E3 2007: Extreme Info Overload

Today is the final day of E3 and it's been fun checking back on the Live Marketplace to see all the video coverage being released. I'll try to post a short series of recaps starting this weekend, selectively compiling the most notable games in each of the main genres and yapping about why I'm excited about them.

Until then, it's more Rainbow Six: Vegas, Carcassonne and retro Xbox gaming for me. Ninja Gaiden has made it onto my playlist in a big way. The game is kicking my ass and I love it for that.

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ANatA: Golden Axe & Sonic the Hedgehog

Xbox Live Arcade has been on a retro kick lately, with last week's release of the tepid, Missile Command and this week's dual release of 2 Sega 16-bit classics, Golden Axe and Sonic the Hedgehog. Both games were featured among a bevy of Arcade previews during E3 and were announced for download at the show.

Hack and slash the jump for more coverage...

For my money, Carcassonne has been one of the best Arcade tiles of the spring and summer, so these retro released do not excite me very much. I'm fairly certain the trial versions of Golden Axe and Sonic are timed; I kept on falling onto spikes in the latter but played through several stages of Golden Axe before the pulled the plug on my fun.

If you're a fan of beat'em ups from the '80s and '90s, Golden Axe is one of the enduring classics. When it came out in the arcades in the late 1980s, it blew my prepubescent mind. It was the first game to take the beat'em up genre and throw it into a fantasy setting. I do believe it was also the first game of its kind to introduce mountable beasts, like dragons and those bird-beaked critters with the nasty whipping tails.

I played this game to death when it was in the arcades, then played it to death some more when it was ported over to the PC in the early '90s. Playing Golden Axe today definitely reveals the age in the gameplay mechanics. You don't have many moves in your arsenal, so the action does grind after a few levels. The 3 character types also do not play very differently despite their unique appearances. The graphics are, surprisingly, still quite attractive and evoke a brutal fantasy world like the one found in Conan. Another saving grace for this game of course is the co-op play, which typically bumps any average beat'em up game into the realm of greatness.

Sonic the Hedgehog was the flagship franchise for the Sega Genesis system back in the day. It was the first real contender against Mario in the war of the 2D mascot platformer. I only briefly owned a Genesis when I was in high school (I "shared" it with a friend) and never did get into the Sonic craze. The XBLA version seems pretty faithful to what I remember of the original and is pretty fun to play if you enjoy the standard 2D platformers with a little burst of speed. Aside from the usual jumping maneuvers, Sonic also has the ability to pick up incredible momentum as he runs and buzz through the air and along the ground as a whirling ball of... well, hedgehog. It really breaks up the typical flow of jumping from platform-to-platform and the levels go out of their way to take advantage of Sonic's speedy abilities.

It still doesn't seem to have the depth and replayability of some of the best Mario games of the era, but if you missed out on Sonic the Hedgehog the first time around, 400 MS points is hardly a steep price to pay to enjoy this landmark Sega title.

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Microsoft Extends 360 Warranty, Admits Stuff

I had to preempt my usual Arcade post to bring you this face-melting news. Move over, Missile Command, because this is big.

It finally happened: hell froze over. Dogs also began laying with cats. And those rotund, flesh-coloured creatures soaring through the clouds? Yup, winged pigs, my friend. If the article title hasn't tipped you off enough, I'll clarify. Microsoft announced today that they are extending warranties of all Xbox 360s to 3 years. This policy is effective immediately and it also applies retroactively to all consoles sold since launch.

Socks not blown off yet? Then please proceed to the jump. There's more...

The following is an excerpt from Microsoft's statement:

"As a result of what Microsoft views as an unacceptable number of repairs to Xbox 360 consoles, the company conducted extensive investigations into potential sources of general hardware failures... Having identified a number of factors which can cause general hardware failures indicated by three red flashing lights on the console, Microsoft has made improvements to the console and is enhancing its Xbox 360 warranty policy for existing and new customers."

"The majority of Xbox 360 owners are having a great experience with their console and have from day one. But, this problem has caused frustration for some of our customers and for that, we sincerely apologize," said Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division. "We value our community tremendously and look at this as an investment in our customer base. We look forward to great things to come."

This is it. Now we know Microsoft is a real man who can admit to his mistakes. Was there any doubt otherwise? All it really took was Microsoft to recognize his failings, a little public pressure, bitching and whining before he was finally able to come clean.

I for one am tickled pink by the news, not to mention relieved beyond all measure. My box has run flawlessly since purchase back in December 2006 but the fear has begun to creep in recently. It gets a rigorous daily workout, there's no avoiding that. And now that I've used it for more than 6 months, well, using a 6-month old 360 is akin to driving a car that has racked up more than 200,000km in mileage. The dreadful feeling of inevitability hangs over you! It also hasn't helped that my copy of Rainbow Six: Vegas insists on crashing my box an average of once every 20 minutes. I exaggerate of course, although the sentiment remains: that game will be the death of my 360 sooner or later.

I hope this news fulfills your ZOMG! WTF! OMGZ!! LOLOLOL!!! quota for the day. It sure as hell fulfilled mine.


Microsoft Extends Hardware Issue, Extends 360 Warranty

Source: 1UP, Adrenaline Vault forums (props to enfestid for posting the story)

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Mitch Gitelman Needs to STFU

I'm getting tired of hearing from Mitch Gitelman. This is partially my fault since I still have a pretty large appetite for gaming podcasts and lately, Mr. Gitelman has been volunteering his time to any media outlet that will listen to his whining.

Gitelman is the Studio Head of FASA, creators of Shadowrun, an apparently grossly misunderstood game that is receiving poor treatment from the mainstream games media. His most recent podcast appearances fresh in my memory are with PC Gamer and OXM where he does his best Denis Dyak impersonation and rails against reviewers and anyone else who just can't understand good value when they see it.

Since its release in late May, Shadowrun has received good, if unremarkable scores from critics, with an average of about 70%. The game has been universally panned for its paltry content (no single-player, only 3 play modes and 9 maps) and its sketchy production values given the game's 4-year development period. Based on reading many of these reviews and giving the demo a try myself, I really have to agree with many of these criticisms. On top of the fact that Shadowrun's gameplay is very finely tuned for a hardcore FPS audience, the aforementioned weaknesses also further limit the game's appeal to a wider consumer base. There really isn't any getting past that hard truth.

Of course Gitelman is not content to take these valid criticism of his game like a man. He's been more than happy to show up on my favourite podcasts, eat up insane amounts of airtime only to complain about review scoring systems and insist the Shadowrun game you see on the store shelves now is the only Shadowrun game that could possibly exist at this point in time. In these interviews he deftly sidesteps questions about FASA's solvency as a company and the reasoning behind his game's $60 price tag. As the head of a studio responsible for a flagship Windows/Xbox Live title, I find it incredibly hard to believe he had no say whatsoever on the game's pricing.

I'll give the man credit for having passion and moxy for his work. His arguments are mostly articulate, with some occasional breaks of head-shaking comic relief. In addressing Shadowrun's meager 3 play modes, he actually pulled the sports card and asked his interviewers how many modes football has.

Yes kids, when your game receives poor reviews scores, your best means of damage control is comparing apples to oranges.

Mr. Gitelman, the reviews are in and you've made your point. Now please disappear from the podcasts for a while, go back to the office and work on some ladder animations. Har!

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