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joeyg1097

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#1 joeyg1097
Member since 2002 • 93 Posts
Both types of aiming (locked on center or free aim) have their strengths and weaknesses. Personally I prefer Red Steel's aiming since not only can you quickly aim at different sides of the screen without the disorientation of having your view change but it's also easier to maneuver (eg. strafe, go for cover) since you don't have to run at awkward angles to go where you want to while aiming (ie. with center lock, to aim at someone while strafing horizontally would require constant adjustment since you would be naturally circle strafing an opponent if you just kept pressing left or right while aiming at a point). I find that there's nothing more satisfying than running STRAIGHT FORWARD down a corridor capping heads from side to side without having to turn and run at two different angles to hit people on opposite sides of the corridor. On the other hand, lock on center targetting is much more suited to circle strafing and is much faster (with a mouse especially) for turning. It also has the advantage of being able to easily turn and fire at the same time whereas in Red Steel you have to quickly flick the view into a suitable position then aim and fire. One disadvantage of lock on center, especially true for newer gamers and the wiimote, is that some might have a lot of problems keeping the cursor in the center of the screen or aiming while the view is changing slightly due to not being in the center. After watching a lot of people at the mall have problems keeping the cursor off the peripheries in Red Steel, thus turning in endless circles, I'd be more in favour of a Metroid Prime 3 style of having the option of a big or small aiming box, as opposed to a locked on center. Due to the way the wiimote is held and rested on the lap compared to the steadiness of a mouse, I think many of us would have problems keeping the wiimote completely in the center and still.
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#2 joeyg1097
Member since 2002 • 93 Posts
Since the Wii is limited hardware-wise, thus limiting texture resolution, shaders, etc., development for Wii will still be far easier, less costly, and, most importantly, quicker. This will lead to more games in a shorter period of time than Xbox360, assuming developers want to spend less and make more money. The quality of those games, of course, will depend on the developer, thus there is the possibility of more Ubisofting (to be fair to them, I thought Red Steel was quite good for what it does and Rayman was apparently good as well). Xbox360 might get better looking games with possibly better AI but the development time and costs will still be atrocious compared to Wii. On a related note, I think the PS3 is going to have the worst droughts this gen mainly because the costs and time of development are going to be so high (especially due to the Cell and the high graphical expectations) that only a limited number of developers/publishers could afford to make games for it. As hardware gets better, it seems that it takes far longer with more money to make games. The Wii, however, overcomes this difficulty by using an interface that is very Gamecube'ish and limits the amount of time developers can spend on graphics. This might also lead to more gameplay experimentation on Wii due to flops not costing the developer as much. Some say that the higher costs of games has led to a trend of sequels and lower inovation due to not wanting to take risks since millions of dollars are on the line these days. Even if Xbox360 gets motion sensing, it shouldn't be a problem for Wii as long as developers realize that they make more money on it, can pump out games a lot easier, and small developers, typically the more innovative ones, as well as the large ones can be free to experiment and innovate on the Wii due to the lower financing required.
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#3 joeyg1097
Member since 2002 • 93 Posts
[QUOTE="LoZD-Money"][QUOTE="ssc0n"][QUOTE="Rocky32189"]

He was implying that it wouldn't have on-line play. He said they would keep working on the game until THEY thought it was perfect. When he was asked then if it would have on-line meant that on-line may constitute perfect to YOU but not to THEM. Who wants on-line in metroid anyway, or any multiplayer mode for that matter? Metroid wasn't meant for multiplayer and I think Echoes was proof of that. Give me an awesome single player game on par with the awesomeness of Zelda:TP and I'll be more than happy.

ssc0n

Eh, I sometimes need on-line play..... I get lonely...

Word, I love it and I think to compete, or to become "the best" they will need on-line play, and a damn good one at that. IMO

Yeah, games nowadays cant get to #1 without having online support. Especially multiplayer.

Oblivion
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joeyg1097

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#4 joeyg1097
Member since 2002 • 93 Posts
How is billiards? Is it a full game, or only like certain things you can do? Can you play 8 ball or 9 ball, or hopefully both?Dilrod
Billiards plays with 9-ball rules (no 8-ball) using ball-in-hand for fouls except modified in that you have to sink every ball to win in single player and there's no limit on fouls. Instead, fouls just add strokes to your score in single player and lowers your score in multiplayer. In multiplayer, you get points based on what ball you sink, eg. ball 4 = 4 points, ball 9 = 9 points, thus it is advantageous to try to sink higher number balls. It's a surprisingly deep game where you control cue direction, where you hit the cue-ball for spin (although you can't jump the ball, or, at least, I couldn't get it to work), and the amount of power in the shot. And just like in real life, you can screw over your buddy and force fouls by placing the cue-ball in awkward places, which is always fun to do :p
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#5 joeyg1097
Member since 2002 • 93 Posts
Wii Play is an ok collection of short mini-games when played single player. By yourself, the only games worth playing are Tanks! and Billiards, the only two with any single-player depth and replayability. Ping Pong is great if you're into twitch/fast-reflex games since the computer never loses and all you have to do is return the ball as the speed increases. Sounds dull until you find the ball going at such a fast speed that you really have to be on your toes to get to it. Not as replayable as Tanks! and Billiards, though. Single player table hockey is ok except that the computer has such an advantage over you due to having prestine control over the ball while you have to deal with your natural shakiness holding the remote. The rest of the games get fairly dull fairly fast. To be fair, the one where you twist the Mii to match the bubbles gets pretty fast and frantic as to be enjoyable (much like Ping Pong) except that, unlike Ping Pong, it takes too long to get to the stages that matter. Since you have to start over each time and play the lower, slower, duller levels to get to the more exciting ones, it's not really worth playing a second time. Wii Play really shines, however, when you've got a friend to play with. Ping Pong is absolutely one of the funnest games to play due to the strategic placing of the ball by quick flicks of the wrist just as you hit the ball to aim your shot and by doing power shots (haven't entirely mastered it but it involves flicking your paddle towards the net just as you're about to hit it). This leads to frantic play as you get fast shots going and cross-table shots while possibly messing with your opponent's head by constantly hitting the ball back to a certain corner until you smash it to the other side. Billiards is quite fun 2 player, sorta like being at a pool-hall with a buddy where, if you know you can't sink a ball, you can position the cueball to screw your friend over. It's a very deep game due to being able to aim your shot, produce spin on the ball, and control the power of your shot. This allows you to plan out and, hopefully, execute a plan to run the table. Tanks!, I would argue, is funner single player but only because you have a number of lives, thus you don't have to restart from the first level as often. In multiplayer, when both players die, you have to start over from level 1 and play the same missions over again. This, thankfully, isn't such a bad thing because the levels and gameplay themselves are quite entertaining. You have two attacks: canon fire that can richochet off of walls once and proximity mines that explode when any tank gets close to it or it gets shot. The gameplay gets pretty hectic as both yours and your enemy's shots will end up bouncing all over the place, forcing you to both be aware of tanks shooting you directly as well as avoid shots that possibly missed you the first time but might be coming back due to ricochet. The enemy tanks come in different colours that denote different weapon abilities. You can also shoot down enemy fire with your own shots, cancelling both. The levels also contain some destructable walls, thus what may have been cover a second ago might turn into an open firing path. All in all, I'm quite happy with what Wii Play brings. It brings a lot of multiplayer love that can be fairly addictive, especially Ping Pong and Tanks!, but is definitely lacking if played solely for single player.
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#6 joeyg1097
Member since 2002 • 93 Posts
Wii Tennis has topspin, backspin (great for drop shots), side spin (haven't mastered this yet), judges how hard you hit the ball, and you control how high the ball goes (this part I find slightly inconsistent, however, where sometimes I'd be pretty much swinging straight up but it'll hit the ball at a relatively low height). It's a surprisingly deep game, considering that you can't even control movement.
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#7 joeyg1097
Member since 2002 • 93 Posts

Think of the wiimote as a mouse...

Now, go play Neverwinter Nights 1 or 2 which can be played completely with one mouse button. You could simply point to your selections on menus or point at a position on the ground for movement or an object for an action.

If more buttons are needed, there are 8 buttons that can be used with the nunchuck plus the 4 from the D-pad. If more buttons than that are needed, you can map things to motion sensing. If high accuracy is needed, you can just do four movement directions (left, right, up, down) for both the nunchuck and the wiimote bringing the 'button' total to approximately 20 'buttons'. If even more are needed, you can map circular movement motions (clockwise and counter-clockwise) for both nunchuck and wiimote, as well as forward and backward motions to increase the potential total to 28 'buttons'. Movement and selection can be done with either the analog stick or point-and-click.

For example, Knights of the Old Republic could be played by moving with the analog stick, switch characters with the two buttons on the nunchuck, select targets by either pointing and hitting 'A' or perhaps by locking onto objects in the centre of view by holding down 'A' or the 'B' trigger, do your melee special attacks by horizontal and vertical motions on the wiimote, do a Force push on the selected target by thrusting the nunchuck forward, or Force choke by selecting a target and lifting the nunchuck up. Not only can you map all of the special abilities to the wiimote/nunchuck, but you can also make them fun and possibly more intuitive.

Further 'buttons' can be mapped by using the 4 diagonals of motions for both controllers but these might be harder to do accurately if horizontal and vertical motions are also mapped, but potentially you can have 36 different 'buttons'. More specialized functions can also be produced by drawing shapes in the air, sorta like Okami or SSX Blur (for uber moves), thus the Wii has a potentially limitless number of 'buttons' that can be mapped. Combinations of button holding with a motion can also extend the layers of control that can be used if RPG's were ever to need that many 'buttons'.

In summary, playing RPGs (or any genre in fact) is not limited by the controls. In fact, genres that never really had a place on consoles, such as point-and-click adventure games as well as strategy games, such as WarCraft, C&C, and the Total War series, which could not be intuitively translated to console controllers have the potential to be found on Wii just because of its point-and-click abilities. Hopefully, developers catch on. Might I also add that I think dual-analog is terrible (coming from mouse & keyboard) for FPSs and that point-and-shoot with an index-finger trigger is far more accurate and satisfying.

The main downside with the Wii for RPGs or any genre is going to be the limitations in graphics or active actors in any given area. Due to the relatively old hardware, the Wii will either have large areas populated with many actors (read: AI) but with stripped down graphics or will have great graphics but will either have to divide areas up into smaller chunks or limit the number of active actors at any given time. I could be wrong and I hope many developers find a way around any hardware limitations.