It MIGHT be possible to port the game to the eighth generation consoles but at this point they have no plans to do so.
Massively Multiplayer: Gaming In The New Millennium
- Thread starter RySenkari
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It MIGHT be possible to port the game to the eighth generation consoles but at this point they have no plans to do so.
E3 2012 (Part 3)
Nintendo Keynote - E3 2012
Nintendo's keynote doesn't begin with a game trailer this year. Instead, it begins with Nintendo of America president Shawn Layden taking the stage and thanking the attendees, before briefly discussing the Sapphire and its success, along with the successful launch of the Nintendo Connect, and that this year's presentation would be all about the next wave of games coming to both systems. He then introduces a brief trailer for the upcoming Metroid Gravity, before giving a full presentation about the game, complete with snippets of interviews from the game's director and developers, interspersed with gameplay footage. Metroid Gravity is the direct sequel to Starfall, taking place a year after, as Samus lands on a desolate planet which is being menaced by a mysterious black hole. The planet has already cracked under the black hole's force, unleashing nightmarish creatures and causing strange gravitational effects that form the main gameplay theme of the game, which is all about gravity. Samus will need to learn to control and harness gravity to defeat the terrors she faces and navigate a planet (and at least two moons) wrecked by the black hole. In addition, the planet has become home to a mysterious hive of Metroids that may be the key to containing the black hole's power. Samus no longer has help from her squadmates, creating a much more isolated game than the previous one, and calling back to memories of previous games in the series. The presentation spent a lot of time showing off the trippy gravity effects that will see Samus walking on the ceiling, floating between chunks of planet, and even forced to navigate rooms that could potentially crush her inside her suit. While the basic gameplay from Starfall remains intact, this title definitely doesn't play like any Metroid game we've ever seen. The end of the presentation also revealed that Dark Samus, the mysterious foe that Samus fought in Starfall, is returning as well, and may be trying to harness the power of gravity for herself. Metroid Gravity looks like one of the most unique and impressive Metroid titles we've ever seen, and it'll be released on November 20th. After the Metroid Gravity presentation, Layden then introduced Satoru Iwata and Katsuya Eguchi to the stage, setting the stage for the introduction of Super Mario Laboratory, Mario's latest 3-D adventure and the first purely 3-D Super Mario game since Super Mario Dimensions 2 in 2007. We've been hearing a lot about the game since it was announced at last year's E3, but this year we're getting a lot of new information. The player takes control of Mario, who's wearing a Dr. Mario-esque lab coat and has the ability to perform all his familiar moves, including jumping and stomping, but with the addition of special vials and beakers he can carry around to perform experiments. All of Mario's power-ups now come from his experiments, and while we see that Mario can mix up a Fire Flower or a Raccoon Tail, he's also capable of turning into a bolt of electricity or even a strange dog-like beast that can pounce on foes and sniff out treasures. He can also change the landscape of the world itself through experimentation. Mario works out of a science lab, which serves as the game's "hub world", so to speak, and can create portals to twelve different worlds inside this lab. As par for the course for an open world Mario game, the player will be collecting special items to help progress through the game, and in Laboratory's case, this means medals. As Mario accomplishes goals, completes experiments, defeats baddies, and helps people, he'll earn special science medals that can be used to help gain funding for more experiments, which help him gain access to more worlds. Of course, Mario's nemesis Bowser is also a scientist now, doing evil mad science and holding Princess Peach for ransom to gain funding for his experiments. It's up to Mario to stop Bowser's mad science before the entire universe is destroyed! This game definitely looks like a fun and silly throwback to the 3-D Mario titles of old, with the most unique power ups and level designs ever. Satoru Iwata encouraged the gathered crowd to feel free to experiment for themselves by playing the game on the show floor, and announced a release date of September 25 for the game.
Following this presentation, which went about as long as the one for Metroid Gravity, Iwata and Eguchi left the stage and we were treated to a few quick previews of more upcoming Sapphire games. We got a quick teaser snippet for next year's The Darkest, mostly showing Kris in a sexy new outfit doing powerful magic as her apprentices followed her lead and battled a series of demonic enemies. Next up, an announcement that was a bit of a surprise: Arcadia 2 is coming to the Sapphire next year. This trailer wasn't quite as awesome as the trailer for the original game, but it looks like the classic four player arcade meets modern beat 'em up gameplay is back, and that even more arcade games will be spoofed, not just classic 80s games, but 90s titles like Street Fighter as well. Following that was a short but exciting trailer for the first Connect game of the show, and it's a big one: Mario Kart Excel is coming to the Connect. It looks to be similar to previous Mario Kart titles, but promises more speed than ever and a hovercraft-like kart reminiscent of the F-Zero series. It looks beautiful on the Connect, and we should expect it to be released early next year. It looks like we're indeed in the Connect part of the presentation, as we immediately got another preview for a Connect game immediately afterwards. It's a preview for Rise A Knight: Renaissance, a full-fledged RPG for the Connect. We've seen this one already announced late last year, but this was our best look at the game yet, which will feature a female protagonist for the first time, who rebels against her brother to start her own nation. Featuring the same complex job, quest, and character relationship systems of the console titles, it's a very interesting look at what the Connect is capable of, and should be one of the more addictive Connect games of the year when it's released in November. Next up was a presentation for another Connect title, Justicar 3, and this one went a bit more in-depth, with one of the developers coming on stage with Layden to help show off the game. Like the last two titles, Justicar 3 is a third person shooter taking place in a futuristic world with soldiers who have the personality of Arthurian knights. Damon returns once more as the protagonist, and is forced to confront a traitor in his ranks after a trusted companion is murdered. The developer showed off plenty of new gameplay systems, including an RPG-style level up system designed to make the game feel more like a classic adventure, along with interactive dialogue trees within battle and improved enemy AI. The game's graphics continue to be a showcase for what Nintendo handhelds are capable of, and this looks like it'll be capable of pushing the Connect to its limits. It's set for release in October. We then got a look at Argonaut's exciting rail shooter Quintessence, one of the more intriguing Connect titles and one we've been looking forward to ever since it was first announced last year. While it does have some elements of Star Fox, it features human characters and less of a focus on storyline and plot, with more of a focus on intense, arcade-style gameplay. Like Justicar 3, this game looks incredible, with tons of detail on ships and backgrounds, battles taking place both in space and on the surface of planets, and a highly addictive scoring system that will make us want to keep replaying the same levels over and over again (though with 18 levels in total, we won't have to do any repeats right away). Quintessence looks absolutely gorgeous and might just be a sleeper pick for the best Connect game of the year. Finally, Layden showed off more of Soul Sacrifice, an RPG/adventure/hack and slash hybrid type game published by Sony. Developed by Keiji Inafune, who still works mostly with Capcom but is technically a freelancer, Soul Sacrifice is a game in which the player spends most of their time battling enemies and collecting their souls. They can choose either to save them, regaining some power, or sacrifice them to gain more rewards. The player can also sacrifice a piece of themselves to activate a tremendously powerful attack. One of the most unique and intriguing RPGs we've yet played, with plenty of moral and strategic choices for the player, Soul Sacrifice is being positioned as one of the year's best Connect exclusives, but only if it can set itself apart from other action RPGs on the market.
The next part of the presentation was a sizzle reel of third party games, then we got a segment that focused primarily on a pair of Sony published Sapphire titles: Gran Turismo 5, and SOCOM 6. Gran Turismo 5 took an in depth look at the new cars and tracks available and the technological improvements from Gran Turismo 4, promising the deepest and most realistic racing title ever made. We were certainly impressed by the graphics, which might just be the best on the Sapphire (though not as good as Forza Horizon on the Nexus), and also the HUGE selection of cars (1,600 in all!!!). However, we're even more impressed by SOCOM 6, which looks like the freshest SOCOM in years despite less than two years of a turnaround after the previous game. SOCOM 6 will see squads broken off into individual units and forced to rely on the direction of others to proceed, with a heavy emphasis on stealth and teamwork that make this one of the more tense FPS titles we've seen. You'll never be able to be quite sure of where your teammates are most of the time, so you have to put a lot of trust in their directions and that they'll come to help you, knowing that they themselves won't be able to succeed without their own teammates. SOCOM 6 also features a lot of underground areas and secret tunnels, making this the first FPS where exploration is a major element of gameplay (there's also the Turok series, but SOCOM requires much faster and coordinated movement). SOCOM 6 might be a more intimate title in scope than its predecessor, owing to the short development time, but it's no slouch on gameplay and we expect some intense online battles out of this one. After the SOCOM 6 preview, Shawn Layden invited Satoru Iwata back on stage. Iwata then discussed Nintendo's upcoming plans. He stated that while Nintendo will continue developing games for the Sapphire for a long time yet, the company has also been hard at work on the next generation of video game technology. While it's not quite ready to reveal just yet, he wanted to give a small taste of what Nintendo has planned for the next generation of games. The first preview video showed off what looked to be a next generation F-Zero game, which was confirmed by seeing Captain Falcon show up in his Blue Falcon racer. However, this doesn't look purely like a racing game, and indeed, the trailer ended up revealing a huge, open world sandbox title with some beat 'em up elements, shocking the crowd but also exciting them. The F-Zero logo appeared, followed by the words "Coming Soon". Then, we saw one more video.... Squad Four battling it out with what appeared to be robotic soldiers, backed up by a huge metallic creature. The video mixed cutscene footage with gameplay, which looked almost seamless, showing incredibly smooth and detailed character models and gorgeous animation. Despite a close call, Squad Four managed to finish the creature off, and as they walked away, Shad took one last look at the camera, winking. The Squad Four logo then appeared, and the video ended. Iwata promised that he would have more to reveal about this new Nintendo console sometime before the end of the year, and that in the meantime, the Nintendo Sapphire had many new games planned for the future. He and Layden then thanked the attendees before leaving the stage.
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Half-Life 3 Mostly MIA At E3 2012
In all the hype over the announcements of new hardware from Apple and Google, it's easy to forget that Half-Life 3 was announced all the way back at E3 2010, and though we've heard some snippets of information about the game since then, it seems like very little progress has been made in releasing the game itself. That said, Valve did have a booth at E3, and while they were mostly hyping up new Steam software updates and showing off some computer hardware, we did get to see a bit of progress on Half-Life 3. The game looks more polished than it did two years ago, and though we shouldn't expect a release this year, a 2013 release hasn't been completely ruled out. Gabe Newell even mentioned the game in his quick presentation at the Valve booth, stating that "We're working extremely hard to make Half-Life 3 the best game it can possibly be. I'd like to ask you all for more patience, and that we'll have more to show you when we have more to show you." That said, what we saw briefly at Valve's booth did give us a lot of hope for the game itself. There are massive, open areas to explore and also some cramped, labyrinthine corridors, along with an array of new weapons and potentially the option to switch weapon components for an advantage against certain types of enemies. The game also looks beautiful, though it has to be considered that Valve was showing off a video of the game running on an extremely high quality rig and not the typical gaming PC most people will be playing it on. Still, progress is being made at a steady pace, and the fact that we might be getting Half-Life 3 as early as next year is definitely exciting. Keep the faith and keep your fingers crossed, Half-Life fans. We're thinking it'll be worth the wait.
-from a June 11, 2012 post on the Release Valve blog
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Guild Wars 2, Hitman Online Headline Bumper Crop Of New MMOs
Among this year's best PC games revealed at this year's E3 were several promising new online multiplayer titles coming either this year or next, with Guild Wars 2 and Hitman Online looking to be the most promising of the bunch. Guild Wars 2 is the sequel to 2005's major hit, which emerged as one of the ten most popular MMORPGs and a popular alternative to games such as World Of Warcraft. Guild Wars 2 promises to majorly build upon the original, with even more opportunities to affect the world of the game based on both the player's individual actions and that of their guild. With new weapons and the addition of more armies and skill types, Guild Wars 2 will make it easier than ever to build a powerful character, and the game will remain subscription-free, promising a complex experience without forcing players to make a monthly commitment of money. Then there's Hitman Online, a surprise announcement and one that will take the popular stealth action game into the world of online MMOs, allowing players to customize their own hired killer and take on missions that can be given to them by either the game or by other players themselves. While Eidos has no plans as of yet to put Hitman Online on consoles, it seems likely that it will make the leap if the PC game proves popular enough. We've also seen some good things from Velveteen, said to be an online MMO take on the classic children's book The Velveteen Rabbit. Taking place in a magical forest where toys come to life and frolic with forest creatures, the game definitely has an aim toward younger players, but isn't all sunshine and rainbows, and seems to be a combination of an RPG with an interactive social experience, while also being a beautiful work of art with a children's book-esque artstyle. We're not sure how well this game will perform, but we like how unique it seems when compared to other MMOs on the market. 2012 may end up being the Year of the MMO, but it has yet to be seen if anything can challenge the reigning king of the genre, World Of Warcraft. Of this year's new titles, only Guild Wars 2 seems ambitious enough to challenge the market leader, with the other games aiming more toward niche markets. Still, players hoping for a new MMO experience should be able to find one amongst this year's games, and there could easily be at least one major sleeper hit to come out of these upcoming titles.
-from an article on PC Britannia, posted on June 11, 2012
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Game Critics Awards E3 2012
Best Of Show: Apple Virtua
Best Original Game: Miraculous Ladybug
Best Console Game: Super Mario Laboratory
Best PC Game: Under The Surface
Best Handheld Game: Railstorm
Best Peripheral/Hardware: Apple Virtua
Best Action Game: Bayonetta 2
Best Action/Adventure Game: Super Mario Laboratory
Best Role Playing Game: Skies Of Vermillion
Best Racing Game: Virtua Rally
Best Sports Game: Virtua Sports
Best Fighting Game: Virtua Fighter Beyond Infinity
Best Shooter: The Covenant 5
Best Party Game: Mario Party Connect
Best Online Multiplayer: Guild Wars 2
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E3 2012 saw two high profile new console reveals, while Nintendo declined to join in the party (perhaps out of fear of being overshadowed by their rivals?). The Google Nexus, which had already been revealed earlier in the year, had its "coming out" party at E3 2012, and everyone loved it, though there were a few skeptics among the crowd as there always are. The new console promised unprecedented convenience and connectability, with the opportunity for players to use it in conjunction with a built-in handheld that also doubled as the device's controller. The Nexus showed off some impressive ports and a couple of major exclusives, but the lack of exclusive titles didn't spoil the reveal party too much, as the console itself was just so unique that most attendees figured the games would come later. Still, The Covenant 5 and Miraculous Ladybug were both huge reveals, and could give the Nexus a major boost as it secures more big ticket games under its belt.
Meanwhile, Apple's Virtua was also a mixed bag. Its graphical might (which surpassed the Nexus to some extent, though not to a major one) and impressive motion controls were hugely popular with attendees, who spent the week demoing impressive titles like Virtua Fighter and Virtua Sports in Apple's huge booth. However, the system's price tag (500 dollars!) and the potential for privacy concerns with the device's camera (which Jobs did make sure to announce could be turned off via a button right on the front of the console) were troublesome. Apple has succeeded with pricey hardware before, both in the computer market and in the console market, but $499 is the steepest price tag ever on the base model of a mainstream gaming console, and it could end up being a tough sell, especially if the Google Nexus is successful.
And Nintendo looked like it wanted to reveal something more than a couple of tech demos, but saw fit to keep their mouths mostly shut about their upcoming next-gen hardware, as they still had plenty of Sapphire games to hype. There were some impressive ones, including Gran Turismo 5, Metroid Gravity, and Super Mario Laboratory, and it looks like the Sapphire might just dominate this holiday season, the last before the release of Apple's Virtua and the first they'll have to share with Google's new machine. Nintendo also proved they're still the kings of the handheld arena, revealing a ton of fun new Connect titles, with the consensus being that the gap between the Connect and the Gemini has widened after this E3. It may wide even further after the inevitable next-gen Pokemon announcement, which we expect will be a major part of Nintendo's next E3 presentation (along with, we expect, the upcoming new console).
Half-Life 3 was mostly a no-show yet again, but at least we got some news about it, even if we had to bug Gabe Newell at the Valve booth for a few teases. The game appeared to be making progress, and might be ready for next year. We imagine it'll be ported to at least one of the new consoles (our money's on the Nexus, despite it looking like it'll be the least technologically capable of the three). Meanwhile, MMOs ruled the day amongst PC games, with Guild Wars 2 dominating coverage, and the reveal of a surprisingly beautiful new game based on the Velveteen Rabbit shocking us all. We also got to see footage of the horrifying Under The Surface, which will both haunt our nightmares and strain our graphics cards, and was many people's sleeper pick for Best in Show, even if the new consoles got most of the votes.
E3 2012 was everything that E3 2011 wasn't: lots of games, lots of new hardware, and plenty of shocks and big reveals. While a few games (Half-Life 3 and Grand Theft Auto III) failed to show and left us wanting more, what we did see (Super Mario Laboratory, Bayonetta 2, Miraculous Ladybug) left us extremely excited about the next year and a half of gaming. All we need now is for Nintendo to reveal their new console, and we should have a pretty good look at how the next generation will play out.
-from IGN's summary of E3 2012
Nintendo's keynote doesn't begin with a game trailer this year. Instead, it begins with Nintendo of America president Shawn Layden taking the stage and thanking the attendees, before briefly discussing the Sapphire and its success, along with the successful launch of the Nintendo Connect, and that this year's presentation would be all about the next wave of games coming to both systems. He then introduces a brief trailer for the upcoming Metroid Gravity, before giving a full presentation about the game, complete with snippets of interviews from the game's director and developers, interspersed with gameplay footage. Metroid Gravity is the direct sequel to Starfall, taking place a year after, as Samus lands on a desolate planet which is being menaced by a mysterious black hole. The planet has already cracked under the black hole's force, unleashing nightmarish creatures and causing strange gravitational effects that form the main gameplay theme of the game, which is all about gravity. Samus will need to learn to control and harness gravity to defeat the terrors she faces and navigate a planet (and at least two moons) wrecked by the black hole. In addition, the planet has become home to a mysterious hive of Metroids that may be the key to containing the black hole's power. Samus no longer has help from her squadmates, creating a much more isolated game than the previous one, and calling back to memories of previous games in the series. The presentation spent a lot of time showing off the trippy gravity effects that will see Samus walking on the ceiling, floating between chunks of planet, and even forced to navigate rooms that could potentially crush her inside her suit. While the basic gameplay from Starfall remains intact, this title definitely doesn't play like any Metroid game we've ever seen. The end of the presentation also revealed that Dark Samus, the mysterious foe that Samus fought in Starfall, is returning as well, and may be trying to harness the power of gravity for herself. Metroid Gravity looks like one of the most unique and impressive Metroid titles we've ever seen, and it'll be released on November 20th. After the Metroid Gravity presentation, Layden then introduced Satoru Iwata and Katsuya Eguchi to the stage, setting the stage for the introduction of Super Mario Laboratory, Mario's latest 3-D adventure and the first purely 3-D Super Mario game since Super Mario Dimensions 2 in 2007. We've been hearing a lot about the game since it was announced at last year's E3, but this year we're getting a lot of new information. The player takes control of Mario, who's wearing a Dr. Mario-esque lab coat and has the ability to perform all his familiar moves, including jumping and stomping, but with the addition of special vials and beakers he can carry around to perform experiments. All of Mario's power-ups now come from his experiments, and while we see that Mario can mix up a Fire Flower or a Raccoon Tail, he's also capable of turning into a bolt of electricity or even a strange dog-like beast that can pounce on foes and sniff out treasures. He can also change the landscape of the world itself through experimentation. Mario works out of a science lab, which serves as the game's "hub world", so to speak, and can create portals to twelve different worlds inside this lab. As par for the course for an open world Mario game, the player will be collecting special items to help progress through the game, and in Laboratory's case, this means medals. As Mario accomplishes goals, completes experiments, defeats baddies, and helps people, he'll earn special science medals that can be used to help gain funding for more experiments, which help him gain access to more worlds. Of course, Mario's nemesis Bowser is also a scientist now, doing evil mad science and holding Princess Peach for ransom to gain funding for his experiments. It's up to Mario to stop Bowser's mad science before the entire universe is destroyed! This game definitely looks like a fun and silly throwback to the 3-D Mario titles of old, with the most unique power ups and level designs ever. Satoru Iwata encouraged the gathered crowd to feel free to experiment for themselves by playing the game on the show floor, and announced a release date of September 25 for the game.
Following this presentation, which went about as long as the one for Metroid Gravity, Iwata and Eguchi left the stage and we were treated to a few quick previews of more upcoming Sapphire games. We got a quick teaser snippet for next year's The Darkest, mostly showing Kris in a sexy new outfit doing powerful magic as her apprentices followed her lead and battled a series of demonic enemies. Next up, an announcement that was a bit of a surprise: Arcadia 2 is coming to the Sapphire next year. This trailer wasn't quite as awesome as the trailer for the original game, but it looks like the classic four player arcade meets modern beat 'em up gameplay is back, and that even more arcade games will be spoofed, not just classic 80s games, but 90s titles like Street Fighter as well. Following that was a short but exciting trailer for the first Connect game of the show, and it's a big one: Mario Kart Excel is coming to the Connect. It looks to be similar to previous Mario Kart titles, but promises more speed than ever and a hovercraft-like kart reminiscent of the F-Zero series. It looks beautiful on the Connect, and we should expect it to be released early next year. It looks like we're indeed in the Connect part of the presentation, as we immediately got another preview for a Connect game immediately afterwards. It's a preview for Rise A Knight: Renaissance, a full-fledged RPG for the Connect. We've seen this one already announced late last year, but this was our best look at the game yet, which will feature a female protagonist for the first time, who rebels against her brother to start her own nation. Featuring the same complex job, quest, and character relationship systems of the console titles, it's a very interesting look at what the Connect is capable of, and should be one of the more addictive Connect games of the year when it's released in November. Next up was a presentation for another Connect title, Justicar 3, and this one went a bit more in-depth, with one of the developers coming on stage with Layden to help show off the game. Like the last two titles, Justicar 3 is a third person shooter taking place in a futuristic world with soldiers who have the personality of Arthurian knights. Damon returns once more as the protagonist, and is forced to confront a traitor in his ranks after a trusted companion is murdered. The developer showed off plenty of new gameplay systems, including an RPG-style level up system designed to make the game feel more like a classic adventure, along with interactive dialogue trees within battle and improved enemy AI. The game's graphics continue to be a showcase for what Nintendo handhelds are capable of, and this looks like it'll be capable of pushing the Connect to its limits. It's set for release in October. We then got a look at Argonaut's exciting rail shooter Quintessence, one of the more intriguing Connect titles and one we've been looking forward to ever since it was first announced last year. While it does have some elements of Star Fox, it features human characters and less of a focus on storyline and plot, with more of a focus on intense, arcade-style gameplay. Like Justicar 3, this game looks incredible, with tons of detail on ships and backgrounds, battles taking place both in space and on the surface of planets, and a highly addictive scoring system that will make us want to keep replaying the same levels over and over again (though with 18 levels in total, we won't have to do any repeats right away). Quintessence looks absolutely gorgeous and might just be a sleeper pick for the best Connect game of the year. Finally, Layden showed off more of Soul Sacrifice, an RPG/adventure/hack and slash hybrid type game published by Sony. Developed by Keiji Inafune, who still works mostly with Capcom but is technically a freelancer, Soul Sacrifice is a game in which the player spends most of their time battling enemies and collecting their souls. They can choose either to save them, regaining some power, or sacrifice them to gain more rewards. The player can also sacrifice a piece of themselves to activate a tremendously powerful attack. One of the most unique and intriguing RPGs we've yet played, with plenty of moral and strategic choices for the player, Soul Sacrifice is being positioned as one of the year's best Connect exclusives, but only if it can set itself apart from other action RPGs on the market.
The next part of the presentation was a sizzle reel of third party games, then we got a segment that focused primarily on a pair of Sony published Sapphire titles: Gran Turismo 5, and SOCOM 6. Gran Turismo 5 took an in depth look at the new cars and tracks available and the technological improvements from Gran Turismo 4, promising the deepest and most realistic racing title ever made. We were certainly impressed by the graphics, which might just be the best on the Sapphire (though not as good as Forza Horizon on the Nexus), and also the HUGE selection of cars (1,600 in all!!!). However, we're even more impressed by SOCOM 6, which looks like the freshest SOCOM in years despite less than two years of a turnaround after the previous game. SOCOM 6 will see squads broken off into individual units and forced to rely on the direction of others to proceed, with a heavy emphasis on stealth and teamwork that make this one of the more tense FPS titles we've seen. You'll never be able to be quite sure of where your teammates are most of the time, so you have to put a lot of trust in their directions and that they'll come to help you, knowing that they themselves won't be able to succeed without their own teammates. SOCOM 6 also features a lot of underground areas and secret tunnels, making this the first FPS where exploration is a major element of gameplay (there's also the Turok series, but SOCOM requires much faster and coordinated movement). SOCOM 6 might be a more intimate title in scope than its predecessor, owing to the short development time, but it's no slouch on gameplay and we expect some intense online battles out of this one. After the SOCOM 6 preview, Shawn Layden invited Satoru Iwata back on stage. Iwata then discussed Nintendo's upcoming plans. He stated that while Nintendo will continue developing games for the Sapphire for a long time yet, the company has also been hard at work on the next generation of video game technology. While it's not quite ready to reveal just yet, he wanted to give a small taste of what Nintendo has planned for the next generation of games. The first preview video showed off what looked to be a next generation F-Zero game, which was confirmed by seeing Captain Falcon show up in his Blue Falcon racer. However, this doesn't look purely like a racing game, and indeed, the trailer ended up revealing a huge, open world sandbox title with some beat 'em up elements, shocking the crowd but also exciting them. The F-Zero logo appeared, followed by the words "Coming Soon". Then, we saw one more video.... Squad Four battling it out with what appeared to be robotic soldiers, backed up by a huge metallic creature. The video mixed cutscene footage with gameplay, which looked almost seamless, showing incredibly smooth and detailed character models and gorgeous animation. Despite a close call, Squad Four managed to finish the creature off, and as they walked away, Shad took one last look at the camera, winking. The Squad Four logo then appeared, and the video ended. Iwata promised that he would have more to reveal about this new Nintendo console sometime before the end of the year, and that in the meantime, the Nintendo Sapphire had many new games planned for the future. He and Layden then thanked the attendees before leaving the stage.
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Half-Life 3 Mostly MIA At E3 2012
In all the hype over the announcements of new hardware from Apple and Google, it's easy to forget that Half-Life 3 was announced all the way back at E3 2010, and though we've heard some snippets of information about the game since then, it seems like very little progress has been made in releasing the game itself. That said, Valve did have a booth at E3, and while they were mostly hyping up new Steam software updates and showing off some computer hardware, we did get to see a bit of progress on Half-Life 3. The game looks more polished than it did two years ago, and though we shouldn't expect a release this year, a 2013 release hasn't been completely ruled out. Gabe Newell even mentioned the game in his quick presentation at the Valve booth, stating that "We're working extremely hard to make Half-Life 3 the best game it can possibly be. I'd like to ask you all for more patience, and that we'll have more to show you when we have more to show you." That said, what we saw briefly at Valve's booth did give us a lot of hope for the game itself. There are massive, open areas to explore and also some cramped, labyrinthine corridors, along with an array of new weapons and potentially the option to switch weapon components for an advantage against certain types of enemies. The game also looks beautiful, though it has to be considered that Valve was showing off a video of the game running on an extremely high quality rig and not the typical gaming PC most people will be playing it on. Still, progress is being made at a steady pace, and the fact that we might be getting Half-Life 3 as early as next year is definitely exciting. Keep the faith and keep your fingers crossed, Half-Life fans. We're thinking it'll be worth the wait.
-from a June 11, 2012 post on the Release Valve blog
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Guild Wars 2, Hitman Online Headline Bumper Crop Of New MMOs
Among this year's best PC games revealed at this year's E3 were several promising new online multiplayer titles coming either this year or next, with Guild Wars 2 and Hitman Online looking to be the most promising of the bunch. Guild Wars 2 is the sequel to 2005's major hit, which emerged as one of the ten most popular MMORPGs and a popular alternative to games such as World Of Warcraft. Guild Wars 2 promises to majorly build upon the original, with even more opportunities to affect the world of the game based on both the player's individual actions and that of their guild. With new weapons and the addition of more armies and skill types, Guild Wars 2 will make it easier than ever to build a powerful character, and the game will remain subscription-free, promising a complex experience without forcing players to make a monthly commitment of money. Then there's Hitman Online, a surprise announcement and one that will take the popular stealth action game into the world of online MMOs, allowing players to customize their own hired killer and take on missions that can be given to them by either the game or by other players themselves. While Eidos has no plans as of yet to put Hitman Online on consoles, it seems likely that it will make the leap if the PC game proves popular enough. We've also seen some good things from Velveteen, said to be an online MMO take on the classic children's book The Velveteen Rabbit. Taking place in a magical forest where toys come to life and frolic with forest creatures, the game definitely has an aim toward younger players, but isn't all sunshine and rainbows, and seems to be a combination of an RPG with an interactive social experience, while also being a beautiful work of art with a children's book-esque artstyle. We're not sure how well this game will perform, but we like how unique it seems when compared to other MMOs on the market. 2012 may end up being the Year of the MMO, but it has yet to be seen if anything can challenge the reigning king of the genre, World Of Warcraft. Of this year's new titles, only Guild Wars 2 seems ambitious enough to challenge the market leader, with the other games aiming more toward niche markets. Still, players hoping for a new MMO experience should be able to find one amongst this year's games, and there could easily be at least one major sleeper hit to come out of these upcoming titles.
-from an article on PC Britannia, posted on June 11, 2012
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Game Critics Awards E3 2012
Best Of Show: Apple Virtua
Best Original Game: Miraculous Ladybug
Best Console Game: Super Mario Laboratory
Best PC Game: Under The Surface
Best Handheld Game: Railstorm
Best Peripheral/Hardware: Apple Virtua
Best Action Game: Bayonetta 2
Best Action/Adventure Game: Super Mario Laboratory
Best Role Playing Game: Skies Of Vermillion
Best Racing Game: Virtua Rally
Best Sports Game: Virtua Sports
Best Fighting Game: Virtua Fighter Beyond Infinity
Best Shooter: The Covenant 5
Best Party Game: Mario Party Connect
Best Online Multiplayer: Guild Wars 2
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E3 2012 saw two high profile new console reveals, while Nintendo declined to join in the party (perhaps out of fear of being overshadowed by their rivals?). The Google Nexus, which had already been revealed earlier in the year, had its "coming out" party at E3 2012, and everyone loved it, though there were a few skeptics among the crowd as there always are. The new console promised unprecedented convenience and connectability, with the opportunity for players to use it in conjunction with a built-in handheld that also doubled as the device's controller. The Nexus showed off some impressive ports and a couple of major exclusives, but the lack of exclusive titles didn't spoil the reveal party too much, as the console itself was just so unique that most attendees figured the games would come later. Still, The Covenant 5 and Miraculous Ladybug were both huge reveals, and could give the Nexus a major boost as it secures more big ticket games under its belt.
Meanwhile, Apple's Virtua was also a mixed bag. Its graphical might (which surpassed the Nexus to some extent, though not to a major one) and impressive motion controls were hugely popular with attendees, who spent the week demoing impressive titles like Virtua Fighter and Virtua Sports in Apple's huge booth. However, the system's price tag (500 dollars!) and the potential for privacy concerns with the device's camera (which Jobs did make sure to announce could be turned off via a button right on the front of the console) were troublesome. Apple has succeeded with pricey hardware before, both in the computer market and in the console market, but $499 is the steepest price tag ever on the base model of a mainstream gaming console, and it could end up being a tough sell, especially if the Google Nexus is successful.
And Nintendo looked like it wanted to reveal something more than a couple of tech demos, but saw fit to keep their mouths mostly shut about their upcoming next-gen hardware, as they still had plenty of Sapphire games to hype. There were some impressive ones, including Gran Turismo 5, Metroid Gravity, and Super Mario Laboratory, and it looks like the Sapphire might just dominate this holiday season, the last before the release of Apple's Virtua and the first they'll have to share with Google's new machine. Nintendo also proved they're still the kings of the handheld arena, revealing a ton of fun new Connect titles, with the consensus being that the gap between the Connect and the Gemini has widened after this E3. It may wide even further after the inevitable next-gen Pokemon announcement, which we expect will be a major part of Nintendo's next E3 presentation (along with, we expect, the upcoming new console).
Half-Life 3 was mostly a no-show yet again, but at least we got some news about it, even if we had to bug Gabe Newell at the Valve booth for a few teases. The game appeared to be making progress, and might be ready for next year. We imagine it'll be ported to at least one of the new consoles (our money's on the Nexus, despite it looking like it'll be the least technologically capable of the three). Meanwhile, MMOs ruled the day amongst PC games, with Guild Wars 2 dominating coverage, and the reveal of a surprisingly beautiful new game based on the Velveteen Rabbit shocking us all. We also got to see footage of the horrifying Under The Surface, which will both haunt our nightmares and strain our graphics cards, and was many people's sleeper pick for Best in Show, even if the new consoles got most of the votes.
E3 2012 was everything that E3 2011 wasn't: lots of games, lots of new hardware, and plenty of shocks and big reveals. While a few games (Half-Life 3 and Grand Theft Auto III) failed to show and left us wanting more, what we did see (Super Mario Laboratory, Bayonetta 2, Miraculous Ladybug) left us extremely excited about the next year and a half of gaming. All we need now is for Nintendo to reveal their new console, and we should have a pretty good look at how the next generation will play out.
-from IGN's summary of E3 2012
Two years ago(TL time, almost a year in RL time) the game is just still in development.
BONUS: Thomas The Tank Engine Animated Series Season 3, Part 1
"They, cu-cu-, cut them up! It's worse in America, they say only a few steam engines there have gotten away."
- Percy (Nigel Pilkington) says this line over a compilation of authentic scrapping of steam engines.
"This did not just happen!"
- Culdee's horrified reaction to Godred's death in a flashback, Bad-Look Out
"Some stick-in-the-mud you are!"
"I sure was..."
- Young Rheneas (John Hasler) as remembered by old Skarloey (Ian McKellen)
Ever since the decision to re-adapt RWS stories was announced, fans were anticipating later books In the series. Ones that had not been adapted with models for reasons regarding costs. So, TTTE 2010’s Third Season began with high hopes.
Mavis: Thomas’ branchline is a peaceful place where the engines have shown Daisy around and she has become one of them. However, Toby finds himself being over-worked at the Anopha Quarry just beyond Ffarqhuar until the Fat Controller arrives with news for the engines. The company will be purchasing their own diesel so that Toby is no longer needed to shunt all day out there. The next day, Toby is called down to meet Mavis, the new diesel for the quarry. At first Mavis (Jessica DiCicco) learns quickly and pleases everyone. But one day, Thomas is late at the junction because he spent too long looking for his trucks, which have constantly been switched to various places. When Toby confronts Mavis, it turns out she has been re-arranging them, and Toby calmly explains that they should be “where you want them when you want them”. But Mavis does not take this to heart and complains to Daisy, who says she knows everything, and that Toby needs to “get with the times”. But one day, Toby advises Mavis how to get across a crossing. But Mavis ignores him and later gets stuck, much to the amusement of Toby and the irritation of Thomas and Percy, who both help Toby pull Mavis out. Mavis is restricted to the quarry after her antics until the winter has passed and she is again allowed to reach as far as the crossing. However, she one days asks the trucks to bump her past the crossing onto the open line. Though she eventually has to go back, the trucks still do it with Today, which causes him to nearly fall into a raging river when the bridge partially collapses. Mavis does come to his rescue, and after apologizing is promised the chance to go on to the open line again soon.
Stepney the Bluebell Engine: Percy is singing a spoof of the "Campbells are Coming" about Bluebells, which Douglas finds extremely distasteful. Upon further explanation, Percy explains he is singing in reference to the Bluebell Railway, who's having an engine of theirs come over to run on Sodor. The engine, whose name is Stepney, arrives almost immediately after Percy tells Douglas the news. Stepney (Keith Wickham) gets along with almost everyone quickly, though he does briefly get on Thomas' bad side after delaying the blue engine with a special for a passenger who missed his own train.
Balls and Bowlers: Percy allows Stepney to take his trucks from the quarry to Tidmouth Harbor and back one day while he shunts with Mavis. During the trip, he stops at a cricket field and his crew watch a game as they wait for the signal. But as they leave, the cricket ball lands in a truck and they do not hear the players call for them to stop. As such, the player get in their car Caroline (Whoopi Goldberg), who chases Stepney all the way to Ffarqhuar. After an explanation and the discovery that Caroline has failed, Stepney agrees to take her back as an apology. A few day later near the end of Stepney's visit, an obnoxious diesel comes and insults the steamers, who are left unable to think of a revenge plan. However, the diesel's karma comes when he sucks up an inspector's hat and breaks down. Duck and Stepney shunt him back into a shed and take the express instead. They are early, and the diesel gets the nickname "Bowler" as Stepney leaves soon after.
Mountain Engine: As the standard gauge engines say goodbye to Stepney, Sir Handel is complaining to the other narrow gauge engines about the coaches abusing him without provocation. Suddenly, Donald arrives with an odd-looking purple tank engine on a flatbed. He explains it's Culdee from a nearby mountain railway, but the engines are skeptical until Culdee (Keith Wickham) wakes up, and explains what his line is like. During this time, Culdee remembers how he learned how to use his brakes on his first day. Overall, it's a straightforward adaptation of the original story, but ultimately has nothing on the next episode...
Bad-Look Out: The morning after everyone met Culdee, Sir Handel is called away to help rerail Duncan. When the two return, Duncan is ranting about how the coaches are to blame, and how the Tin Controller said he was keeping a bad look out. Skarloey attempts to change the subject to Culdee's coaches, but the subject soon changes to automatic brakes, then to Godred, his line's #1. Godred (Toby Jones) was never a good look-out, and rolled down the line carelessly. The management tried to see if there was a problem but had no such luck. One day though, Godred fell down a mountain going too fast. Though Skarloey and Rheneas learned Culdee made up Godred being cannibalized while he was alive, the adaptation implies that Godred had already been destroyed by the wreck.
Danger Points: Culdee returns home, and learns about several new engines arriving since he left. Two of these engines, Alaric (#7) and Eric (#8) are kind and peaceful. But Lord Harry (#6) is an irritable and aggressive engine. While Culdee is working with his coach Catherine, he learns that the poor coach suffered from abuse from Lord Harry. Later, Culdee meets Lord Harry (Rob Rackstraw) when he comes in furiously pushing a coach. Culdee warns Lord Harry not to be too risky, but Lord harry ignores him and eventually derails at the summit later that day. As punishment, Lord Harry loses his name and is put in the back of the shed.
Devil's Back: Eventually Lord Harry, now #6, hears about Godred, and nervously scoffs hoping it's a made up tale by Culdee. Nonetheless, he begs to be let out again and the Controller agrees. However, he is relegated to shunting a truck carrying supplies up the line. Then one day, several climbers get trapped, and Lord harry goes to rescue them. This is considered the second best of the Culdee Fell stories, with the scene of #6 climbing the mountain with support from Culdee being seen as a hallmark of the 2010 series.
Bucking Bronco: Skarloey tells Nancy the story of how he was built along with his twin Talylyn, brother Rheneas, and Rheneas' twin Doulgoch. Skarley was the first to go out, and he remember how foolish and naughty he often was to people except the green box-tank Neil (Peter Capaldi). He especially remembers an event where he was sheeted up for refusing to push trucks, and stayed there until Mr. Bobbie, an engineer who helped build him, arrived. Later, Rheneas warns Skarloey to be careful when the director arrives, but Skarloey ignores him as he gets the coaches. Eventually, Mr. Mack, the manager at the time, ends up in a bush after a chain of events where he shut off the regulator too quickly. At first, Skarloey is afraid of what the others will say, but learns it was problems with his lack of trailing wheels.
Stick-in-the-Mud: Rheneas continues the story from last episode at the request of Sir Handel. After Skarloey returned, the saddletank boasted about his cab and trailing wheels. This annoyed Rheneas profusely until the two had a falling out after Rheneas called Skarley a "stick-in-the-mud". On a rainy day however, a workman asks Rheneas to pull Skarloey out of a muddy landslide. The two engines reconcile, and have a laugh over the realization that Skarloey was a stick-in-the-mud.
In addition to the Mountain Engines saga, Mavis and Stepney's stories were fairly well received. Although some were weary of American actors as distinctly English characters. Though like with Danny DeVito as George, since these actors still did excellent jobs.
Following these first 6 episodes, Brenner confirmed plans to feature a film of sorts for the characters to serve as the introduction to more RWS characters.
To be continued...
- Percy (Nigel Pilkington) says this line over a compilation of authentic scrapping of steam engines.
"This did not just happen!"
- Culdee's horrified reaction to Godred's death in a flashback, Bad-Look Out
"Some stick-in-the-mud you are!"
"I sure was..."
- Young Rheneas (John Hasler) as remembered by old Skarloey (Ian McKellen)
Ever since the decision to re-adapt RWS stories was announced, fans were anticipating later books In the series. Ones that had not been adapted with models for reasons regarding costs. So, TTTE 2010’s Third Season began with high hopes.
Mavis: Thomas’ branchline is a peaceful place where the engines have shown Daisy around and she has become one of them. However, Toby finds himself being over-worked at the Anopha Quarry just beyond Ffarqhuar until the Fat Controller arrives with news for the engines. The company will be purchasing their own diesel so that Toby is no longer needed to shunt all day out there. The next day, Toby is called down to meet Mavis, the new diesel for the quarry. At first Mavis (Jessica DiCicco) learns quickly and pleases everyone. But one day, Thomas is late at the junction because he spent too long looking for his trucks, which have constantly been switched to various places. When Toby confronts Mavis, it turns out she has been re-arranging them, and Toby calmly explains that they should be “where you want them when you want them”. But Mavis does not take this to heart and complains to Daisy, who says she knows everything, and that Toby needs to “get with the times”. But one day, Toby advises Mavis how to get across a crossing. But Mavis ignores him and later gets stuck, much to the amusement of Toby and the irritation of Thomas and Percy, who both help Toby pull Mavis out. Mavis is restricted to the quarry after her antics until the winter has passed and she is again allowed to reach as far as the crossing. However, she one days asks the trucks to bump her past the crossing onto the open line. Though she eventually has to go back, the trucks still do it with Today, which causes him to nearly fall into a raging river when the bridge partially collapses. Mavis does come to his rescue, and after apologizing is promised the chance to go on to the open line again soon.
Stepney the Bluebell Engine: Percy is singing a spoof of the "Campbells are Coming" about Bluebells, which Douglas finds extremely distasteful. Upon further explanation, Percy explains he is singing in reference to the Bluebell Railway, who's having an engine of theirs come over to run on Sodor. The engine, whose name is Stepney, arrives almost immediately after Percy tells Douglas the news. Stepney (Keith Wickham) gets along with almost everyone quickly, though he does briefly get on Thomas' bad side after delaying the blue engine with a special for a passenger who missed his own train.
Balls and Bowlers: Percy allows Stepney to take his trucks from the quarry to Tidmouth Harbor and back one day while he shunts with Mavis. During the trip, he stops at a cricket field and his crew watch a game as they wait for the signal. But as they leave, the cricket ball lands in a truck and they do not hear the players call for them to stop. As such, the player get in their car Caroline (Whoopi Goldberg), who chases Stepney all the way to Ffarqhuar. After an explanation and the discovery that Caroline has failed, Stepney agrees to take her back as an apology. A few day later near the end of Stepney's visit, an obnoxious diesel comes and insults the steamers, who are left unable to think of a revenge plan. However, the diesel's karma comes when he sucks up an inspector's hat and breaks down. Duck and Stepney shunt him back into a shed and take the express instead. They are early, and the diesel gets the nickname "Bowler" as Stepney leaves soon after.
Mountain Engine: As the standard gauge engines say goodbye to Stepney, Sir Handel is complaining to the other narrow gauge engines about the coaches abusing him without provocation. Suddenly, Donald arrives with an odd-looking purple tank engine on a flatbed. He explains it's Culdee from a nearby mountain railway, but the engines are skeptical until Culdee (Keith Wickham) wakes up, and explains what his line is like. During this time, Culdee remembers how he learned how to use his brakes on his first day. Overall, it's a straightforward adaptation of the original story, but ultimately has nothing on the next episode...
Bad-Look Out: The morning after everyone met Culdee, Sir Handel is called away to help rerail Duncan. When the two return, Duncan is ranting about how the coaches are to blame, and how the Tin Controller said he was keeping a bad look out. Skarloey attempts to change the subject to Culdee's coaches, but the subject soon changes to automatic brakes, then to Godred, his line's #1. Godred (Toby Jones) was never a good look-out, and rolled down the line carelessly. The management tried to see if there was a problem but had no such luck. One day though, Godred fell down a mountain going too fast. Though Skarloey and Rheneas learned Culdee made up Godred being cannibalized while he was alive, the adaptation implies that Godred had already been destroyed by the wreck.
Danger Points: Culdee returns home, and learns about several new engines arriving since he left. Two of these engines, Alaric (#7) and Eric (#8) are kind and peaceful. But Lord Harry (#6) is an irritable and aggressive engine. While Culdee is working with his coach Catherine, he learns that the poor coach suffered from abuse from Lord Harry. Later, Culdee meets Lord Harry (Rob Rackstraw) when he comes in furiously pushing a coach. Culdee warns Lord Harry not to be too risky, but Lord harry ignores him and eventually derails at the summit later that day. As punishment, Lord Harry loses his name and is put in the back of the shed.
Devil's Back: Eventually Lord Harry, now #6, hears about Godred, and nervously scoffs hoping it's a made up tale by Culdee. Nonetheless, he begs to be let out again and the Controller agrees. However, he is relegated to shunting a truck carrying supplies up the line. Then one day, several climbers get trapped, and Lord harry goes to rescue them. This is considered the second best of the Culdee Fell stories, with the scene of #6 climbing the mountain with support from Culdee being seen as a hallmark of the 2010 series.
Bucking Bronco: Skarloey tells Nancy the story of how he was built along with his twin Talylyn, brother Rheneas, and Rheneas' twin Doulgoch. Skarley was the first to go out, and he remember how foolish and naughty he often was to people except the green box-tank Neil (Peter Capaldi). He especially remembers an event where he was sheeted up for refusing to push trucks, and stayed there until Mr. Bobbie, an engineer who helped build him, arrived. Later, Rheneas warns Skarloey to be careful when the director arrives, but Skarloey ignores him as he gets the coaches. Eventually, Mr. Mack, the manager at the time, ends up in a bush after a chain of events where he shut off the regulator too quickly. At first, Skarloey is afraid of what the others will say, but learns it was problems with his lack of trailing wheels.
Stick-in-the-Mud: Rheneas continues the story from last episode at the request of Sir Handel. After Skarloey returned, the saddletank boasted about his cab and trailing wheels. This annoyed Rheneas profusely until the two had a falling out after Rheneas called Skarley a "stick-in-the-mud". On a rainy day however, a workman asks Rheneas to pull Skarloey out of a muddy landslide. The two engines reconcile, and have a laugh over the realization that Skarloey was a stick-in-the-mud.
In addition to the Mountain Engines saga, Mavis and Stepney's stories were fairly well received. Although some were weary of American actors as distinctly English characters. Though like with Danny DeVito as George, since these actors still did excellent jobs.
Following these first 6 episodes, Brenner confirmed plans to feature a film of sorts for the characters to serve as the introduction to more RWS characters.
To be continued...
Last edited:
Spring 2012 (Part 4) - Lollipop, Lollipop
Lollipop Chainsaw
Developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and produced by Acclaim, Lollipop Chainsaw is an action hack and slash horror title, starring a cheerleader named Juliet Starling who battles zombies in order to save her hometown of San Romero from being completely wiped out. As IOTL, the game is a collaboration between Japanese game developer Suda51 and American film director James Gunn, and is heavily themed on rock music, with baddies who are based on various genres. Juliet uses her martial arts skills and magical chainsaw to kill zombies in brutal fashion, and has the ability to power up by using special items that can be purchased by the player, including lollipops that she can eat. The game also features the "Sparkle Time" mechanic from OTL's game, in which Juliet briefly becomes invincible and can rack up overwhelming amounts of combo kills on zombies. For the most part, the gameplay of Lollipop Chainsaw is identical to OTL's, with a few minor butterfly-induced exceptions. Most of the changes come from the game's storyline and characters, which remain mostly the same but with some key changes here and there. Like OTL's game, Lollipop Chainsaw has six levels, consisting of various locations around San Romero, which include the school, a stadium, and the local arcade. Tara Strong voices the protagonist Juliet, as she does IOTL, while Kimberly Brooks voices Juliet's younger sister Rosalind and Linda Cardellini voices Juliet's older sister Cordelia. However, a few of the bosses and actors are changed from OTL. Most notably, the farm and cathedral stages from OTL have been swapped out, in favor of a department store-themed stage and a skate park-themed stage. The boss of the department store themed stage (which takes the place of the farm as the game's third stage) has more of a prog rock motif, and is a zombified version of the boss of Juliet's first job, a glam rocker zombie voiced by Lynda Carter. The fifth stage of the game, which was a cathedral IOTL, is now a skate park, and its boss is a skater girl zombie with a riot grrrl motif, voiced by Kathleen Hanna. The game's primary antagonist is still Swan, who's essentially the same character as in OTL's game, a bullied high school kid with a crush on Juliet who unleashes a zombie apocalypse as revenge on the popular kids. The game gives a little bit more backstory about who the other bosses were before they were zombified, particularly Kathleen Hanna's character, whose name is Zanna and who Juliet used to idolize before becoming a cheerleader, back when she was going through her own "skater punk" phase. Unlike the other Dark Purveyors, who were bad people even before they were zombified, Zanna was a decent person, and her story is portrayed as being fairly tragic, with her even smiling at Juliet while returning to Hell after being defeated. The game's levels are a bit longer than the OTL game's, though the game itself is still considered to be fairly short even with the slightly expanded backstories and bigger levels. Juliet's boyfriend Nick still ends up as a detached head dangling from Juliet's waist (though this game makes it fairly clear that he returns to normal at the end, unlike OTL's game which ended up sticking his head on a smaller body). Lollipop Chainsaw is released on June 5, 2012 (one week earlier than its OTL release), and like OTL, it's a fairly polarizing game, with critics enjoying the unique themes and fun battle system, but also taking issue with the game's length and its tendency to objectify its female characters. It scores slightly higher reviews than OTL's game, averaging in the mid 7s in terms of reviews, but more notably, it sells about twice as well as it did IOTL, thanks to Acclaim's stronger marketing for the game and willingness to position it as one of their major titles of the year. It's initially released for the Sapphire and the iTwin, and is brought to the Nexus in 2013 with graphical and gameplay updates. Though Suda51 is initially reluctant to work on a sequel, he decides to do so after being persuaded by James Gunn (who isn't busy with Guardians Of The Galaxy like he was IOTL). Juliet would become one of Acclaim's most notable characters, showing up in numerous other properties including the next Mortal Kombat game.
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Acclaim Planning "Crossover" Fighting Game Featuring Its Own Characters, Plus Dark Horse, Valiant, and... Anime?
Acclaim has proven to be one of the most successful video game companies in terms of crossbranding its characters across various forms of media. It's been able to add even more characters to its repertoire after acquiring comic book companies such as Valiant and, later on, Dark Horse, and now the company wants to make the most of those characters by featuring them in a massively multiversal fighting game. The company has featured its characters in other properties before, putting Turok in Mortal Kombat and The Mask in Divine Wrath, but now Acclaim wants to add a third fighting game to its esteemed line-up, and rather than being an M-rated festival of ultraviolence like its other fighting franchises, the company plans for this game to be a faster paced, Teen-rated affair, with combo heavy gameplay similar to that of the popular Marvel vs. Capcom series of games. In addition, Acclaim has confirmed that no characters from Mortal Kombat or Divine Wrath will be featured (unless, like Turok, they've appeared in other Acclaim properties before). Instead, the company will leverage its own original characters, including Turok and Juliet Starling, along with several of the heroes from its Destined franchise, and have them battle it out with characters from the company's comic properties, such as Solar, Magnus, Eternal Warrior, and Toyo Harada. Dark Horse characters such as Hellboy will also make an appearance, and Acclaim has also announced that they're in negotiations with some of the companies that Dark Horse currently publishes licensed comics for as well, with it already being confirmed that "at least three" anime and manga characters will make guest appearances. Acclaim also hasn't ruled out "console exclusive" characters (so perhaps we could see Sonic the Hedgehog in the Virtua port?). Acclaim's new fighter is currently in the very early stages of development, and likely won't be out until 2014 at the earliest. We know it's also being developed alongside new games in the Mortal Kombat and Divine Wrath franchises, but by a different studio. Acclaim's upcoming crossover fighter is likely to be one of the most highly anticipated fighting games ever released, especially if the company can secure some heavy hitters from the anime and manga world.
-from an article posted on June 29, 2012 on Blargo
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@TheRealStanLee: Who Wants To Be A Superhero is coming to G4 this fall! The winning superhero will be featured in an upcoming Acclaim video game! Excelsior!
-a tweet posted by Stan Lee on his feed at 7:01 PM on July 9, 2012
Developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and produced by Acclaim, Lollipop Chainsaw is an action hack and slash horror title, starring a cheerleader named Juliet Starling who battles zombies in order to save her hometown of San Romero from being completely wiped out. As IOTL, the game is a collaboration between Japanese game developer Suda51 and American film director James Gunn, and is heavily themed on rock music, with baddies who are based on various genres. Juliet uses her martial arts skills and magical chainsaw to kill zombies in brutal fashion, and has the ability to power up by using special items that can be purchased by the player, including lollipops that she can eat. The game also features the "Sparkle Time" mechanic from OTL's game, in which Juliet briefly becomes invincible and can rack up overwhelming amounts of combo kills on zombies. For the most part, the gameplay of Lollipop Chainsaw is identical to OTL's, with a few minor butterfly-induced exceptions. Most of the changes come from the game's storyline and characters, which remain mostly the same but with some key changes here and there. Like OTL's game, Lollipop Chainsaw has six levels, consisting of various locations around San Romero, which include the school, a stadium, and the local arcade. Tara Strong voices the protagonist Juliet, as she does IOTL, while Kimberly Brooks voices Juliet's younger sister Rosalind and Linda Cardellini voices Juliet's older sister Cordelia. However, a few of the bosses and actors are changed from OTL. Most notably, the farm and cathedral stages from OTL have been swapped out, in favor of a department store-themed stage and a skate park-themed stage. The boss of the department store themed stage (which takes the place of the farm as the game's third stage) has more of a prog rock motif, and is a zombified version of the boss of Juliet's first job, a glam rocker zombie voiced by Lynda Carter. The fifth stage of the game, which was a cathedral IOTL, is now a skate park, and its boss is a skater girl zombie with a riot grrrl motif, voiced by Kathleen Hanna. The game's primary antagonist is still Swan, who's essentially the same character as in OTL's game, a bullied high school kid with a crush on Juliet who unleashes a zombie apocalypse as revenge on the popular kids. The game gives a little bit more backstory about who the other bosses were before they were zombified, particularly Kathleen Hanna's character, whose name is Zanna and who Juliet used to idolize before becoming a cheerleader, back when she was going through her own "skater punk" phase. Unlike the other Dark Purveyors, who were bad people even before they were zombified, Zanna was a decent person, and her story is portrayed as being fairly tragic, with her even smiling at Juliet while returning to Hell after being defeated. The game's levels are a bit longer than the OTL game's, though the game itself is still considered to be fairly short even with the slightly expanded backstories and bigger levels. Juliet's boyfriend Nick still ends up as a detached head dangling from Juliet's waist (though this game makes it fairly clear that he returns to normal at the end, unlike OTL's game which ended up sticking his head on a smaller body). Lollipop Chainsaw is released on June 5, 2012 (one week earlier than its OTL release), and like OTL, it's a fairly polarizing game, with critics enjoying the unique themes and fun battle system, but also taking issue with the game's length and its tendency to objectify its female characters. It scores slightly higher reviews than OTL's game, averaging in the mid 7s in terms of reviews, but more notably, it sells about twice as well as it did IOTL, thanks to Acclaim's stronger marketing for the game and willingness to position it as one of their major titles of the year. It's initially released for the Sapphire and the iTwin, and is brought to the Nexus in 2013 with graphical and gameplay updates. Though Suda51 is initially reluctant to work on a sequel, he decides to do so after being persuaded by James Gunn (who isn't busy with Guardians Of The Galaxy like he was IOTL). Juliet would become one of Acclaim's most notable characters, showing up in numerous other properties including the next Mortal Kombat game.
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Acclaim Planning "Crossover" Fighting Game Featuring Its Own Characters, Plus Dark Horse, Valiant, and... Anime?
Acclaim has proven to be one of the most successful video game companies in terms of crossbranding its characters across various forms of media. It's been able to add even more characters to its repertoire after acquiring comic book companies such as Valiant and, later on, Dark Horse, and now the company wants to make the most of those characters by featuring them in a massively multiversal fighting game. The company has featured its characters in other properties before, putting Turok in Mortal Kombat and The Mask in Divine Wrath, but now Acclaim wants to add a third fighting game to its esteemed line-up, and rather than being an M-rated festival of ultraviolence like its other fighting franchises, the company plans for this game to be a faster paced, Teen-rated affair, with combo heavy gameplay similar to that of the popular Marvel vs. Capcom series of games. In addition, Acclaim has confirmed that no characters from Mortal Kombat or Divine Wrath will be featured (unless, like Turok, they've appeared in other Acclaim properties before). Instead, the company will leverage its own original characters, including Turok and Juliet Starling, along with several of the heroes from its Destined franchise, and have them battle it out with characters from the company's comic properties, such as Solar, Magnus, Eternal Warrior, and Toyo Harada. Dark Horse characters such as Hellboy will also make an appearance, and Acclaim has also announced that they're in negotiations with some of the companies that Dark Horse currently publishes licensed comics for as well, with it already being confirmed that "at least three" anime and manga characters will make guest appearances. Acclaim also hasn't ruled out "console exclusive" characters (so perhaps we could see Sonic the Hedgehog in the Virtua port?). Acclaim's new fighter is currently in the very early stages of development, and likely won't be out until 2014 at the earliest. We know it's also being developed alongside new games in the Mortal Kombat and Divine Wrath franchises, but by a different studio. Acclaim's upcoming crossover fighter is likely to be one of the most highly anticipated fighting games ever released, especially if the company can secure some heavy hitters from the anime and manga world.
-from an article posted on June 29, 2012 on Blargo
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@TheRealStanLee: Who Wants To Be A Superhero is coming to G4 this fall! The winning superhero will be featured in an upcoming Acclaim video game! Excelsior!
-a tweet posted by Stan Lee on his feed at 7:01 PM on July 9, 2012
He will laugh some and discard unless is too good to continueinb4 Stan is flooded by meme superhero proposals.
Spring 2012 (Part 5) - Sonic To The Rescue?
Sonic The Hedgehog 6
Sonic The Hedgehog 6 is an action/adventure platformer released exclusively for the Apple Gemini. The game is primarily a 2-D platforming game, but features numerous open 3-D areas, creating a sort of hybrid gameplay style that makes the game a successor of sorts to 2007's Sonic Duo, though it can also be compared to the OTL Super Mario 3D Land/World games, with zones broken up into acts in classic Sonic The Hedgehog style. The game features fully 3-D graphics and a techno/symphonic soundtrack mix, and is generally less serious and plot heavy in tone compared to Sonic Duo, with storyline taking a backseat and gameplay coming to a full focus. The game also somewhat cuts down on the number of characters and side characters featured, with Sonic and Tails being at the core of the game's storyline. Knuckles and Corona are completely absent (in the series timeline, Sonic 6 takes place concurrently with Knuckles Darkside), while characters such as Amy and Big return only in brief cameos. Eggman remains absent from the series, owing to his "final" defeat in Sonic Duo, and the game's plot primarily revolves around gathering more pieces of Eggman's journal, one in each zone, while the game's villain is new: an "evil" version of Sonic known as Shadow. This was a character originally conceived for Sonic Neon in 2002 (around the same time the character was conceived for Sonic Adventure 2 IOTL), but was determined to be too out of character for the game, and was ultimately put on the backburner. Sega then intended to introduce him in a future Sonic title, but after Apple took over, the character was again shelved until finally being brought out for this game. Like OTL's Shadow, he's a darker, edgier version of Sonic who uses guns and has less of a moral compass. He also has a similar backstory: he wants revenge on Eggman, holding Eggman responsible for the death of his friend Maria. He seeks to gather Eggman's journals in hopes of a way to bring Maria back or perhaps to track down where Eggman is hiding (not believing he's truly dead). Shadow isn't "evil" per se, but he's willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish his goals, and his methods have caused tons of collateral damage in each zone he visits. Sonic 6 features plenty of classic style 2-D Sonic gameplay, but when it opens up, which happens a bit more often than in Sonic Duo, the game really opens up, with enormous worlds full of different things to explore. While the game does feature fully 3-D running sections, oftentimes the game will actually put Sonic back in 2-D for these segments, allowing him to traverse between 3-D segments by running in 2-D. Other times, the game will remain 3-D, but these segments are tailored toward the strengths of 3-D platforming, something that Sonic Team has been allowed to gradually refine over the course of the series' TTL progression, making the transitions between these segments nearly seamless and giving each aspect of the game, 2-D and 3-D, the ability to display its positive aspects. The game is somewhat devoid of enemies, making exploration and platforming the main action focus of the game. There are some enemies, especially in the 2-D segments, but there are comparatively few when held against recent games such as Sonic Duo and especially Unrelenting. Of course, there are numerous bosses in the game, most of which are fought in full 3-D (save for the game's numerous Shadow fights, which are mostly in 2-D). Each boss has their own unique gimmick, and even the Shadow fights are all mostly differentiated from each other. The game reuses some elements from previous popular Sonic titles, mostly Sonic Neon and Sonic Duo, taking what worked from those games and bringing it to this one in a new and fresh way. Sonic The Hedgehog 6 is the best looking Sonic game ever made up to this point, taking full advantage of the Gemini's capabilities to present a massive and beautiful game. The voice cast from recent Sonic games all returns, most notably Duncan Brennan reprising his role as Sonic, while Keston John joins the series as the voice of Shadow.
Sonic The Hedgehog 6 features eight zones in the main campaign, and follows recent series tradition of including an extra zone for players who beat the game and fulfill a series of difficult prerequisites. The eight zones are a mix of classic-style throwbacks and new experiments, with Zone 1 being Green Harbor Zone, a sort of homage to classic areas like Green Hill, Zone 2 being Steel Factory Zone, Zone 3 being Ancient Aquatic Zone (a sort of mix of zones such as Marble Zone with underwater zones), Zone 4 being Lava Flow Zone, Zone 5 being Lion's Den Zone (an underground zone featuring vicious animals and dangerous hazards), Zone 6 being Tentacle Terror Zone (a Lovecraft-themed zone), Zone 7 being Spectacular Show Zone (a light/neon themed zone and pretty much an homage to Sonic Neon), and Zone 8 being Parallel Reverse Zone, a zone in which Sonic must confront "nightmare" versions of his friends, while Shadow is also haunted by the memory of Maria and made to feel guilt for what he's done. Sonic and Shadow eventually confront each other for the final time in the last act of this zone, Sonic exhausted from having battled through evil versions of Tails, Amy, and Knuckles (and in doing so, giving the player a bit of a Darkside foreshadowing/teaser), while Shadow has been forced to hear Maria's memory condemning him for his actions. The final battle takes place in both the 2-D and 3-D planes, with the action switching perspectives at key points in the fight. Finally, Sonic manages to get the upper hand on Shadow, but Shadow refuses to surrender or apologize for what he's done. He uses Eggman's journal pages to construct a powerful mech, battling Sonic one last time in both a 2-D phase and a 3-D phase. Shadow is defeated, and seemingly killed when his mech explodes, but the ending of the game shows that Shadow is still alive and still seeking out the pages of Eggman's journal, while Sonic vows to protect his friends and the world from danger.
Released on June 5, 2012, Sonic The Hedgehog 6 is an immediate hit with critics, who praise both the gameplay and the storyline, and call it one of the best of the six mainline Sonic games, if not the best game in the main series to date. It simplifies the formula of previous games, distilling it down to what makes Sonic truly fun, and in doing so, accomplishes much of the same things that Sonic Duo did, in different ways. Reviews average in the low to mid 9s, making it the best reviewed game in the series since Sonic Duo. Sales of the game are excellent, both in Japan and in the West, and the game quickly breaks most of the Gemini sales records that Virtua Fighter Infinity set back in January. It's also the first game to actually drive Gemini sales, with sales of the console picking up heavily in June 2012. While the Gemini still doesn't quite beat out Nintendo's Connect for the month, Sonic 6 has finally gotten units moving at a brisk pace, and has given a lot of people who were skeptical about the Gemini a reason to buy in. It also defies expectations set by a recent wave of mediocre Sonic titles, proving that Apple's strategy of releasing many Sonic games in a short span of time hasn't been a complete failure. It's around the same time that Sonic 6 is released that Apple decides to slow development on new Sonic games, partly at the urging of new Apple gaming head John Carmack. Steve Jobs, who has noticed reduced sales and review scores on Sonic games as of late, takes the suggestion to heart for all platforms except for mobile, which will see the only new Sonic game releases of 2013.
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Sonic The Hedgehog 7 is already in production for the Apple Gemini, according to a company insider closer to one of Apple's development studios. It was decided to begin production on Sonic 7 fairly late into the development of Sonic 6, as signs indicated that the game would be a strong performer. Sonic The Hedgehog 7 is expected to continue the storyline from Sonic 6, while making some gameplay and graphical improvements and perhaps introducing more characters to the story. The game's development cycle is being allowed to proceed at a steady pace, and the game isn't likely to be rushed to a release, so expect Sonic 7 to come out some time in 2014. This leaves 2013's slate of Sonic games wide open, with two iOS releases expected, but nothing for either the Apple Virtua or the Apple Gemini. These mobile titles are likely to be minigame-based, though it's rumored that one of them will feature the robotic Rover character, which hasn't appeared in all of the recent Sonic games, likely due to fan exhaustion with the character. The Roaming Rover series has mostly been featured on iOS rather than on either the main Apple console or handheld, and the Rover games have sold well on mobile, so it's likely that the character will be limited to iOS for the time being.
As for Sonic's debut on the Virtua, it has actually been announced by Apple that the company is hard at work on the blue hedgehog's first Virtua game, but with production on new Sonic titles slowing, Sonic Team is being allowed to take their time with this new release. Like Sonic The Hedgehog 7, we probably won't see Sonic on the Virtua until at least 2014. If so, it would mirror the strategy that Sega took with Sonic on the Saturn in 1996, waiting until more than a year after the Saturn's North American release to launch Sonic The Hedgehog 4. Apple might also be positioning their next generation Sonic game to compete with the first Mario game that Nintendo releases for their new system, though those plans could change if Nintendo announces a surprise Mario game for 2013 (this is considered to be unlikely, since it would be only a year's turnaround from the release of Super Mario Laboratory). Sonic's Virtua debut isn't likely to be a 2D/3D hybrid like Sonic Duo, but will probably be a full fledged 3D game, intended to show off the Virtua's power (in the tradition of 2002's Sonic Neon for the Katana, which remains the most popular purely 3D entry in the series).
Apple's strategy of Sonic saturation was a partial success, especially from a commercial standpoint, but fan burnout with the games persuaded the company to change course and take their time with future releases. Now, we'll see if fans will be patient with these new Sonic games, or if their clamoring for new content will push Apple into once again releasing several new Sonic games a year.
-from an AppleGamer.net article, posted on July 13, 2012
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July 16, 2012
Steve Jobs and John Lasseter had worked together for more than a quarter of a century, in Jobs' capacity as a major investor in Pixar and Lasseter's capacity as the company's creative director. The two had rarely discussed video games, but had been spending nearly a year now discussing the possibility of a Sonic The Hedgehog movie, something that Jobs himself wasn't terribly passionate about other than the business opportunity it presented. The idea of doing a Sonic movie had been tossed around for many years, and Jobs had initially been skeptical, especially considering that most other video game movies had been critical and commercial failures. Even since serious talks between Apple and Pixar about the movie had begun in 2011, Jobs hadn't been sure if a Sonic movie was something he'd wanted to do.
James Cameron had answered the question for him, and that answer was an emphatic 'yes'. If done right, a Sonic The Hedgehog movie could do just as good, if not better. And the people Jobs knew could do it right would be Pixar.
"My only real creative control would be in the interest of business," said Jobs, looking over the agreement his lawyers had drafted that would give Pixar the rights to use the Sonic The Hedgehog property for their movie. "You'd be working with Sonic Team on the story itself, I wouldn't have much input on it. I'd have a veto, but I doubt I'd ever need to use it."
"We'll do right by Sonic, don't worry about that," Lasseter replied. "The guys at Pixar and I, we love the latest game. We've been playing the hell out of it lately. It's given us some ideas, even though this'll be kind of an origin story type thing."
"I'm not worried about that at all," said Jobs. "I'm just hoping this movie does better than Metroid."
"That took all of us by surprise," said Lasseter. "It's a great movie, but I didn't have a clue it'd make that much money."
Lasseter began reading over the agreement. He wouldn't be the only one to sign it, of course. A copy would need to be sent to numerous people at both Disney and Pixar for the two companies to look over. In the meantime, Jobs was thinking about something.
"How's Disney doing?" asked Jobs, looking across the table. "Between you and me, is Disney in trouble?"
"Not by a long shot," Lasseter replied, shaking his head and giving a quiet laugh. "I mean, things could be better. We could be Fox. But Disney's still Disney and people love Disney."
Lasseter looked over at Jobs, who was still deep in thought. A thought of his own quickly crossed his mind.
"You're not... thinking of buying Disney, are you?"
Jobs started to laugh.
"I'm thinking about buying a lot of things," Jobs replied, only half-joking.
"You already own almost ten percent of the damn company!"
"This is true," Jobs replied. "I'm just saying... if Apple bought Disney, it would open up a lot more opportunities for Apple."
"Disney's not doing that badly," said Lasseter.
"I know," Jobs replied. "Anyway, let's talk about something else."
"Yeah..." said Lasseter with a nervous chuckle. "Like how well you think the Sonic movie is going to do."
"Better than Toy Story 3," replied Jobs confidently.
"I dunno. People loved Toy Story 3. It was emotional, it had two other great movies of buildup..."
"And Sonic has hundreds of millions of fans around the world. If Metroid can make almost a billion dollars, Sonic can make well over a billion."
Lasseter nodded, but he was still quite skeptical that Sonic The Hedgehog would really be the biggest Pixar movie ever. Jobs looked him in the eyes.
"I'm trusting you with this," said Jobs. "Make Sonic The Hedgehog the most successful animated movie ever made. Make it a billion dollar movie."
"If I've got anything to say about it, it will be."
"Good."
After a few more minutes of conversation between the two men, and another firm handshake, John Lasseter left the room, and Steve Jobs took one more quick look at the agreement his company was about to make with Pixar. Sonic The Hedgehog would be released in 2014, barring any serious delays, and if Lasseter kept his promise, it would be the highest grossing animated movie of all time.
Nearly thirty years ago, Steve Jobs had invested in Pixar. It was an investment that had paid off handsomely for him. And even though Disney now owned the company (and he owned a significant fraction of Disney), his investment was still paying off.
And if John Lasseter kept his promise, it might just be the greatest investment Steve Jobs ever made.
Sonic The Hedgehog 6 is an action/adventure platformer released exclusively for the Apple Gemini. The game is primarily a 2-D platforming game, but features numerous open 3-D areas, creating a sort of hybrid gameplay style that makes the game a successor of sorts to 2007's Sonic Duo, though it can also be compared to the OTL Super Mario 3D Land/World games, with zones broken up into acts in classic Sonic The Hedgehog style. The game features fully 3-D graphics and a techno/symphonic soundtrack mix, and is generally less serious and plot heavy in tone compared to Sonic Duo, with storyline taking a backseat and gameplay coming to a full focus. The game also somewhat cuts down on the number of characters and side characters featured, with Sonic and Tails being at the core of the game's storyline. Knuckles and Corona are completely absent (in the series timeline, Sonic 6 takes place concurrently with Knuckles Darkside), while characters such as Amy and Big return only in brief cameos. Eggman remains absent from the series, owing to his "final" defeat in Sonic Duo, and the game's plot primarily revolves around gathering more pieces of Eggman's journal, one in each zone, while the game's villain is new: an "evil" version of Sonic known as Shadow. This was a character originally conceived for Sonic Neon in 2002 (around the same time the character was conceived for Sonic Adventure 2 IOTL), but was determined to be too out of character for the game, and was ultimately put on the backburner. Sega then intended to introduce him in a future Sonic title, but after Apple took over, the character was again shelved until finally being brought out for this game. Like OTL's Shadow, he's a darker, edgier version of Sonic who uses guns and has less of a moral compass. He also has a similar backstory: he wants revenge on Eggman, holding Eggman responsible for the death of his friend Maria. He seeks to gather Eggman's journals in hopes of a way to bring Maria back or perhaps to track down where Eggman is hiding (not believing he's truly dead). Shadow isn't "evil" per se, but he's willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish his goals, and his methods have caused tons of collateral damage in each zone he visits. Sonic 6 features plenty of classic style 2-D Sonic gameplay, but when it opens up, which happens a bit more often than in Sonic Duo, the game really opens up, with enormous worlds full of different things to explore. While the game does feature fully 3-D running sections, oftentimes the game will actually put Sonic back in 2-D for these segments, allowing him to traverse between 3-D segments by running in 2-D. Other times, the game will remain 3-D, but these segments are tailored toward the strengths of 3-D platforming, something that Sonic Team has been allowed to gradually refine over the course of the series' TTL progression, making the transitions between these segments nearly seamless and giving each aspect of the game, 2-D and 3-D, the ability to display its positive aspects. The game is somewhat devoid of enemies, making exploration and platforming the main action focus of the game. There are some enemies, especially in the 2-D segments, but there are comparatively few when held against recent games such as Sonic Duo and especially Unrelenting. Of course, there are numerous bosses in the game, most of which are fought in full 3-D (save for the game's numerous Shadow fights, which are mostly in 2-D). Each boss has their own unique gimmick, and even the Shadow fights are all mostly differentiated from each other. The game reuses some elements from previous popular Sonic titles, mostly Sonic Neon and Sonic Duo, taking what worked from those games and bringing it to this one in a new and fresh way. Sonic The Hedgehog 6 is the best looking Sonic game ever made up to this point, taking full advantage of the Gemini's capabilities to present a massive and beautiful game. The voice cast from recent Sonic games all returns, most notably Duncan Brennan reprising his role as Sonic, while Keston John joins the series as the voice of Shadow.
Sonic The Hedgehog 6 features eight zones in the main campaign, and follows recent series tradition of including an extra zone for players who beat the game and fulfill a series of difficult prerequisites. The eight zones are a mix of classic-style throwbacks and new experiments, with Zone 1 being Green Harbor Zone, a sort of homage to classic areas like Green Hill, Zone 2 being Steel Factory Zone, Zone 3 being Ancient Aquatic Zone (a sort of mix of zones such as Marble Zone with underwater zones), Zone 4 being Lava Flow Zone, Zone 5 being Lion's Den Zone (an underground zone featuring vicious animals and dangerous hazards), Zone 6 being Tentacle Terror Zone (a Lovecraft-themed zone), Zone 7 being Spectacular Show Zone (a light/neon themed zone and pretty much an homage to Sonic Neon), and Zone 8 being Parallel Reverse Zone, a zone in which Sonic must confront "nightmare" versions of his friends, while Shadow is also haunted by the memory of Maria and made to feel guilt for what he's done. Sonic and Shadow eventually confront each other for the final time in the last act of this zone, Sonic exhausted from having battled through evil versions of Tails, Amy, and Knuckles (and in doing so, giving the player a bit of a Darkside foreshadowing/teaser), while Shadow has been forced to hear Maria's memory condemning him for his actions. The final battle takes place in both the 2-D and 3-D planes, with the action switching perspectives at key points in the fight. Finally, Sonic manages to get the upper hand on Shadow, but Shadow refuses to surrender or apologize for what he's done. He uses Eggman's journal pages to construct a powerful mech, battling Sonic one last time in both a 2-D phase and a 3-D phase. Shadow is defeated, and seemingly killed when his mech explodes, but the ending of the game shows that Shadow is still alive and still seeking out the pages of Eggman's journal, while Sonic vows to protect his friends and the world from danger.
Released on June 5, 2012, Sonic The Hedgehog 6 is an immediate hit with critics, who praise both the gameplay and the storyline, and call it one of the best of the six mainline Sonic games, if not the best game in the main series to date. It simplifies the formula of previous games, distilling it down to what makes Sonic truly fun, and in doing so, accomplishes much of the same things that Sonic Duo did, in different ways. Reviews average in the low to mid 9s, making it the best reviewed game in the series since Sonic Duo. Sales of the game are excellent, both in Japan and in the West, and the game quickly breaks most of the Gemini sales records that Virtua Fighter Infinity set back in January. It's also the first game to actually drive Gemini sales, with sales of the console picking up heavily in June 2012. While the Gemini still doesn't quite beat out Nintendo's Connect for the month, Sonic 6 has finally gotten units moving at a brisk pace, and has given a lot of people who were skeptical about the Gemini a reason to buy in. It also defies expectations set by a recent wave of mediocre Sonic titles, proving that Apple's strategy of releasing many Sonic games in a short span of time hasn't been a complete failure. It's around the same time that Sonic 6 is released that Apple decides to slow development on new Sonic games, partly at the urging of new Apple gaming head John Carmack. Steve Jobs, who has noticed reduced sales and review scores on Sonic games as of late, takes the suggestion to heart for all platforms except for mobile, which will see the only new Sonic game releases of 2013.
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Sonic The Hedgehog 7 is already in production for the Apple Gemini, according to a company insider closer to one of Apple's development studios. It was decided to begin production on Sonic 7 fairly late into the development of Sonic 6, as signs indicated that the game would be a strong performer. Sonic The Hedgehog 7 is expected to continue the storyline from Sonic 6, while making some gameplay and graphical improvements and perhaps introducing more characters to the story. The game's development cycle is being allowed to proceed at a steady pace, and the game isn't likely to be rushed to a release, so expect Sonic 7 to come out some time in 2014. This leaves 2013's slate of Sonic games wide open, with two iOS releases expected, but nothing for either the Apple Virtua or the Apple Gemini. These mobile titles are likely to be minigame-based, though it's rumored that one of them will feature the robotic Rover character, which hasn't appeared in all of the recent Sonic games, likely due to fan exhaustion with the character. The Roaming Rover series has mostly been featured on iOS rather than on either the main Apple console or handheld, and the Rover games have sold well on mobile, so it's likely that the character will be limited to iOS for the time being.
As for Sonic's debut on the Virtua, it has actually been announced by Apple that the company is hard at work on the blue hedgehog's first Virtua game, but with production on new Sonic titles slowing, Sonic Team is being allowed to take their time with this new release. Like Sonic The Hedgehog 7, we probably won't see Sonic on the Virtua until at least 2014. If so, it would mirror the strategy that Sega took with Sonic on the Saturn in 1996, waiting until more than a year after the Saturn's North American release to launch Sonic The Hedgehog 4. Apple might also be positioning their next generation Sonic game to compete with the first Mario game that Nintendo releases for their new system, though those plans could change if Nintendo announces a surprise Mario game for 2013 (this is considered to be unlikely, since it would be only a year's turnaround from the release of Super Mario Laboratory). Sonic's Virtua debut isn't likely to be a 2D/3D hybrid like Sonic Duo, but will probably be a full fledged 3D game, intended to show off the Virtua's power (in the tradition of 2002's Sonic Neon for the Katana, which remains the most popular purely 3D entry in the series).
Apple's strategy of Sonic saturation was a partial success, especially from a commercial standpoint, but fan burnout with the games persuaded the company to change course and take their time with future releases. Now, we'll see if fans will be patient with these new Sonic games, or if their clamoring for new content will push Apple into once again releasing several new Sonic games a year.
-from an AppleGamer.net article, posted on July 13, 2012
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July 16, 2012
Steve Jobs and John Lasseter had worked together for more than a quarter of a century, in Jobs' capacity as a major investor in Pixar and Lasseter's capacity as the company's creative director. The two had rarely discussed video games, but had been spending nearly a year now discussing the possibility of a Sonic The Hedgehog movie, something that Jobs himself wasn't terribly passionate about other than the business opportunity it presented. The idea of doing a Sonic movie had been tossed around for many years, and Jobs had initially been skeptical, especially considering that most other video game movies had been critical and commercial failures. Even since serious talks between Apple and Pixar about the movie had begun in 2011, Jobs hadn't been sure if a Sonic movie was something he'd wanted to do.
James Cameron had answered the question for him, and that answer was an emphatic 'yes'. If done right, a Sonic The Hedgehog movie could do just as good, if not better. And the people Jobs knew could do it right would be Pixar.
"My only real creative control would be in the interest of business," said Jobs, looking over the agreement his lawyers had drafted that would give Pixar the rights to use the Sonic The Hedgehog property for their movie. "You'd be working with Sonic Team on the story itself, I wouldn't have much input on it. I'd have a veto, but I doubt I'd ever need to use it."
"We'll do right by Sonic, don't worry about that," Lasseter replied. "The guys at Pixar and I, we love the latest game. We've been playing the hell out of it lately. It's given us some ideas, even though this'll be kind of an origin story type thing."
"I'm not worried about that at all," said Jobs. "I'm just hoping this movie does better than Metroid."
"That took all of us by surprise," said Lasseter. "It's a great movie, but I didn't have a clue it'd make that much money."
Lasseter began reading over the agreement. He wouldn't be the only one to sign it, of course. A copy would need to be sent to numerous people at both Disney and Pixar for the two companies to look over. In the meantime, Jobs was thinking about something.
"How's Disney doing?" asked Jobs, looking across the table. "Between you and me, is Disney in trouble?"
"Not by a long shot," Lasseter replied, shaking his head and giving a quiet laugh. "I mean, things could be better. We could be Fox. But Disney's still Disney and people love Disney."
Lasseter looked over at Jobs, who was still deep in thought. A thought of his own quickly crossed his mind.
"You're not... thinking of buying Disney, are you?"
Jobs started to laugh.
"I'm thinking about buying a lot of things," Jobs replied, only half-joking.
"You already own almost ten percent of the damn company!"
"This is true," Jobs replied. "I'm just saying... if Apple bought Disney, it would open up a lot more opportunities for Apple."
"Disney's not doing that badly," said Lasseter.
"I know," Jobs replied. "Anyway, let's talk about something else."
"Yeah..." said Lasseter with a nervous chuckle. "Like how well you think the Sonic movie is going to do."
"Better than Toy Story 3," replied Jobs confidently.
"I dunno. People loved Toy Story 3. It was emotional, it had two other great movies of buildup..."
"And Sonic has hundreds of millions of fans around the world. If Metroid can make almost a billion dollars, Sonic can make well over a billion."
Lasseter nodded, but he was still quite skeptical that Sonic The Hedgehog would really be the biggest Pixar movie ever. Jobs looked him in the eyes.
"I'm trusting you with this," said Jobs. "Make Sonic The Hedgehog the most successful animated movie ever made. Make it a billion dollar movie."
"If I've got anything to say about it, it will be."
"Good."
After a few more minutes of conversation between the two men, and another firm handshake, John Lasseter left the room, and Steve Jobs took one more quick look at the agreement his company was about to make with Pixar. Sonic The Hedgehog would be released in 2014, barring any serious delays, and if Lasseter kept his promise, it would be the highest grossing animated movie of all time.
Nearly thirty years ago, Steve Jobs had invested in Pixar. It was an investment that had paid off handsomely for him. And even though Disney now owned the company (and he owned a significant fraction of Disney), his investment was still paying off.
And if John Lasseter kept his promise, it might just be the greatest investment Steve Jobs ever made.
Meanwhile in an alternate universe, Jobs is having this conversation with Jeffrey Katzenberg.
A. Ugh. I HATE Shadow. Well, that's not really fair. I liked Sonic Adventure 2 Shadow, but everything after that...Ugh.
B. Ah, right, The Mouse isn't the 400-pound gorilla of film ITTL. And, yes, John, you COULD be Fox.
C. If Apple buys Disney ITTL, this will take a significant drop on my "TLs to move to" list. I may be a Nintendo fanboy, but i'm almost as big a Disney fanboy, and I freaking DESPISE Apple.
B. Ah, right, The Mouse isn't the 400-pound gorilla of film ITTL. And, yes, John, you COULD be Fox.
C. If Apple buys Disney ITTL, this will take a significant drop on my "TLs to move to" list. I may be a Nintendo fanboy, but i'm almost as big a Disney fanboy, and I freaking DESPISE Apple.
I had to actually look up who played Shadow, (I haven't watched a Marvel cartoon since Avengers: EMH and I'm not that big of a She-Ra fan, Voltron 4 life!).
I agree with C, the idea of large company a buys large company b makes me feel as if there's going to be a unicronian sized collapse in the entertainment industry before I die.
Loving the reaction was a friendly joke between friends, they just are collaborating on the sonic movie so far, that was a joke of those two, when disney could be on the level of warner and Fox ITTL, still disney is a respected film maker, specially in animation
Are the evil versions of Knuckles, Tails, and Amy from the Parallel Reverse Zone suppose to reappear in Knuckles Darkside. Your comments seams to imply that. Also are the Parallel Reverse Zone versions of Knuckles, Tails, and Amy, based on the verisons Anti Mobius/ Moebius from the Sonic comics published by Archie. If so will anti sonic/ Scourge the Hedgehog appear in Knuckles Darkside.
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