Dvader said:

Fallout New Vegas... now that its become glitchy I just want it to end. But i must get platinum.

Can't be worse than me. I turn around in a certain spot, THE GAME BOOTS ME BACK TO WINDOWS.

gamingeek said:

aspro said:

I think your first response to my post, "Fuck all that", is about as an approprite response as any.  Who cares what I think? Certainly not I.

It could have been fun.

Aspro in the Grinch that killed fun

Dvader said:

I got to go to a shooting range today with my dad and some friends got to shoot all sorts of cool stuff. I got to see what a suppressor actually sounds like, its not like the movies obviously but it does make it much quieter and it reduces the recoil. It was my first time shooting a rifle, an AR15. My dad has an EO tech sight on it which creates a holographic target sight for you to aim with. Its crazy accurate, you just aim the target at something, much like a video game cursor and shoot. My aim is sucky though, I need to work on that. It was pretty cool shooting a bunch of these guns I only imagine shooting in games.

Sounds badass. Does your dad ever go hunting? Not that I agree with it.

What's wrong with hunting?

Retro Studios senior designer leaves



Mike Wikan was one of the few Retro Studios employees who remained at the company since the early days. Starting as a senior designer on Metroid Prime, he pursued a similar role on the other two iterations of the trilogy. Later he was in charge of bosses and enemies in Donkey Kong Country Returns, which was released only last year. As of May 2011, Wikan has become lead game designer at id Software, best known for DOOM and Quake.





Wikan is the second senior designer who has left Retro Studios this year. Kynan Pearson, designer on MP2 and MP3, as well as an unreleased title, and level designer on DKCR, left to join 343 Industries in January already. The fate of the last senior designer, Tom Ivey, is currently unknown, he might still be at the company.



Retro Studios faced a similar situation when several key members who were responsible for the Metroid Prime trilogy left in early 2009, after quarrels between the studio leads and Nintendo Japan concerning the studio's future direction and creative freedom. While this proved to be a critical issue at Retro Studios with a Zelda spin-off and several original IPs directed at a more mature audience being rejected, the situation at another internal Nintendo studio was even worse. At NST, this led to major departures and a disassemblement of their console team.



However, it appears as if Nintendo has yet to understand that their Western studios require some creative freedom to ensure a low turnover rate and thus quality & consistency, as not all of Retro Studios' employees appeared to be satisfied with working on DKCR after working on Metroid Prime, much less with the prospect of working on another DKCR for Nintendo's next generation console WiiU.



Both old and new Retro employees may see these as a opportunity. When Nintendo CEO Iwata asked Pearson about his feelings when the Metroid Prime leads left, Pearson said:



"Well...it was, of course, hard when a few key members who had worked on the Metroid Prime series left, but I knew it was also a chance to introduce new ways of thinking and operating."




Retro Studios is currently helping on Mario Kart 7 for Nintendo 3DS.

?

More Outland impressions:  The color scheme is a nice change from the usual browns and the animations are superb. I especially like the Tron like electric suit which is just amazing.  Each section is colorful, but not overdone.  The environments are lush jungle areas, mostly covered in shadows.  I really want a 2D sidescrolling HD Metroid for Wii U now.

Gameplay and control are note perfect.   I've always loved exploration type games ever since the first Metroid and that style was perfected with Super Metroid and Metroid Prime.  Outland adds nothing new to this genre.  In fact, everything is borrowed (inspired) from other series.  But why reinvent the wheel?  The Dark and Light powers make for interesting puzzles and powers.

Bosses? Well, I've only battled one, but it was a blast and I eagerly anticipate others.  I just hope there's more than just a couple bosses here.  I also hope that this is a lengthy game (eight hours or more.)

I would be in heaven if an exploration game was released like this for download every year.  We had Shadow Complex two years ago, now Outland, bring on the rest!

I have a confession to make.  I've never played Symphony of the Night.  I plan to fix that by the end of the year.

Members of Retro are being forced to work on Mario kart 3DS? *facepalms*

You're getting another exploration game wednesday with: INSANELY TWISTED SHADOW PLANET!    

Xenoblade impressions

Aussie Nintendo said:

The first thing I noticed was the breathtaking environments which featured backdrops you would expect to see on an artwork. It's obvious that plenty of time and effort went into making the game look amazing and it got to the point where Kabal and I thought Nintendo were using a specifically designed TV to boost the visuals of the Wii (they weren't though, it was a standard Panasonic model).

The game offers an incredibly huge setting to traverse through. Both gods are indescribable in size, as you see one in the far distance while navigating across the other. Freely glancing around will blow your mind as you look up to see the head of the giant creature you're currently exploring, baring down over you. On the opposing god, you may even see his sword pierced in the other's side.

The orchestrated soundtrack instantly stands out and helps accentuate the grandness of this title, especially as it changes to synchronise with the day and night cycle. Star Team worked on all the music within Xenoblade Chronicles and they've created quite a name for themselves after the work they've done in the past for such games as Chrono Trigger.

Xenoblade Chronicle's inspiration seems to have been taken from both Square Enix's Final Fantasy and Capcom's Monster Hunter series with the high production value and an over-the-top storyline. Yet nothing has quite been done like this before, especially on the Wii console

Nintendo World Report said:

Having sampled Xenoblade Chronicles for a fairly lengthy amount of time, I have to say this game more than lives up to the hype.


The story goes that long ago, the world was a void of endless sky over endless ocean. Two colossal titans were born, gigantic humanoids of black and white, somewhat resembling Reshiram and Zekrom from Pokémon. The two clashed in an epic battle, ultimately killing each other simultaneously. It is the corpses of these two gods that form the world of Xenoblade, their two swords lodged firmly into each other connecting them like bridges.


Much later, a battle is being waged between the humans, allegedly known as the Homs, and a race of robotic enemies called the Mechonis that are invading the land in attempt to take over. Here we're introduced to the legendary sword seen on the game's cover art, known as the Monado, and the concept that using it is ultimately damaging to its wielder.

At first look the graphics aren't much to write home about – there were plenty of blocky models and polygons clipping through each other in the opening cinematic. But upon seeing the open locations of the actual game, I was quickly put in my place. The world areas are simply enormous, with intricate details like tufts of grass flowing in the breeze and city streets littered with objects stacked haphazardly against the walls. All the textures use soft pastel colors that blend and shade well together, giving the game a rich, artistic, painting-like look. The draw distance is incredible, allowing you to see for miles. The shape of the world remains constant to the areas as well, and a quick look to the skies with the free camera rotation will often give you a rough idea of which part of the god's body you're standing on, and where the other one is located. High-up locations give breathtaking views of the surrounding areas, with thin bridges spanning through the air that simply beg you to leap over the side just to see how far you can fall. Of course, this is allowed as there are no invisible barriers to fence you into each location, and the game often rewards you for exploring well outside your planned travel route.

You also have the ability to freely change the time of day at your leisure. Different enemies will roam the lands at different times, and NPC characters offer different quests depending on the time.

This RPG looks like a true gem for fans and newcomers to get into the genre alike.

Iga_Bobovic said:

travo said:

Members of Retro are being forced to work on Mario kart 3DS? *facepalms*

Do you really believe that?

That they are working on it or being forced to?

It this for real? I am sceptical, I require more proof.