Pokemon 3DS

The goal of a new piece of hardware is to introduce new franchises, opportunities and ideas to – ideally - a growing audience with enhanced improvements to current franchises, functionalities and generally to update the software available.

The goal of any software is to ultimately fully realize the potential of a particular franchise within the limits of each generational system. Nintendo, and in particularly the Pokémon Company, have finally achieved just that for the DS system with their recent release of Pokémon Black & White 2.

The question is what is next for the flagship handheld series?

Firstly it did quite surprise me when the new outing was announced as a DS only game, being that the Nintendo 3DS had just started creeping up in sales and that the ‘sequels’ (so-to-speak) didn’t make the generation jump.

That being said the layout for the region was already in place, as were the regular sprites, so this instalment might have been seen as a quick win in order to give the company some time to create a substantial leap in the regular systems for the new hardware. It wouldn’t honestly surprise me if they have been working on the next instalments for a good period of time already.

While the dedicated Pokémon Masters will have hours and hours to sink into this deep, new adventure, it is very natural to look at where we are going from here. It’s going to be a long time before we get some answers but let’s have a educated guess.

Most Nintendo portables only ever receive one set of Pokémon games but the 2D DS generation has become the exception to the rule; as they now hold two full generations comprised of four separate sets of games. This basically shows us that the DS has now been conquered, it seems clear that Nintendo can’t push out another Pokémon title onto this format, especially with the growth of the new hardware sales over the last 6 months. Pokémon is known to promote and define Nintendo’s portable experiences and I expect that they want to do the same with the 3DS. It was already 18 months since the release of the 3DS when the recent Black/White 2 were released.

I would first almost entirely state my claim that one of the older Pokémon games will obtain a facelift first. BW2 broke the mould by offering a numbered sequel and it would stand to reason that Nintendo don’t expect this to be the one and only true area return. All the previous remakes have been facelifts a’la Heart Gold/Soul Silver but this doesn’t mean we won’t be venturing back to somewhere like Johto.

In reality my instinct is business me towards the GBA titles Ruby and Sapphire that have yet to be re-released in any sort of style. Also given the lack of a GBA port it means that the critters from these games are especially difficult to exchange with the 3DS or DSi families. It would also mean that the team will get a handle on the 3DS hardware before they release their first ‘new’ release (so-to-speak).

It would surprise me if they left the next outing on the DSi systems but then again any Pokémon game is going to have a following, and a good game is a good game regardless of the system it’s limited to.

Of course the question on everyone’s lips is what the franchise would choose for the visual style? You know the one I mean, that top down yet slightly angled approach with static sprites and monophonic cries.

2D and 3D both present very different art forms but both have their suitable advantages and disadvantages so making such a decision cannot be taken lightly. The opportunity is whether to progress with the 2D art style with some additional 3D models or to take on a completely new approach.

Given the forthcoming release of the Pokedex 3D Pro – which features fully realised 3D models for all the current 649 monsters – this seems like a likely option. After all, what is the point of spending all that development time and effort just to waste these good models on an application only?

We know Pokémon will stick the traditional, turn-based JRPG rules because that’s how the franchise works. I would expect a 3D battle system at a minimum which may follow the steps originally set out with the likes of Pokémon Stadium all those years ago on the N64. The ‘stadiums’ could follow the designs of the routes around the game world with animations to coincide with the attacks being used. A tunnel area could be shown as such with a standard background to support.

One area I do not expect an overhaul would be in the world map. Although we can safely assume that the design would fit in with the 3D enhancements I would expect this to follow a heightened camera angle but with clearer sprites moving around the world. I cannot imagine the Pokémon Company putting in the time to show the Pokémon in the world map and expect the standard random battles approach to still be used.

Whatever happens we know the series has a substantial following and will further advance the art of portable multiplayer. With the 3DS specific features of StreetPass and SpotPass – both of which seem custom made to facilitate this sort of franchise – it’s a safe bet to assume you could trade on the fly or pick up ‘ghost’ versions of other peoples teams to battle at a later date.

Unfortunately nothing concrete has been announced yet so until we find out more all we will ever be able to do it speculate. The franchise will always make money and incidentally we’ve never had a ‘bad’ Pokemon game – at least not within the main games – so we can assume the generation leap will be no different.

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Eurogamer Expo 2012 - The Rundown

A long weekend of gaming has now become a distant memory but the Eurogamer Expo did give me one thing – last impressions. Following my article earlier this week I have decided to complete a breakdown of the games I played, what I like and what I didn’t.

All in all the weekend was a grand success – thanks again Square Enix for my free swag, the lady from the Resident Evil stand who obviously thought I was pretty trim as she supplied me with a small sized t-shirt and also to Master Chief for letting me have a photo stroking his crutch (too much?).

Unpredictably I managed to avoid the Halo 4 rig for most of the day buy spent the last few hours queuing and playing the new build but first I ventured into the over 18’s section where I met these little beauties….

Metal Gear Rising: Reveneance

The best demi-titled game on show was fun and fast paced with relatively smooth graphic. The build is still early in development but being a massive fan of the stealth titles this one didn’t hit home with me as much as I’d hoped it would. Although Reveneance looks truly gorgeous as soon as the action kicks in the game just felt like an outdoor, shinny Devil May Cry – not that it’s necessarily a bad thing.

F1 2013

Getting to play this on the new F1 gaming chair was one of the real reasons I gave it a go. I’ve never been a massive fan of the realistic racing genre but I have been partial to short bursts on Project Gotham. In fact F1 2013 might well have change that for me as the blisteringly real feeling chair and the gorgeous track designs made this a pleasure to play – especially from a pick up and play perspective. I’m sure the eons of menu options will keep the hardcore invested but this really felt much better than any of the previous instalments I’ve played.

Fable: The Journey

Being a rather passionate Fable fan I’ve been heavily anticipating the new Kinect only game for quite some time now. In fact I’m not currently an owner of the hardware but had a strong inkling that this might change my mind… unfortunately it didn’t.

We got to play around with the tutorial and a short early game dungeon but even with the decreased difficulty and incessant reminders on how to do things I still found the whole experience completely underwhelming and clunky. The motion capture didn’t work very well and with the game being a few short weeks away from release this doesn’t seem like a good thing. Truth be told this might be the beginning of the terror inflicted when Mr. Molyneux left Lionhead.

Tomb Raider

The reboot of the Lara Croft saga is shaping up really nicely. I believe the gameplay I experienced was part of the tutorial section of the game showing of Lara’s abilities and introducing the new ‘survival’ ethic. The game runs very smoothly with action set pieces that affect the players decisions as tasks are undertaken.

My only gripe – and it’s a small one – was the AI on the deer used for shooting practice. After shooting my bow at them the darned animals ran for a couple of paces, stopped and then headed closer to me for an easier shot – stupid creatures!

Overall the whole reboot felt entirely fresh and the gameplay was both dynamic and cleverly planned. The sunlight passing through the canopy had a great reflection on both water and the undergrowth making the whole feeling of being stranded in the jungle that much more convincing as an experience.

Dishonoured

Playing this for the first time at Eurogamer was a refreshing example of the open sandboxes are becoming a requirement by gamers for all AAA titles in recent years. The game felt intuitive and had a good pallet of colour to keep you wanting to explore your surroundings. Although the game has already hit the UK high street I could recommend this to anyone.

Each ‘mission’ can be completed in multiple ways with the player utilising brute force, slow stealth or interactive abilities to reach and complete their objectives keeping the replay options high. The characters are interesting and the whole experience was nothing short of brilliant – and nothing less than you’d expect from Bethesda. The mission we played gave us ample opportunities to use the different powers, as they were all available during the trial, and created some interesting actions and consequences. The steam punk style is something I am personally a fan of anyone but the clever voice acting and area designs means you want to check around every corner.

Assassins Creed 3

While I love both Assassins Creed 2 and the Brotherhood edition I found that Revelations was a bit of a disappointment. Ubisoft tried to be too clever for their own good and made an entirely playable game too complex with exceptionally distorted pacing. As much as I am a fan of the franchise the fact that I ridicule Revelations so much pushes me into the depths of despair for the new outing too.

Thankfully I have been entirely wrong at the series we have grown to love has really gone back to its roots. The area of the frontier is bright, distinguished and brilliant paced for free running through the trees. The controls are very much the same as before but even the experienced players will still feel like novices in the trees until they learn to plan their routes properly.

The player now runs at pace just holding the RT button to ensure that they have full access to their actions while on the run allowing you to free up your thumb from constantly sitting on the A button. It takes a bit of getting used to but the frontier isn’t as forgiving as any of the cities we’ve experienced before. Run too fast and it’s likely you find a cliff face that will be your downfall.

Connor is a welcome breath of fresh air for the series, feeling weightier than both Ezio and Altair meaning the return of Desmond is shaping up to be a good continuation of the franchise we all love. Bring on 31^st October!

Halo 4

The return of the Master Chief was on show at the Expo too with a queue that seemed to constantly steam from one end of Earl’s court to the other. Luckily I put myself through the wait on two separate occasions to get a view of the new multiplayer portion of the game.

Held on the new Haven map the King of the Hill style deathmatch was bright and enjoyable with specific loadouts and abilities introducing us to the new dynamics. Nothing unreleased was on display but I can tell you that if the red vs. blue was anything to go by then the Master Chief will be feeling chunkier than ever before – and not in a bad way. It’s the game we all know and love but with some additional content and minor tweaks to show off exactly why the Spartans we’re a class above the UNSC grunts.

The map was quite sizeable with force pads and various levels to deploy grenades, rockets and shotguns. The gameplay was the standard frantic affair that we are used to and made for some excellent close quarter gun-fights.

All in all 343 industries are definitely looking like they’ll deliver on their promise that this will feel like a Halo game but with a few touches to ensure the experience is still something they can call their own.

So with the Eurogamer Expo firmly behind us we can see there is a lot to be excited about over the coming months. Did you make it to Eurogamer? Do you have any comments on the above? If so get involved in the comments section below.

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A Eurogamer 2012 Story

I’m sure you’ll pardon me for a brief EEK as I’ve finally hit my Eurogamer Expo comedown today which means it’s all over for another year.

Those of you that don’t know from Thursday 27th of September to Sunday 30^th the Eurogamer Expo weekend was in town which brought all the big developers to London for the biggest UK video games fest in history. This year Earl’s Court was packed to the rafters with Connor style Assassins, Zombies and Chicken Heads (see below) as well as everything a video game fanatic might need.

Those of you that went will be superbly happy with yourselves; while those that didn’t might want to take a long hard look at themselves….!

Unfortunately this year I missed the Saturday night afterparty but my day of drinking certainly made the whole thing a lot of fun. Last year I went in sober to really take in the atmosphere; this year I got drunk and talked my way into extra swag, photo opportunities and queue jumping (sorry those who suffered waits because of me).

Firstly let me start by saying the Retro Zone & Indie Arcades were fantastic. The quality on offer really was excellent and in particularly I loved ‘A Bastard’ – which probably holds the award for best video game title ever. Proteus also impressed with its colourful vision of the world and audio style of gameplay. I loved these areas last year but they were just brilliant in their execution at the weekend, drawing your gaze from across the venue.

One of my only regrets was my lack of time at the GameIndustry Fair; I’ve never fancied myself to make games, and my programming skills are pretty terrible, but I love seeing the workshops and the opportunities to speak with those people who have already made it. If you’ve ever played a game and though ‘Wow, I’d love to get paid to make these’, then you were probably the people I stalked and took photos of at the weekend.

Eurogamer Expo always put on tournaments but this year I got to see some special things. The PES ans Tekken tournaments had been kicking off once every day but on the Saturday the 2011 PES World Champion played the 2011 FIFA World Champion in a head to head at the Pro Evo 2013 edition. It was a rather controlled affair with both competitors showing the utmost respect for their counterpart – in the end someone had to win and you should all watch it on YouTube so I won’t spoil it for you here.

I also tried to bang out a decent time on F1 2013 but managed to get almost double the time of the day leader after an early off track spin while using my amateur nature of a toddler holding the acceleration button – Owned!

In the main games arena I tried all the biggest titles on offer from adventure games like Tomb Raider and Dishonoured to highly anticipated sequels like Halo 4 and Gears of War Judgment. We also made our way around to the Fable: The Journey stand as well as both the new Football titles this year. I wish I’d have spent more time with the Wii U and the new Vita titles but I think I got enough out of my few minutes to give you a bit of a rundown over the next few days.

So all in all my Eurogamer trip was a true success – I got drunk and I played Video Games – I advertised my blog a bit by sticking a few stickers around and I generally annoyed the masses… just like a usual Saturday night.

How did you guys find the event? What were your favourite parts? More importantly was there anything you didn’t like – apart from my queue hoping?

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