Critical Reception: EA/Visceral Games’ Dead Space Extraction

This week’s edition of Critical Reception examines online reaction to Dead Space Extraction, which reviews describe as “one of the best-looking and most fun action games on the Wii.” Extraction currently earns a score of 82 out of 100 at Metacritic.com. GameSpy’s Anthony Gallegos rates Dead Space Extraction at 4.5 out of 5 stars. “Dead Space Extraction is an example of a game where huge decisions were made regarding player choice and freedom,” he writes. …

“We’ve beaten the waggle” says Red Steel 2 dev

Many non-Nintendo gamers have the notion that Wii games are just a bunch of waggles after another. Although gesture based games are plentiful on the Wii, Red Steel 2 has fixed this problem completely.

In the latest Dev Diary, Red Steel 2 developer Jason Vandenberghe explains why this game will actually take skill as opposed to waggle.

“We’ve beaten the waggle, you can’t play like this. Controls are at the center of play, and if you don’t get controls right first, nothing after that matters. The promise with Red Steel 2 is to bring swordfighting to the Wii, and with MotionPlus it brings that promise to life.”

On top of this, Jason has stated that stabbing motions are in and that the game will never go below 60 fps, and in some cases can reach 80fps!
Glad to see more developers, such as the Red Steel team, making perfect use of the MotionPlus. Glad to also see that the delay was for the better.

Link

Media: Red Steel 2 - Insider Video #2

Anyone who has been following Red Steel 2 knows that the difference maker between this and its predecessor– not to mention most other games release for the Wii to date– is the Wii MotionPlus. Today, the latest Insider Video from Ubisoft shows us just what it brings to the gameplay of what looks like a potential East-meets-West classic:

So, it’s not a full-blown sword-fighting simulator. While Mr. Vandenberghe makes a good point– “just how good a sword-fighter are you?”– I have to admit that such a question is something I myself have wondered, preferably without the risk of losing a limb.

It looks like this game won’t provide an easy answer to that question, however, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But then again, if one is a good sword-fighter, then one might wonder if Red Steel 2 will feel more restrictive.

DJ Hero Controller Will Not Work With Any Other Game

Activision’s upcoming Wii, PlayStation 3 and 360 music game DJ Hero features a unique control peripheral that mimics the experience of mastering the dual turntables and fader of the disc jockey, but the controller will not work with any other music game.

DJ Hero’s creative director Jamie Jackson was asked by website Destructoid whether the DJ Hero controller might work with another game, and he responded: "DJ Hero is DJ Hero. If someone needed to use our controller, then they would basically have to rip our game off."

The only other DJ game on our radar is Scratch: The Ultimate DJ, and its controller and gameplay are so different from DJ Hero’s that it makes sense. Check it out:

Unlike guitar-based music games, it’s not like you could just substitute one of these controllers for the other.

What competitors have taken from Nintendo

Nintendo, for the most part, are the makers of “fun” and family oriented consoles, but did you know almost all of Nintendo’s successes and failures have been used after the fact?
We examine just what features were brought back to life due to Nintendo.

Wireless Controllers
Did you know Nintendo had made plans to release the original NES with wireless controllers? It was part of a HUD more computer for the day than video game console. The intent was to use infrared controllers, but the idea fell through in the final design.

Downloadable Content
Satellaview was a modem was attached directly below the Super Famicon of the day and was released in Japan. This peripheral was used for downloading uniquely designed games that were either remade NES/Famicon games aswell as the upload of gaming news. The original Famicon also had such a feature that allowed Nintendo news, jokes, and weather to be accessible.

Online Gaming
XBAND was another modem for the Super Famicon/SNES that allowed users to connect to the internet via dial up modem to battle it out against other players online. Although online gaming had been thought of for the original Famicon years earlier.

RANDnet was the service the N64DD included that allowed for online gaming and internet browsing. Mario Artist/mario Paint was the game most used for online play. The game included online contests, artist swaps and special events. There was also a monthly charge for the service.

The games that were to make use of the online service included Legend of Zelda:OoT, Super Mario 64, Final Fantasy VII, EarthBound 64 (turned into a GameBoy game), and a port of Unreal Tournament(cancelled).

Controller innovations
From the NES pad down to the Wii remote, Nintendo has made controller designs important for further generations. Controller ideas take from competitors include the D-pad, shoulder buttons, analog controls, motion controls, and rumble.

Voice Recognition
The VRU was a voice recognition peripheral that allowed you to talk with characters in Nintendo games. Although the peripheral only had 2 compatible games for it on the N64, it was still a great idea that never came into fruition.

Nes Slim looks a lot like the Wii, old design turned new?

PS3 looks a lot like the original Nes prototype?
This is just for fun, but it is interesting the similarities. Even the buttons are in the exact spot.

Nintendo didn’t pioneer the above features as much as some, but the thought that at one point Nintendo tried all of these is impressive, to bad Nintendo didn’t push all of these to the max. Imagine Nintendo then …

Daily Tech: Casio Debuts Some Geeky Cubic Puzzle Watches