[Emitan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoBrVWqYAro Done with the remote+nunchuk combo. All of his are. Not quite a 'sedate' pace, I would say.

Fantastic. Doesn't change the face that motion controls for something like rolling is a completely stupid and inaccurate control method.

[_Alkaline_]

Fantastic. Doesn't change the face that motion controls for something like rolling is a completely stupid and inaccurate control method.

I don't agree with the decision, and I do think a button option would have been preferable, but to say it's only viable for slow-paced platforming is a crock. Once you get the feel for how it works and what the game requires of you, it works just fine. The problem is that a simple action in a platforming game shouldn't ask anything of you in the first place.

Also, Billy, don't be an ass.

[Socreges]

Reveal Trailer got me hyped. Definitely shows the game at later stages than we've seen - ie, when the game mechanics are fully exploited.

[DragonGirl]

Well if you like playing platform games Burnout style, then yes the shake to roll can be a problem. For those that play the game at a sedate pace, then its fine.

Sedate? I did the speed runs. There is no sedate.

[Synless]

I love this one too. Such potential for Bowser and yet, Nintendo still has yet to give him his own game. :lol

Bowser's Inside Story?

[Demathe]

3D Land is kinda like playing a 2D Mario world through a view master (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/View-Master). Maybe that's also why there are those standing/coin-operated binoculars throughout the game? :P

As for the gameplay, it felt good to me. It wasn't too slow, the run-button mechanic felt good and as for control, I not once walked or jumped to a spot I didn't intend to go.

So true, I only got to play 3 levels (and while those levels were pretty easy to finish, getting all star coins presented a nice challenge) + a mini boss, but the potential is there. Especially when watching those new trailers.

I have trust in EAD :)

[Cygnus X-1]

Looks fun as hell!

[marc^o^]

Eurogamer preview

There've been some concerns aired over how slowly Mario capers through his latest outing. This being my first time with the game, I was at first disappointed to discover the criticisms seemed to ring true, until I remembered something fairly important: the run button.

To put it another way: if Super Mario 3D Land is slow, then so is Super Mario World. And last time I checked (about five minutes ago for comparison purposes, incidentally), that was still 'quite good'.

Now about the 3D effect. [...]As Nintendo's flagship release for the platform, one would naturally expect it to serve as a showcase for the potential of stereoscopic 3D. And so it proves, just more along the lines of the 'captivating novelty' of recent messaging than the 'game-changing technology' of the original pitch. 3D Land switches seamlessly between 2D and 3D platforming, often frequently within the same stage. With the 3D effect on, the enhanced spatial awareness is certainly a boon - most notably during a level heavily reliant on descending great distances while dangling from a Propeller Block. But it is (as all 3DS games need to be) perfectly playable without. The principle benefit is to draw the player in and make the game seem that bit more immersive and gorgeously alive. Furthermore, and critically for a game with Mario's aesthetic, it never dulls the joy of this primary colour world - which is the real advantage 3DS has over the often severely dulling impact of the technology where glasses are required.

And nagging concerns over the depth of content and the challenge it presents aside (which can't be fully addressed until our review copy arrives), it's hard not to be charmed all over again.

[EatChildren]

I still feel the digital controls are completely stupid and do more harm than good, but the latest trailers look excellent, so I'm still pumped to hell.

This and Skyward Sword are my only two 'must have' titles for the end of the year.

[Oblivion]

Wow, this game seems like Nintendo's answer to New Super Mario Bros. DS.

[mclem]

When you say "Digital controls", do you mean "No variation in speed as you move the stick" (which I am aware of), or do you *actually* mean "Digital Controls" (i.e. "Can only move orthogonally/diagonally, the control could be perfectly replicated with the D-pad")?

Nuance of angle is by far the most important part of analogue controls, as far as I'm concerned, and it'll be definitely awkward if that's not there. Although, that said, given there's no octagonal lock on the slide pad, that could well be a reason for it (effectively handling octagonal lock in hardware rather than software?)

[AniHawk]

When you say "Digital controls", do you mean "No variation in speed as you move the stick" (which I am aware of), or do you *actually* mean "Digital Controls" (i.e. "Can only move orthogonally/diagonally, the control could be perfectly replicated with the D-pad")?

both. play super mario 64 ds on your 3ds, and that's how super mario 3d land plays.

[AniHawk]

I still feel the digital controls are completely stupid and do more harm than good, but the latest trailers look excellent, so I'm still pumped to hell. This and Skyward Sword are my only two 'must have' titles for the end of the year.

is rayman not coming out in your dimension (which i've named dimension 1)?

[CrankyKong]

I want to play this so badly.
My 3DS and I haven't had relations since July

[Mael]

is rayman not coming out in your dimension (which i've named dimension 1)?

the most important question :
In his dimension, was Xenoblade released in the US too?

[EatChildren]

is rayman not coming out in your dimension (which i've named dimension 1)?

I keep forgetting about Rayman, which isn't good, as every time I see it I'm reminded why I must have it.

I'll tattoo the release date on my arm.

the most important question : In his dimension, was Xenoblade released in the US too?

Not in SD unfortunately. The Xenoblade release here unlocked the extra GameCubes in the Wii and renders only in 1080p.

[Peru]

The run button implementation is the best thing EVER to happen to Mario 3D.

[_Alkaline_]

is rayman not coming out in your dimension (which i've named dimension 1)?

Have you bought Xenoblade yet?

[Emitan]

The run button implementation is the best thing EVER to happen to Mario 3D.

Why? Would typing NORTH SOUTH EAST and WEST be even better for a 3D game?

[Mael]

The run button implementation is the best thing EVER to happen to Mario 3D.

We'll see, it's not like you couldn't run before...it's true that it changed how we control Mario though...and it certainly was the reason why we got all the new moves for Mario64

Not in SD unfortunately. The Xenoblade release here unlocked the extra GameCubes in the Wii and renders only in 1080p.

Heh that's still a better deal than what we have here I guess :p

[Kenka]

I still feel the digital controls are completely stupid and do more harm than good, but the latest trailers look excellent, so I'm still pumped to hell. This and Skyward Sword are my only two 'must have' titles for the end of the year.

Battelfield and Skyrim wanna talk with you...

[Mael]

Battelfield and Skyrim wanna talk with you...

After trying the demo I'll tell you that he's really not missing much.

[Emitan]

Battelfield and Skyrim wanna talk with you...

At least people expect Skyrim to be a buggy mess. There's going to be a whole lot of disappointed people when BF3 comes out.

[EatChildren]

Battelfield and Skyrim wanna talk with you...

Battlefield 3 beta reminded me I don't really care about getting the game at launch and am instead happy to wait a few months (plus I just moved, so I must budget), and Bethesda hasn't made an RPG I've really loved since Morrowind, and I'm not giving them the benefit of the doubt.

[Kenka]

At least people expect Skyrim to be a buggy mess. There's going to be a whole lot of disappointed people when BF3 comes out.

Buggy mess ? What ? I have upgraded my PC basically for this game and The Witcher 2. TW2 was flawless and I expect Skyrim to be the same (minus graphics).
I'm on media blackout for this game, are the previews unflattering ?

[AniHawk]

Have you bought Xenoblade yet?

i can't because i have an american wii and i live in america.

edit: okay, that doesn't stop me from buying the game, but i clearly wouldn't have anything to play it on.

[Emitan]

Buggy mess ? What ? I have upgraded my PC basically for this game and The Witcher 2. TW2 was flawless and I expect Skyrim to be the same (minus graphics). I'm on media blackout for this game, are the previews unflattering ?

I found a ton of bugs on the PC version and the 360 version failed cert twice.

EDIT: Oh, Skyrim. Never mind. But it's a Bethesda game. So expect bugs.

[Winnie the Pimp]

Battlefield 3 beta reminded me I don't really care about getting the game at launch and am instead happy to wait a few months (plus I just moved, so I must budget), and Bethesda hasn't made an RPG I've really loved since Morrowind, and I'm not giving them the benefit of the doubt.

agreed about Bethesda.. personally i am giving them the benefit of the buy GOTY version on Steam for 5 bucks 3 years down the road!!

[EatChildren]

Buggy mess ? What ? I have upgraded my PC basically for this game and The Witcher 2. TW2 was flawless and I expect Skyrim to be the same (minus graphics). I'm on media blackout for this game, are the previews unflattering ?

Have you not played Oblivion and Fallout 3? There will be bugs.

[Winnie the Pimp]

i can't because i have an american wii and i live in america. edit: okay, that doesn't stop me from buying the game, but i clearly wouldn't have anything to play it on.

but... but... you could do this illegal thing people keep talking about!!!!!!

[Emitan]

but... but... you could do this illegal thing people keep talking about!!!!!!

Arson?

[Mael]

but... but... you could do this illegal thing people keep talking about!!!!!!

Tax dodge?

[_Alkaline_]

i can't because i have an american wii and i live in america. edit: okay, that doesn't stop me from buying the game, but i clearly wouldn't have anything to play it on.

Ah ok. I thought you might've had homebrew.

That's a shame though, I'm not a massive fan of jrpgs and yet I'm completely enamoured by it. It's kind of like Okami but with actual decent pacing and enjoyable combat, minus its 'puzzles' and Japanese mythology of course.

So basically it's nothing like Okami.

[Emitan]

i can't because i have an american wii and i live in america. edit: okay, that doesn't stop me from buying the game, but i clearly wouldn't have anything to play it on.

but you just said you have a wii

[EatChildren]

Xenoblade is in many ways the anti-JRPG, or at least the anti-modern JRPG. It has the vibe of a classic SNES/PS1 era JRPG, yet with all the modern conventions and luxuries we expect on modern games yet few of the genre seem to deliver. It's utterly sublime and one of the best games I've played this generation, and I normally loath JRPGs.

[Michan]

Nuance of angle is by far the most important part of analogue controls, as far as I'm concerned, and it'll be definitely awkward if that's not there. Although, that said, given there's no octagonal lock on the slide pad, that could well be a reason for it (effectively handling octagonal lock in hardware rather than software?)

I think the main difference between Super Mario 3D Land and all other 3d Marios is that this game is not designed in the same way. This is designed with a different approach to both 2d and 3d Marios – it's in a class of its own.

This time, Nintendo has designed the game as a mid-point between the confined left/right(/up/down) 2d Mario and "life-like" 3d Mario (in which objects are placed in random, "scattered" locations, and all space is available to the player).

Everything seems to be designed with 8 directions in mind. All paths and objects seems to be on a square grid, with some "diagonal" design thrown into the mix. It's possible that this is because the approach works well in and is a good showcase for 3D.

As much as I love exploring the "life-like" Marios, this game seems to be specifically designed around those 8 directions, hence there being just 8 directions to move Mario with the slide pad. I'm sure we'll still get our Mario 64s and Galaxies; this control method just seems to be a third approach and bridge to the two Mario playing styles we're used to today.

[Mael]

I think the main difference between Super Mario 3D Land and all other 3d Marios is that this game is not designed in the same way. This is designed with a different approach to both 2d and 3d Marios – it's in a class of its own. This time, Nintendo has designed the game as a mid-point between the confined left/right(/up/down) 2d Mario and "life-like" 3d Mario (in which objects are placed in random, "scattered" locations, and all space is available to the player). Everything seems to be designed with 8 directions in mind. All paths and objects seems to be on a square grid, with some "diagonal" design thrown into the mix. It's possible that this is because the approach works well in and is a good showcase for 3D. As much as I love exploring the "life-like" Marios, this game seems to be specifically designed around those 8 directions, hence there being just 8 directions to move Mario with the slide pad. I'm sure we'll still get our Mario 64s and Galaxies; this control method just seems to be a third approach and bridge to the two Mario playing styles we're used to today.

In short, it's designed like a 3D platformer before Mario 64 came.

[EatChildren]

I think the main difference between Super Mario 3D Land and all other 3d Marios is that this game is not designed in the same way. This is designed with a different approach to both 2d and 3d Marios – it's in a class of its own. This time, Nintendo has designed the game as a mid-point between the confined left/right(/up/down) 2d Mario and "life-like" 3d Mario (in which objects are placed in random, "scattered" locations, and all space is available to the player). Everything seems to be designed with 8 directions in mind. All paths and objects seems to be on a square grid, with some "diagonal" design thrown into the mix. It's possible that this is because the approach works well in and is a good showcase for 3D. As much as I love exploring the "life-like" Marios, this game seems to be specifically designed around those 8 directions, hence there being just 8 directions to move Mario with the slide pad. I'm sure we'll still get our Mario 64s and Galaxies; this control method just seems to be a third approach and bridge to the two Mario playing styles we're used to today.

See, this is all absolutely truthful and the reason why they've tethered digital controls to the analogue pad, but in practice it doesn't make sense, because there's still a full 3D arena to move in. The level design is heavily compartmentalised, smaller and focused on making jumps and movements in eight directions as opposed to free form. I didn't really have any trouble at all playing the game for these reasons, but it still felt like a completely unnecessary with no inherit value of its own.

It's like they feel forcing digital controls, and thus eight directions, makes the game easier to play. I really don't think it does.

[_Alkaline_]

Xenoblade is in many ways the anti-JRPG, or at least the anti-modern JRPG. It has the vibe of a classic SNES/PS1 era JRPG, yet with all the modern conventions and luxuries we expect on modern games yet few of the genre seem to deliver. It's utterly sublime and one of the best games I've played this generation, and I normally loath JRPGs.

Very well put. It's such a huge, ambitious game yet streamlines all the things that can make playing modern jrpgs a chore. Quick-travel? Sure. Fully controllable clock? Absolutely. Minimal load times? Of course. Optional grinding? Yep. Optional fetch quests? You know it. I could go on and on.

And then there's all the stuff to do. Hundreds of sidequests, crafting ether gems, collectopedia, affinity, heart-to-hearts, secret locations, etc. And yet you have almost complete control over what you want to do. If you just want to play the story, you can - and you'll still get probably 50 hours out of it. But if you want to do absolutely everything, the game does everything it can to make it as engaging and pain-free as possible.

And then there's the scope of it. Massive, fully-explorable locations far more impressive than nearly any modern jrpg out there (and on the Wii of all things!). Minimal pop-in, few framerate drops and things to do left right and centre. Just running around them is an experience in itself, what with the exceptional soundtrack and wonderful art direction.

What a fucking game.

[Beysus]

Game is looking better and better...

Stil waiting for the 3DS revision, though.

[Anasui Kishibe]

so this is about Xenoblade now?
Not that i complain, but talking about two incredible games in the same topic might cause a crossing the streams paradox and we will all turn into Australians

p.s. game looks so good. The colours are so delicious, every new bloody screenshot released gets me hyped to the beyond

p.s.



WHAT SUIT IS THAT

[Electivirus]

so this is about Xenoblade now? Not that i complain, but talking about two incredible games in the same topic might cause a crossing the streams paradox and we will all turn into Australians p.s. game looks so good. The colours are so delicious, every new bloody screenshot released gets me hyped to the beyond p.s. WHAT SUIT IS THAT

IIRC, that's the Super Guide. :P

[Anasui Kishibe]

IIRC, that's the Super Guide. :P

:0....

even the Super Guide suit looks cool :0

[Michan]

See, this is all absolutely truthful and the reason why they've tethered digital controls to the analogue pad, but in practice it doesn't make sense, because there's still a full 3D arena to move in. The level design is heavily compartmentalised, smaller and focused on making jumps and movements in eight directions as opposed to free form. I didn't really have any trouble at all playing the game for these reasons, but it still felt like a completely unnecessary with no inherit value of its own. It's like they feel forcing digital controls, and thus eight directions, makes the game easier to play. I really don't think it does.

Perhaps it does feel unnecessary. After all, we're so used to guiding Mario as we ourselves would traverse it, as a result of enjoying the last 15 years of not only Mario games, but 3d platformers and adventure games in general.

But I wouldn't say this control method doesn't make sense. While it may be a little more cumbersome when navigating an open plain, the bulk of the game, and any good platformer in general, is designed around running along paths, avoiding enemies, and timing jumps. Contrary to other 3d Mario games, all of the paths in SM3DL are either in front of you, behind you, to your left or right, or to a diagonal angle. They've simply tailored the controls (and camera) to the bulk of this game's focus. If anything, for this specific game, it makes an awful lot more sense than giving us infinite directions to choose from.

As such, we've got to ignore the aching desire to long jump over a gap at the self-selected angle of 97.5° with camera following sharply behind, accepting this as a new type of Mario and giving the 8-direction control method a chance to shine. By thinking of this as something else, hopefully we'll be able to enjoy tighter controls and the new challenges that are designed around them.

I'll personally be hoping for a Wii U reveal of Super Mario Galaxy 3 at next year's E3 to get my explore-all-dimensions Mario fix, but I'm hoping this will be a fresh new spin on the Mario platformer.

[AniHawk]

Xenoblade is in many ways the anti-JRPG, or at least the anti-modern JRPG. It has the vibe of a classic SNES/PS1 era JRPG, yet with all the modern conventions and luxuries we expect on modern games yet few of the genre seem to deliver. It's utterly sublime and one of the best games I've played this generation, and I normally loath JRPGs.

i'm going to keep my fingers crossed that this thing isn't too hard to find in early 2012. kinda want a guaranteed run of skyward sword and rayman before i potentially fuck up my system (because that's the sort of thing i would just happen to do).

[_Alkaline_]

so this is about Xenoblade now?

Every thread should be about Xenoblade.

[mclem]

Why? Would typing NORTH SOUTH EAST and WEST be even better for a 3D game?

You are on a large plain. Exits lead East.
> EAST
The plain continues, with some bricks overhead; one of the bricks has a question mark on it.

There is A Goomba here.
> STOMP GOOMBA
You jump up, but hit your head on the bricks, coming down sooner than you expect, you land right next to the goomba, who instantly devours you.

*** YOU HAVE DIED ***
RESTORE, RESTART or QUIT?
>

[Electivirus]

You are on a large plain. Exits lead East. > EAST The plain continues, with some bricks overhead; one of the bricks has a question mark on it. There is A Goomba here. > STOMP GOOMBA You jump up, but hit your head on the bricks, coming down sooner than you expect, you land right next to the goomba, who instantly devours you. *** YOU HAVE DIED *** RESTORE, RESTART or QUIT? >

Wonderful.

[mclem]

I think the main difference between Super Mario 3D Land and all other 3d Marios is that this game is not designed in the same way. This is designed with a different approach to both 2d and 3d Marios – it's in a class of its own. This time, Nintendo has designed the game as a mid-point between the confined left/right(/up/down) 2d Mario and "life-like" 3d Mario (in which objects are placed in random, "scattered" locations, and all space is available to the player). Everything seems to be designed with 8 directions in mind. All paths and objects seems to be on a square grid, with some "diagonal" design thrown into the mix. It's possible that this is because the approach works well in and is a good showcase for 3D. As much as I love exploring the "life-like" Marios, this game seems to be specifically designed around those 8 directions, hence there being just 8 directions to move Mario with the slide pad. I'm sure we'll still get our Mario 64s and Galaxies; this control method just seems to be a third approach and bridge to the two Mario playing styles we're used to today.

A fair collection of points; it's certainly not a dealbreaker for me. Although I do still have a nagging suspicion that if the slide pad had octagonal lock, they wouldn't restrict it in code.

[mclem]

p.s. WHAT SUIT IS THAT

The Goomba Happy Ending Suit.