that I don't like. I used to not like Boxer and Remy, but after seeing the awful designs of characters like the KoF's USA Sports team (with the exception of Heavy D!), or almost anyone from Art of Fighting, I've come to appreciate them.
Er.....
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| Spoon 1603th Post
Red Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Member
| "Re(7):Mmhhh..." , posted Sun 10 Aug 07:11
I used to hate the USA Sports Team, because they seemed so powerful and crazy and I sucked at KOF. I hated Chang and Choi, too... though I still kinda hate them now.
Nowadays I find the silliness of the USA Sports Team tremendously compelling, and the team that I'm trying to get good at in 98UM with contains Lucky (who is considered right at the bottom) and Brian (who is actually pretty strong now!).
At the time I thought that Fei Long was a perfect addition because I wondered why SF2 DIDN'T have a Bruce Lee-alike. I always wondered why Dee Jay had two moves that seemed so similar to Guile, though (a sonic boom and an "upkicks" move done the same as a flash kick). I thought that Cammy looked kinda neat, but her portrait looked really out of place, and that her moves seemed really crappy... aside from the Frankensteiner, which was either total BS (it seemed impossibly hard to hit her out of it with a normal) or totally useless (against anybody who could DP/headbutt/etc. it on reaction). I thought T. Hawk was fitting since the game is about fighters from different cultures, but then again, it's not like I had any idea of how Native Americans fought. Of course, these are some of my recollections from when SSF2 came out in '93, and I was in like grade 4 during then. I think it goes without saying that we'd have different impressions of things when we're in grade school compared to now, in addition to how highly refined our tastes and sensibilities have become since SF2 debuted.
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| Iron D 2946th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(2):Re(10):Mmhhh..." , posted Mon 11 Aug 16:45
quote:
I may not agree with all of Iggy's feelings about the New Challengers although I think that his suggestion about how Cammy should play is brilliant. But what his comments did do is remind me of just how unnecessary the NC felt to me when they were introduced. Dee Jay felt unfinished, Fei Long was another non-entity Bruce Lee clone, and Cammy and T.Hawk were trapped in between play mechanics that worked better with other characters and their own moves that I didn't feel were as fun as they should be. It wasn't their designs, or their moves or their silly leather fringed vests that bothered me, it was that they didn't seem to bring anything dramatically new to the table. Spoon is quite correct that our tastes change over the years but initial impressions can stick with a person far longer than they really should.
Just out of curiosity...I'm not sure of how old everyone here is, but I know that I was in about 4th grade (like Spoon) and as a kid, my thoughts on the new characters weren't nearly as...specific as you guy's seem to be. My question is simply whether these were your exact thoughts on the character when they were first introduced about 14 years ago.
I mean as a 10-11 year old, my thoughts were pretty much "Cool! Another chick!", "Cool! Another Brotha!", "Cool! Another grappler!" and "Cool! Bruce Lee!". I mean, I still like the characters now, but my original thoughts on them weren't any more complex than that.
Er.....
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| Professor 2493th Post
MMCafe Owner
     
| "Re(2):Kinu drawing Fate's Saber for Comiket74" , posted Tue 12 Aug 23:25:
quote:
Comiket  Mainstream Comiket
I am slightly confused. I had never been to comiket but I assumed no official publisher was present at these things, especially given the grey legal area around how circles make use of their IP. Of course now the frontier is slightly blurred out between doujin circles turning pros and traditional publishers distributing console/arcade versions of doujin games...
But is this becoming a trend?
Are there many pro publishers taking part in comiket these days?
Might we see Saigado sell stuff on an SNK-sponsored stand someday?
There's actually a corporate area at the Comiket, where companies come and sell merchandise. Nothing sells better than limited edition stuff to the otaku crowd. Most of the booths are PC game makers but there's also some bigger companies.
To pick a few big names, Gonzo, Enterbrain (Famitsu publisher), Aniplex, Media Factory, and Arc System Works is there. Gainax is usually there too, but they're apparently skipping this summer since they don't have a big title right now.
It's mostly anime publishers and otaku-oriented publishers (like Dengeki) that you'll see at comiket, since they have more understanding of the event and they're more strongly effected by the market. The older publishers like Shueisha (Shonen Jump) aren't there, as likewise with general game makers. Though surprizingly, Shonen Sunday and Shonen Magazine are doing a collaboration.
[Edit] Holy Moses, so she drew Rin as well! Wicked.
[Edit2] Shinkiro doing Gilgamesh.
[this message was edited by Professor on Wed 13 Aug 00:06] |
| Ishmael 3245th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(3):Re(10):Mmhhh..." , posted Wed 13 Aug 01:33
So ArcSystems is moving into the pillowcase market? Is there a large demand for that sort of thing? Wait, nevermind, I don't want to know the answer to that one.
quote:
Just out of curiosity...I'm not sure of how old everyone here is, but I know that I was in about 4th grade (like Spoon) and as a kid, my thoughts on the new characters weren't nearly as...specific as you guy's seem to be. My question is simply whether these were your exact thoughts on the character when they were first introduced about 14 years ago.
I mean as a 10-11 year old, my thoughts were pretty much "Cool! Another chick!", "Cool! Another Brotha!", "Cool! Another grappler!" and "Cool! Bruce Lee!". I mean, I still like the characters now, but my original thoughts on them weren't any more complex than that.
I'm sure at the time my thoughts were expressed in a Beavis and Butthead-esqe "that's cool/that sucks" burst of brevity. While I did have opinions at the time they weren't really well thought out and certainly not well expressed. It wasn't until I started posting on gameboards [starting back with the old GPOW board] that I decided that if I wanted to talk about games I needed to figure out how to talk about games.
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"Re(1):The Concept of Love" , posted Fri 1 Aug 15:33
"Re(6):Mmhhh..." , posted Sun 10 Aug 05:38
