Last generation, several well-received games sold poorly. Why did they fail? Has the industry learned from their mistakes?
Okami won IGN’s Game of the Year 2006 award. Total sales for the game remained under 600,000 total units by March 2009, and was named the “least commercially successful winner of a game of the year award” in the 2010 version of the Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition. That’s awkward.
Possible Reasons:
1. Twilight Princess was coming out not long after.
2. Zelda fans may be a little too loyal.
3. Zelda Zelda Zelda.
4. It was on the PS2, which was becoming obsolete.
5. The Wii version was on the Wii (see last post).
6. The art style made it more suited to Japanophiles.
The above reasons shouldn’t be too much of an issue. The gameplay was million-worthy, and that’s all that matters, right? No?
Thank goodness that Okami is getting a sequel (on the DS, w00t!), because it deserves a second chance.
I could list more. Psychonauts, Beyond Good and Evil, Eternal Darkness… but Okami was the definition of an awesome game at the wrong time. Plus, I want to get to reviews.
Mass Effect 2 (360)
The game is all around beautiful. I wasn’t in love with the first game’s art direction, but here I am now saying it’s the reigning champ of art design in sci-fi games. The Metroid Prime trilogy was known for amazing artwork in a realistic, sci-fi setting. Now it’s time for the Mass Effect trilogy to take up the mantle.
The time I spent playing was satisfying, and being able to carry over data from ME1 makes the game twice as awesome. If you’ve played the first one, buy this now. If you haven’t, then you might now want to dive in to one of the best RPGs this generation, and the RPG… no… the game to beat so far this year.
Score: 9.5/10
Good: Hollywood should take some notes.
Bad: Bugs. Playing the first game is required for maximum enjoyment.
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom (Wii)
Amazingly accessible, but still deep enough for diehard. Tatsunoko vs. Capcom feels in every way the successor to Marvel vs. Capcom 2. The timing for the release couldn’t have been better. I was getting tired of Brawl, for I’ve done almost everything in it. Here comes TvC, a game that is deeper and yet just as accessible.
Fighting diehards may scoff at the simplification of the controls, but the game is far from being devoid of depth. Once mastered, all you need to do is go online. A good connection is all you need in order to rock.
Shame I’m not a major fighting game fan. I do consider myself capable of writing this review regardless, as I’ve had my hands on most of the well-received fighting game releases of the past 12 years.
Score: 9.3/10
Good: Can’t blend accessibility and depth any better.
Bad: Tatsunoko characters are not well known. Maybe a little too much of a “My First Fighting Game”.
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (Wii)
If you’ve played No More Heroes, you know what to expect. If you haven’t, skip it. This is better.
There’s not much to say about NMH2. It’s one of the most ludicrous games I’ve ever played, and that’s a good thing. You’ll be slaughtering people mindlessly, playing retro-styled mini-games for cash, and… watching anime? You won’t be performing wheelies on your motorcycle, though, as the open-world aspect has been axed in order to spend more time on refining every other aspect. The trade-off works, though I wouldn’t mind seeing it come back in a third game.
Somehow it all comes together in an uber-sweet, uber-styled package that’s a must have for those who are fine with adult content, and also happen to own a Wii.
Score: 9/10
Good: Overflowing with style.
Bad: Still a tad unpolished in areas that don’t matter much.
MAG (PS3)
A game like MAG is a testament to what the PS3 can do. Massive battlefields with 256 players at once? Awe-inspiring. Until you realize that a pattern is unfolding:
Walk around for a little bit. Bag a player or two. Die. Wait twenty seconds to spawn. Rinse and repeat.
With not nearly enough spawn points, too much lone wolf mentality, and no kill cam whatsoever, you’re bound to die without knowing what hit you, and maybe get spawn camp’d. After waiting an agonizing 20 seconds of wait.
So much can be done to make MAG awesome, but there’s only one way to play. Get on the Internet, join a clan, then protect each others backs. The lone wolf mentality doesn’t work. You want realism, right? Heh heh. Isn’t reality fun?
Finally, the game lacks personality. It feels generic. The massive battles might be all the uniqueness it needs… until a more robust competitor pops up.
Score: 8/10
Good: Strategy is king. Realism is God.
Bad: Needs more spawn points. Spawn time needs to be halved.
Also: A devoted community could turn MAG into a 9 and the most revolutionary FPS this year.
TGM’s VGMs #4 – Phantasy Star – Tower
