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Finally found time to get my Spaceworld report out to you, and I'm sure that you'll all enjoy reading it muchly. :-)
After the huge success of E3 many were expecting more of the same from Spaceworld, with further games announced and a few surprises. Well there were certainly surprises, but not all very well received!
As the Japanese launch of the GAMECUBE is a mere 3 weeks away, the pre-show press conference begun with previews of 6 games that are due for a Japanese launch before Christmas.
Luigi's Mansion looks far more polished than it did at E3, with many new gameplay features also announced. People are finally beginning to realise that this is a game in it's own right, and not part of something bigger! The way the game works is with different areas of the mansion needing to be accessed as you solve puzzles to work your way towards a 'boss' - defeating the boss will unlock further areas of the mansion. It looks great fun.
Wave Race: Blue Storm has gotten even faster since E3! The control has also been tightened to make pulling off stunts that little bit easier. It's looking all very pretty, with stunning water effects, but you already knew that, didn't you?
Pikmin is an amazing game. You can have control of over 100 of the little creatures at any one time in order to solve a number of littel puzzles, such as defeating enemies, building walls, collecting things. It really does look to be an innovative title, and nothing like this has appeared on an Nintendo console before.
Super Smash Bros: Melee. It's about time a Nintendo console launched with a decent fighting game! SSB:M is packed full of features and gameplay modes that looks to provide hours of multiplayer mayhem.
Eternal Darkess has picked up an extended name - Requim of Sanity, or something similar. To me, this game just gets better and better. The 'sanity' system plays a huge part in it and looks to be heading in a direction previously ignored by 'survival horror'.
Animal Forset Plus: Whether this game will ever get released here is highly doubtful, it's graphically shallow, with the emphasis being on 'communication'. It looks to be fun, and the Japanese gamer will love it, but whether it will have universal appear remains to be seen.
But hey, you alreafdy knew about those game, what was NEW at Spaceworld?
Well the press conference also brought Mario Sunshine to our attention. In appearance it looks to be a sequel to Super Mario 64. Mario is not in his usual setting though, but in a village area, running along a rooftop. Shigeru Miyamoto didn't want to give away too much about the game, with Mario having a mysterious looking back-pack, and a strange sun shaped water meter in the corner it's obvious that there's something innovative about this title, but we won't know what, until closer to the games completion! What Miyamoto did say, however might give us some clues, that the GAMECUBE would allow them to "incorporate many more characters and interactive elements in Mario Sunshine". So it seems that there could be more character interaction for Mario than in previous adventures, maybe having to use the coins to buy various things?
I'm sure you've all heard about Zelda. The Legend Of Zelda shown at last years Spaceworld was awesome, with a realistic looking sword fight between Link and Ganon. Apparently it was only a tech demo, but leaks reported that it was a real game. Given this information, when the first shots of 'toon-Link' made their way onto the 'net many were horrified. Having seen the game in action, I have to say that it looks equally impressive, if not moreso, given that part of the video is actually in-game footage. The reason for taking this step, in taking the look of The Legend of Zelda away from a realistic look is to keep the game wrapped in fantasy, and to keep Link young. The tech demo was of Link at a much older age, and Miyamoto did not want to alienate younger gamers. The game still looks to have everything that makes Zelda games special, and though it's toon-shaded (or cel-shaded if you prefer!) it certainly isn't sunshine and lollypops! The look is still dark, with rain lashing down, it just looks like an interactive cartoon!
Metroid Prime appears to be moving on nicely, but the lengthy tape of the game remained in Miyamoto's bag, with only 10 seconds or so of in-game footage shown. What I've seen is somewhat confusing though, given the reports on the game. Most of the shots are from a Samus eye view blasting alien bugs. The reports have always stated that this game is less of a first person shooter, but a first person adventure. Of course, shots of bugs being blown to pieces are going to attract more attention than simply shots of exploration, but it is still al little deceptive.
Apparently the first level is complete, so all of the gameplay mechanics must finally have been worked to a playable level, and it's just a case of fleshing out the rest of the levels. It's looking good for a late 2002 release.
The first game to show off the GBA and GAMECUBE also put in an appearance, with a Kirby game. The GBA wastitled to move Kirby around the screen linked to the GAMECUBE. When Kirby fell off the edge of the screen, you could flick him back on with the GBA! It looked smart, but I really expected more from the link up, with games on the GBA and GAMECUBE working together, unlocking areas of each others games, passing items between the games and such - but it's a start!
It was also revealed that Pokemon games were in the works on both the GAMECUBE and the GBA, but not ready to be shown yet, even though they were expected to be. It was also expected that Nintendo would reveal firm online plans, as well as an online game, but this announcement did not come either - could these two be linked? Was an online Pokemon game in the works, bt it was decided too early to show?
Good news for those that do want to play online is that Nintendo will be launching thier modem early, allowing Sega to get Phantasy Star Online players online, so we'll see GAMECUBE owners online before Nintendo provide any online games! Quite surprising really, given that Nintendo normally have a 'you'll play it when we want you to' approach!
Whilst on the subject of Third parties, there weren't too many at Spaceworld. Sega were showing off Super Monkey Ball again, and now that I've seen the race mode, I want this game! With no Mario Kart or Donkey Kong Racing at launch, I need a novelty racer to play with friends, and this looks to have it. The single player game also looks to be great fun.
There was a bit of a battle between EA and Sega too, with FIFA and Virtua Striker going head to head for our attention. A football game is a must for a new system, so I'll be watching the developments in these too games closely.
Quickly back to Nintendo, they showed 1080-2 briefly, with plenty more Snowboarding action coming from EA with SSXTricky. Both look highly impressive, if snowboarding is your thing. It's not really mine, but I'll keep an eye on them none-the-less.
Flying back to Sega once again, they're bringing Sonic Adventure 2 to the 'CUBE. It may be a port of a Dreamcast game, but it's a port of a very good Dreamcast game!
We got to see a bit more of Bomberman. Bomberman also looks to have the'toon-shading' look, but no one seemed to mind about this! It still has the adventure look to it, though in a more free environment than the N64 games offered. I've yet to see anything of the multiplayer in this game, but I'm hoping to see something comparable to the SNES magic!
Rune looks to be an RPG that will keep Japanese gamers very happy. I couldn't really tell a great deal from the movies, but there was certainly enough shown to generate interst in it.
The only other big game shown to the general public was Soul Calibur 2. It's sure to appeal to the beat-em-up fans that might think Super Smash Bros is too much of a novelty title.
So, Spaceworld brough disappointment to some, with the look of Zelda and the USA launch delay of 2 weeks, plus no news of Nintendo's online plans, to others it brought joy, with a new angle to the Zelda games, a first glimpse of the latest Mario game, and massive improvements on all games show since E3.
Personally, I'm happy. Mario and Zelda look great, but there are some great games to come much sooner, with Luigis Mansion looking ever more impressive with every video, Pikmin offering something different, Eternal Darkess to appeal to the older gamers that want a fright, SuperMonkeyBall and Super Smash Bros have multiplayer appeal, and Sonic Adcenture 2 sees Sonic on Nintendo for the first time! Excellent!
After the huge success of E3 many were expecting more of the same from Spaceworld, with further games announced and a few surprises. Well there were certainly surprises, but not all very well received!
As the Japanese launch of the GAMECUBE is a mere 3 weeks away, the pre-show press conference begun with previews of 6 games that are due for a Japanese launch before Christmas.
Luigi's Mansion looks far more polished than it did at E3, with many new gameplay features also announced. People are finally beginning to realise that this is a game in it's own right, and not part of something bigger! The way the game works is with different areas of the mansion needing to be accessed as you solve puzzles to work your way towards a 'boss' - defeating the boss will unlock further areas of the mansion. It looks great fun.
Wave Race: Blue Storm has gotten even faster since E3! The control has also been tightened to make pulling off stunts that little bit easier. It's looking all very pretty, with stunning water effects, but you already knew that, didn't you?
Pikmin is an amazing game. You can have control of over 100 of the little creatures at any one time in order to solve a number of littel puzzles, such as defeating enemies, building walls, collecting things. It really does look to be an innovative title, and nothing like this has appeared on an Nintendo console before.
Super Smash Bros: Melee. It's about time a Nintendo console launched with a decent fighting game! SSB:M is packed full of features and gameplay modes that looks to provide hours of multiplayer mayhem.
Eternal Darkess has picked up an extended name - Requim of Sanity, or something similar. To me, this game just gets better and better. The 'sanity' system plays a huge part in it and looks to be heading in a direction previously ignored by 'survival horror'.
Animal Forset Plus: Whether this game will ever get released here is highly doubtful, it's graphically shallow, with the emphasis being on 'communication'. It looks to be fun, and the Japanese gamer will love it, but whether it will have universal appear remains to be seen.
But hey, you alreafdy knew about those game, what was NEW at Spaceworld?
Well the press conference also brought Mario Sunshine to our attention. In appearance it looks to be a sequel to Super Mario 64. Mario is not in his usual setting though, but in a village area, running along a rooftop. Shigeru Miyamoto didn't want to give away too much about the game, with Mario having a mysterious looking back-pack, and a strange sun shaped water meter in the corner it's obvious that there's something innovative about this title, but we won't know what, until closer to the games completion! What Miyamoto did say, however might give us some clues, that the GAMECUBE would allow them to "incorporate many more characters and interactive elements in Mario Sunshine". So it seems that there could be more character interaction for Mario than in previous adventures, maybe having to use the coins to buy various things?
I'm sure you've all heard about Zelda. The Legend Of Zelda shown at last years Spaceworld was awesome, with a realistic looking sword fight between Link and Ganon. Apparently it was only a tech demo, but leaks reported that it was a real game. Given this information, when the first shots of 'toon-Link' made their way onto the 'net many were horrified. Having seen the game in action, I have to say that it looks equally impressive, if not moreso, given that part of the video is actually in-game footage. The reason for taking this step, in taking the look of The Legend of Zelda away from a realistic look is to keep the game wrapped in fantasy, and to keep Link young. The tech demo was of Link at a much older age, and Miyamoto did not want to alienate younger gamers. The game still looks to have everything that makes Zelda games special, and though it's toon-shaded (or cel-shaded if you prefer!) it certainly isn't sunshine and lollypops! The look is still dark, with rain lashing down, it just looks like an interactive cartoon!
Metroid Prime appears to be moving on nicely, but the lengthy tape of the game remained in Miyamoto's bag, with only 10 seconds or so of in-game footage shown. What I've seen is somewhat confusing though, given the reports on the game. Most of the shots are from a Samus eye view blasting alien bugs. The reports have always stated that this game is less of a first person shooter, but a first person adventure. Of course, shots of bugs being blown to pieces are going to attract more attention than simply shots of exploration, but it is still al little deceptive.
Apparently the first level is complete, so all of the gameplay mechanics must finally have been worked to a playable level, and it's just a case of fleshing out the rest of the levels. It's looking good for a late 2002 release.
The first game to show off the GBA and GAMECUBE also put in an appearance, with a Kirby game. The GBA wastitled to move Kirby around the screen linked to the GAMECUBE. When Kirby fell off the edge of the screen, you could flick him back on with the GBA! It looked smart, but I really expected more from the link up, with games on the GBA and GAMECUBE working together, unlocking areas of each others games, passing items between the games and such - but it's a start!
It was also revealed that Pokemon games were in the works on both the GAMECUBE and the GBA, but not ready to be shown yet, even though they were expected to be. It was also expected that Nintendo would reveal firm online plans, as well as an online game, but this announcement did not come either - could these two be linked? Was an online Pokemon game in the works, bt it was decided too early to show?
Good news for those that do want to play online is that Nintendo will be launching thier modem early, allowing Sega to get Phantasy Star Online players online, so we'll see GAMECUBE owners online before Nintendo provide any online games! Quite surprising really, given that Nintendo normally have a 'you'll play it when we want you to' approach!
Whilst on the subject of Third parties, there weren't too many at Spaceworld. Sega were showing off Super Monkey Ball again, and now that I've seen the race mode, I want this game! With no Mario Kart or Donkey Kong Racing at launch, I need a novelty racer to play with friends, and this looks to have it. The single player game also looks to be great fun.
There was a bit of a battle between EA and Sega too, with FIFA and Virtua Striker going head to head for our attention. A football game is a must for a new system, so I'll be watching the developments in these too games closely.
Quickly back to Nintendo, they showed 1080-2 briefly, with plenty more Snowboarding action coming from EA with SSXTricky. Both look highly impressive, if snowboarding is your thing. It's not really mine, but I'll keep an eye on them none-the-less.
Flying back to Sega once again, they're bringing Sonic Adventure 2 to the 'CUBE. It may be a port of a Dreamcast game, but it's a port of a very good Dreamcast game!
We got to see a bit more of Bomberman. Bomberman also looks to have the'toon-shading' look, but no one seemed to mind about this! It still has the adventure look to it, though in a more free environment than the N64 games offered. I've yet to see anything of the multiplayer in this game, but I'm hoping to see something comparable to the SNES magic!
Rune looks to be an RPG that will keep Japanese gamers very happy. I couldn't really tell a great deal from the movies, but there was certainly enough shown to generate interst in it.
The only other big game shown to the general public was Soul Calibur 2. It's sure to appeal to the beat-em-up fans that might think Super Smash Bros is too much of a novelty title.
So, Spaceworld brough disappointment to some, with the look of Zelda and the USA launch delay of 2 weeks, plus no news of Nintendo's online plans, to others it brought joy, with a new angle to the Zelda games, a first glimpse of the latest Mario game, and massive improvements on all games show since E3.
Personally, I'm happy. Mario and Zelda look great, but there are some great games to come much sooner, with Luigis Mansion looking ever more impressive with every video, Pikmin offering something different, Eternal Darkess to appeal to the older gamers that want a fright, SuperMonkeyBall and Super Smash Bros have multiplayer appeal, and Sonic Adcenture 2 sees Sonic on Nintendo for the first time! Excellent!
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Yep, that's exactly what I'm saying. Good things come to those who wait, yes? By the way, that's a sickening tag line. Wear a bib in the future.
Are you saying we should be grateful for being ignored and left 'till after the Yanks?
I suppose the advantage for us is that we get more release titles than the rest though, eh?
I suppose the advantage for us is that we get more release titles than the rest though, eh?
Instead, we'll be stuffed with top quality games until the end of time. Or until the next console comes along. That's whay I'm saving: I see the rush occuring for new games in early 2002.
Kapoera Gaebora wrote:
> SpaceWorld doesn't seem to have offered much different things than
> the E3 recently! Just more things added to the demo's and up to date
> news.
But I have also heard from my friend that the GameCube
> could be delayed by about 2 weeks at least. So the Xbox launch in
> America is ahead of the GC US Launch!!???
True??
Unfortunatley for the Americans that is very true. They'll have the most boring console EVER two weeks before the most EXCITING console ever...shame...
However, there should be absolutely no delay in our very own release schedule - YAY!!
Shocktrooper - wishing the Gamecube could come earlier.
> SpaceWorld doesn't seem to have offered much different things than
> the E3 recently! Just more things added to the demo's and up to date
> news.
But I have also heard from my friend that the GameCube
> could be delayed by about 2 weeks at least. So the Xbox launch in
> America is ahead of the GC US Launch!!???
True??
Unfortunatley for the Americans that is very true. They'll have the most boring console EVER two weeks before the most EXCITING console ever...shame...
However, there should be absolutely no delay in our very own release schedule - YAY!!
Shocktrooper - wishing the Gamecube could come earlier.
Turbonutter wrote:
> Heh, I'm just winding you guys up :-D
Bah! Our roles reversed! :-D
> Heh, I'm just winding you guys up :-D
Bah! Our roles reversed! :-D
Turbonutter wrote:
> Heh, I'm just winding you guys up :-D
Bah! Our roles reverse! :-D
> Heh, I'm just winding you guys up :-D
Bah! Our roles reverse! :-D
SpaceWorld doesn't seem to have offered much different things than the E3 recently! Just more things added to the demo's and up to date news.
But I have also heard from my friend that the GameCube could be delayed by about 2 weeks at least. So the Xbox launch in America is ahead of the GC US Launch!!???
True??
But I have also heard from my friend that the GameCube could be delayed by about 2 weeks at least. So the Xbox launch in America is ahead of the GC US Launch!!???
True??
Obviously doing a real good job too.
Heh, I'm just winding you guys up :-D
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