Just Wow.
February 27th, 2009
As if LittleBigPlanet needed any further proof of its awesomeness, here is a rendition of the original Contra by the guys at NeoGAF.
Archive
Archive for February, 2009
Most Anticipated Games of 2009 – Flower
February 9th, 2009
- Floating through the fields of Flower
My first memory of Fl0w was that of a free flash game developed as a part of a college thesis that on the surface seemed to be a variant on the classic game of Snake. A year later that same flash game would make its way to the Playstation Network, becoming one of the marquee downloadable titles on the Playstation Network and placing developer Jenova Chen and thatgamecompany on the game dev map. While Fl0w didn’t exactly appeal to me (it seemed more like a tech demo than a game), I did appreciate the fact it was a different sort of ‘emotional’ gaming experience that paved the way for more artsy, bite-sized game experiences on both XBox Live Arcade as well as Playstation Network.
thatgamecompany looks to build on its goal of creating emotional gaming experiences with its next project Flower, a unique game in which the player rocks and tilts the Sixaxis to control the wind and carry petals to unbloomed flowers in the lush landscapes. While Flower’s gameplay appears similar to that of a flight simulator, Sony is labeling it as the first in the ‘Zen Gaming’ genre – a calm, low impact, highly relaxing gaming experience that is in stark contrast to the high-impact, intense multimedia experiences that have characterized this console generation thus far.
Flower’s “chilled-out” almost casual gaming experience might seem a bit too targeted toward hipsters and peace activists. After all, a game whose entire premise is to fly around collecting petals and make flowers bloom does not a hardcore gaming experience make. Even so, this sort of emotional experience isn’t readily available in the interactive entertainment medium. And if Flower succeeds in delivering that emotional experience, then it just may be the closest thing this generation to finally quieting naysayers about video games as a legitimate artform.
Next time: Sexy Librarian-Goddess of War? Librarian May Cry? Hideki Kamiya’s next evolution of the action genre.
Most Anticipated Games of 2009 – Street Fighter IV
February 3rd, 2009
I originally intended the forthcoming entry to serve as a bookend to my Best of 2008 series of posts. Emphasis on intended. Instead, the past couple of weeks was spent following up on the lives of the former 1up.com folks in the wake of the UGO buyout of the former Ziff-Davis web property. While following the multitude of new twitter feeds, personal blogs, and podcasts of the former Ziff employees, I came to the stunning realization that I did not have a lot of insight into what new games were coming out in 2009. Even so, that lack of knowledge isn’t going to stop me today! I present to you, in no particular order and a month late, my most anticipated games of 2009!
Street Fighter IV - C. Viper vs. Chun Li
Street Fighter IV
I played a hell of a lot of Street Fighter II and Street Fighter II Turbo during the heyday of the SNES era back in the mid 1990s. I remember being completely stoked for SFII’s “extension” in Super Street Fighter II back in sixth grade, featuring the debut Fei Long, T. Hawk, Dee Jay, and (gasp, another female) Cammy! With a memorable cast of players and the best competitive play during its time, the Street Fighter II series wound up consuming a significant part of my video game time for the entire console generation.
Then something happened in 1996: the port of Street Fighter Alpha 2 to the SNES. No Guile? No Cammy? No Fei Long? No thanks! Even though Alpha 2 is widely considered a good Street Fighter game, there was just something disconcerting not being able to do Cammy’s Cannon Spike or a Thrust Kick in this new incarnation of the series. My taste in fighters would eventually shift toward the Capcom Vs. fighters (due primarily to the Marvel Comics characters included), leaving the core Street Fighter games to the hardcore and the tournament players.
Capcom recognized that a lot of hardcore Street Fighter II players left during the transition from SF2 to Alpha. With a less complex, more accessible fighting system and the return of most of the original cast of World Warriors, Capcom hopes to return the lost fans of Street Fighter II back into the fray. And thus far SFIV looks like a success, seemingly responsible for a small resurgence of arcade activity in Japan with the hype machine rolling for the home versions as well. How excited am I for this game? Let’s just say that it will be the first game that I will be purchasing an arcade stick for: the highly coveted and nigh-sold out Madcatz Tournament Sticks.
Next time: Floating through a field of Flowers.