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[100Bullets]

I really hope that the Play score for Death Jr is the accurate one and not the scores given by EGM.

 

[rod furlong]

Why didn't EGM review Nintendogs or the other DS games for August?


Bais indeed. :lol

BECAUSE WE DIDN'T GET THEM FROM NINTENDO. That is always the answer to the question, "Why didn't EGM review [insert Nintendo game]?"

 

[Wario64]

Kojima interview


EGM: Good job on the MGS4 trailer. Funny shit.
Kojima: Thanks. Japanese people didn't get it, even my own staff.

EGM: "No place to hide concept". Does this mean stealth is thrown out the window?
Kojima: Not really. Stealth will still be in the game. The concept is shown in the trailer (when the wall falls down on Snake). No safety zone. Environments will always be changing.

EGM: we noticed several hints in the trailer...butterfly and a bird....
Kojima: Yeah, there's some hidden meanings there...I wanted to go against buzz about new hardware and great graphics for next gen. I wanted to lighten the mood with this trailer and make people laugh.

EGM: MGS2, you went to NYC. MGS3, went to a jungle. Going anywhere to research MGS4?
Kojima: Tricky answer, can't say it cause it'd give it away. But here's a hint: it's very difficult to get there. I want to show psychological fear in MGS4, like when you point a gun at someone with mental fear. This is what real combat is and I want it in MGS4.

EGM: MGS4 subtitle?
Kojima: We have many but haven't chosen one

EGM: Will you be totally hands on on MGS4?
Kojima: Sorta. This time, the game will be the product of 3 people instead of just one. New way of producing MGS.

EGM: Can you reveal secret info on MGS4?
Kojima: Trilogy is done, so we have to make a new story. Strong story in background but not created in same way (cinema, action, cinema, action). Utilize environment itself to tell the story this time...action less localized. In the past, Snake always had to infiltrate a fortress or field. In MGS4, that'll change in some way, giving a new experience of sneaking in.

 

[Drinky Crow]

The chances of play giving ANYTHING an accurate score approach nil, especially in the case of platformers developed by small Western teams that give Dave Halverson plenty of fluff interview time.

 

[SHOCKIE]

What did EGM have to say about Sonic gems collection?

 

[Izzy]

Bioware, iD Software, and Valve have exclusive PS3 games being developed

Doesn't surprise me a bit - thank NVIDIA.

 

[Error]

I have to post this

EGM: Some people are saying Nintendo has given up trying to lead technologically and is focused on innovation.

Iwata: I don't think Revolution graphics will be inferior in any fashion to those on Xbox 360 or PS3. Even if you look at Zelda on Gamecube -- I don't think that it looks inferior to what [the competition] is touting as 'next-gen' visuals.

 

[AniHawk]

BECAUSE WE DIDN'T GET THEM FROM NINTENDO. That is always the answer to the question, "Why didn't EGM review [insert Nintendo game]?"

EGM just hates Nintendo, I mean no straight 10s for AWDS? Come on.

 

[Stinkles]

I really hope that the Play score for Death Jr is the accurate one and not the scores given by EGM.

Yeah, 9/10 is more than a slight difference in opinion...

 

[Solid]

EGM: Good job on the MGS4 trailer. Funny shit.
Kojima: Thanks. Japanese people didn't get it, even my own staff.

:lol

thx for the effort wario, very appreciated.

 

[littlewig]

EGM just hates Nintendo, I mean no straight 10s for AWDS? Come on.

I find it amusing EGM gave GOTM to Madden and not AWDS. :lol

 

[Johnas]

Count me in as one who never really saw anything special in Death Jr. I really didn't think it would go below 7.5, but I never knew exactly why the frothing took place, apart from the fact that it was a decent looking original IP.

Sucks for Geist (all that time) but what do you do.

 

[Gregory]

Encouraging Hulk scores. Looks amazing in the videos. Can`t wait.

 

[Sanjuro]

Still, whatever helps keep the PSP third in the US is fine by me!

fixed

 

[AniHawk]

So, about Sonic Gems Collection, what was wrong with it?

 

[MassiveAttack]

The chances of play giving ANYTHING an accurate score approach nil, especially in the case of platformers developed by small Western teams that give Dave Halverson plenty of fluff interview time.

Bingo.

 

[ManaByte]

The only thing ID is working on internally is Carmack's new PC game that is a new IP and is currently PC-exclusive.

The next-gen console game ID is working on is Return to Castle Wolfenstein 2, but it is being done externally from ID (most likely either Nerve or Gray Matter). It's console, but it will most likely hit the PC as well. The console versions of the original (specifically the Xbox one) did much better than the PC version thanks to it being one of the first great XBL games.

 

[The_Sorrow]

Man the PSP drought continues. Weird that Nintendogs didn't get reviewed. Oh well if that gets delayed AW: DS will easily tide me over.

 

[Wario64]

Next EGM issue: All things Final Fantasy (Crisis Core, Advent Children, Before Crisis, Dirge of Cerebrus). Screens, info and all that jazz.


Sonic Gems Collection review

Shane (6.5): Sonic CD = awesome. Other games = not as great. Sonic the Fighters feels dated, dumbed down VF. Sonic R feels like clunky onfoot racing with horrible music. Streets of Rage games gone = bleh.

G.Ford (5.5): While Sonic CD is the 'anchor' of the collection, it's more of a wild card. Change-each-level's future concept is great, but steps to achieve objectives frustrating. Rest of games are mildly enjoyable (Sonic Triple Threat, Tails Adventure), to bad (Game Gear Sonic Spinball and Sonic Drift 2)

Jeremy (6.5): Sonic CD is cool, but most of the 90s-era games just arent fun. Tails games are garbage. Unlockables are lame.

 

[Kon Tiki]

I have to post this

Nice selective editing.

He then said:

Even if you look at Zelda on Gamecube -- I don't think that it looks inferior to what [the competition] is touting as 'next-gen' visuals.

hahah No credibility .

 

[Error]

Nice selective editing.

He then said:




hahah No credibility .

:lol didn't want to write all that

edit: thanks for that I edited my post now

 

[Sanjuro]

Sonic Gems Collection review

Shane (6.5): Sonic CD = awesome. Other games = not as great. Sonic the Fighters feels dated, dumbed down VF. Sonic R feels like clunky onfoot racing with horrible music. Streets of Rage games gone = bleh.

G.Ford (5.5): While Sonic CD is the 'anchor' of the collection, it's more of a wild card. Change-each-level's future concept is great, but steps to achieve objectives frustrating. Rest of games are mildly enjoyable (Sonic Triple Threat, Tails Adventure), to bad (Game Gear Sonic Spinball and Sonic Drift 2)

Jeremy (6.5): Sonic CD is cool, but most of the 90s-era games just arent fun. Tails games are garbage. Unlockables are lame.

I expected this anyway. Sonic CD was the only thing I wanted in this lackluster collection. For a moment SOR series just made my purchase seem more justified.

 

[AniHawk]

Next EGM issue: All things Final Fantasy (Crisis Core, Advent Children, Before Crisis, Dirge of Cerebrus). Screens, info and all that jazz.


Sonic Gems Collection review

Shane (6.5): Sonic CD = awesome. Other games = not as great. Sonic the Fighters feels dated, dumbed down VF. Sonic R feels like clunky onfoot racing with horrible music. Streets of Rage games gone = bleh.

G.Ford (5.5): While Sonic CD is the 'anchor' of the collection, it's more of a wild card. Change-each-level's future concept is great, but steps to achieve objectives frustrating. Rest of games are mildly enjoyable (Sonic Triple Threat, Tails Adventure), to bad (Game Gear Sonic Spinball and Sonic Drift 2)

Jeremy (6.5): Sonic CD is cool, but most of the 90s-era games just arent fun. Tails games are garbage. Unlockables are lame.

Thanks.

 

[btrboyev]

lowest scores for madden in a long time..EA really did give little effort this year

 

[teruterubozu]

Count me in as one who never really saw anything special in Death Jr. I really didn't think it would go below 7.5, but I never knew exactly why the frothing took place, apart from the fact that it was a decent looking original IP.

I guess now we know why Sony passed on Death Jr. and let Konami publish it.

Not that NBA 06 is the shit or anything...

 

[bishoptl]

I played the Hulk demo. It rocks city blocks (literally). Looking forward to checking out the final version...

 

[ManaByte]

I played the Hulk demo. It rocks city blocks (literally). Looking forward to checking out the final version...

Hulk fucking ROCKS. Too bad the demo is so short! The game is AWESOME.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

is it just me or does EGM do an "ALL THINGS FINAL FANTASY" issue like every fucking year?

 

[Pellham]

quick summarization of Shiggy interview:

EGM: Mario 128, where the fuck is it
Shiggy: blah blah blah, we were busy, we're still experimenting with a lot of stuff, mario 128 is still a concept design, blah blah

EGM: online play, why so late?
Shiggy: We didnt like business model (paying monthly fee, servers). Our model will have no fees, will be easy to connect

EGM: GC, GBA connectivity. What a joke huh?
Shiggy: Yeah, stupid consumers thought it was all confusing and shit with the cables. Oops, we should have communicated the concept better! With DS, we have the mic, the dual screen, and wi-fi in the system, so it has everything built in and easy to use.

skipping to the end...

EGM: Smash Bros for Rev confirmed...what about DS?
Shiggy: Still thinking about it.

EGM: Luigi's Mansion, will the series continue:
Shiggy: The game director says "Make another one! Make another one!" and I want to use Luigi again.

EGM: Will there be another Pikmin game?
Shiggy: Nothing set in stone, but Rev's interface is well suited for Pikmin.


There's also something about Iwata but im too lazy to read it

:lol I can totally picture Shiggy in my mind saying that (in broken english)

 

[Pellham]

I find it amusing EGM gave GOTM to Madden and not AWDS. :lol

Shoot, anyone remember EGM's atrocious Advance Wars 1 review? I think nobody took that one female reviewer seriously again after she scored the game with something in the 5-6 range (don't recall exactly).

 

[_Angelus_]

One of the reviewers hates the music in Sonic R? WTF? Credibility shot to hell then,cause the music in the game was great. You have to wonder what goes on in their heads before they approach a game review. I've always hated media reviews,this is just another reason.

GameCube owners-buy your games and enjoy them,EGM are just playing assholes once again.

Just to add what the guy above has said,these guys are really off their rocker when it comes to game reviews at times. I still remember the bullshit Serious Sam review for the Xbox. Its one of the most fun run and gun shooters you can buy,hell it even had cooperative play and came packed with both games from the PC. Yet they butchered that poor game all to hell at review time.

Nanostray must have been a complete dog for them to give such crap scores. The movies on the game at IGN look so godamn fun that its scores just don't add up.

 

[belgurdo]

While Sonic CD is the 'anchor' of the collection, it's more of a wild card. Change-each-level's future concept is great, but steps to achieve objectives frustrating.

wtf

To get the good ending, all you have to do is go into the past (by maintaining a constant speed for five seconds) and find the machines, which takes all of two minutes. And the special stages are just running around in 3D blowing up ufos. A baby could do this

 

[Brandon F]

Just got the issue.

-Soul Calibur 3 featuresets are looking wonderful. (4X mode could end up dull and bloated though compared to say...VF4 quest, hopefully not)

-Dragon Quest 8 adspace is very unique. Two-page spread informing the readership about how gaga the slantey-eyed folk get over the franchise. Could be effective for those willing to slow down the glossed page-turning and actually read a couple paragraphs.

-Review space is super tinny this month. Editors fit upwards 3 games onto each page, just sayin it's noticeably more crammed than usual I think.

-Nanostray sounds really boring...like Silpheed PS2 boring.

 

[Doom_Bringer]

Kojima interview


EGM: "No place to hide concept". Does this mean stealth is thrown out the window?
Kojima: Not really. Stealth will still be in the game. The concept is shown in the trailer (when the wall falls down on Snake). No safety zone. Environments will always be changing.
.

Could it me a snowy mountain? Avalanches, snow storms etc! Could be cool :O

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

EGM: Good job on the MGS4 trailer. Funny shit.
Kojima: Thanks. Japanese people didn't get it, even my own staff.

If he ever moves here on business, he's not going back.

Another "meh" score for Makai Kingdom. Either it is meh, or the media are trying to review it supah fast. I highly doubt Bebpo is misinformed in his review about the advancements and streamlining the series has undergone in MK.

 

[ghostface]

Could it me a snowy mountain? Avalanches, snow storms etc! Could be cool :O

I say it will be in space!

 

[Johnas]

Next EGM issue: All things Final Fantasy except for FFXII

Which we already knew.

 

[Jado]

is it just me or does EGM do an "ALL THINGS FINAL FANTASY" issue like every fucking year?

That and a now-yearly article on "how to get into the gaming biz."

 

[Silent_Echo]

Can you post the bits on Geist? I want to see why they rated it so low.

 

[Apharmd Battler]

Thanks for this thread, I hadn't checked my e-mail and I'm downloading my copy via Zino right now. Any questions feel free to ask.

 

[Socreges]

DS
Advance Wars DS: 9.0, 8.5, 9.0

Nice

Did EGM actually say "funny shit"??

 

[Calidor]

Did EGM actually say "funny shit"??

what do you think?

 

[jaundicejuice]

Check the sales numbers for Madden, then check the sales numbers for Psychonauts.

Seriously, that's a fucking crime.

Aside from the horror that was the Meat Circus ( a sadist designed that level), Psychonauts was a brilliant game, probably one of the best platformers of this generations, if not the best in the medium. Cliched level designs were ditched, tired gameplay mechanics (collecting useless shiny shit) were re-invented anew and made intergal to the gameplay, fantastic art, story, voice acting...it was one of the better games I've played this generation. Hell, I actually bothered to beat it, I don't do that much anymore.

As for the Makai kingdom review, I can already imagine what it says, and I'm envisioning it being somewhat along the lines of Gamespots. More of the same, but better, blah, blah, blah. Was Shane on the review? He throw in another one of those "Sega CD era visuals" remarks.

 

[Comfort_Eagle]

Xboxers that didnt play it on the PC really need to buy Pirates! Such a fun game. Although i havent read any impressions on how the port went, but hopefully its fine. The supposed gamespot scores seem ok..except for the 6.5

 

[APF]

I didn't see a summary done for the short Iwata interview, but I thought it added some info, so:

EGM--Will the Revolution's online service be free?
Satoru Iwata--We won't charge people to play games online, but will charge for the downloading ROMs part.

--Will you guys add online multiplayer capability to those games?
--We're looking into the possibility.

--Will the Rev's controller alienate developers?
--Don't worry about that; worry about the fact that we think the Rev's going to beat PS3 and X360.

--How does the optional DVD capability work?
--Don't you already have a DVD player in your PS2? DVD playback is a part of the machine already, but if you want to use it we'll charge you extra to recoup licensing fees. [APF: that's my interpretation, anyway]

--Will the Revolution have an Ethernet port?
--No. We think people don't want to deal with cables going from room to room, but if you want you can get a USB -> Ethernet adapter. We'll also probably do DS <-> Revolution connectivity via Wi-Fi.

--Can you guys really compete technology-wise, or are you going to be gimmickry and signature games?
--I think the Revolution will have graphics on par with the other consoles, but I also think that LoZ:TP looks just as good as some next-gen games--so what do I know? Most people won't be using an HDTV, so we're not focusing on pushing HD content, but 480p will be our standard.

 

[Ponn]

I didn't see a summary done for the short Iwata interview, but I thought it added some info, so:

Hmm..so Rev. will do 480p, I could live with that. At least it could hook up with my other systems on my HD component plug on my TV.

Some of the other stuff, I don't know. People keep calling Kuturagi crazy but some of the stuff that rolls out of the Nintendo camp is just as crazy.

 

[Speevy]

I wish someone would get Zelda and Fire Emblem sooner rather than later. I want to read some scores.

 

[littlewig]

Has anyone seen Nintendo this cocky before? It seems like they are on a roll, now if they only let us in on the secret.

 

[God's Hand]

I like the Iwata interview. This is the first time I've heard the big-wig at Nintendo say they're going to beat Sony and MS. I believe it will happen.

 

[AniHawk]

I wish someone would get Zelda and Fire Emblem sooner rather than later. I want to read some scores.

This comes from someone who has played a rather lengthy version of TP. To my surprise, it aint looking too good.

Being a huge fan of the original NES and SNES The Legend of Zelda games, and more recently its latest 3D incarnations, I was expecting Eiji Aonuma's mature reincarnation of The Legend of Zelda to be huge. Unfortunately, blindly going into the game having such high expectations was a mistake. From the screenshots, movies and demo, the game definitely looked promising. Soon after the game begins, however, most of the visual beauty takes a back seat to a bad camera and fairly repetitive gameplay.

To be blunt, the camera system in Twilight Princess sucks. The game takes place from a 3rd person point of view, and as soon as Link start moving forward it's obvious that the camera sits way too low and too far back. Without switching to the 1st person camera view every several seconds it's actually difficult to judge the edge of platforms or see enemies once you travel past a corner. In a tight room or area, the camera attempts to give you the best view possible, but there are always enemies beyond your view or shooting arrows at you from off-screen. As soon as you try to re-center the camera and see where the beating is originating from, you end up being surrounded and taking additional damage. The camera has a tendency to just focus on Link at the most inopportune moments and frequently you'll be fighting an attacker you can't even see. In other circumstances, objects and the environment itself will obstruct your view as the camera swings around. I seriously believe I spent more time fighting the camera than the enemy orcs. The camera issue is extremely frustrating and is clearly the game's primary shortcoming.

From the few instances where the camera does behave, the gameplay in Twilight Princess isn't necessarily bad. Link unfortunately has nowhere near the amount of fighting moves Kratos has in God of War. He can jump, block/dodge, perform a regular attack, a special attack, and a long distance attack. Eventually Link finds other weapons and learns additional attacks and techniques such as Nayru's magic. As mentioned earlier, besides attacking from off-screen, enemies will frequently surround Link and begin pounding away. Trying to fight out of those situations will frequently end badly, because as soon as one gets a hit in, the others will take some cheap shots. Depending on the weapon, Link's 3 or 4 canned combos look pretty exciting and brutal the first few times, though after a short while the enemies begin to block at least half of all your regular attacks. Even with magic, long-range, finishing attacks and counter-attacks, expect plenty of button mashing action.

Besides the fighting, Twilight Princess also contains some minor adventure and puzzle elements. Link can find various magic potions, hearts, keys, and everything else we've come to expect in Zelda games. The key items are used to open doors or unlock new areas, and once in a while you'll need to backtrack through previously completed areas to progress through the game. In the end, the adventure elements are uninvolving and simple and serve merely as a way to help break up the action segments.

As touched on earlier, this is a beautiful looking game. It's obvious that EAD knows the Gamecube hardware well, as most of the environments, animation and effects are gorgeous. The environments are not as interactive as hoped though, with only small, obvious objects such as grass, signs and boxes being destructible. Some of the best stages look like they were pulled directly from the God of War universe. However at one point early in the game, Twilight abruptly shifts from a lush farmland style to a more dead, sterile, black and white world. The enemies also follow the same pattern. Orc and undead skeleton warriors give way to bigger monsters and monstrous plant creatures. The plot and storytelling totally pale in comparison to A Link to the Past on the SNES. Which, for it's time, was a cinematic masterpiece. Overall, Twilight Princess doesn't really stick to the classic Legend of Zelda formula and style, but it's an attractive game nonetheless.

The soundtrack doesn't really stand out and the limited voice acting is quite forgettable. There are some nice sound effects and ambient tunes here and there, though you'll probably hear more sword clashing effects than anything else in the game.

Twilight Princess is just not the Legend of Zelda I expected. It's overwhelmingly mediocre, not enjoyable to play, and the horrendous camera alone destroys any redeeming factors the game may have. Most PlayStation 2 owners should remember Sony's similarly over hyped Killzone. I'd almost go as far as proclaiming The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess to be the Gamecube equivalent.