Yikes hopefully the studio that created Federico (forgot the name). Can escape from Activision’s leeching grasp. I remember how Happy Bungie was when they split from Activision 
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.Massively Multiplayer: Gaming In The New Millennium
- Thread starter RySenkari
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Silver Sail, but at least his franchise is minor so Activision never overmilked itYikes hopefully the studio that created Federico (forgot the name). Can escape from Activision’s leeching grasp. I remember how Happy Bungie was when they split from Activision
I still have that hunch that Activision did not market Silver Sail’s mature game with Selena properly on purpose.
Wait. If Activision is most notable for annual sequels of their franchises, then would PitFall! get more or less recognition from this fate?
we did got a lot of pitfall during the 1997-2003 revival, sadly the series died again.
Yeah a shame was a mismarketing, but those things happen(see Binary Domain)
Well, that's sad. Um, would a pinball machine based on the franchise suffice for the fans? They could even call it PinFall!, as a little joke to the name.
Fall 2011 (Part 4) - Apple Takes To The Eastern Skies
Kasmias
Developed and published by Namco, Kasmias is a mech-based shooter title exclusive to the iTwin with a unique, open-world design and an arcade-like feel. Taking inspiration from games like Panzer Dragoon and Techno Angel, as well as games like Space Harrier, Kasmias puts the player in the cockpit of a 20-foot tall customizable mech known as a Skystormer, and has them battle across the universe against an evil technologically advanced empire. Kasmias features a huge variety of weapons and enhancements, some of which are equipped before battle and are permanent, and others which are temporary and found during battle, making the game somewhat of a cross between traditional shoot 'em ups like Gradius and RPGs like the newer Panzer Dragoon games. The player can equip up to sixteen different weapons on their mech, including hand-mounted and wrist-mounted weapons, shoulder-mounted weapons, chest and head mounted weapons, foot weapons, knee weapons, and up to four different "hover" weapons which hover above the Skystormer or rotate around it. Players can either lock onto enemies or fire manually, and weapons fire automatically or manually as well, depending on their properties and the player's current selection of firing options. Like a traditional arcade shooter, players score points for many different actions, including killing enemies, destroying objects, and achieving tasks. Players receive communication from both enemies and allies during battle, with allies sometimes offering up bonuses or secret missions. The game's plot has the player, a young Skystormer pilot named Almus Rogue, given the task of leading a squadron of Skystormer fighters into battle as the Kasmias Empire makes its final preparations to attack the center of human civilization. Almus will visit twelve different planets over the course of the game, with five extra planets available to visit as part of side missions. The game's open-world structure allows the player to complete missions at their own leisure, though a decent portion of missions are timed and require the player to achieve all objectives quickly. During and between missions, the game's character-based plot tells the story of the brave Skystormer pilots who defend the universe from Kasmias, mostly through dialogue but sometimes directly through cutscenes. The player's actions will sometimes determine whether an important character lives or dies, including a few of Almus' best wingmates. The game allows for the use of both traditional and motion controls, with motion controls enabling precise aim and better use of the game's weapons, which make them recommended for players of all skill levels. The game's graphics are good but not great, with much of the emphasis on gameplay and play control. The game features a soundtrack by Nobuyoshi Sano, who returned to Namco after a seven year absence to compose the game's score, which consists of mostly techno-inspired beats with a few sweeping orchestral segments. The game's English dub is performed by voice actors mostly known for anime, with actors like Yuri Lowenthal, Max Mittelman, Kate Higgins, and Carrie Keranen amongst the most prominent members of the cast. Overall, Kasmias gets a very strong critical reception, with scores in the mid to high 8s, and is a major commercial hit in Japan, one of the top five iTwin exclusives of the year in that country. It does decently well in North America thanks to its review scores and a decent amount of hype, but it's not nearly as big a hit here as it is in its home territory.
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Aegis Avernum
Aegis Avernum is an action-RPG developed by Tetsuya Mizuguchi and his game studio, and produced by Apple (who also contributed developers to the project). Developed for the Japanese market but keeping Western sensibilities and players in mind, the game fuses the synesthesia and beauty that Mizuguchi's games are known for with the exhilaration and action of a Zelda-like action-RPG. It takes place in an ancient city floating in the clouds, and its protagonist, a young man named Aegis, must rescue a beautiful goddess named Illuya by flying through her city and defeating the ancient corruption that has imprisoned her and her people. The game combines long segments of free-form flying with ground-based exploration, sometimes weaving the two intricately together. Music and sound permeate everything: Aegis' weapons each have a distinct sound associated with them, while his flights through the air are set to music that changes depending on what Aegis is doing: when he is merely flying, the music takes on a melancholy tone, when he discovers something new, it becomes hopeful, and when he's fighting, it becomes dramatic or even angry. Aegis is able to communicate with Illuya as he explores her city, hearing her tell the tale of her life and her people, though sometimes she sounds fearful or even in pain as the corruption grows around her. There is a constant musical motif that surfaces at different points throughout the game, it is known as the "song of Illuya", and is implied to be her voice speaking to Aegis during his travels. The combat in the game is somewhat simplistic, more comparable to Zelda than to a hack and slash game, and is structured in such a way that it can be done rhythmically, i.e. Aegis will do more damage when he fights to the beat of the music (while enemies will almost always attack to a musical beat as well). Puzzles, which are frequently found during the game, also have musical motifs and can usually be solved quickest by deciphering the game's rhythms and melodies. Flight segments can be somewhat compared to a cross between Child Of Eden and Kid Icarus: Uprising, taking place in a semi-free range rail shooting fashion that allows the player to flow with the music but also requires skill to dispatch enemies and reach treasures. The game itself doesn't have a lot in the way of treasure and items, but Aegis can make himself stronger by buying equipment purchased with "wings", the game's form of currency. The game has plenty of bosses to fight, with ground bosses mostly being smaller and taking the form of human-sized beasts or corrupted humans, while aerial battles tend to be big and spectacular. There are some exceptions to this, especially later in the game with some large ground bosses, but for the most part, aerial bosses are the biggest spectacles in the game, featuring fully realized multi-stage combat with unique musical scoring. The player will need to explore all sides of the city, from the top, to deep within, to its underbelly, with the corruption naturally blocking off certain areas, making for a mostly linear progression through the game. Sometimes, Aegis must descend into corrupted areas, where he is unable to hear Illuya's voice and where he is at risk of becoming corrupted himself. Here, the player can take on a limited amount of corruption in order to enhance Aegis' fighting abilities, but there is a risk to this, as too much corruption risks a nonstandard game over. The game features both traditional and motion controls, but is mostly designed for motion controls, particularly for the flying segments. With the two iTwin controllers, one in each hand, the player is able to "conduct" Aegis in battle, which makes music-based techniques much simpler to perform. There are few things more satisfying than a big musical combo attack, and the music itself responds in kind, making it a wonderful visual and auditory experience. The game's graphics aren't necessarily the most technologically advanced on the iTwin (though they're still probably in the top 10% of most impressive iTwin games), but Mizuguchi's art direction for the game is such that it might just be the best looking overall iTwin game, with stunning visuals and beautiful colors. The game features a beautiful and impressive musical score with contributions from both Western and Japanese artists, including Mizuguchi himself, but at the centerpiece of the game's soundtrack is the Irish singer Lisa Hannigan, who performs both the singing and speaking voice of Illuya (including in the Japanese release of the game, where her dialogue is subtitled). A large portion of the game's soundtrack was designed around her performance, and she's even the facial model for Illuya herself, with some of her performance motion captured for the game.
Aegis Avernum's protagonist wakes up in the floating city of Shinara with no memory of how he got there, though he does remember his life itself: he's a soldier, trained to protect important people. He wanders the city for a while until he hears Illuya's voice for the first time, and from there, things progress quickly. He arms himself and begins exploring the city with the goal of destroying the corruption and saving Illuya. He'll ultimately need to track down and destroy eleven sources of corruption, which led to a great cataclysm in the city an unknown amount of time ago. In the meantime, Aegis must also uncover how he ended up in Shinara and how to get home. A memorable moment in the game comes after defeating the first source of corruption, after which Aegis takes flight for the first time and gets his first glimpse at the scale of the city himself. As he progresses, Illuya shares her life story with him: she was born a young girl, walking the streets of Shinara, but after a sickness befell her mother, she sought the help of the goddess to restore her mother to health. Illuya was able to find the goddess, but through a twist of fate, had to become the goddess herself to save her mother. She watched over the people of Shinara but was never able to directly communicate with them or touch them, and became detached and lonely, unable to comfort her mother, who ultimately died of grief from losing her. Meanwhile, a great corruption overtook the city, and Illuya had to watch every single person she'd ever watched over either become corrupt or fall from the skies. Aegis begins to remember more of his past, and ultimately, about two-thirds of the way through the game, he remembers how he ended up in Shinara: he was a passenger on a space shuttle mission to leave the solar system and explore the galaxy. However, as the ship was leaving Earth's atmosphere, it exploded, and Aegis somehow ended up landing, unharmed, in Shinara. Illuya and Aegis both feel that their fates are intertwined, and Aegis learns more about this as he continues to destroy more and more of the corruption. The corruption, despite being battled back by Aegis, is growing in strength as it collapses around Illuya. Illuya can feel herself being overtaken by it, and her voice starts to become more bitter and hateful, her songs more angry. She despairs as she realizes what's slowly happening to her, while Aegis, who is starting to fall in love with Illuya, is determined not to let her suffer the same terrible fate as her people. Meanwhile, we also learn about the prime source of the corruption: a preacher named Gerus, who sought to gain control over Shinara by spreading false prophecies about Illuya, while Illuya, unable to directly influence her people, was not able to counter the lies spread by Gerus. Eventually, Aegis destroys ten of the sources of corruption, leading to the final source: Gerus himself, who is centered in a massive cathedral at the heart of Shinara. Aegis learns that Illuya's hatred for Gerus is a secondary source of corruption, and is causing the corruption to gain control of her. Aegis also learns that a major cause of the city's corruption is Illuya's replacement of the last goddess, which Shinara itself views as corrupt and which allowed Gerus to gestate the initial corruption, born from Illuya's inadvertent but careless action as a child. Aegis also learns that his arrival in the city was caused by Illuya's first breach of the barrier between her goddess intangibility and the material world, bringing Shinara into the material world and leading to the deaths and corruption of its people. These revelations build into a musical climax that plays out as a three-stage final battle: first, in the air, with Aegis battling the corrupted Illuya, then on the ground, with Aegis battling Gerus, and finally, back in the air, with Illuya trapped within a multi-layered prison consisting of the previous goddess' corpse surrounding the remaining corruption. Illuya's final song begins this battle as a distorted, mournful dirge, but as Aegis fights his way to her, the song transforms into a hopeful but still distorted elegy, and finally, the song rises to a climax as Aegis and Illuya battle to reach one another as the last of the corruption tries to destroy them both, with Illuya's voice calling out loud and clear in a mix of symphonic triumph and technical drive. The battle finally ends when Aegis and Illuya join hands for the first time, instantly shattering the remaining corruption and bringing Shinara into the real world for good. Its remaining corrupted residents return to life amidst the ruins of their city, as Aegis and Illuya embrace. Illuya then flies up into the air and restores the city as best she can, as the world opens up below and Aegis sees the surface of the Earth thousands of feet down. Illuya takes Aegis into her arms and floats him down to the Earth's surface, and though the future of the two newly united lovers is still uncertain, the one certainty is that they'll continue in their new lives together, whatever happens.
Released worldwide on December 6, 2011, Aegis Avernum is considered a masterpiece and the crowning achievement so far of Tetsuya Mizuguchi's career, with one of the most acclaimed video game soundtracks of all time and high praise for the unique visuals and gameplay. It's considered by most critics to be the best iTwin exclusive of the year, and a major Game of the Year contender. Initial sales in Japan are excellent, and while the game isn't quite as successful in North America, the gap between the game's Western and Eastern performances is much less than the gap for Kasmias, with the game eventually achieving over two million sales in North America, around 750,000 million sales in Europe, and several million sales in Japan. The game's success helps to enhance the career of Lisa Hannigan as well, and though she doesn't become a household name, it does make her somewhat more popular than she is IOTL (especially in Japan, leading to a concert series for her there). It also leads to a slightly bigger role in the upcoming cartoon Steven Universe for Blue Diamond, who Hannigan plays in both OTL and TTL, as Rebecca Sugar ends up being a big fan of Aegis Avernum. The game's success also further cement's Apple's commitment to American/Japanese game collaborations, which we'll see even more of on the Gemini and the iTwin's successor console.
Developed and published by Namco, Kasmias is a mech-based shooter title exclusive to the iTwin with a unique, open-world design and an arcade-like feel. Taking inspiration from games like Panzer Dragoon and Techno Angel, as well as games like Space Harrier, Kasmias puts the player in the cockpit of a 20-foot tall customizable mech known as a Skystormer, and has them battle across the universe against an evil technologically advanced empire. Kasmias features a huge variety of weapons and enhancements, some of which are equipped before battle and are permanent, and others which are temporary and found during battle, making the game somewhat of a cross between traditional shoot 'em ups like Gradius and RPGs like the newer Panzer Dragoon games. The player can equip up to sixteen different weapons on their mech, including hand-mounted and wrist-mounted weapons, shoulder-mounted weapons, chest and head mounted weapons, foot weapons, knee weapons, and up to four different "hover" weapons which hover above the Skystormer or rotate around it. Players can either lock onto enemies or fire manually, and weapons fire automatically or manually as well, depending on their properties and the player's current selection of firing options. Like a traditional arcade shooter, players score points for many different actions, including killing enemies, destroying objects, and achieving tasks. Players receive communication from both enemies and allies during battle, with allies sometimes offering up bonuses or secret missions. The game's plot has the player, a young Skystormer pilot named Almus Rogue, given the task of leading a squadron of Skystormer fighters into battle as the Kasmias Empire makes its final preparations to attack the center of human civilization. Almus will visit twelve different planets over the course of the game, with five extra planets available to visit as part of side missions. The game's open-world structure allows the player to complete missions at their own leisure, though a decent portion of missions are timed and require the player to achieve all objectives quickly. During and between missions, the game's character-based plot tells the story of the brave Skystormer pilots who defend the universe from Kasmias, mostly through dialogue but sometimes directly through cutscenes. The player's actions will sometimes determine whether an important character lives or dies, including a few of Almus' best wingmates. The game allows for the use of both traditional and motion controls, with motion controls enabling precise aim and better use of the game's weapons, which make them recommended for players of all skill levels. The game's graphics are good but not great, with much of the emphasis on gameplay and play control. The game features a soundtrack by Nobuyoshi Sano, who returned to Namco after a seven year absence to compose the game's score, which consists of mostly techno-inspired beats with a few sweeping orchestral segments. The game's English dub is performed by voice actors mostly known for anime, with actors like Yuri Lowenthal, Max Mittelman, Kate Higgins, and Carrie Keranen amongst the most prominent members of the cast. Overall, Kasmias gets a very strong critical reception, with scores in the mid to high 8s, and is a major commercial hit in Japan, one of the top five iTwin exclusives of the year in that country. It does decently well in North America thanks to its review scores and a decent amount of hype, but it's not nearly as big a hit here as it is in its home territory.
-
Aegis Avernum
Aegis Avernum is an action-RPG developed by Tetsuya Mizuguchi and his game studio, and produced by Apple (who also contributed developers to the project). Developed for the Japanese market but keeping Western sensibilities and players in mind, the game fuses the synesthesia and beauty that Mizuguchi's games are known for with the exhilaration and action of a Zelda-like action-RPG. It takes place in an ancient city floating in the clouds, and its protagonist, a young man named Aegis, must rescue a beautiful goddess named Illuya by flying through her city and defeating the ancient corruption that has imprisoned her and her people. The game combines long segments of free-form flying with ground-based exploration, sometimes weaving the two intricately together. Music and sound permeate everything: Aegis' weapons each have a distinct sound associated with them, while his flights through the air are set to music that changes depending on what Aegis is doing: when he is merely flying, the music takes on a melancholy tone, when he discovers something new, it becomes hopeful, and when he's fighting, it becomes dramatic or even angry. Aegis is able to communicate with Illuya as he explores her city, hearing her tell the tale of her life and her people, though sometimes she sounds fearful or even in pain as the corruption grows around her. There is a constant musical motif that surfaces at different points throughout the game, it is known as the "song of Illuya", and is implied to be her voice speaking to Aegis during his travels. The combat in the game is somewhat simplistic, more comparable to Zelda than to a hack and slash game, and is structured in such a way that it can be done rhythmically, i.e. Aegis will do more damage when he fights to the beat of the music (while enemies will almost always attack to a musical beat as well). Puzzles, which are frequently found during the game, also have musical motifs and can usually be solved quickest by deciphering the game's rhythms and melodies. Flight segments can be somewhat compared to a cross between Child Of Eden and Kid Icarus: Uprising, taking place in a semi-free range rail shooting fashion that allows the player to flow with the music but also requires skill to dispatch enemies and reach treasures. The game itself doesn't have a lot in the way of treasure and items, but Aegis can make himself stronger by buying equipment purchased with "wings", the game's form of currency. The game has plenty of bosses to fight, with ground bosses mostly being smaller and taking the form of human-sized beasts or corrupted humans, while aerial battles tend to be big and spectacular. There are some exceptions to this, especially later in the game with some large ground bosses, but for the most part, aerial bosses are the biggest spectacles in the game, featuring fully realized multi-stage combat with unique musical scoring. The player will need to explore all sides of the city, from the top, to deep within, to its underbelly, with the corruption naturally blocking off certain areas, making for a mostly linear progression through the game. Sometimes, Aegis must descend into corrupted areas, where he is unable to hear Illuya's voice and where he is at risk of becoming corrupted himself. Here, the player can take on a limited amount of corruption in order to enhance Aegis' fighting abilities, but there is a risk to this, as too much corruption risks a nonstandard game over. The game features both traditional and motion controls, but is mostly designed for motion controls, particularly for the flying segments. With the two iTwin controllers, one in each hand, the player is able to "conduct" Aegis in battle, which makes music-based techniques much simpler to perform. There are few things more satisfying than a big musical combo attack, and the music itself responds in kind, making it a wonderful visual and auditory experience. The game's graphics aren't necessarily the most technologically advanced on the iTwin (though they're still probably in the top 10% of most impressive iTwin games), but Mizuguchi's art direction for the game is such that it might just be the best looking overall iTwin game, with stunning visuals and beautiful colors. The game features a beautiful and impressive musical score with contributions from both Western and Japanese artists, including Mizuguchi himself, but at the centerpiece of the game's soundtrack is the Irish singer Lisa Hannigan, who performs both the singing and speaking voice of Illuya (including in the Japanese release of the game, where her dialogue is subtitled). A large portion of the game's soundtrack was designed around her performance, and she's even the facial model for Illuya herself, with some of her performance motion captured for the game.
Aegis Avernum's protagonist wakes up in the floating city of Shinara with no memory of how he got there, though he does remember his life itself: he's a soldier, trained to protect important people. He wanders the city for a while until he hears Illuya's voice for the first time, and from there, things progress quickly. He arms himself and begins exploring the city with the goal of destroying the corruption and saving Illuya. He'll ultimately need to track down and destroy eleven sources of corruption, which led to a great cataclysm in the city an unknown amount of time ago. In the meantime, Aegis must also uncover how he ended up in Shinara and how to get home. A memorable moment in the game comes after defeating the first source of corruption, after which Aegis takes flight for the first time and gets his first glimpse at the scale of the city himself. As he progresses, Illuya shares her life story with him: she was born a young girl, walking the streets of Shinara, but after a sickness befell her mother, she sought the help of the goddess to restore her mother to health. Illuya was able to find the goddess, but through a twist of fate, had to become the goddess herself to save her mother. She watched over the people of Shinara but was never able to directly communicate with them or touch them, and became detached and lonely, unable to comfort her mother, who ultimately died of grief from losing her. Meanwhile, a great corruption overtook the city, and Illuya had to watch every single person she'd ever watched over either become corrupt or fall from the skies. Aegis begins to remember more of his past, and ultimately, about two-thirds of the way through the game, he remembers how he ended up in Shinara: he was a passenger on a space shuttle mission to leave the solar system and explore the galaxy. However, as the ship was leaving Earth's atmosphere, it exploded, and Aegis somehow ended up landing, unharmed, in Shinara. Illuya and Aegis both feel that their fates are intertwined, and Aegis learns more about this as he continues to destroy more and more of the corruption. The corruption, despite being battled back by Aegis, is growing in strength as it collapses around Illuya. Illuya can feel herself being overtaken by it, and her voice starts to become more bitter and hateful, her songs more angry. She despairs as she realizes what's slowly happening to her, while Aegis, who is starting to fall in love with Illuya, is determined not to let her suffer the same terrible fate as her people. Meanwhile, we also learn about the prime source of the corruption: a preacher named Gerus, who sought to gain control over Shinara by spreading false prophecies about Illuya, while Illuya, unable to directly influence her people, was not able to counter the lies spread by Gerus. Eventually, Aegis destroys ten of the sources of corruption, leading to the final source: Gerus himself, who is centered in a massive cathedral at the heart of Shinara. Aegis learns that Illuya's hatred for Gerus is a secondary source of corruption, and is causing the corruption to gain control of her. Aegis also learns that a major cause of the city's corruption is Illuya's replacement of the last goddess, which Shinara itself views as corrupt and which allowed Gerus to gestate the initial corruption, born from Illuya's inadvertent but careless action as a child. Aegis also learns that his arrival in the city was caused by Illuya's first breach of the barrier between her goddess intangibility and the material world, bringing Shinara into the material world and leading to the deaths and corruption of its people. These revelations build into a musical climax that plays out as a three-stage final battle: first, in the air, with Aegis battling the corrupted Illuya, then on the ground, with Aegis battling Gerus, and finally, back in the air, with Illuya trapped within a multi-layered prison consisting of the previous goddess' corpse surrounding the remaining corruption. Illuya's final song begins this battle as a distorted, mournful dirge, but as Aegis fights his way to her, the song transforms into a hopeful but still distorted elegy, and finally, the song rises to a climax as Aegis and Illuya battle to reach one another as the last of the corruption tries to destroy them both, with Illuya's voice calling out loud and clear in a mix of symphonic triumph and technical drive. The battle finally ends when Aegis and Illuya join hands for the first time, instantly shattering the remaining corruption and bringing Shinara into the real world for good. Its remaining corrupted residents return to life amidst the ruins of their city, as Aegis and Illuya embrace. Illuya then flies up into the air and restores the city as best she can, as the world opens up below and Aegis sees the surface of the Earth thousands of feet down. Illuya takes Aegis into her arms and floats him down to the Earth's surface, and though the future of the two newly united lovers is still uncertain, the one certainty is that they'll continue in their new lives together, whatever happens.
Released worldwide on December 6, 2011, Aegis Avernum is considered a masterpiece and the crowning achievement so far of Tetsuya Mizuguchi's career, with one of the most acclaimed video game soundtracks of all time and high praise for the unique visuals and gameplay. It's considered by most critics to be the best iTwin exclusive of the year, and a major Game of the Year contender. Initial sales in Japan are excellent, and while the game isn't quite as successful in North America, the gap between the game's Western and Eastern performances is much less than the gap for Kasmias, with the game eventually achieving over two million sales in North America, around 750,000 million sales in Europe, and several million sales in Japan. The game's success helps to enhance the career of Lisa Hannigan as well, and though she doesn't become a household name, it does make her somewhat more popular than she is IOTL (especially in Japan, leading to a concert series for her there). It also leads to a slightly bigger role in the upcoming cartoon Steven Universe for Blue Diamond, who Hannigan plays in both OTL and TTL, as Rebecca Sugar ends up being a big fan of Aegis Avernum. The game's success also further cement's Apple's commitment to American/Japanese game collaborations, which we'll see even more of on the Gemini and the iTwin's successor console.
Fall 2011 (Part 5) - DC Projects Big And Small
Justice League: Trinity
Justice League: Trinity is an action/adventure video game and a sort of sequel to the games Batman: Gotham Stories and Wonder Woman: Amazon Of Themyscira (though a true sequel to that game is in development for the next-gen consoles). It sees Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman teaming up to take on the combined forces of Lex Luthor, Ra's al-Ghul, and Cheetah in order to save the planet from a nefarious scheme to wipe out nine-tenths of the world's population. Other Justice Leaguers such as The Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Martian Manhunter also play prominent roles in the game, but only the "Big Three" are playable. Batman and Wonder Woman control much like they do in their previous games, with Batman a brawler and tech expert and Wonder Woman fighting with agility, finesse, super strength, and her familiar lasso. Meanwhile, Superman exhibits his familiar powers, including super strength, speed, flight, and heat vision, and the three each get a chance to shine across the game's array of missions (though players aren't able to pick who they control, with each mission requiring a specific character). Sometimes, a player will control one character while the other two serve as NPC companions, and with clever timing and placement, the player is able to combo with one or two characters at once. Missions also differ in mood and tone depending on the character: Batman's missions are more about stealth and detective work, Wonder Woman's missions are more God Of War-style hack and slash, while Superman's missions are more epic in scope, with Superman frequently taking to the skies and surveying a wide area. The game features HD graphics comparable to those in the previous DC games of this generation, with a similar level of detail to the graphics in X-Men: Fallen (a game Trinity is frequently compared to). Kevin Conroy returns to voice Batman, George Newbern voices Superman, and Susan Eisenberg voices Wonder Woman, with Lex Luthor voiced by Clancy Brown, Ra's voiced by Michael Sheen, and Cheetah voiced by Moira Quirk. The plot kicks off with Dr. Barbara Ann Minerva, who is already functioning as her alter ego Cheetah, forging an alliance with both Lex Luthor and Ra's al-Ghul, with Luthor wanting to advance his scientific knowledge and Ra's wanting to decimate humanity. With Luthor's money, Ra's mystic knowledge, and Minerva's practical knowledge, the three begin working together to create a living weapon called Genocide. While Batman is able to discover some of this plot himself, Superman is tipped off to it by Luthor's former aide Mercy (the game is somewhat adapting the storyline from the comics, with Mercy leaving Luthor to become a wandering antihero), and Wonder Woman learns of the plot from following Cheetah and also after several of her fellow Amazons are kidnapped and experimented on. The Justice League soon assembles to deal with the growing threat, and from there, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman perform several missions hoping to stop their nemeses from completing their plans. They're unsuccessful in stopping the creation of Genocide, who soon begins to leave a trail of destruction across the planet. Eventually, the heroes are able to stop Luthor, Ra's, and Cheetah in a series of fierce battles, with the final boss battle against Genocide having the player take control of all three heroes at least twice at some part of the battle, before uniting their efforts in one final mighty blow. Genocide is defeated and the world is saved thanks to the Justice League, though many of their allies are left with lasting physical and mental scars, and Wonder Woman seemingly walks away from the League at the end of it all.
Justice League: Trinity is released in October 2011 for the Sapphire and iTwin. It gets a decent critical reception, averaging in the mid to high 7s. While critics enjoy the game's presentation and storyline, the gameplay itself is considered somewhat unoriginal, while they also criticize the fact that you can't freely switch between heroes, and that the Superman and Batman segments lagged behind the Wonder Woman segments. The game is mostly considered to be inferior (though only slightly) to X-Men: Fallen, with sales pacing slightly below that game. Trinity still takes in a decent profit, but it isn't the crossover superhero smash some expected it to be. It's mostly remembered as a fun superhero brawler that's a bit of a mess but which DC fans will probably enjoy.
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Comics And Films Explore Batman's Past, Present, And Future
Batman continues to be a majorly hot property in 2011, with Batman Crusader debuting to strong box office numbers (after the latest Justice League movie, also featuring Batman, shattered all domestic box office records) and Batman: Gotham Knight establishing itself as one of Cartoon Network's most successful shows. These two properties are set in Batman's past, and while they're not origin stories for the Caped Crusader (though a few members of his rogues' gallery do get origin stories in Gotham Knight), they touch upon a crucial part of Batman's crime fighting career, while showing him in a new light that has made him as popular as he's ever been.
Gotham Knight is set in a different continuity from the familiar DC Animated Universe, with an entirely new actor (Brett Dalton) voicing a Bruce Wayne who's in his early 30s, having fought crime in Gotham for nearly a decade but still seeing things he hasn't seen before. While some members of his familiar rogues' gallery (the Joker, Penguin, Catwoman) are already present and accounted for, still others (including the Riddler and Harley Quinn) are given new roots in the very first season of the series. Batman hasn't become as friendly with Commissioner Gordon (voiced by Bryan Cranston) as we see him in the DCAU, and Gordon is still struggling with whether or not to trust Batman, which leads to occasional run-ins with the police. Prominent GCPD officers featuring in the series include rookie Renee Montoya (voiced in Gotham Knight by Myrna Velasco, though Brittany Saldita voices her in the upcoming straight-to-DVD feature Harley Quinn: Frenemies) and newly promoted detective Harvey Bullock (voiced by Troy Baker). In fact, the GCPD plays a major role in the series, with several police characters new to the Batman mythos introduced in Gotham Knight for the first time (and one, a senior detective voiced by Michael Parks, seemingly moonlighting as a serial killer). We've also gotten a lot of backstory for Batman's butler Alfred Pennyworth, who is depicted as ex-MI6 and who had a brother-like relationship with Batman's father Thomas Wayne, who reminded Alfred of his own younger brother (who also tragically died young). Gotham Knight also depicts a 13-year-old Barbara Gordon (voiced by Alyson Stoner) who's already secretly training herself in martial arts and crimefighting, and it's implied that the show will introduce Dick Grayson at some point before he ultimately becomes Robin. Gotham Knight has a somewhat darker, grittier tone than the original Batman: The Animated Series, depicting slightly more graphic scenes of violence and even featuring mild language (the show airs at 10:00 PM on Saturday Night's Toonami block with a TV-PG rating), and while it hasn't quite reached the level of acclaim or popularity as Bruce Timm's masterpiece, it's established a strong reputation amongst Batman fans and has carried the success of the new Crusader film forward, looking to keep Batman popular throughout the remainder of the 2010s.
The current comic stories, which depict Batman in an ongoing struggle with the Joker, have gotten more intense in recent years, especially after Harley Quinn was shown leaving the Joker to eventually partner up with Poison Ivy. Joker has become more nihilistic and cruel since Harley left him, and his schemes have been dedicated mostly toward causing mass death and destruction, with seemingly no punchline in sight (of course, with the Joker, there's always a punchline, the writers just haven't quite gotten to it yet). Batman is struggling with the implications of his "no killing" rule as the Joker has gotten more and more dangerous, while Harley Quinn has been depicted as having guilt for leaving the Joker. Meanwhile, a new villain, a "crime fighter" called the Neutralizer who utilizes Wayne Industries tech to murder anyone they (the Neutralizer's gender hasn't yet been revealed, with few hints given to their identity as of yet) deem a threat to humanity, with the Joker currently #1 on their hitlist. Batman has been unable to stop the Neutralizer or even best them in combat, but the Neutralizer refuses to harm Batman except to defend themselves, calling Batman a "hero who just doesn't go far enough". Most of the other rogues, with the exception of Harley, Poison Ivy, and the Riddler, are currently locked up in Arkham, while Catwoman seems to be in retirement, reverting to her identity as Selena Kyle and occasionally being spotted overseas helping the less fortunate. All of these storylines are running parallel to an Arkham Asylum-based story in which a new supervillain has taken over the facility and seems to be trying to recruit from amongst the inmates, all of whom refuse to help him. The current run of Batman comics seem to be slowly building up to something major involving the Joker, the Neutralizer, Harley/Ivy, Selena Kyle, and the new Arkham-based villain all coming together in some sort of massive clash, and as Batman slowly puts all the pieces together (he's already found a link between the Neutralizer and Harley Quinn), a major clash is sure to take place.
Amidst all this dark and gritty Batman content, we've also seen the release of a new straight-to-DVD movie, The Riddler's Final Puzzle, in which a slightly aged Batman must save his friends after the Riddler abducts them all and forces Batman into a globetrotting game of puzzles and riddles to get them back. Despite the dark potential for the source material, this movie actually has a somewhat lighter tone, despite its PG-13 rating. The Riddler (voiced in this project by Matt Frewer) has a quick wit and some hilarious comic timing, and it's been confirmed by voice director Andrea Romano that Frewer was allowed to improv numerous lines in the film. Meanwhile, Robin and Batgirl don't take their captivity lying down or being tormented by the Riddler, the two of them take active roles in their own rescues, and there's some especially witty banter between Batgirl (voiced by Tara Strong) and the Riddler in which Batgirl is subjected to a clever word puzzle and manages to trick the Riddler into giving up some of the answers. The film does get somewhat dramatic and serious toward the end, and it features a somewhat poignant, bittersweet scene, but the film in general stands in somewhat pleasant contrast to the rest of the Batman universe in 2011, and has received a strong reception from critics and fans alike. The Riddler's Final Puzzle seems to follow the trend of the recently released direct to DVD Batman films being a bit lighter and funnier than the rest of the Batman material, with last year's animated Harley Quinn film, despite a high level of violence, being considered by some to be the funniest Batman based movie ever released, and next year's Frenemies looking to have plenty of humor as well.
-from an article on Comicconsumer.net, posted on October 14, 2011
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*The moderator for the Harley Quinn: Frenemies panel at 2011's New York Comic-Con is currently introducing the guests.*
Moderator: Our first guest on this panel is a legendary voice director, who has directed dozens of animated projects spanning three decades. She of course directed Batman: The Animated Series, and has also directed shows such as Avatar: The Last Airbender. She's the voice director for Harley Quinn: Frenemies, please welcome to our panel today, Andrea Romano!
*Andrea Romano happily takes the stage, hugging the moderator and then taking her seat at the panel.*
Moderator: Our next guest is an actress who got her start on MTV, on the gameshow Singled Out and the legendary GameTV. *the audience is already cheering loudly* She went on to star in films such as Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back, and later appeared as the first ever live action Harley Quinn in 2006's Suicide Squad *the crowd cheers wildly* and will reprise her role in next year's sequel! She currently appears on the hit CBS sitcom Hating Places, and played the voice of Harley Quinn in 2010's animated film Harley Quinn, and will be starring as Harley in Harley Quinn: Frenemies! Please welcome the beautiful and amazingly talented Lyssa Fielding!
*Lyssa takes the stage, dressed in a normal but somewhat revealing outfit, to the cheers and applause of the audience. She happily waves to them and blows them some kisses and does some Harley Quinn poses before taking her seat at the panel next to Andrea, who leans over and hugs her.*
Moderator: Our next guest appeared with Lyssa Fielding on GameTV *the crowd goes absolutely bonkers, and the moderator has to quiet them down before he continues to speak*, and went on to become an all-star voice actress in shows such as The Real Adventures Of Jonny Quest, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Spy School, as well as video games including Thrillseekers, in which she plays BMX biker Vivian Martinez. *the crowd roars* She co-stars in Harley Quinn: Frenemies, playing Gotham City police officer Renee Montoya. Making her first public appearance since her cancer diagnosis earlier this year, please welcome to the stage the amazing Brittany Saldita!
*As Brittany takes the stage, looking no worse for wear and cosplaying as Renee Montoya, with an accurate GCPD outfit and a long black wig, the crowd gives her an even louder ovation than the one they gave Lyssa. Brittany looks a bit touched as she is showered in the crowd's love, smiling and waving to them as she walks over to the panel. Andrea is first to stand up, giving Brittany a tight hug and saying a few words to her, and then Lyssa hugs Brittany tightly before giving her a quick smooch on the cheek and then on the lips. Brittany waves to the crowd again and then takes her seat, as the crowd continues to cheer.*
Moderator: This is a really incredible reception, Brittany, would you like to say some words to the audience before we bring the next guest onto the stage?
Brittany: *nodding* Sure, sure. *she takes the mic* Um, hi everyone.... *smiling and waving as the crowd cheers* It means... so much to get a reception like this and it feels so good to be back on stage at a convention, you guys have no idea! Um, first of all, yes, this is not my real hair... *she lifts up her wig and police hat to show that she's still bald from the chemo* I know, I know! It'll grow back! It'll grow back! *laughing, she sets her wig and hat down to let the audience see her bald for a few more seconds, Lyssa rubs Brittany's head before kissing the top of it, Brittany giggles* The good thing is that I have an excuse to cosplay now! *she puts her wig and hat back on*
Lyssa: I should've cosplayed as Harley, what was I thinking?
Brittany: You didn't want to upstage me.
Lyssa: Are you kidding, listen to them, they love you! *the crowd roars for Brittany again*
Brittany: Also, um, I am in remission.... *the crowd screams with joy, cheering wildly, Brittany laughs softly and smiles a bit but looks very very touched by this and Lyssa reaches up and wipes a tear from one of Brittany's eyes, then jumps up and pumps her fists happily, pointing at Brittany and clapping, Andrea is clapping as well* And I'm also working again! I started working on my first big project since my diagnosis! It's totally NDA, but I can say that it's a game... it's not Thrillseekers, it's another game. That's all I can say though.
Lyssa: I don't even know what it is, she won't tell me!
Brittany: I can't tell you!
Lyssa: *sticks her tongue out at Brittany*
(...)
Andrea: So part of the process for what we did when Lyssa and Brittany recorded their lines was that every single scene that Harley and Renee had together, we got Lyssa and Brittany and had them record their lines together. We even turned them to have them facing each other, so they could actually look at each other's facial expressions and act directly off of one another, and then we recorded those facial expressions for the animators to use. It really helped because these two women have such amazing chemistry with each other, and it was absolutely electric. We had them do several takes usually, first reading lines strictly off the script, and then we let them do a few takes going off the script and doing improv, and we did end up using quite a few of those improv takes in the movie.
Lyssa: I would deliberately try to get Brittany super annoyed with me.
Brittany: Oh, she's really good at it.
Lyssa: I'd make these silly faces at her, and slip in these insults every once in a while, and cut her off sometimes...
Andrea: Yeah, Lyssa actually told me in private that she'd record the first few takes with Brittany just normally, reading the lines and then doing some normal improv, and then she'd ask me to do a take where she might interrupt Brittany.
Brittany: She would find the perfect timing to just slip in there and say something right in the middle of my line....
Andrea: And being the professional that Brittany is, she'd keep going, but that annoyance would start to slip in and it would be perfect, you could see it in Brittany's eyes that she was starting to become... not too happy with Lyssa, and we ended up using some of those expressions for Renee's animation in the movie.
Brittany: And the thing is, like... I can get pretty annoyed with Lyssa sometimes. I can't possibly hate her, because I love her to death, but sometimes she can piss me off.
Lyssa: *smirking like a troll at Brittany*
Brittany: And... that, right there!
Lyssa: *leans in and does her Harley voice* Uh huh.
Brittany: *muttering some profanities in Spanish as the crowd laughs with approval*
(...)
Moderator: We've got a question from... Julie, is it? *puts the microphone up to a fan*
Julie: Brittany, did you wrap up all your voice work for this movie before your diagnosis?
Brittany: Oh, yes. Oh yes. It was done... way before.
Andrea: It's always one of the first things we do in animation is the voice acting.
Brittany: We did most of it in... early 2010, I believe, and then the ADR wrapped up in... I want to say November? The movie doesn't come out until next year, but I finished all my work on the film way before my diagnosis.
Andrea: And even if... even if we still had some work to do, we would have gotten it done with Brittany.
Brittany: There is no way I would have pulled out of this film. I would have recorded from my hospital bed if I could have. This is one of my favorite projects to have ever worked on, maybe my all time favorite... getting to work with Andrea again is awesome, I've been doing voice work for her now for 15 years. She gave me some of my very first tips when I was just starting out, when I was just a lowly host on MTV only doing voice work because the agent I had to get when I got the GameTV job said I might be good at it. I worked with her on Avatar, and now on this... she's amazing. And then working with Lyssa... working with my best friend and getting to play these iconic characters together in these crazy situations, getting to stand in a booth facing her and acting with her... I mean that's a dream come true. I had so much fun making this movie and you guys are gonna have so much fun watching it. I promise you guys, please buy it next year!
-from the Harley Quinn: Frenemies panel at the 2011 New York Comic-Con, on November 4, 2011
Justice League: Trinity is an action/adventure video game and a sort of sequel to the games Batman: Gotham Stories and Wonder Woman: Amazon Of Themyscira (though a true sequel to that game is in development for the next-gen consoles). It sees Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman teaming up to take on the combined forces of Lex Luthor, Ra's al-Ghul, and Cheetah in order to save the planet from a nefarious scheme to wipe out nine-tenths of the world's population. Other Justice Leaguers such as The Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Martian Manhunter also play prominent roles in the game, but only the "Big Three" are playable. Batman and Wonder Woman control much like they do in their previous games, with Batman a brawler and tech expert and Wonder Woman fighting with agility, finesse, super strength, and her familiar lasso. Meanwhile, Superman exhibits his familiar powers, including super strength, speed, flight, and heat vision, and the three each get a chance to shine across the game's array of missions (though players aren't able to pick who they control, with each mission requiring a specific character). Sometimes, a player will control one character while the other two serve as NPC companions, and with clever timing and placement, the player is able to combo with one or two characters at once. Missions also differ in mood and tone depending on the character: Batman's missions are more about stealth and detective work, Wonder Woman's missions are more God Of War-style hack and slash, while Superman's missions are more epic in scope, with Superman frequently taking to the skies and surveying a wide area. The game features HD graphics comparable to those in the previous DC games of this generation, with a similar level of detail to the graphics in X-Men: Fallen (a game Trinity is frequently compared to). Kevin Conroy returns to voice Batman, George Newbern voices Superman, and Susan Eisenberg voices Wonder Woman, with Lex Luthor voiced by Clancy Brown, Ra's voiced by Michael Sheen, and Cheetah voiced by Moira Quirk. The plot kicks off with Dr. Barbara Ann Minerva, who is already functioning as her alter ego Cheetah, forging an alliance with both Lex Luthor and Ra's al-Ghul, with Luthor wanting to advance his scientific knowledge and Ra's wanting to decimate humanity. With Luthor's money, Ra's mystic knowledge, and Minerva's practical knowledge, the three begin working together to create a living weapon called Genocide. While Batman is able to discover some of this plot himself, Superman is tipped off to it by Luthor's former aide Mercy (the game is somewhat adapting the storyline from the comics, with Mercy leaving Luthor to become a wandering antihero), and Wonder Woman learns of the plot from following Cheetah and also after several of her fellow Amazons are kidnapped and experimented on. The Justice League soon assembles to deal with the growing threat, and from there, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman perform several missions hoping to stop their nemeses from completing their plans. They're unsuccessful in stopping the creation of Genocide, who soon begins to leave a trail of destruction across the planet. Eventually, the heroes are able to stop Luthor, Ra's, and Cheetah in a series of fierce battles, with the final boss battle against Genocide having the player take control of all three heroes at least twice at some part of the battle, before uniting their efforts in one final mighty blow. Genocide is defeated and the world is saved thanks to the Justice League, though many of their allies are left with lasting physical and mental scars, and Wonder Woman seemingly walks away from the League at the end of it all.
Justice League: Trinity is released in October 2011 for the Sapphire and iTwin. It gets a decent critical reception, averaging in the mid to high 7s. While critics enjoy the game's presentation and storyline, the gameplay itself is considered somewhat unoriginal, while they also criticize the fact that you can't freely switch between heroes, and that the Superman and Batman segments lagged behind the Wonder Woman segments. The game is mostly considered to be inferior (though only slightly) to X-Men: Fallen, with sales pacing slightly below that game. Trinity still takes in a decent profit, but it isn't the crossover superhero smash some expected it to be. It's mostly remembered as a fun superhero brawler that's a bit of a mess but which DC fans will probably enjoy.
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Comics And Films Explore Batman's Past, Present, And Future
Batman continues to be a majorly hot property in 2011, with Batman Crusader debuting to strong box office numbers (after the latest Justice League movie, also featuring Batman, shattered all domestic box office records) and Batman: Gotham Knight establishing itself as one of Cartoon Network's most successful shows. These two properties are set in Batman's past, and while they're not origin stories for the Caped Crusader (though a few members of his rogues' gallery do get origin stories in Gotham Knight), they touch upon a crucial part of Batman's crime fighting career, while showing him in a new light that has made him as popular as he's ever been.
Gotham Knight is set in a different continuity from the familiar DC Animated Universe, with an entirely new actor (Brett Dalton) voicing a Bruce Wayne who's in his early 30s, having fought crime in Gotham for nearly a decade but still seeing things he hasn't seen before. While some members of his familiar rogues' gallery (the Joker, Penguin, Catwoman) are already present and accounted for, still others (including the Riddler and Harley Quinn) are given new roots in the very first season of the series. Batman hasn't become as friendly with Commissioner Gordon (voiced by Bryan Cranston) as we see him in the DCAU, and Gordon is still struggling with whether or not to trust Batman, which leads to occasional run-ins with the police. Prominent GCPD officers featuring in the series include rookie Renee Montoya (voiced in Gotham Knight by Myrna Velasco, though Brittany Saldita voices her in the upcoming straight-to-DVD feature Harley Quinn: Frenemies) and newly promoted detective Harvey Bullock (voiced by Troy Baker). In fact, the GCPD plays a major role in the series, with several police characters new to the Batman mythos introduced in Gotham Knight for the first time (and one, a senior detective voiced by Michael Parks, seemingly moonlighting as a serial killer). We've also gotten a lot of backstory for Batman's butler Alfred Pennyworth, who is depicted as ex-MI6 and who had a brother-like relationship with Batman's father Thomas Wayne, who reminded Alfred of his own younger brother (who also tragically died young). Gotham Knight also depicts a 13-year-old Barbara Gordon (voiced by Alyson Stoner) who's already secretly training herself in martial arts and crimefighting, and it's implied that the show will introduce Dick Grayson at some point before he ultimately becomes Robin. Gotham Knight has a somewhat darker, grittier tone than the original Batman: The Animated Series, depicting slightly more graphic scenes of violence and even featuring mild language (the show airs at 10:00 PM on Saturday Night's Toonami block with a TV-PG rating), and while it hasn't quite reached the level of acclaim or popularity as Bruce Timm's masterpiece, it's established a strong reputation amongst Batman fans and has carried the success of the new Crusader film forward, looking to keep Batman popular throughout the remainder of the 2010s.
The current comic stories, which depict Batman in an ongoing struggle with the Joker, have gotten more intense in recent years, especially after Harley Quinn was shown leaving the Joker to eventually partner up with Poison Ivy. Joker has become more nihilistic and cruel since Harley left him, and his schemes have been dedicated mostly toward causing mass death and destruction, with seemingly no punchline in sight (of course, with the Joker, there's always a punchline, the writers just haven't quite gotten to it yet). Batman is struggling with the implications of his "no killing" rule as the Joker has gotten more and more dangerous, while Harley Quinn has been depicted as having guilt for leaving the Joker. Meanwhile, a new villain, a "crime fighter" called the Neutralizer who utilizes Wayne Industries tech to murder anyone they (the Neutralizer's gender hasn't yet been revealed, with few hints given to their identity as of yet) deem a threat to humanity, with the Joker currently #1 on their hitlist. Batman has been unable to stop the Neutralizer or even best them in combat, but the Neutralizer refuses to harm Batman except to defend themselves, calling Batman a "hero who just doesn't go far enough". Most of the other rogues, with the exception of Harley, Poison Ivy, and the Riddler, are currently locked up in Arkham, while Catwoman seems to be in retirement, reverting to her identity as Selena Kyle and occasionally being spotted overseas helping the less fortunate. All of these storylines are running parallel to an Arkham Asylum-based story in which a new supervillain has taken over the facility and seems to be trying to recruit from amongst the inmates, all of whom refuse to help him. The current run of Batman comics seem to be slowly building up to something major involving the Joker, the Neutralizer, Harley/Ivy, Selena Kyle, and the new Arkham-based villain all coming together in some sort of massive clash, and as Batman slowly puts all the pieces together (he's already found a link between the Neutralizer and Harley Quinn), a major clash is sure to take place.
Amidst all this dark and gritty Batman content, we've also seen the release of a new straight-to-DVD movie, The Riddler's Final Puzzle, in which a slightly aged Batman must save his friends after the Riddler abducts them all and forces Batman into a globetrotting game of puzzles and riddles to get them back. Despite the dark potential for the source material, this movie actually has a somewhat lighter tone, despite its PG-13 rating. The Riddler (voiced in this project by Matt Frewer) has a quick wit and some hilarious comic timing, and it's been confirmed by voice director Andrea Romano that Frewer was allowed to improv numerous lines in the film. Meanwhile, Robin and Batgirl don't take their captivity lying down or being tormented by the Riddler, the two of them take active roles in their own rescues, and there's some especially witty banter between Batgirl (voiced by Tara Strong) and the Riddler in which Batgirl is subjected to a clever word puzzle and manages to trick the Riddler into giving up some of the answers. The film does get somewhat dramatic and serious toward the end, and it features a somewhat poignant, bittersweet scene, but the film in general stands in somewhat pleasant contrast to the rest of the Batman universe in 2011, and has received a strong reception from critics and fans alike. The Riddler's Final Puzzle seems to follow the trend of the recently released direct to DVD Batman films being a bit lighter and funnier than the rest of the Batman material, with last year's animated Harley Quinn film, despite a high level of violence, being considered by some to be the funniest Batman based movie ever released, and next year's Frenemies looking to have plenty of humor as well.
-from an article on Comicconsumer.net, posted on October 14, 2011
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*The moderator for the Harley Quinn: Frenemies panel at 2011's New York Comic-Con is currently introducing the guests.*
Moderator: Our first guest on this panel is a legendary voice director, who has directed dozens of animated projects spanning three decades. She of course directed Batman: The Animated Series, and has also directed shows such as Avatar: The Last Airbender. She's the voice director for Harley Quinn: Frenemies, please welcome to our panel today, Andrea Romano!
*Andrea Romano happily takes the stage, hugging the moderator and then taking her seat at the panel.*
Moderator: Our next guest is an actress who got her start on MTV, on the gameshow Singled Out and the legendary GameTV. *the audience is already cheering loudly* She went on to star in films such as Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back, and later appeared as the first ever live action Harley Quinn in 2006's Suicide Squad *the crowd cheers wildly* and will reprise her role in next year's sequel! She currently appears on the hit CBS sitcom Hating Places, and played the voice of Harley Quinn in 2010's animated film Harley Quinn, and will be starring as Harley in Harley Quinn: Frenemies! Please welcome the beautiful and amazingly talented Lyssa Fielding!
*Lyssa takes the stage, dressed in a normal but somewhat revealing outfit, to the cheers and applause of the audience. She happily waves to them and blows them some kisses and does some Harley Quinn poses before taking her seat at the panel next to Andrea, who leans over and hugs her.*
Moderator: Our next guest appeared with Lyssa Fielding on GameTV *the crowd goes absolutely bonkers, and the moderator has to quiet them down before he continues to speak*, and went on to become an all-star voice actress in shows such as The Real Adventures Of Jonny Quest, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Spy School, as well as video games including Thrillseekers, in which she plays BMX biker Vivian Martinez. *the crowd roars* She co-stars in Harley Quinn: Frenemies, playing Gotham City police officer Renee Montoya. Making her first public appearance since her cancer diagnosis earlier this year, please welcome to the stage the amazing Brittany Saldita!
*As Brittany takes the stage, looking no worse for wear and cosplaying as Renee Montoya, with an accurate GCPD outfit and a long black wig, the crowd gives her an even louder ovation than the one they gave Lyssa. Brittany looks a bit touched as she is showered in the crowd's love, smiling and waving to them as she walks over to the panel. Andrea is first to stand up, giving Brittany a tight hug and saying a few words to her, and then Lyssa hugs Brittany tightly before giving her a quick smooch on the cheek and then on the lips. Brittany waves to the crowd again and then takes her seat, as the crowd continues to cheer.*
Moderator: This is a really incredible reception, Brittany, would you like to say some words to the audience before we bring the next guest onto the stage?
Brittany: *nodding* Sure, sure. *she takes the mic* Um, hi everyone.... *smiling and waving as the crowd cheers* It means... so much to get a reception like this and it feels so good to be back on stage at a convention, you guys have no idea! Um, first of all, yes, this is not my real hair... *she lifts up her wig and police hat to show that she's still bald from the chemo* I know, I know! It'll grow back! It'll grow back! *laughing, she sets her wig and hat down to let the audience see her bald for a few more seconds, Lyssa rubs Brittany's head before kissing the top of it, Brittany giggles* The good thing is that I have an excuse to cosplay now! *she puts her wig and hat back on*
Lyssa: I should've cosplayed as Harley, what was I thinking?
Brittany: You didn't want to upstage me.
Lyssa: Are you kidding, listen to them, they love you! *the crowd roars for Brittany again*
Brittany: Also, um, I am in remission.... *the crowd screams with joy, cheering wildly, Brittany laughs softly and smiles a bit but looks very very touched by this and Lyssa reaches up and wipes a tear from one of Brittany's eyes, then jumps up and pumps her fists happily, pointing at Brittany and clapping, Andrea is clapping as well* And I'm also working again! I started working on my first big project since my diagnosis! It's totally NDA, but I can say that it's a game... it's not Thrillseekers, it's another game. That's all I can say though.
Lyssa: I don't even know what it is, she won't tell me!
Brittany: I can't tell you!
Lyssa: *sticks her tongue out at Brittany*
(...)
Andrea: So part of the process for what we did when Lyssa and Brittany recorded their lines was that every single scene that Harley and Renee had together, we got Lyssa and Brittany and had them record their lines together. We even turned them to have them facing each other, so they could actually look at each other's facial expressions and act directly off of one another, and then we recorded those facial expressions for the animators to use. It really helped because these two women have such amazing chemistry with each other, and it was absolutely electric. We had them do several takes usually, first reading lines strictly off the script, and then we let them do a few takes going off the script and doing improv, and we did end up using quite a few of those improv takes in the movie.
Lyssa: I would deliberately try to get Brittany super annoyed with me.
Brittany: Oh, she's really good at it.
Lyssa: I'd make these silly faces at her, and slip in these insults every once in a while, and cut her off sometimes...
Andrea: Yeah, Lyssa actually told me in private that she'd record the first few takes with Brittany just normally, reading the lines and then doing some normal improv, and then she'd ask me to do a take where she might interrupt Brittany.
Brittany: She would find the perfect timing to just slip in there and say something right in the middle of my line....
Andrea: And being the professional that Brittany is, she'd keep going, but that annoyance would start to slip in and it would be perfect, you could see it in Brittany's eyes that she was starting to become... not too happy with Lyssa, and we ended up using some of those expressions for Renee's animation in the movie.
Brittany: And the thing is, like... I can get pretty annoyed with Lyssa sometimes. I can't possibly hate her, because I love her to death, but sometimes she can piss me off.
Lyssa: *smirking like a troll at Brittany*
Brittany: And... that, right there!
Lyssa: *leans in and does her Harley voice* Uh huh.
Brittany: *muttering some profanities in Spanish as the crowd laughs with approval*
(...)
Moderator: We've got a question from... Julie, is it? *puts the microphone up to a fan*
Julie: Brittany, did you wrap up all your voice work for this movie before your diagnosis?
Brittany: Oh, yes. Oh yes. It was done... way before.
Andrea: It's always one of the first things we do in animation is the voice acting.
Brittany: We did most of it in... early 2010, I believe, and then the ADR wrapped up in... I want to say November? The movie doesn't come out until next year, but I finished all my work on the film way before my diagnosis.
Andrea: And even if... even if we still had some work to do, we would have gotten it done with Brittany.
Brittany: There is no way I would have pulled out of this film. I would have recorded from my hospital bed if I could have. This is one of my favorite projects to have ever worked on, maybe my all time favorite... getting to work with Andrea again is awesome, I've been doing voice work for her now for 15 years. She gave me some of my very first tips when I was just starting out, when I was just a lowly host on MTV only doing voice work because the agent I had to get when I got the GameTV job said I might be good at it. I worked with her on Avatar, and now on this... she's amazing. And then working with Lyssa... working with my best friend and getting to play these iconic characters together in these crazy situations, getting to stand in a booth facing her and acting with her... I mean that's a dream come true. I had so much fun making this movie and you guys are gonna have so much fun watching it. I promise you guys, please buy it next year!
-from the Harley Quinn: Frenemies panel at the 2011 New York Comic-Con, on November 4, 2011
Fall 2011 (Part 6) - Eye In The Sky 3
Eye In The Sky 3
Eye In The Sky 3 is a stealth FPS title published by THQ and the third game in the series, taking place after the other two. It once again stars rogue operative Aaron Beecher, who now must reluctantly team up with the terrorist Mona and her group in order to take out the World Protection Force once and for all. Meanwhile, Aaron's former partner Suleka is now a rogue hacker in her own right with a vendetta against Mona, but who also seeks to save Aaron from him and has uncertain intentions toward the WPF. Like the previous game, Eye In The Sky 3 relies heavily on stealth. Aaron must not only avoid the WPF and the police, but must also avoid their satellites and spy drones. Even though the WPF was crippled by Mona's hacking attack at the end of the previous game, it still maintains a mobile fleet of spy cameras that can follow Aaron almost anywhere he goes. Suleka is no longer an omnipresent threat/annoyance to Aaron, instead having been replaced by a series of WPF operatives, some of whom are silent and won't ever make their presence known, others of whom will taunt and tease Aaron just like Suleka did. Aaron has Mona as an ally, and never has to escort her: she can take care of herself and will frequently help Aaron, but can still be wounded, at which point she may leave the fight and leave Aaron on his own. There's very few chances to get a nonstandard game over in Eye In The Sky 3, instead, wandering in front of a camera or alerting guards will just trigger more guards to come for you. This usually results in death, but not always, giving the player a chance to escape or (not recommended) fight their way out. Like in the previous game, Aaron uses mostly non-lethal methods to deal with his foes. However, Mona does not bother with doing so, and will sometimes kill enemies that the player might want to keep alive. This can never cause a game over, but can cause problems for Aaron (certain enemies might be persuaded to help him), so he has the option to distract an enemy and/or Mona to prevent the deaths of certain enemies. The HUD is more bare-bones in Eye In The Sky 3, which is done deliberately in order to underscore the fact that Aaron has much less support than he did in the last game and even Mona thinks of him more as a hostage than a partner. Once Suleka is found and Aaron reunites with her, she has her own set of benefits that the player can take advantage of, and the player's HUD is upgraded to accommodate this. The player is even given an occasional choice about whether they want to partner with Mona or Suleka. Partnering with Mona supports a more lethal, action-oriented playstyle, while partnering with Suleka supports a more stealthy playstyle. Eye In The Sky 3 features the series' best graphics to date, and all the familiar voice actors return to the series for this third game, which is structured as the last in a trilogy.
After some intro scenes and a brief tutorial mission in which Mona indoctrinates Aaron into her group and in which the group kills an important WPF figure, there's a two year timeskip that illustrates how the world has changed in the wake of Mona's attack on the WPF. Suleka is nowhere to be found and is rumored to be dead, while Aaron continues to work with Mona, who still thinks of him somewhat as a hostage. The WPF is no longer trying to launch a worldwide satellite network, but now has a strike team armed with a fleet of drones and cameras called The Cloud, operated by a hacker/scientist named Centrus. Centrus has a neural link to all of the soldiers in the Cloud, and it's implied he has the power to remotely kill them. Centrus happens to be an ex-lover of Mona's (before she became a terrorist), and numerous flashbacks illustrate the connection between the two. Most of the first half of the game sees Aaron and Mona attacking WPF comm facilities while occasionally trying to save people they are targeting. During this first part of the game, Aaron actually attempts to escape from Mona and her group at one point, but goes back for her after he sees she's about to be killed, and realizes he might be falling in love with her (though Mona doesn't reciprocate those feelings). Aaron also encounters digital trace evidence of Suleka's activity, and it seems she's attempting to interfere with Centrus' neural network, which the WPF blames on Mona and her group. Aaron tries to disconnect one of Centrus' soldiers from the neural link, but this simply results in the soldier's death, an action Aaron seems to regret. Eventually, the relationship between Aaron and Mona develops to the point where the two end up making love. Soon after, the Cloud finds Aaron and Mona, and one of Centrus' soldiers shoots Mona, badly wounding her. Aaron realizes that the soldier's neural link isn't connected to Centrus, and eventually traces it back to Suleka, who took the opportunity to kill Mona while she was trying to disconnect Centrus' soldiers from the grid. Suleka is actually happy to see Aaron again, having attempted to rescue him from Mona at least once, but after Aaron defends Mona's actions, Suleka gets furious and tries to kill him, only for Aaron to talk her down. Suleka explains that she's been trying to save two of her friends who are now neural-linked slaves of Centrus, and she's finally come to see that the WPF and the Cloud are wrong, though she still wants to kill Mona. Aaron explains that he's been working with Mona because he also wants to take out the WPF, and Suleka agrees to help Aaron on the condition that he doesn't interfere with killing Mona afterwards. This begins the second half of the game, in which Aaron works alternatively with Suleka and Mona to disconnect Centrus' soldiers from the Cloud and stop the WPF once and for all. Eventually, Mona discovers that Aaron is working with Suleka, but the two agree to help each other, and there's a breakthrough in which Aaron, Mona, and Suleka are able to save one of Suleka's friends and disconnect her from the Cloud. The friend, a female soldier named Annie, gives Aaron, Mona, and Suleka enough information to track down Centrus' physical location. There's a series of missions leading up to this, however, and at one point near the end of the game, Mona and Suleka are finally alone with one another. Suleka angrily confronts Mona, and Mona finally expresses regret for what she did to Suleka all those years ago, having come to understand Suleka's motivations for helping the WPF. Suleka rejects Mona's apology, and admits that she plans to kill Mona once all this is over. Mona attacks Suleka, intending to force Suleka to try and kill her immediately. She quickly overpowers Suleka, and in desperation, Suleka injects Mona with a neural link device confiscated from Centrus. Suleka intends to kill Mona with the device, and is about to do so when Aaron shows up and incapacitates her, then deactivates the link. Mona is horrified and wants to kill Suleka in retaliation, and when Aaron tries to talk her down, Mona tries to kill him as well, forcing him to fight his way out and escape with Suleka in tow. Mona decides to assault the WPF without Aaron's help with the remaining members of her group, while Aaron and Suleka have a heart-to-heart after Suleka wakes up. Aaron and Suleka end up making love, much more passionately and lovingly than Aaron and Mona did (Aaron and Mona's lovemaking was almost entirely lust, while Aaron and Suleka actually love each other). Just before the final mission begins, there's a cutscene in which Mona confronts Centrus and nearly defeats him, but ends up captured. Aaron then raids the WPF headquarters with Suleka's help, a sort of old-school throwback to the type of missions present in the first game. Aaron eventually reaches Centrus and Cloud Central, where Mona is alive but restrained, and just as Aaron is about to fight Centrus, Centrus injects Mona with a neural link and she is forced to fight Aaron. While Mona fights Aaron, Suleka is having some success in hacking the Cloud, and she eventually manages to free all the remaining trapped soldiers except for Mona. Aaron manages to wound Mona, but she wounds him worse. Just before she is about to finish Aaron off, Suleka manages to hack Mona's neural link, but Mona is overcoming it with her willpower. Suleka knows that if she kills Mona, Centrus will finish Aaron off, but if she lets Mona escape the neural link, she'll lose her chance to kill Mona. It's then that Mona begins talking to Suleka again. She begs Suleka to release her from the neural link so that they can save Aaron together. Suleka, who still hasn't completely overcome her trauma, tells Mona that she still has to kill her, and Mona tells Suleka a story from her past that explains her entire motivations, including the fact that she experienced a similar trauma and that she hates herself for inflicting it on Suleka but that she hasn't let that hatred keep her from doing what she feels is right. Suleka finally lets Mona free of the neural link, and Mona finishes off Centrus, saving Aaron's life. Suleka arrives to help the wounded Aaron, but by then, Mona is gone. It's then that Mona's voice echoes through the room, revealing that she's taken control of the Cloud and that she's going to use it to make sure the WPF never threatens humanity with enslavement and control again. Mona is going to attempt to use the Cloud to control the minds of the world's most powerful leaders. Aaron tells Mona that this is exactly the thing the two of them fought against together, but Mona says that being controlled by the Cloud made her see things clearly and that the world's leaders are just going to keep doing this until they control everyone. Aaron and Suleka fight their way to Mona through an army of drones, and the final battle of the game is a one-on-one gunfight between Aaron and Mona while Suleka occasionally helps with her hacks. Finally, Aaron is able to finish off Mona, who lays dying in his arms, confessing that she loved him but that she knew it could never be because he could never do what needed to be done. She starts to tell Aaron that he'll regret killing her before she finally dies. Aaron and Suleka escape capture by WPF reinforcements and make their way out through a secret exit. Months later, the two are revealed to be living in a secret location together, moving from place to place and controlling a small hacking drone army, their new "Eye In The Sky". The drones are completely non-lethal, designed only to be able to interfere when the WPF attempts to deploy another method of spying and control. The two are shown to be still in love with one another, and promise to forever watch and protect the people against abuses of power. They kiss one last time before the credits roll, with the last part of the ending and then the credits set to a TTL original song by Rise Against (musically similar, but not lyrically similar, to OTL's "Satellite", which was butterflied away by political differences IOTL).
Eye In The Sky 3 is released in October 2011, for the Sapphire, iTwin, and Xbox 2. The game gets an excellent critical reception almost as good as the one for the last game, with review scores averaging in the mid to high 8s. Critics praise the voice acting and mission structure, though some of the gameplay is seen as a bit slow compared to the last game, and there are considerably fewer strong support characters as well, which somewhat cuts down on the complexity of the plot (also, the game's sex scenes, while not overly graphic, are considered to be somewhat cheesy). Initial sales for the game are quite strong, but as October goes into November, sales fade quite a bit due to the extremely crowded slate of games released that month (Call Of Duty: Nightfall in particular causes a huge plunge in Eye In The Sky 3's sales). Still, the trilogy overall is quite fondly remembered as one of the best of the seventh generation, and THQ plans to keep the IP alive with a brand new storyline starting in the next game.
Eye In The Sky 3 is a stealth FPS title published by THQ and the third game in the series, taking place after the other two. It once again stars rogue operative Aaron Beecher, who now must reluctantly team up with the terrorist Mona and her group in order to take out the World Protection Force once and for all. Meanwhile, Aaron's former partner Suleka is now a rogue hacker in her own right with a vendetta against Mona, but who also seeks to save Aaron from him and has uncertain intentions toward the WPF. Like the previous game, Eye In The Sky 3 relies heavily on stealth. Aaron must not only avoid the WPF and the police, but must also avoid their satellites and spy drones. Even though the WPF was crippled by Mona's hacking attack at the end of the previous game, it still maintains a mobile fleet of spy cameras that can follow Aaron almost anywhere he goes. Suleka is no longer an omnipresent threat/annoyance to Aaron, instead having been replaced by a series of WPF operatives, some of whom are silent and won't ever make their presence known, others of whom will taunt and tease Aaron just like Suleka did. Aaron has Mona as an ally, and never has to escort her: she can take care of herself and will frequently help Aaron, but can still be wounded, at which point she may leave the fight and leave Aaron on his own. There's very few chances to get a nonstandard game over in Eye In The Sky 3, instead, wandering in front of a camera or alerting guards will just trigger more guards to come for you. This usually results in death, but not always, giving the player a chance to escape or (not recommended) fight their way out. Like in the previous game, Aaron uses mostly non-lethal methods to deal with his foes. However, Mona does not bother with doing so, and will sometimes kill enemies that the player might want to keep alive. This can never cause a game over, but can cause problems for Aaron (certain enemies might be persuaded to help him), so he has the option to distract an enemy and/or Mona to prevent the deaths of certain enemies. The HUD is more bare-bones in Eye In The Sky 3, which is done deliberately in order to underscore the fact that Aaron has much less support than he did in the last game and even Mona thinks of him more as a hostage than a partner. Once Suleka is found and Aaron reunites with her, she has her own set of benefits that the player can take advantage of, and the player's HUD is upgraded to accommodate this. The player is even given an occasional choice about whether they want to partner with Mona or Suleka. Partnering with Mona supports a more lethal, action-oriented playstyle, while partnering with Suleka supports a more stealthy playstyle. Eye In The Sky 3 features the series' best graphics to date, and all the familiar voice actors return to the series for this third game, which is structured as the last in a trilogy.
After some intro scenes and a brief tutorial mission in which Mona indoctrinates Aaron into her group and in which the group kills an important WPF figure, there's a two year timeskip that illustrates how the world has changed in the wake of Mona's attack on the WPF. Suleka is nowhere to be found and is rumored to be dead, while Aaron continues to work with Mona, who still thinks of him somewhat as a hostage. The WPF is no longer trying to launch a worldwide satellite network, but now has a strike team armed with a fleet of drones and cameras called The Cloud, operated by a hacker/scientist named Centrus. Centrus has a neural link to all of the soldiers in the Cloud, and it's implied he has the power to remotely kill them. Centrus happens to be an ex-lover of Mona's (before she became a terrorist), and numerous flashbacks illustrate the connection between the two. Most of the first half of the game sees Aaron and Mona attacking WPF comm facilities while occasionally trying to save people they are targeting. During this first part of the game, Aaron actually attempts to escape from Mona and her group at one point, but goes back for her after he sees she's about to be killed, and realizes he might be falling in love with her (though Mona doesn't reciprocate those feelings). Aaron also encounters digital trace evidence of Suleka's activity, and it seems she's attempting to interfere with Centrus' neural network, which the WPF blames on Mona and her group. Aaron tries to disconnect one of Centrus' soldiers from the neural link, but this simply results in the soldier's death, an action Aaron seems to regret. Eventually, the relationship between Aaron and Mona develops to the point where the two end up making love. Soon after, the Cloud finds Aaron and Mona, and one of Centrus' soldiers shoots Mona, badly wounding her. Aaron realizes that the soldier's neural link isn't connected to Centrus, and eventually traces it back to Suleka, who took the opportunity to kill Mona while she was trying to disconnect Centrus' soldiers from the grid. Suleka is actually happy to see Aaron again, having attempted to rescue him from Mona at least once, but after Aaron defends Mona's actions, Suleka gets furious and tries to kill him, only for Aaron to talk her down. Suleka explains that she's been trying to save two of her friends who are now neural-linked slaves of Centrus, and she's finally come to see that the WPF and the Cloud are wrong, though she still wants to kill Mona. Aaron explains that he's been working with Mona because he also wants to take out the WPF, and Suleka agrees to help Aaron on the condition that he doesn't interfere with killing Mona afterwards. This begins the second half of the game, in which Aaron works alternatively with Suleka and Mona to disconnect Centrus' soldiers from the Cloud and stop the WPF once and for all. Eventually, Mona discovers that Aaron is working with Suleka, but the two agree to help each other, and there's a breakthrough in which Aaron, Mona, and Suleka are able to save one of Suleka's friends and disconnect her from the Cloud. The friend, a female soldier named Annie, gives Aaron, Mona, and Suleka enough information to track down Centrus' physical location. There's a series of missions leading up to this, however, and at one point near the end of the game, Mona and Suleka are finally alone with one another. Suleka angrily confronts Mona, and Mona finally expresses regret for what she did to Suleka all those years ago, having come to understand Suleka's motivations for helping the WPF. Suleka rejects Mona's apology, and admits that she plans to kill Mona once all this is over. Mona attacks Suleka, intending to force Suleka to try and kill her immediately. She quickly overpowers Suleka, and in desperation, Suleka injects Mona with a neural link device confiscated from Centrus. Suleka intends to kill Mona with the device, and is about to do so when Aaron shows up and incapacitates her, then deactivates the link. Mona is horrified and wants to kill Suleka in retaliation, and when Aaron tries to talk her down, Mona tries to kill him as well, forcing him to fight his way out and escape with Suleka in tow. Mona decides to assault the WPF without Aaron's help with the remaining members of her group, while Aaron and Suleka have a heart-to-heart after Suleka wakes up. Aaron and Suleka end up making love, much more passionately and lovingly than Aaron and Mona did (Aaron and Mona's lovemaking was almost entirely lust, while Aaron and Suleka actually love each other). Just before the final mission begins, there's a cutscene in which Mona confronts Centrus and nearly defeats him, but ends up captured. Aaron then raids the WPF headquarters with Suleka's help, a sort of old-school throwback to the type of missions present in the first game. Aaron eventually reaches Centrus and Cloud Central, where Mona is alive but restrained, and just as Aaron is about to fight Centrus, Centrus injects Mona with a neural link and she is forced to fight Aaron. While Mona fights Aaron, Suleka is having some success in hacking the Cloud, and she eventually manages to free all the remaining trapped soldiers except for Mona. Aaron manages to wound Mona, but she wounds him worse. Just before she is about to finish Aaron off, Suleka manages to hack Mona's neural link, but Mona is overcoming it with her willpower. Suleka knows that if she kills Mona, Centrus will finish Aaron off, but if she lets Mona escape the neural link, she'll lose her chance to kill Mona. It's then that Mona begins talking to Suleka again. She begs Suleka to release her from the neural link so that they can save Aaron together. Suleka, who still hasn't completely overcome her trauma, tells Mona that she still has to kill her, and Mona tells Suleka a story from her past that explains her entire motivations, including the fact that she experienced a similar trauma and that she hates herself for inflicting it on Suleka but that she hasn't let that hatred keep her from doing what she feels is right. Suleka finally lets Mona free of the neural link, and Mona finishes off Centrus, saving Aaron's life. Suleka arrives to help the wounded Aaron, but by then, Mona is gone. It's then that Mona's voice echoes through the room, revealing that she's taken control of the Cloud and that she's going to use it to make sure the WPF never threatens humanity with enslavement and control again. Mona is going to attempt to use the Cloud to control the minds of the world's most powerful leaders. Aaron tells Mona that this is exactly the thing the two of them fought against together, but Mona says that being controlled by the Cloud made her see things clearly and that the world's leaders are just going to keep doing this until they control everyone. Aaron and Suleka fight their way to Mona through an army of drones, and the final battle of the game is a one-on-one gunfight between Aaron and Mona while Suleka occasionally helps with her hacks. Finally, Aaron is able to finish off Mona, who lays dying in his arms, confessing that she loved him but that she knew it could never be because he could never do what needed to be done. She starts to tell Aaron that he'll regret killing her before she finally dies. Aaron and Suleka escape capture by WPF reinforcements and make their way out through a secret exit. Months later, the two are revealed to be living in a secret location together, moving from place to place and controlling a small hacking drone army, their new "Eye In The Sky". The drones are completely non-lethal, designed only to be able to interfere when the WPF attempts to deploy another method of spying and control. The two are shown to be still in love with one another, and promise to forever watch and protect the people against abuses of power. They kiss one last time before the credits roll, with the last part of the ending and then the credits set to a TTL original song by Rise Against (musically similar, but not lyrically similar, to OTL's "Satellite", which was butterflied away by political differences IOTL).
Eye In The Sky 3 is released in October 2011, for the Sapphire, iTwin, and Xbox 2. The game gets an excellent critical reception almost as good as the one for the last game, with review scores averaging in the mid to high 8s. Critics praise the voice acting and mission structure, though some of the gameplay is seen as a bit slow compared to the last game, and there are considerably fewer strong support characters as well, which somewhat cuts down on the complexity of the plot (also, the game's sex scenes, while not overly graphic, are considered to be somewhat cheesy). Initial sales for the game are quite strong, but as October goes into November, sales fade quite a bit due to the extremely crowded slate of games released that month (Call Of Duty: Nightfall in particular causes a huge plunge in Eye In The Sky 3's sales). Still, the trilogy overall is quite fondly remembered as one of the best of the seventh generation, and THQ plans to keep the IP alive with a brand new storyline starting in the next game.
Gemini Worldwide Launch
Gemini Technical Specifications
The Apple Gemini is a handheld gaming device shaped somewhat like OTL's Nintendo Switch, albeit slightly smaller (it also shares some form factors with the iPad). It's essentially a smaller iPad with two iTwin controllers grafted to the sides of it, that are able to be removed from the device and used as normal iTwin controllers. The device itself can be used as a handheld or stood up on a flat surface, though it can't be docked with a TV like the Nintendo Switch can. It's significantly more powerful than the OTL Playstation Vita, though it's less powerful than either the Sapphire or the Xbox 2. It's very close to the iTwin in overall power, capable of playing pretty much any iTwin game. It has a quad-core CPU with 1.2 Ghz per core, and its graphics processor is clocked at 580 Mhz. The device has one gigabyte of RAM, twice as much RAM as in the iTwin, making it run faster overall. The Gemini is designed for mobile gaming, and as such, does not take discs or cartridges. Instead, it's an entirely digital download system, the first such system ever released, and is released with a 240GB hard drive similar to the hard drive used in the late model iPod Classic. The device has expandable storage in the form of a microSD card slot, but the hard drive itself is unable to be switched out. It also comes with a built-in fan and a larger battery capable of powering the system for between 3-6 hours of gameplay, depending on the game (most games run toward the shorter end of this). The Gemini has a touchscreen similar to the one featured on previous Apple touch-capable devices.
Aesthetically, the system comes in four versions: white, black, silver, and aqua. It features slightly rounded corners, though the corners are less rounded than Nintendo's handhelds, and make the system look quite similar to a small iPad with Joycons attached to it (or like if Apple did the Switch and made it slightly smaller). It has the Apple logo on the back and a smooth finish. Designed almost entirely for gaming, it eschews some of the iPad's multimedia capabilities, but can still play movies, TV shows, and music downloaded from the iTunes Store. It's also capable of backward compatibility with digitally downloaded games, and has full and immediate backward compatibility with all iTwin and iPod Play retro titles, meaning that it can literally play thousands of classic Master System, Genesis, Saturn, and Katana games right out of the box. However, that doesn't hold true for iTwin and iPod Play titles, at least not yet. About 40 iTwin games and 60 iPod Play games, along with a few hundred iOS titles, are also playable from day one, and while Apple plans a vigorous backward compatibility effort to get most of the remaining iTwin and iPod Play titles playable directly on the Gemini within the first two years of release, it's not possible to play every iTwin game right away. It is possible to play more iTwin titles via wireless streaming to the device, but even this is limited at first.
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Launch Title Summaries-
Sonic Speedrun
A 2-D Sonic sidescrolling game with 3-D graphics, Sonic Speedrun is intended as both a tech demo for the Gemini and a fun handheld game specifically tuned to the Gemini's capabilities. The plot is fairly basic, with Sonic and Tails needing to stop a diabolical plot by Dr. Eggman to plant time bombs all over the world, but the gameplay features a new twist: levels must be completed within a certain time limit, and the levels themselves are designed to enable this, with shortcuts and plenty of opportunities for Sonic and Tails to run everywhere at lightning speed. The time limits themselves are relatively generous, but the real crux of the game is the online leaderboard system, in which players can compete to see who's the fastest at completing each level, each zone, or even the whole game. The game is set up for speedrunning competitions, with head to head online battles and even the option for tournaments. The 2-D platforming itself is decent for a Sonic title (it's pretty fun, but not quite on the level of Sonic 2, Sonic 3, or Sonic Duo), but it's the speedrunning aspect that makes this a revolutionary Sonic game, and perhaps the first video game ever made to explicitly cater to the speedrunning community.
GameRankings Score: 85.16%
Weapon9
Weapon9 is a 3-D hack and slash title exclusive to the Gemini. Featuring a hero named Nine who can utilize nine different weapons (a broadsword, a katana, a dagger, an axe, nunchucks, a bow and arrow, a scythe, a hammer, and a gun), each with their own elaborate list of techniques, upgrades, and combos, the game is extremely fast paced and designed with hack and slash pros in mind. It features a system of level progression not all that unlike Devil May Cry or Bayonetta, with the game featuring 18 chapters that throw an increasingly tough series of challenges at Nine. He can use all his weapons right from the very beginning, and each enemy and boss has their own weaknesses and strengths against them. Players are encouraged to find an practice with a main weapon but also to develop their knowledge and skills with all nine, lest they come up against an enemy best combated with that weapon. The plot sees Nine doing battle with creatures known as the Replicas, mechanized humanoids intended to replace humanity. Though this plot was foiled twenty years before the events of Weapon9, the Replicas have awakened, under the command of a new master, and now Nine is the only hero capable of stopping them. This new master has also awakened other terrible machines, and the game features a mix of boss fights against small humanoids and massive, multi-limbed creatures the size of buildings. Weapon9 is considered the best game of the Gemini launch, and it's one of the best sellers as well, successfully launching a new IP for the system.
GameRankings Score: 91.15%
Infinity Blade
Infinity Blade has some similarities with the OTL iOS exclusive (which basically consisted of one-on-one fights against increasingly difficult enemies in a linear dungeon), but it expands this concept into a fully action/adventure dungeon crawler with online gameplay and some elements of OTL's Dark Souls. It's still an action RPG that's mostly about fighting baddies one on one, but now, players can intrude upon the games of others to help or hinder their progress, and the game has some looter-shooter mechanics as well (though thankfully, no lootboxes, though there is some DLC). The protagonist, which can be fully male or female and customized by the player, is set against the mighty God King, battling through a series of increasingly tough dungeons to reach them. Intended as the big MMO-type game for the Gemini (in the absence of a Phantasy Star Online title, which is still in the early development stages), it's a decent enough substitute but is still somewhat criticized for its simplicity.
GameRankings Score: 83.02%
Musically Friends
A music-making game that allows players to pass original tunes back and forth between friends or alter or remix other people's songs. It's not like Mixolydia, though it does borrow a few minor gameplay elements. It's instead a sort of twist on OTL's Wii Music, encouraging the player to have fun while composing and sharing tunes with their friends. It's not the best reviewed game critically, as it doesn't provide a huge amount of options and doesn't have a lot of side elements besides making and sharing music, but it's popular nonetheless.
GameRankings Score: 76.51%
Nova
A rail-shooter developed specifically to show off the Gemini's graphical capabilities, it looks beautiful but lacks gameplay depth and is also a bit short, only featuring eight levels in all. It takes place in deep space amidst a beautiful field of stars that are being triggered to explode by some unseen superweapon, and the protagonist must fight his way through an armada of baddies to find the source, dodging stellar calamities all the while. The gameplay itself is fairly simplistic, not even as complex as the later Starfox games, and it lacks difficulty to boot. Still, it's probably the prettiest looking game of the Gemini's launch, and even trumps most iTwin games as well.
GameRankings Score: 71.24%
The Conduit: Infinite Access
An FPS and a spinoff of the two iTwin Conduit games, The Conduit: Infinite Access is a title that focuses on a new character, a female hacker named Treza Lourdes, and her attempt to destabilize a corporation assisting the government in its alien coverup. While shooting and movement mechanics are similar to the game's iTwin counterparts (and it boasts equally impressive graphics), the game's main twist is Treza's ability to hack any door or any system, giving it an open world component unique to non-RPG FPS games and enabling her to travel to the final mission right from the get-go (though it's almost impossible to actually win that early on except for speedrunners who find a way). Instead, the player will need to seek out upgrades, clues, and helpers as they piece together the puzzle and help Treza achieve her mission. This game was admittedly rushed in development and lacks the epic scale or complexity of other games in the series. This leads to plenty of criticism from critics and fans, but the unique gameplay and great graphics do help review scores somewhat.
GameRankings Score: 78.90%
Ultra Street Fighter V
The “definitive” version of Street Fighter V, in much the same way that the OTL 3DS got a version of Street Fighter IV IOTL. It has all the new characters, over 40 characters in total, plenty of graphical, bug, and balance fixes, and new modes that make it far better than the much-maligned vanilla version. All of that, plus the fact that it's portable, makes this far and away the best version of Street Fighter V, though it's unfortunately not quite the most commercially popular.
GameRankings Score: 87.44%
Super Monkey Ball Gemini
Super Monkey Ball continues to be a strong franchise for Apple ITTL, and it only makes sense that the Gemini gets an installment of the game. Though original, it's somewhat cobbled together from the more recent Monkey Ball games for the iTwin, iPhone, and iPod Play, making it a bit of a re-hash with only the addition of graphical polish and gyro controls (the Gemini can tilt and tumble either using the system itself or with the detached controllers in standup mode). It's still a really fun Super Monkey Ball game overall, and has enough new content to keep returning players mostly happy.
GameRankings Score: 80.30%
Tetris Evolution
A brand new Tetris game lands on the Gemini, and it's pretty similar to OTL's Tetris Ultimate, though it does have some fun graphical flair (not nearly on the level of Tetris Effect, but quite pretty nonetheless). It features a few new modes, including a gameplay (but not thematic) crossover mode with Puyo Puyo (so it's sort of like a bare-bones Puyo Puyo Tetris without the anime girls or the stand-alone Puyo Puyo) and some old-school filters, and is essentially designed to be the definitive handheld Tetris game of its day. Not a true evolution in gameplay, but it's Tetris, so review scores are fairly good.
GameRankings Score: 82.94%
Rabbids: Out Ta Getcha!
Ubisoft sort of rushed out a Rabbids game for the Gemini launch, with no involvement from Michel Ancel and designed as a sort of kid-friendly title combining mini-games and some platforming. Most fans of the series would have rather had a Rayman game, and this goofy title is considered one of the worst of the Gemini launch. It's not a complete bomb, but it is a disappointment.
GameRankings Score: 63.77%
Madden NFL 2012
Electronic Arts ports this year's Madden to both the Connect and the Gemini at launch. While the Connect version is a bit watered down due to that system's capabilities, the Gemini version is essentially a straight port of the iTwin version, which is essentially a slightly blurrier but still feature complete version of the Sapphire/Xbox 2 titles. While this was only a slightly above average year for the Madden franchise, it's absolutely amazing to see a full console Madden game running straight off of a handheld, and this game gets high marks for that reason alone.
GameRankings Score: 86.81%
NBA 2K12
The NBA 2K franchise is still exclusive to Apple, but it's not as iconic and fun as it was IOTL around this time. It's still a solid basketball game, and this straight-up iTwin port is nice to have on the Gemini.
GameRankings Score: 83.53%
NBA Elite 12
EA's NBA Elite franchise is the dominant basketball franchise ITTL, but unlike Madden, this port doesn't quite come to the Gemini feature complete (the Gemini would have to wait until NBA Elite 13 to get a more fully featured version of the game). While it manages to sell decently, it's mostly inferior to the Apple exclusive NBA title.
GameRankings Score: 75.46%
FIFA 12
Another straight iTwin port from Electronic Arts, this fun FIFA game is a miracle to see running on a handheld, and while it's just an average year for the franchise... it's a full FIFA game on a handheld. It looks great and plays great, and you can take it anywhere.
GameRankings Score: 83.64%
Tony Hawk: Legends Of The Park
Another straight iTwin port featuring classic Tony Hawk skateboarding fun. The console version was great, and this one sees good reviews as well.
GameRankings Score: 85.90%
Thrillseekers: Motocross
While not every Thrillseekers game has made it to a handheld (yet), most of the side games have, and Motocross does too. While subject to the same criticisms as its console counterpart, it's a good port and a decent enough game.
GameRankings Score: 81.51%
Dynasty Warriors
Koei brings its Dynasty Warriors franchise to the Gemini for this completely original spinoff game mostly just designed to prove that a full musou game can be enjoyed on the go (though Dynasty Warriors titles have seen release on systems like the Supernova and iPod Play previously). It plays like a typical Dynasty Warriors game, and such a game has never looked or played better on a handheld.
GameRankings Score: 78.84%
Roller Coaster Tycoon
Essentially a polished port of the PC original with a few additions and the option to create Sega/Apple-themed rides, it's definitely better than OTL's DS efforts at the franchise, but not really original or fun enough to be a major hit. Still, it's a nice, fun little game to have on the go.
GameRankings Score: 69.24%
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November 18, 2011
The Apple Gemini is launched worldwide, at an MSRP of $299.99. While this is quite high for a handheld console, it's in line with previous Apple product release prices, and so the price isn't a significant deterrent to purchases from hardcore Apple fans. The device is launched in North America with 18 games, all of them available for digital download at midnight on the day of the console's release, with digital download cards sold in select stores (though not Gamestop, which refuses to stock game download cards for the Gemini, though it does stock the device itself). The device launches in Japan with 16 games (with a launch lineup quite different from North America's, including Bust-A-Move Universe, which doesn't launch in North America until November) and in Europe with 13 games. It doesn't include any pack-in games like the iTwin did, but it does have a coupon for $20 off any Gemini game at the time of release, allowing players to buy their first Gemini title for $29.99 (Most Gemini games come with an MSRP of $49.99). Apple anticipated that sales would be lower at first than those for the iTwin, but still produced more than enough units to meet demand. The Gemini sees a moderately successful launch, with 570,415 units sold the first week in North America and 205,284 units sold the first week in Europe. The major success story is in Japan, where 780,415 units are sold the first week there, making it even more successful in Japan at launch than the iTwin. There are no supply shortages for the Gemini anywhere in the world, save for a few sporadic shortages in Japan (but nowhere near the level that the iTwin experienced).
Here are the launch week sales figures for the 18 non-pack in launch titles, based on North American sales (on a total of 570,415 first week units sold in North America):
Sonic Speedrun: 141,839
Weapon9: 110,544
Ultra Street Fighter V: 85,992
The Conduit: Infinite Access: 78,397
Infinity Blade: 72,045
Madden NFL 2012: 61,853
NBA 2K12: 45,604
Tetris Evolution: 43,516
NBA Elite 12: 43,216
Musically Friends: 40,713
Tony Hawk: Legends Of The Park: 37,910
Thrillseekers: Motocross: 28,536
Nova: 28,214
FIFA 12: 24,063
Super Monkey Ball Gemini: 23,724
Rabbids: Out Ta Getcha!: 20,395
Dynasty Warriors: 11,956
Roller Coaster Tycoon: 10,283
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Two weeks after the launch of the Apple Gemini, and a few days before Nintendo gets ready to launch the Connect, how is the Gemini performing overall?
There were two major points of controversy at the time of the Gemini's launch. The first, and most obvious controversy, was the price. Launching at $299.99, the current price of the iTwin itself, the Gemini was indeed priced like its console counterpart, which could be justified by the simple fact that the Gemini is essentially a portable iTwin. In fact, with that fact in mind, the high price might even be seen as somewhat of a bargain: it's a more versatile iTwin that will eventually be able to play the system's entire library plus an exclusive library of Gemini games. However, it's still a tough sell, especially for families with young children who might break the device. With expensive smartphones increasingly finding their way into the hands of children, this is a concern that has been slightly mitigated, but still remains first and foremost in the minds of parents who might be considering the more competitively priced Connect. The second major concern with the Gemini was its digital-only functionality. You can't buy cartridges or discs for the Gemini: all games must be purchased directly through the iTunes Store. Steve Jobs and Reggie Fils-Aime both repeatedly defended this practice, stating that it cuts down on moving parts inside the machine (and makes room for a moving hard drive) and that it will allow for more versatile device functionality and cloud storage for games, but some who intended to buy the Gemini say that they're now refusing to buy it out of principle, stating that they're wary of Apple's control over the storage medium and that they fear their games could be lost in the future.
Regardless of these concerns, the Gemini and its launch lineup both enjoyed positive reviews from critics. The device's technical specs are incredibly impressive, with some truly mind-blowing launch titles such as Weapon9 and Nova really showing off what this thing can do and raising the bar for what a handheld gaming device is capable of. It's going to be more powerful than the Connect, and will launch with more games as well. Initial player reviews, however, haven't been quite so impressive, with games like Infinity Blade not hitting the same high notes amongst players as they have amongst reviewers. Initial sales were also lower than expected in both North America and Europe, and Black Friday wasn't kind to the Gemini as well, though stores offering deals on iTunes cards (which can be used to purchase Gemini digital games) saw slightly better sales of the Gemini as opposed to stores that didn't. However, the system is performing outstandingly in Japan, and has already moved over a million units there, making it the second fastest selling game console of all time in that country. The Gemini's launch is a bit of a mixed success, but still a success so far, and with a head start over Nintendo's Connect, Apple has struck the first blow of the next generation console wars. The Gemini will need more strong games to maintain its lead over Nintendo, but it's off to a good start, and Apple looks ready to support this system for the long haul.
-from a December 2, 2011 article on Games Over Matter
The Apple Gemini is a handheld gaming device shaped somewhat like OTL's Nintendo Switch, albeit slightly smaller (it also shares some form factors with the iPad). It's essentially a smaller iPad with two iTwin controllers grafted to the sides of it, that are able to be removed from the device and used as normal iTwin controllers. The device itself can be used as a handheld or stood up on a flat surface, though it can't be docked with a TV like the Nintendo Switch can. It's significantly more powerful than the OTL Playstation Vita, though it's less powerful than either the Sapphire or the Xbox 2. It's very close to the iTwin in overall power, capable of playing pretty much any iTwin game. It has a quad-core CPU with 1.2 Ghz per core, and its graphics processor is clocked at 580 Mhz. The device has one gigabyte of RAM, twice as much RAM as in the iTwin, making it run faster overall. The Gemini is designed for mobile gaming, and as such, does not take discs or cartridges. Instead, it's an entirely digital download system, the first such system ever released, and is released with a 240GB hard drive similar to the hard drive used in the late model iPod Classic. The device has expandable storage in the form of a microSD card slot, but the hard drive itself is unable to be switched out. It also comes with a built-in fan and a larger battery capable of powering the system for between 3-6 hours of gameplay, depending on the game (most games run toward the shorter end of this). The Gemini has a touchscreen similar to the one featured on previous Apple touch-capable devices.
Aesthetically, the system comes in four versions: white, black, silver, and aqua. It features slightly rounded corners, though the corners are less rounded than Nintendo's handhelds, and make the system look quite similar to a small iPad with Joycons attached to it (or like if Apple did the Switch and made it slightly smaller). It has the Apple logo on the back and a smooth finish. Designed almost entirely for gaming, it eschews some of the iPad's multimedia capabilities, but can still play movies, TV shows, and music downloaded from the iTunes Store. It's also capable of backward compatibility with digitally downloaded games, and has full and immediate backward compatibility with all iTwin and iPod Play retro titles, meaning that it can literally play thousands of classic Master System, Genesis, Saturn, and Katana games right out of the box. However, that doesn't hold true for iTwin and iPod Play titles, at least not yet. About 40 iTwin games and 60 iPod Play games, along with a few hundred iOS titles, are also playable from day one, and while Apple plans a vigorous backward compatibility effort to get most of the remaining iTwin and iPod Play titles playable directly on the Gemini within the first two years of release, it's not possible to play every iTwin game right away. It is possible to play more iTwin titles via wireless streaming to the device, but even this is limited at first.
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Launch Title Summaries-
Sonic Speedrun
A 2-D Sonic sidescrolling game with 3-D graphics, Sonic Speedrun is intended as both a tech demo for the Gemini and a fun handheld game specifically tuned to the Gemini's capabilities. The plot is fairly basic, with Sonic and Tails needing to stop a diabolical plot by Dr. Eggman to plant time bombs all over the world, but the gameplay features a new twist: levels must be completed within a certain time limit, and the levels themselves are designed to enable this, with shortcuts and plenty of opportunities for Sonic and Tails to run everywhere at lightning speed. The time limits themselves are relatively generous, but the real crux of the game is the online leaderboard system, in which players can compete to see who's the fastest at completing each level, each zone, or even the whole game. The game is set up for speedrunning competitions, with head to head online battles and even the option for tournaments. The 2-D platforming itself is decent for a Sonic title (it's pretty fun, but not quite on the level of Sonic 2, Sonic 3, or Sonic Duo), but it's the speedrunning aspect that makes this a revolutionary Sonic game, and perhaps the first video game ever made to explicitly cater to the speedrunning community.
GameRankings Score: 85.16%
Weapon9
Weapon9 is a 3-D hack and slash title exclusive to the Gemini. Featuring a hero named Nine who can utilize nine different weapons (a broadsword, a katana, a dagger, an axe, nunchucks, a bow and arrow, a scythe, a hammer, and a gun), each with their own elaborate list of techniques, upgrades, and combos, the game is extremely fast paced and designed with hack and slash pros in mind. It features a system of level progression not all that unlike Devil May Cry or Bayonetta, with the game featuring 18 chapters that throw an increasingly tough series of challenges at Nine. He can use all his weapons right from the very beginning, and each enemy and boss has their own weaknesses and strengths against them. Players are encouraged to find an practice with a main weapon but also to develop their knowledge and skills with all nine, lest they come up against an enemy best combated with that weapon. The plot sees Nine doing battle with creatures known as the Replicas, mechanized humanoids intended to replace humanity. Though this plot was foiled twenty years before the events of Weapon9, the Replicas have awakened, under the command of a new master, and now Nine is the only hero capable of stopping them. This new master has also awakened other terrible machines, and the game features a mix of boss fights against small humanoids and massive, multi-limbed creatures the size of buildings. Weapon9 is considered the best game of the Gemini launch, and it's one of the best sellers as well, successfully launching a new IP for the system.
GameRankings Score: 91.15%
Infinity Blade
Infinity Blade has some similarities with the OTL iOS exclusive (which basically consisted of one-on-one fights against increasingly difficult enemies in a linear dungeon), but it expands this concept into a fully action/adventure dungeon crawler with online gameplay and some elements of OTL's Dark Souls. It's still an action RPG that's mostly about fighting baddies one on one, but now, players can intrude upon the games of others to help or hinder their progress, and the game has some looter-shooter mechanics as well (though thankfully, no lootboxes, though there is some DLC). The protagonist, which can be fully male or female and customized by the player, is set against the mighty God King, battling through a series of increasingly tough dungeons to reach them. Intended as the big MMO-type game for the Gemini (in the absence of a Phantasy Star Online title, which is still in the early development stages), it's a decent enough substitute but is still somewhat criticized for its simplicity.
GameRankings Score: 83.02%
Musically Friends
A music-making game that allows players to pass original tunes back and forth between friends or alter or remix other people's songs. It's not like Mixolydia, though it does borrow a few minor gameplay elements. It's instead a sort of twist on OTL's Wii Music, encouraging the player to have fun while composing and sharing tunes with their friends. It's not the best reviewed game critically, as it doesn't provide a huge amount of options and doesn't have a lot of side elements besides making and sharing music, but it's popular nonetheless.
GameRankings Score: 76.51%
Nova
A rail-shooter developed specifically to show off the Gemini's graphical capabilities, it looks beautiful but lacks gameplay depth and is also a bit short, only featuring eight levels in all. It takes place in deep space amidst a beautiful field of stars that are being triggered to explode by some unseen superweapon, and the protagonist must fight his way through an armada of baddies to find the source, dodging stellar calamities all the while. The gameplay itself is fairly simplistic, not even as complex as the later Starfox games, and it lacks difficulty to boot. Still, it's probably the prettiest looking game of the Gemini's launch, and even trumps most iTwin games as well.
GameRankings Score: 71.24%
The Conduit: Infinite Access
An FPS and a spinoff of the two iTwin Conduit games, The Conduit: Infinite Access is a title that focuses on a new character, a female hacker named Treza Lourdes, and her attempt to destabilize a corporation assisting the government in its alien coverup. While shooting and movement mechanics are similar to the game's iTwin counterparts (and it boasts equally impressive graphics), the game's main twist is Treza's ability to hack any door or any system, giving it an open world component unique to non-RPG FPS games and enabling her to travel to the final mission right from the get-go (though it's almost impossible to actually win that early on except for speedrunners who find a way). Instead, the player will need to seek out upgrades, clues, and helpers as they piece together the puzzle and help Treza achieve her mission. This game was admittedly rushed in development and lacks the epic scale or complexity of other games in the series. This leads to plenty of criticism from critics and fans, but the unique gameplay and great graphics do help review scores somewhat.
GameRankings Score: 78.90%
Ultra Street Fighter V
The “definitive” version of Street Fighter V, in much the same way that the OTL 3DS got a version of Street Fighter IV IOTL. It has all the new characters, over 40 characters in total, plenty of graphical, bug, and balance fixes, and new modes that make it far better than the much-maligned vanilla version. All of that, plus the fact that it's portable, makes this far and away the best version of Street Fighter V, though it's unfortunately not quite the most commercially popular.
GameRankings Score: 87.44%
Super Monkey Ball Gemini
Super Monkey Ball continues to be a strong franchise for Apple ITTL, and it only makes sense that the Gemini gets an installment of the game. Though original, it's somewhat cobbled together from the more recent Monkey Ball games for the iTwin, iPhone, and iPod Play, making it a bit of a re-hash with only the addition of graphical polish and gyro controls (the Gemini can tilt and tumble either using the system itself or with the detached controllers in standup mode). It's still a really fun Super Monkey Ball game overall, and has enough new content to keep returning players mostly happy.
GameRankings Score: 80.30%
Tetris Evolution
A brand new Tetris game lands on the Gemini, and it's pretty similar to OTL's Tetris Ultimate, though it does have some fun graphical flair (not nearly on the level of Tetris Effect, but quite pretty nonetheless). It features a few new modes, including a gameplay (but not thematic) crossover mode with Puyo Puyo (so it's sort of like a bare-bones Puyo Puyo Tetris without the anime girls or the stand-alone Puyo Puyo) and some old-school filters, and is essentially designed to be the definitive handheld Tetris game of its day. Not a true evolution in gameplay, but it's Tetris, so review scores are fairly good.
GameRankings Score: 82.94%
Rabbids: Out Ta Getcha!
Ubisoft sort of rushed out a Rabbids game for the Gemini launch, with no involvement from Michel Ancel and designed as a sort of kid-friendly title combining mini-games and some platforming. Most fans of the series would have rather had a Rayman game, and this goofy title is considered one of the worst of the Gemini launch. It's not a complete bomb, but it is a disappointment.
GameRankings Score: 63.77%
Madden NFL 2012
Electronic Arts ports this year's Madden to both the Connect and the Gemini at launch. While the Connect version is a bit watered down due to that system's capabilities, the Gemini version is essentially a straight port of the iTwin version, which is essentially a slightly blurrier but still feature complete version of the Sapphire/Xbox 2 titles. While this was only a slightly above average year for the Madden franchise, it's absolutely amazing to see a full console Madden game running straight off of a handheld, and this game gets high marks for that reason alone.
GameRankings Score: 86.81%
NBA 2K12
The NBA 2K franchise is still exclusive to Apple, but it's not as iconic and fun as it was IOTL around this time. It's still a solid basketball game, and this straight-up iTwin port is nice to have on the Gemini.
GameRankings Score: 83.53%
NBA Elite 12
EA's NBA Elite franchise is the dominant basketball franchise ITTL, but unlike Madden, this port doesn't quite come to the Gemini feature complete (the Gemini would have to wait until NBA Elite 13 to get a more fully featured version of the game). While it manages to sell decently, it's mostly inferior to the Apple exclusive NBA title.
GameRankings Score: 75.46%
FIFA 12
Another straight iTwin port from Electronic Arts, this fun FIFA game is a miracle to see running on a handheld, and while it's just an average year for the franchise... it's a full FIFA game on a handheld. It looks great and plays great, and you can take it anywhere.
GameRankings Score: 83.64%
Tony Hawk: Legends Of The Park
Another straight iTwin port featuring classic Tony Hawk skateboarding fun. The console version was great, and this one sees good reviews as well.
GameRankings Score: 85.90%
Thrillseekers: Motocross
While not every Thrillseekers game has made it to a handheld (yet), most of the side games have, and Motocross does too. While subject to the same criticisms as its console counterpart, it's a good port and a decent enough game.
GameRankings Score: 81.51%
Dynasty Warriors
Koei brings its Dynasty Warriors franchise to the Gemini for this completely original spinoff game mostly just designed to prove that a full musou game can be enjoyed on the go (though Dynasty Warriors titles have seen release on systems like the Supernova and iPod Play previously). It plays like a typical Dynasty Warriors game, and such a game has never looked or played better on a handheld.
GameRankings Score: 78.84%
Roller Coaster Tycoon
Essentially a polished port of the PC original with a few additions and the option to create Sega/Apple-themed rides, it's definitely better than OTL's DS efforts at the franchise, but not really original or fun enough to be a major hit. Still, it's a nice, fun little game to have on the go.
GameRankings Score: 69.24%
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November 18, 2011
The Apple Gemini is launched worldwide, at an MSRP of $299.99. While this is quite high for a handheld console, it's in line with previous Apple product release prices, and so the price isn't a significant deterrent to purchases from hardcore Apple fans. The device is launched in North America with 18 games, all of them available for digital download at midnight on the day of the console's release, with digital download cards sold in select stores (though not Gamestop, which refuses to stock game download cards for the Gemini, though it does stock the device itself). The device launches in Japan with 16 games (with a launch lineup quite different from North America's, including Bust-A-Move Universe, which doesn't launch in North America until November) and in Europe with 13 games. It doesn't include any pack-in games like the iTwin did, but it does have a coupon for $20 off any Gemini game at the time of release, allowing players to buy their first Gemini title for $29.99 (Most Gemini games come with an MSRP of $49.99). Apple anticipated that sales would be lower at first than those for the iTwin, but still produced more than enough units to meet demand. The Gemini sees a moderately successful launch, with 570,415 units sold the first week in North America and 205,284 units sold the first week in Europe. The major success story is in Japan, where 780,415 units are sold the first week there, making it even more successful in Japan at launch than the iTwin. There are no supply shortages for the Gemini anywhere in the world, save for a few sporadic shortages in Japan (but nowhere near the level that the iTwin experienced).
Here are the launch week sales figures for the 18 non-pack in launch titles, based on North American sales (on a total of 570,415 first week units sold in North America):
Sonic Speedrun: 141,839
Weapon9: 110,544
Ultra Street Fighter V: 85,992
The Conduit: Infinite Access: 78,397
Infinity Blade: 72,045
Madden NFL 2012: 61,853
NBA 2K12: 45,604
Tetris Evolution: 43,516
NBA Elite 12: 43,216
Musically Friends: 40,713
Tony Hawk: Legends Of The Park: 37,910
Thrillseekers: Motocross: 28,536
Nova: 28,214
FIFA 12: 24,063
Super Monkey Ball Gemini: 23,724
Rabbids: Out Ta Getcha!: 20,395
Dynasty Warriors: 11,956
Roller Coaster Tycoon: 10,283
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Two weeks after the launch of the Apple Gemini, and a few days before Nintendo gets ready to launch the Connect, how is the Gemini performing overall?
There were two major points of controversy at the time of the Gemini's launch. The first, and most obvious controversy, was the price. Launching at $299.99, the current price of the iTwin itself, the Gemini was indeed priced like its console counterpart, which could be justified by the simple fact that the Gemini is essentially a portable iTwin. In fact, with that fact in mind, the high price might even be seen as somewhat of a bargain: it's a more versatile iTwin that will eventually be able to play the system's entire library plus an exclusive library of Gemini games. However, it's still a tough sell, especially for families with young children who might break the device. With expensive smartphones increasingly finding their way into the hands of children, this is a concern that has been slightly mitigated, but still remains first and foremost in the minds of parents who might be considering the more competitively priced Connect. The second major concern with the Gemini was its digital-only functionality. You can't buy cartridges or discs for the Gemini: all games must be purchased directly through the iTunes Store. Steve Jobs and Reggie Fils-Aime both repeatedly defended this practice, stating that it cuts down on moving parts inside the machine (and makes room for a moving hard drive) and that it will allow for more versatile device functionality and cloud storage for games, but some who intended to buy the Gemini say that they're now refusing to buy it out of principle, stating that they're wary of Apple's control over the storage medium and that they fear their games could be lost in the future.
Regardless of these concerns, the Gemini and its launch lineup both enjoyed positive reviews from critics. The device's technical specs are incredibly impressive, with some truly mind-blowing launch titles such as Weapon9 and Nova really showing off what this thing can do and raising the bar for what a handheld gaming device is capable of. It's going to be more powerful than the Connect, and will launch with more games as well. Initial player reviews, however, haven't been quite so impressive, with games like Infinity Blade not hitting the same high notes amongst players as they have amongst reviewers. Initial sales were also lower than expected in both North America and Europe, and Black Friday wasn't kind to the Gemini as well, though stores offering deals on iTunes cards (which can be used to purchase Gemini digital games) saw slightly better sales of the Gemini as opposed to stores that didn't. However, the system is performing outstandingly in Japan, and has already moved over a million units there, making it the second fastest selling game console of all time in that country. The Gemini's launch is a bit of a mixed success, but still a success so far, and with a head start over Nintendo's Connect, Apple has struck the first blow of the next generation console wars. The Gemini will need more strong games to maintain its lead over Nintendo, but it's off to a good start, and Apple looks ready to support this system for the long haul.
-from a December 2, 2011 article on Games Over Matter
It's a shame that this post got written in advance, due to today's news.
The way I see it is the time bombs can open a portal he can use to travel back to the robotnitktropolis timeline from sonic 4.
Connect Worldwide Launch
Nintendo Connect Technical Specifications
The Nintendo Connect is a handheld gaming device very similar to OTL's Playstation Vita in both form factor and functionality. A smidge more powerful than OTL's Vita (and significantly less powerful than the Apple Gemini), the device features a quad core CPU and a dual core GPU, along with 512 MB of RAM. It has a cartridge slot for games (rather than the Supernova's disc slot) and it also takes microSD cards, distinguishing it from OTL's Vita (it also has 8GB of on-board flash storage, which the Vita did not have). It has a touchscreen in front and a touchpad in back, and features controls virtually identical to OTL's Vita, with two exceptions: the device has L2 and R2 buttons next to the L/R buttons, and the dual control sticks click, allowing for L3/R3 control as well. The main technical quirk of the Connect is its connectivity with a wide variety of multimedia devices, including built-in Remote Play support for the Nintendo Sapphire and the upcoming next generation Nintendo console (which will be completed with a patch after that console's release). It can also connect with other Nintendo and Sony devices, and if the user has a Sony television, it can interact with that television in a number of ways. The system can export visual and audio output to the television, enabling the player to use the Connect as a controller while playing their game on the TV. It can be used as a visual remote control for the TV with a built-in app (with the screen displaying program information and even capable of doubling as a picture in picture with the Connect's on-board flash storage as a DVR). It's capable of using Bluetooth to connect to paired wireless speakers (and they don't have to be Sony speakers). It can interact with the user's smart home devices as well. Capable of connecting with dozens of electronic devices out of the box (and eventually thousands thanks to patches and updates), the Connect is capable of being used as a full multimedia hub and device controller in addition to its numerous gaming applications.
The Connect comes in four colors out of the box: white, gray, aqua blue, and cosmo black/purple. The Connect has immediate access to Nintendo's virtual game store, allowing it to download NES, SNES, SNES-CD, Ultra Nintendo, Game Boy, Game Boy Nova, and Game Boy Supernova games immediately, along with all Connect releases. However, it isn't and will never be capable of playing Wave games via digital download (though dozens of Wave games will find their way to the device via ports/remakes). This will ultimately leave the Nintendo Wave as the only Nintendo system not capable of being played on the Connect via emulation or streaming, which still makes it almost a perfect legacy Nintendo device with incredible value even if one never plays any of its games. Though the Connect isn't packaged with any games out of the box, games themselves retail for $39.99 and come in both physical and digital versions.
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Launch Title Summaries-
The Legend Of Zelda: Tower Of Sentinels
The Legend Of Zelda: Tower Of Sentinels is a 3-D adventure game exclusive to the Nintendo Connect. Designed to be a fully featured 3-D Zelda title, the game takes place entirely within a grand tower reaching miles into the sky, which Link must climb in order to save Hyrule from an ancient cataclysm said to be caused by a great and powerful artifact that rests atop the tower, which is revealed to be the Dark Triforce, a corrupt and inverted version of the Triforce that grants the worst nightmares of those in its domain. Link must battle his way up this ancient tower, along the way fighting six mighty beasts known as Sentinels, who lurk at important points within the tower. The tower is a world all its own, with multiple dungeons contained within its walls, as well as an entire civilization known as the Skydwellers, a race of ancient Hylians with angel-like wings who float between secret passages in the tower and have constructed their own cities. Link will acquire all his familiar weapons and items in the tower, including bombs, the Bow, the Boomerang, the Lantern, the Hookshot, and more, with some brand new weapons and items also able to be acquired. Among them are the Sticky Gloves, which give Link Spider-Man esque powers to climb walls and shoot goo, and the Winged Suit, which enables Link to fly short distances. He'll also need to upgrade his sword from a wooden sword to a metal sword to what's called the Fabled Sword, said to be wielded only by legendary Skydweller champions. As Link traverses the tower, he'll acquire keys to a massive elevator that lets him travel between previously explored floors. The tower itself has 500 floors in all, and it's possible to visit each and every single one during the course of the game, with the game's six dungeons all spanning between 12-100 floors each, and towns spanning several floors on their own. The game makes beautiful use of the Connect's technology, and though the Connect isn't as powerful as the Sapphire, the game's graphics can at times look almost as good as those in Spirit Of The Woods, mostly thanks to the Connect's smaller screen relative to the player's television. There are some truly stunning sky visuals as Link occasionally traverses the outside of the massive tower, with some players reporting getting vertigo from playing certain parts of the game. The dungeons are actually quite varied despite being in the same building, with different themes for each dungeon, including a rain-themed dungeon, an electricity-themed dungeon, and even a living dungeon surrounding a massive beating heart. Some memorable characters are introduced in the game as well, including a Skydweller warrior named Cordu, a Skydweller elder named Edron, and a beautiful Skydweller warrior priestess named Vanora. Of course, Zelda also makes an appearance as the princess of the Skydwellers, with her own set of angel wings and a warrior spirit of her own. The primary antagonist of Tower Of Sentinels isn't Ganon, but is instead a fallen Skydweller named Destrael, who invoked the Dark Triforce as revenge for the Hylians banning his people to the tower and raising the Sentinels to keep them prisoner. It's revealed that the Hylians are the ones who corrupted the Dark Triforce to keep the Skydwellers trapped, invoking their worst nightmare of being prisoners to erect the tower for them, and Destrael used the force of his will to twist that nightmare into one that would affect Hyrule. Zelda was once a Hylian, but she decided to become a Skydweller as pennance for the imprisonment of their people, and now only she and Link can stop Destrael's plans. The final battle with Destrael takes place on the roof of the tower, which is so high up that it's possible to see the curvature of the Earth, making for a spectacular final boss sequence. Eventually, Link and Zelda defeat Destrael, saving Hyrule and freeing the Skydwellers from their curse. The tower collapses, but with the help of the restored Triforce, Link and Zelda aid everyone's escape. The Skydwellers roam free in the skies above Hyrule, while Zelda reclaims her rightful place on the throne of Hyrule.
Tower Of Sentinels gets a strong critical reception, but compared to some recent Zelda games, it's seen as a bit underwhelming. Though a great effort is made to differentiate the dungeons, they're seen by some as being repetitive nonetheless, and the boss battles are also a bit on the unoriginal side. The game is still a great, epic Zelda title and a beautiful visual spectacle, and despite the criticisms, is still a critical and commercial success.
GameRankings Score: 88.27%
Wave Race
The latest Wave Race title, Wave Race for the Nintendo Connect takes the series' classic formula and leaves it largely intact, but improves significantly on visuals and the amount of different things to do in the game. In addition to the traditional stunt modes and race modes, there's a brand new adventure mode which combines the two, and a bevy of creator modes, including track and character creators. The game has a fully featured online mode as well, with competitive racing for up to twelve players at once. Combine that with stunning visuals (the best looking water ever seen on a gaming handheld), amazing sound (including a beautiful original score and some voice acting for adventure mode and stunt mode), and the game's huge amount of content, and this is another amazingly fun Wave Race game and another massive hit for Nintendo.
GameRankings Score: 90.41%
Parcels: Special Delivery
Satoru Iwata's brainchild franchise launches its first ever handheld installment on the Connect, and the gameplay remains largely the same: deliver a variety of packages for hundreds of different clients in a big open city. However, there are numerous gameplay additions designed to allow the player a lot more freedom in their playstyle. For the first time, it's possible to hire couriers to deliver packages for you, and each one has their own distinct skills and personality. It's also possible to do stunts on the player's delivery scooter, which can score points and impress clients and potential hires (while also just being fun to ride around the city doing insane scooter stunts). There's plenty to do in Parcels: Special Delivery, and while it's not for everyone, it's still probably the best open world game launching for the Connect.
GameRankings Score: 83.98%
Infinitia
Squaresoft's brilliant launch RPG for the Nintendo Connect, Infinitia is comparable to games such as Bravely Default IOTL, and contains many of the same mechanics, including character classes and the ability to risk one's turns for a chance at a big special attack (unlike in Bravely Default, where you spent turns to take extra turns, here it's more like Octopath Traveler, where you spend turns to power up your attack and unlock special attacks only available through gambling turns). The game has only four playable characters, who stay with you for the entire journey: Rorek, Primrose, Mell, and Falcon (though Primrose shares a name with the OTL Octopath Traveler character, the two are vastly different in personality, sharing only royal blood, Infinitia's Primrose has a much less tragic story). Rorek is a sort of classic hero type, Primrose is a somewhat prim and proper princess, Mell is a more rough and tumble heroine (similar to OTL's Edea from Bravely Default) and Falcon is a morally ambiguous badass with similarities to OTL's Ringabel. The game itself is chock full of references to classic Final Fantasy games, including the presence of chocobos and moogles, but most importantly, two sets of four crystals, which the characters must retrieve in order to battle an ancient evil. The game world is absolutely huge, spanning multiple continents and featuring dozens of towns and dungeons... and that's just the overworld: just like Final Fantasy IV, there's an entire underworld with its own set of crystals, towns, and dungeons to explore, one that opens up about 40 percent of the way through the game. The game's score is composed by Naoshi Mizuta, who composed the score for OTL's Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes Of Light, and his score for that game shares a lot of similarities with the score for Infinitia. The game is fully voice acted and dubbed in English, with voice acting both inside of battle and out of it in cutscenes and in the game itself. The game's graphics, while not quite cutting edge for the Connect, are still quite beautiful, done in a more artistic style that resembles Bravely Default with more detail and definition (basically Bravely Default if it was done for the Vita). The game's plot sees its four heroes racing against a powerful empire to retrieve four crystals, with the empire led by three people: the mighty Emperor Brannock, his right hand man, the Dark Knight Atruin, and his fairy adviser, Lady Aetheria (basically OTL's Airy with a more grown-up, femme fatale look). Atruin is linked to both Primrose and Falcon, serving as an ex-lover to Primrose and a former mentor to Falcon, but his early viciousness leads players to believe that he could end up being the game's main villain. Of course, Brannock is a red herring, but the heroes do fight him for the final time about 70 percent through the game (after the villains claim the last of the eight crystals). Then, he's betrayed, not by Atruin, but by Aetheria. Atruin is disheartened by this turn of events, but remains a villain, though after a crucial revelation, he goes on a paladin quest not all that unlike Cecil's. This leads up to a brutal scene in which Atruin, now a paladin, sacrifices himself to try and take down Aetheria, who herself is serving a being known as Dark Krystaxis. Primrose and Falcon (who had his own redemption quest during the course of the game) are both devastated by Atruin's death, but the quest goes on and the heroes eventually defeat both Krystaxis and Aetheria to save the world. Of course, in addition to the 50+ hour main quest, there are a massive number of sidequests both during the main game and the postgame, with several superbosses and plenty of opportunities for grinding and character optimization. It's possible for hardcore players to spend over 200 hours playing Infinitia, and many do. The game is considered a brilliant handheld JRPG, one of the biggest and most epic ever created, with some calling it the best RPG of all time and a potential Game of the Year contender. It's the best critically reviewed game of the Connect's launch lineup, and a massive best seller in Japan, though it does only moderately well in the States.
GameRankings Score: 91.96%
Call Of Duty: Green Beret
Intended as a major third party launch title for the Connect, Call Of Duty: Green Beret can be compared somewhat to Black Ops Declassified in terms of graphics, but it's a significantly better game, with a wider variety of missions and better gameplay as well. Its protagonist is a Green Beret soldier sent in to take down a terrorist warlord, but who becomes tangled up in the activities of a corrupt mercenary squadron which tests his loyalties to his country and to himself. The game's campaign is fairly short, but it makes up for that with a strong multiplayer component that can be enjoyed both locally (with players who have their own Connect systems and a copy of the game) or online. While still not considered as good as a main series Call Of Duty game (and vastly inferior to the critical darling Nightfall), it's absolutely better than OTL's Vita game, and its sales reflect its quality.
GameRankings Score: 78.10%
Connectsquare
A fast-paced puzzle title meant to take advantage of the Connect's touch screen, this Bejeweled/Candy Crush-esque game developed by Ubisoft is underwhelming commercially, but gets great reviews, and in the absence of a World of Color game for the Connect in 2011, this is an acceptable substitute.
GameRankings Score: 86.50%
Pistol Smoke
A third person open-world shooter developed by Rockstar, this cel shaded game is surprisingly violent and features a gangster out to avenge his friend by any means necessary. One of the more hyped third party games of the Connect launch, it's no Grand Theft Auto and ends up being somewhat of a critical and commercial disappointment.
GameRankings Score: 72.70%
Assault Soldier
A third person shooter with a very seventh-gen-esque graphical style but fairly generic gameplay. It's intended to be released at the launch of the Gemini, but is delayed a couple weeks until the end of November. It does make it onto the Connect at the launch of that system. While technically impressive, there will be much better shooters on the new handhelds, and after strong initial sales, the buzz dies down.
GameRankings Score: 74.44%
Fort Defenders
A relatively generic tower defense style game, and not really worth mentioning other than the fact that the Connect gets a tower defense game at launch and the Gemini doesn't (unless you count one of several superior tower defense games available on the iTunes Store at launch).
GameRankings Score: 61.56%
Madden NFL 2012
NBA Elite 12
FIFA 12
Tony Hawk: Legends Of The Park
Thrillseekers: Motocross
There's not much to say about these ports that hasn't been said as part of the Gemini post, it's just worth mentioning that these games are also on the Connect at launch. All of them are slightly inferior to their Gemini counterpart in terms of graphics, though Tony Hawk and Thrillseekers are virtually identical, and Madden NFL 2012 isn't as fully featured as it appears on the Gemini. All would get GameRankings scores ranging from about 15% below the Gemini version (in Madden's case), to around 1-2% below (in the case of the Activision extreme sports ports).
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December 6, 2011
The Nintendo Connect is launched worldwide at an MSRP of $249.99. Initially announced to launch on December 2nd, the Connect's launch was pushed back a few days in September to accommodate more production and promotion. Like the Gemini, it doesn't come with a pack-in game at launch, but its price makes it immediately competitive with the Apple Gemini, and indeed, it would sell more units in North America (916,532), Europe (397,814), and Japan (860,445) in its first week than the Gemini did. In fact, the Connect enjoys the best launch of any handheld system ever, with more than two million units sold worldwide. It would launch with 14 games in North America, 12 in Europe, and 13 in Japan. Overall, the Gemini's games would get a slightly better reception from both critics and fans, with fans in particular considering The Legend Of Zelda a slight disappointment, and the multiplatform ports being widely considered inferior to those launched on the Gemini. The Connect would also enjoy a slightly lower software attach rate at launch despite the lower overall price of the system. However, critical assessments aside, Nintendo considers the launch of the Connect an overwhelming success, and the system continues to sell strongly in the days leading up to Christmas, while the Gemini would see its sales fall off more quickly.
Here are the launch week sales figures for the 14 launch titles, based on North American sales (on a total of 916,532 first week units sold in North America):
The Legend Of Zelda: Tower Of Sentinels: 425,796
Call Of Duty: Green Beret: 180,663
Parcels: Special Delivery: 123,701
Wave Race: 108,313
Infinitia: 80,615
Madden NFL 2012: 69,487
Assault Soldier: 59,387
Tony Hawk: Legends Of The Park: 54,859
Thrillseekers: Motocross: 48,612
NBA Elite 12: 45,214
Pistol Smoke: 38,415
FIFA 12: 34,715
Connectsquare: 31,234
Fort Defenders: 9,873
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December 19, 2011
Satoru Iwata was quite pleased as he reviewed the initial sales figures for the Nintendo Connect's hardware and software. He was particularly pleased to see that Parcels: Special Delivery was the third most popular launch title worldwide, behind The Legend Of Zelda: Tower Of Sentinels and just behind Squaresoft's Infinitia, with nearly half a million units sold worldwide in its first week of release. While Iwata didn't consider himself to be nearly as good a game designer as Shigeru Miyamoto, he was quite happy to know that so many people were enjoying his game, and he was also pleased to read the comments made about the Connect, particularly by children and parents who were enjoying playing the Connect together. He viewed the Connect as strictly a game device, with much of the other functionality coming from the Sony side of hardware development. He thought it was interesting that it was capable of doing so many other things, and he did like the fact that it could be played on a television screen without the use of wires, but he enjoyed playing it on the go, as did most of the people in the comments that he read.
He was reviewing the results alongside Shawn Layden, the president of Nintendo of America. While Layden had stayed mostly out of the public eye (instead, NoA VP Bill Trinen carried the public speaking duties), he had quietly guided the sales and promotion of the Sapphire and Supernova in North America, and had done quite a good job. Sapphire sales were trending slightly behind those of the Nintendo Wave, and the console was actually trailing the iTwin in North American and worldwide sales, but the system was still an unmitigated success, and it and its games had kept Nintendo's profits high. Meanwhile, the Supernova had enjoyed sales somewhat above what the Nova had accomplished, and while not a runaway success, had thoroughly trounced the iPod Play after a somewhat rocky start. Now, the Connect was poised to be Nintendo's next big handheld success, and would pave the way for the launch of Nintendo's next-gen Sapphire successor, already deep in development.
“The Connect is poised to sell more than twice as many units as the Gemini over the month of December,” said Layden, reviewing his own copy of the sales figures. “Our promotional campaign has been a big success, and it doesn't hurt that we were able to launch at fifty dollars less than the Gemini, and with a flagship Zelda title to boot.”
“I hope we'll be able to produce more games quickly,” said Iwata. “It's worrisome that we don't have a Mario title ready...”
Nintendo had been planning to release a new Mario game for the Connect, but didn't want to overshadow its upcoming Sapphire game, Super Mario Laboratory. A Mario title was planned, but wouldn't see release until 2013 at the earliest... the company was hoping that its other franchises could attract players before then, with a new game in the Pokemon series planned for 2013 as well.
“We've already got plenty of third parties lined up to create games for the Connect, and Sony is ready to give us software support as well. Games won't be a problem.”
Iwata was already brainstorming ideas in his head for potential original games to create for the Connect. The new touchscreen technology had limitless potential, particularly the back touchpad. If there wasn't a Mario game ready in a couple years, he'd try to make at least one game of his own.
Iwata was also thinking about the future of Nintendo's home console business. Their new console, which was also being made in conjunction with Sony, was poised to be significantly more powerful than Google's upcoming machine, and he imagined it would be more powerful than Apple's as well. He knew that Apple's next machine would involve virtual reality and motion control of some sort, but he wanted to create new experiences that could be made possible via traditional gaming technology. While virtual reality would eventually become a priority for Nintendo's next generation console, he wanted to keep things simple, a formula that had been successful for Nintendo in the past and would certainly be so in the future, as long as the games were good.
“Next year, we'll be announcing our next system,” said Iwata, sitting down at his desk. “I want the Sapphire and the Connect to remain fresh in players' minds up to and after that announcement. We need to keep producing games, fun games, lots of games... and not be afraid to innovate, even on the Sapphire in the last couple years of its lifespan.”
“So, we'll gear our promotion toward pushing more unique games? Games like Hoseki, ones that offer unique experiences?”
“Correct... with an emphasis on fun.”
Layden had ideas as well... ideas for promoting Nintendo's new system. It didn't have a name just yet, but Layden had a good one in mind.
“If we're going to use this system to promote the idea that powerful technology can be used to push innovative styles of gameplay, why not emphasize that this new system merges the real world and the world of games in a way that's never been done before?”
Layden showed Iwata his proposal. Iwata looked at it and nodded.
“It's promising,” said Iwata, “though I will have to look at other name proposals as well.”
“Just don't call it the Nintendo Diamond,” said Layden. Iwata laughed.
“No, no, we won't be using another jewelry name for the new console.”
Iwata looked at Layden's proposed name again. It did invoke a sense of power, but also a sense of wonder, as if Nintendo's new machine was going to alter your perception of the world and become, well... your new Reality.
The Nintendo Reality... it is the best name proposed so far, but there is still time for someone to propose another. Still, I do like it. And yes, it does sound much better than Nintendo Diamond.
The Nintendo Connect is a handheld gaming device very similar to OTL's Playstation Vita in both form factor and functionality. A smidge more powerful than OTL's Vita (and significantly less powerful than the Apple Gemini), the device features a quad core CPU and a dual core GPU, along with 512 MB of RAM. It has a cartridge slot for games (rather than the Supernova's disc slot) and it also takes microSD cards, distinguishing it from OTL's Vita (it also has 8GB of on-board flash storage, which the Vita did not have). It has a touchscreen in front and a touchpad in back, and features controls virtually identical to OTL's Vita, with two exceptions: the device has L2 and R2 buttons next to the L/R buttons, and the dual control sticks click, allowing for L3/R3 control as well. The main technical quirk of the Connect is its connectivity with a wide variety of multimedia devices, including built-in Remote Play support for the Nintendo Sapphire and the upcoming next generation Nintendo console (which will be completed with a patch after that console's release). It can also connect with other Nintendo and Sony devices, and if the user has a Sony television, it can interact with that television in a number of ways. The system can export visual and audio output to the television, enabling the player to use the Connect as a controller while playing their game on the TV. It can be used as a visual remote control for the TV with a built-in app (with the screen displaying program information and even capable of doubling as a picture in picture with the Connect's on-board flash storage as a DVR). It's capable of using Bluetooth to connect to paired wireless speakers (and they don't have to be Sony speakers). It can interact with the user's smart home devices as well. Capable of connecting with dozens of electronic devices out of the box (and eventually thousands thanks to patches and updates), the Connect is capable of being used as a full multimedia hub and device controller in addition to its numerous gaming applications.
The Connect comes in four colors out of the box: white, gray, aqua blue, and cosmo black/purple. The Connect has immediate access to Nintendo's virtual game store, allowing it to download NES, SNES, SNES-CD, Ultra Nintendo, Game Boy, Game Boy Nova, and Game Boy Supernova games immediately, along with all Connect releases. However, it isn't and will never be capable of playing Wave games via digital download (though dozens of Wave games will find their way to the device via ports/remakes). This will ultimately leave the Nintendo Wave as the only Nintendo system not capable of being played on the Connect via emulation or streaming, which still makes it almost a perfect legacy Nintendo device with incredible value even if one never plays any of its games. Though the Connect isn't packaged with any games out of the box, games themselves retail for $39.99 and come in both physical and digital versions.
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Launch Title Summaries-
The Legend Of Zelda: Tower Of Sentinels
The Legend Of Zelda: Tower Of Sentinels is a 3-D adventure game exclusive to the Nintendo Connect. Designed to be a fully featured 3-D Zelda title, the game takes place entirely within a grand tower reaching miles into the sky, which Link must climb in order to save Hyrule from an ancient cataclysm said to be caused by a great and powerful artifact that rests atop the tower, which is revealed to be the Dark Triforce, a corrupt and inverted version of the Triforce that grants the worst nightmares of those in its domain. Link must battle his way up this ancient tower, along the way fighting six mighty beasts known as Sentinels, who lurk at important points within the tower. The tower is a world all its own, with multiple dungeons contained within its walls, as well as an entire civilization known as the Skydwellers, a race of ancient Hylians with angel-like wings who float between secret passages in the tower and have constructed their own cities. Link will acquire all his familiar weapons and items in the tower, including bombs, the Bow, the Boomerang, the Lantern, the Hookshot, and more, with some brand new weapons and items also able to be acquired. Among them are the Sticky Gloves, which give Link Spider-Man esque powers to climb walls and shoot goo, and the Winged Suit, which enables Link to fly short distances. He'll also need to upgrade his sword from a wooden sword to a metal sword to what's called the Fabled Sword, said to be wielded only by legendary Skydweller champions. As Link traverses the tower, he'll acquire keys to a massive elevator that lets him travel between previously explored floors. The tower itself has 500 floors in all, and it's possible to visit each and every single one during the course of the game, with the game's six dungeons all spanning between 12-100 floors each, and towns spanning several floors on their own. The game makes beautiful use of the Connect's technology, and though the Connect isn't as powerful as the Sapphire, the game's graphics can at times look almost as good as those in Spirit Of The Woods, mostly thanks to the Connect's smaller screen relative to the player's television. There are some truly stunning sky visuals as Link occasionally traverses the outside of the massive tower, with some players reporting getting vertigo from playing certain parts of the game. The dungeons are actually quite varied despite being in the same building, with different themes for each dungeon, including a rain-themed dungeon, an electricity-themed dungeon, and even a living dungeon surrounding a massive beating heart. Some memorable characters are introduced in the game as well, including a Skydweller warrior named Cordu, a Skydweller elder named Edron, and a beautiful Skydweller warrior priestess named Vanora. Of course, Zelda also makes an appearance as the princess of the Skydwellers, with her own set of angel wings and a warrior spirit of her own. The primary antagonist of Tower Of Sentinels isn't Ganon, but is instead a fallen Skydweller named Destrael, who invoked the Dark Triforce as revenge for the Hylians banning his people to the tower and raising the Sentinels to keep them prisoner. It's revealed that the Hylians are the ones who corrupted the Dark Triforce to keep the Skydwellers trapped, invoking their worst nightmare of being prisoners to erect the tower for them, and Destrael used the force of his will to twist that nightmare into one that would affect Hyrule. Zelda was once a Hylian, but she decided to become a Skydweller as pennance for the imprisonment of their people, and now only she and Link can stop Destrael's plans. The final battle with Destrael takes place on the roof of the tower, which is so high up that it's possible to see the curvature of the Earth, making for a spectacular final boss sequence. Eventually, Link and Zelda defeat Destrael, saving Hyrule and freeing the Skydwellers from their curse. The tower collapses, but with the help of the restored Triforce, Link and Zelda aid everyone's escape. The Skydwellers roam free in the skies above Hyrule, while Zelda reclaims her rightful place on the throne of Hyrule.
Tower Of Sentinels gets a strong critical reception, but compared to some recent Zelda games, it's seen as a bit underwhelming. Though a great effort is made to differentiate the dungeons, they're seen by some as being repetitive nonetheless, and the boss battles are also a bit on the unoriginal side. The game is still a great, epic Zelda title and a beautiful visual spectacle, and despite the criticisms, is still a critical and commercial success.
GameRankings Score: 88.27%
Wave Race
The latest Wave Race title, Wave Race for the Nintendo Connect takes the series' classic formula and leaves it largely intact, but improves significantly on visuals and the amount of different things to do in the game. In addition to the traditional stunt modes and race modes, there's a brand new adventure mode which combines the two, and a bevy of creator modes, including track and character creators. The game has a fully featured online mode as well, with competitive racing for up to twelve players at once. Combine that with stunning visuals (the best looking water ever seen on a gaming handheld), amazing sound (including a beautiful original score and some voice acting for adventure mode and stunt mode), and the game's huge amount of content, and this is another amazingly fun Wave Race game and another massive hit for Nintendo.
GameRankings Score: 90.41%
Parcels: Special Delivery
Satoru Iwata's brainchild franchise launches its first ever handheld installment on the Connect, and the gameplay remains largely the same: deliver a variety of packages for hundreds of different clients in a big open city. However, there are numerous gameplay additions designed to allow the player a lot more freedom in their playstyle. For the first time, it's possible to hire couriers to deliver packages for you, and each one has their own distinct skills and personality. It's also possible to do stunts on the player's delivery scooter, which can score points and impress clients and potential hires (while also just being fun to ride around the city doing insane scooter stunts). There's plenty to do in Parcels: Special Delivery, and while it's not for everyone, it's still probably the best open world game launching for the Connect.
GameRankings Score: 83.98%
Infinitia
Squaresoft's brilliant launch RPG for the Nintendo Connect, Infinitia is comparable to games such as Bravely Default IOTL, and contains many of the same mechanics, including character classes and the ability to risk one's turns for a chance at a big special attack (unlike in Bravely Default, where you spent turns to take extra turns, here it's more like Octopath Traveler, where you spend turns to power up your attack and unlock special attacks only available through gambling turns). The game has only four playable characters, who stay with you for the entire journey: Rorek, Primrose, Mell, and Falcon (though Primrose shares a name with the OTL Octopath Traveler character, the two are vastly different in personality, sharing only royal blood, Infinitia's Primrose has a much less tragic story). Rorek is a sort of classic hero type, Primrose is a somewhat prim and proper princess, Mell is a more rough and tumble heroine (similar to OTL's Edea from Bravely Default) and Falcon is a morally ambiguous badass with similarities to OTL's Ringabel. The game itself is chock full of references to classic Final Fantasy games, including the presence of chocobos and moogles, but most importantly, two sets of four crystals, which the characters must retrieve in order to battle an ancient evil. The game world is absolutely huge, spanning multiple continents and featuring dozens of towns and dungeons... and that's just the overworld: just like Final Fantasy IV, there's an entire underworld with its own set of crystals, towns, and dungeons to explore, one that opens up about 40 percent of the way through the game. The game's score is composed by Naoshi Mizuta, who composed the score for OTL's Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes Of Light, and his score for that game shares a lot of similarities with the score for Infinitia. The game is fully voice acted and dubbed in English, with voice acting both inside of battle and out of it in cutscenes and in the game itself. The game's graphics, while not quite cutting edge for the Connect, are still quite beautiful, done in a more artistic style that resembles Bravely Default with more detail and definition (basically Bravely Default if it was done for the Vita). The game's plot sees its four heroes racing against a powerful empire to retrieve four crystals, with the empire led by three people: the mighty Emperor Brannock, his right hand man, the Dark Knight Atruin, and his fairy adviser, Lady Aetheria (basically OTL's Airy with a more grown-up, femme fatale look). Atruin is linked to both Primrose and Falcon, serving as an ex-lover to Primrose and a former mentor to Falcon, but his early viciousness leads players to believe that he could end up being the game's main villain. Of course, Brannock is a red herring, but the heroes do fight him for the final time about 70 percent through the game (after the villains claim the last of the eight crystals). Then, he's betrayed, not by Atruin, but by Aetheria. Atruin is disheartened by this turn of events, but remains a villain, though after a crucial revelation, he goes on a paladin quest not all that unlike Cecil's. This leads up to a brutal scene in which Atruin, now a paladin, sacrifices himself to try and take down Aetheria, who herself is serving a being known as Dark Krystaxis. Primrose and Falcon (who had his own redemption quest during the course of the game) are both devastated by Atruin's death, but the quest goes on and the heroes eventually defeat both Krystaxis and Aetheria to save the world. Of course, in addition to the 50+ hour main quest, there are a massive number of sidequests both during the main game and the postgame, with several superbosses and plenty of opportunities for grinding and character optimization. It's possible for hardcore players to spend over 200 hours playing Infinitia, and many do. The game is considered a brilliant handheld JRPG, one of the biggest and most epic ever created, with some calling it the best RPG of all time and a potential Game of the Year contender. It's the best critically reviewed game of the Connect's launch lineup, and a massive best seller in Japan, though it does only moderately well in the States.
GameRankings Score: 91.96%
Call Of Duty: Green Beret
Intended as a major third party launch title for the Connect, Call Of Duty: Green Beret can be compared somewhat to Black Ops Declassified in terms of graphics, but it's a significantly better game, with a wider variety of missions and better gameplay as well. Its protagonist is a Green Beret soldier sent in to take down a terrorist warlord, but who becomes tangled up in the activities of a corrupt mercenary squadron which tests his loyalties to his country and to himself. The game's campaign is fairly short, but it makes up for that with a strong multiplayer component that can be enjoyed both locally (with players who have their own Connect systems and a copy of the game) or online. While still not considered as good as a main series Call Of Duty game (and vastly inferior to the critical darling Nightfall), it's absolutely better than OTL's Vita game, and its sales reflect its quality.
GameRankings Score: 78.10%
Connectsquare
A fast-paced puzzle title meant to take advantage of the Connect's touch screen, this Bejeweled/Candy Crush-esque game developed by Ubisoft is underwhelming commercially, but gets great reviews, and in the absence of a World of Color game for the Connect in 2011, this is an acceptable substitute.
GameRankings Score: 86.50%
Pistol Smoke
A third person open-world shooter developed by Rockstar, this cel shaded game is surprisingly violent and features a gangster out to avenge his friend by any means necessary. One of the more hyped third party games of the Connect launch, it's no Grand Theft Auto and ends up being somewhat of a critical and commercial disappointment.
GameRankings Score: 72.70%
Assault Soldier
A third person shooter with a very seventh-gen-esque graphical style but fairly generic gameplay. It's intended to be released at the launch of the Gemini, but is delayed a couple weeks until the end of November. It does make it onto the Connect at the launch of that system. While technically impressive, there will be much better shooters on the new handhelds, and after strong initial sales, the buzz dies down.
GameRankings Score: 74.44%
Fort Defenders
A relatively generic tower defense style game, and not really worth mentioning other than the fact that the Connect gets a tower defense game at launch and the Gemini doesn't (unless you count one of several superior tower defense games available on the iTunes Store at launch).
GameRankings Score: 61.56%
Madden NFL 2012
NBA Elite 12
FIFA 12
Tony Hawk: Legends Of The Park
Thrillseekers: Motocross
There's not much to say about these ports that hasn't been said as part of the Gemini post, it's just worth mentioning that these games are also on the Connect at launch. All of them are slightly inferior to their Gemini counterpart in terms of graphics, though Tony Hawk and Thrillseekers are virtually identical, and Madden NFL 2012 isn't as fully featured as it appears on the Gemini. All would get GameRankings scores ranging from about 15% below the Gemini version (in Madden's case), to around 1-2% below (in the case of the Activision extreme sports ports).
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December 6, 2011
The Nintendo Connect is launched worldwide at an MSRP of $249.99. Initially announced to launch on December 2nd, the Connect's launch was pushed back a few days in September to accommodate more production and promotion. Like the Gemini, it doesn't come with a pack-in game at launch, but its price makes it immediately competitive with the Apple Gemini, and indeed, it would sell more units in North America (916,532), Europe (397,814), and Japan (860,445) in its first week than the Gemini did. In fact, the Connect enjoys the best launch of any handheld system ever, with more than two million units sold worldwide. It would launch with 14 games in North America, 12 in Europe, and 13 in Japan. Overall, the Gemini's games would get a slightly better reception from both critics and fans, with fans in particular considering The Legend Of Zelda a slight disappointment, and the multiplatform ports being widely considered inferior to those launched on the Gemini. The Connect would also enjoy a slightly lower software attach rate at launch despite the lower overall price of the system. However, critical assessments aside, Nintendo considers the launch of the Connect an overwhelming success, and the system continues to sell strongly in the days leading up to Christmas, while the Gemini would see its sales fall off more quickly.
Here are the launch week sales figures for the 14 launch titles, based on North American sales (on a total of 916,532 first week units sold in North America):
The Legend Of Zelda: Tower Of Sentinels: 425,796
Call Of Duty: Green Beret: 180,663
Parcels: Special Delivery: 123,701
Wave Race: 108,313
Infinitia: 80,615
Madden NFL 2012: 69,487
Assault Soldier: 59,387
Tony Hawk: Legends Of The Park: 54,859
Thrillseekers: Motocross: 48,612
NBA Elite 12: 45,214
Pistol Smoke: 38,415
FIFA 12: 34,715
Connectsquare: 31,234
Fort Defenders: 9,873
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December 19, 2011
Satoru Iwata was quite pleased as he reviewed the initial sales figures for the Nintendo Connect's hardware and software. He was particularly pleased to see that Parcels: Special Delivery was the third most popular launch title worldwide, behind The Legend Of Zelda: Tower Of Sentinels and just behind Squaresoft's Infinitia, with nearly half a million units sold worldwide in its first week of release. While Iwata didn't consider himself to be nearly as good a game designer as Shigeru Miyamoto, he was quite happy to know that so many people were enjoying his game, and he was also pleased to read the comments made about the Connect, particularly by children and parents who were enjoying playing the Connect together. He viewed the Connect as strictly a game device, with much of the other functionality coming from the Sony side of hardware development. He thought it was interesting that it was capable of doing so many other things, and he did like the fact that it could be played on a television screen without the use of wires, but he enjoyed playing it on the go, as did most of the people in the comments that he read.
He was reviewing the results alongside Shawn Layden, the president of Nintendo of America. While Layden had stayed mostly out of the public eye (instead, NoA VP Bill Trinen carried the public speaking duties), he had quietly guided the sales and promotion of the Sapphire and Supernova in North America, and had done quite a good job. Sapphire sales were trending slightly behind those of the Nintendo Wave, and the console was actually trailing the iTwin in North American and worldwide sales, but the system was still an unmitigated success, and it and its games had kept Nintendo's profits high. Meanwhile, the Supernova had enjoyed sales somewhat above what the Nova had accomplished, and while not a runaway success, had thoroughly trounced the iPod Play after a somewhat rocky start. Now, the Connect was poised to be Nintendo's next big handheld success, and would pave the way for the launch of Nintendo's next-gen Sapphire successor, already deep in development.
“The Connect is poised to sell more than twice as many units as the Gemini over the month of December,” said Layden, reviewing his own copy of the sales figures. “Our promotional campaign has been a big success, and it doesn't hurt that we were able to launch at fifty dollars less than the Gemini, and with a flagship Zelda title to boot.”
“I hope we'll be able to produce more games quickly,” said Iwata. “It's worrisome that we don't have a Mario title ready...”
Nintendo had been planning to release a new Mario game for the Connect, but didn't want to overshadow its upcoming Sapphire game, Super Mario Laboratory. A Mario title was planned, but wouldn't see release until 2013 at the earliest... the company was hoping that its other franchises could attract players before then, with a new game in the Pokemon series planned for 2013 as well.
“We've already got plenty of third parties lined up to create games for the Connect, and Sony is ready to give us software support as well. Games won't be a problem.”
Iwata was already brainstorming ideas in his head for potential original games to create for the Connect. The new touchscreen technology had limitless potential, particularly the back touchpad. If there wasn't a Mario game ready in a couple years, he'd try to make at least one game of his own.
Iwata was also thinking about the future of Nintendo's home console business. Their new console, which was also being made in conjunction with Sony, was poised to be significantly more powerful than Google's upcoming machine, and he imagined it would be more powerful than Apple's as well. He knew that Apple's next machine would involve virtual reality and motion control of some sort, but he wanted to create new experiences that could be made possible via traditional gaming technology. While virtual reality would eventually become a priority for Nintendo's next generation console, he wanted to keep things simple, a formula that had been successful for Nintendo in the past and would certainly be so in the future, as long as the games were good.
“Next year, we'll be announcing our next system,” said Iwata, sitting down at his desk. “I want the Sapphire and the Connect to remain fresh in players' minds up to and after that announcement. We need to keep producing games, fun games, lots of games... and not be afraid to innovate, even on the Sapphire in the last couple years of its lifespan.”
“So, we'll gear our promotion toward pushing more unique games? Games like Hoseki, ones that offer unique experiences?”
“Correct... with an emphasis on fun.”
Layden had ideas as well... ideas for promoting Nintendo's new system. It didn't have a name just yet, but Layden had a good one in mind.
“If we're going to use this system to promote the idea that powerful technology can be used to push innovative styles of gameplay, why not emphasize that this new system merges the real world and the world of games in a way that's never been done before?”
Layden showed Iwata his proposal. Iwata looked at it and nodded.
“It's promising,” said Iwata, “though I will have to look at other name proposals as well.”
“Just don't call it the Nintendo Diamond,” said Layden. Iwata laughed.
“No, no, we won't be using another jewelry name for the new console.”
Iwata looked at Layden's proposed name again. It did invoke a sense of power, but also a sense of wonder, as if Nintendo's new machine was going to alter your perception of the world and become, well... your new Reality.
The Nintendo Reality... it is the best name proposed so far, but there is still time for someone to propose another. Still, I do like it. And yes, it does sound much better than Nintendo Diamond.
Quick question: Is it possible for Splatoon to be released on the Sapphire as one of its swansongs? While it didn't come out until 2015, the Sapphire's hardware being the Wii U could run the game with no graphical quality drop?
I’d say that something like the OTL Job Simulator game would work as one of the VR games on Nintendo’s next console. The whole “quirky take on mundane jobs” works well for Nintendo.
If this new console has a focus on VR titles, would we see revivals of Teleroboxer and/or Jack Bros. for it? Speaking of which, does Nester still exist as of TTL 2011?
Virtua boy never existed, so they ITTL would be come for first time...Nester is already passed..unless the powerful force of nostalgia bring it back....
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