November 16th, 2009 BlamBurg
The reviews are coming in and it looks like New Super Mario Bros Wii is yet another disappointing Nintendo release. Between this and Mario Galaxy it’s time for Nintendo to retire Mario for a bit.
“Nintendo saved the industry with games like this, so we’re sad to say the latest lacks the imaginative spark found in past entries. Easily the weakest of the 2D Marios”
“1. The music is not good.
Only Megaman relies more on its catchy themes than Mario, and this Mario game has forgettable, poorly orchestrated melodies. The best parts of the music are hooks from old games. The worst parts are everything else. I have used the world map music from Super Mario Bros. 3 as my cellphone ring. Nobody would chose the theme of NSMBW’s 3-1 as their music for anything.
2. Though the level design is sometimes excellent, its palette is not.
The background and foreground blend together, confusing the action. Old Mario games (from which this game draws) featured nearly blank backdrops–or in the case of Super Mario World, a deep perspective with smartly chosen colors.
3. Platforming is deliberate business.
You cannot combine the chaos of multiplayer with pixel-specific jumps. Even with constant communication, the game devolves into one person working through a difficult section while the others are trapped in invincible bubbles.”
“Despite the lack of ingenuity on display, NSMB Wii’s thrash of four players does bring uproarious anarchy to the sofa for short periods of time. (7/10)”
“Don’t get us wrong. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a wonderful video game, but its designers drew upon 24 years of familiarity to produce an experience that makes us smile one moment and shrug the next.”
“Is multiplayer fun? Sure, but not for long. Kudos to Nintendo for revisiting multiplayer in a Mario game, but it feels tacked on”
“On top of that, and as good as this game is, it never wowed us like Super Mario Galaxy. Not once were we in awe of a particular level or enemy. Nintendo definitely chose to play it safe by following the same recipe that put Mario on the map.”
Expect an unbiased SDF review in the coming days.
Posted in Other Systems | 380 Comments »
November 11th, 2009 BlamBurg
Neither Activision or Infinity Ward could possibly imagine the true impact of The Slim Effect™ until they released Modern Warfare 2 for the PS3. The amount of gamers playing MW2 on PSN has been so great that it’s bringing Activision’s servers to its knees. Many have speculated that the PS3 version has actually outsold the notably inferior 360 version in many countries.
The Slim Effect™ MW2 patch is expected on Friday. Until then, please be patient while Infinity Ward triples their PS3 server capacity (possibly even taking servers away from the disappointing 360 version).
Posted in Other Systems, Playstation 3, The Slim Effect™ | 105 Comments »
November 5th, 2009 BlamBurg
It’s coming time for the Holiday launches of anticipated multiplatform sequels — and new data provided to Gamasutra by OTX’s GamePlan Insights finds that many sequel-buyers might be switching platforms, defecting from Xbox 360 to PlayStation 3 for more than one major release.
In addition to identifying the cash-strapped consumer’s most-wanted games for the holiday season, GamePlan Insights previously examined “franchise lineage,” or gamer intent to purchase sequels to favorite games.
According to OTX analyst Nick Williams, data on franchise lineage highlights an interesting trend between the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 SKUs for Modern Warfare 2 and Assassin’s Creed 2, the two top-ranking titles on the latest purchase intent charts — and also two of the titles with the strongest franchise lineage.
OTX data shows that 15 percent of those who plan to buy the PS3 version of Assassin’s Creed 2 own the Xbox 360 version of the original, while only 7 percent of those who plan to buy the Xbox 360 version own the original game on PS3.
The data highlights a shift, at least among fans of Assassin’s Creed, in favor of the PS3 — a “sizable portion,” according to Williams, of players who plan a console defection for the second installment.
Moreover, the trend for Modern Warfare 2 is the same, according to OTX. “The PS3 seems poised to shift the ratio of Xbox 360 to PS3 sales for most major multi-platform releases in its favor among dual owners,” Williams tells us.
The Slim Effect™ has become very dangerous for Microsoft. Expect even more defectors with the release of GT5, God of War 3 and Heavy Rain.
Posted in Other Systems, Playstation 3, The Slim Effect™ | 104 Comments »
