Lair has been delayed to next month (now September 4th). I thought it went gold last week, but I guess that doesn't mean a game is really complete anymore. Whoever is in charge of planning the release of this game should be fired...as well as probably some other people on the staff.
RC, have you ever played Viva Pinata? I was browsing fatwallet and Amazon has it on sale for 20 bucks. It got great reviews, but I don't know what type of gamers those are. I haven't bought a game since Gears of War. Heck, I haven't even taken out my 360 from it's box since I got back to Houston.
You have Bioshock, Mass Effect, Madden and Halo 3 on the horizon. You might not have time for Viva Pinata. VP is...weird. It's wrapped up in kiddie packaging, but probably a little too convoluted for small children. It's essentially a sims-like garden/zoo simulator. You run this ever growing garden, where the animals are 'pinatas', and you are basically trying to advance/collect as many different species as you can. What's really odd is the life/death angle to the game. You have to breed these pinatas to grow new ones...to use as bait to attract other species. So you get into this weird inbreeding/sacrifice mix. Not exactly easy to explain to the kids. Some people really go into it. I thought it was an interesting idea, but didn't find much replay value.
I haven't played it, but it does seem like an interesting game based on everything I've seen about it. Probably went a bit under the radar when it came out...didn't help that it seemed to be aimed at a bit of a niche audience (seemingly aimed at kids, but gameplay might be a bit too advanced for them). Certainly not for everyone, although I personally would probably find some enjoyment in the game, especially if I could get it for $20. Although as Rokkit pointed out, it might get lost in the shuffle if you end up getting some of the AAA games coming out soon. Here's a review from Gametrailers if it helps: <object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" id="gtembed" width="480" height="409"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=15457"/> <param name="quality" value="high" /> <embed src="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=15457" swLiveConnect="true" name="gtembed" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="409"></embed> </object>
Bioshock not coming out for the PS3 - Bull**** Lair not coming out for 360 - Sweetness (Even though it might be a bust) WHEN will the freaking Sony do something about their upset PS3 Owners. I'm hoping Assassins Creed will be an awesome game.
Not this year anyway. Although poor PS3 sales may lead to them canceling (or having already canceled) the PS3 port. Yeah, I'm not sure 360 owners care that much about Lair, or at least when compared to other PS3 exclusives coming this year (UT3, Heavenly Sword, GT5, Uncharted, etc.). Maybe just to show that the 360 can do stuff on par with the PS3's best when it comes to the systems technical abilities, but that's about it. I've been a bit more optimistic about Lair since I heard that the reviews of the game so far were based on the preview builds of the game, and Factor 5 has since improved the framerate (which was a game killer for some who played the preview build) as well as other bugs. Still really concerned about the gameplay though...although I've become less concerned about the controls since I've read some positive reports from others, despite the fact that all 3 reviewers from EGM seemed to hate the game based solely on the controls. The president of Factor 5 is supposed to discuss the game with the EGM reviewers in a future feature at 1UP IIRC (either a podcast or video feature I think...can't remember which). They've made a lot of moves that might make PS3 owners happy, but it seems like most of them won't have any large impact until 2008 or beyond (NCSoft/Rockstar exclusives, UE3.0 optimizations, Home, LBP, UT3 mods, etc.). It seems like they thought they wouldn't have to worry about anything until 9-10 months or so after launch (especially in the Japanese market), and that couldn't have been further from the truth.
Forgot to post this earlier, but here's a video to illustrate the difference between Madden on the 360 and the PS3 (mostly in terms of the frame rate): http://download.gamevideos.com/13783/gv.com.Madden08PS3Xbox360ComparisonVidHD_1280x720.mov (Quicktime) http://download.gamevideos.com/13783/gv.com.Madden08PS3Xbox360ComparisonVidHD_1280x720.wmv (WMV) There is a streaming version, but it doesn't really do a good job of illustrating the difference.
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/09/stranglehold-ps3-delayed-still-coming-in-2007/ Though still due out August 27 for Xbox 360 and PC, the PlayStation 3 version of John Woo's Stranglehold has been delayed past its reported September 17 launch. Dutch site PS3 Only obtained a statement from Midway confirming the delay, saying (translation via N4G) that the game is "definitely [coming] out this year" but has no confirmed release date.
That's just for Europe AFAIK. Midway US sent out press releases and statements confirming that the PS3 version of Stranglehold is still on track for a September 17th release in the US. Guess some Europeans could still import it though since it (and the Hard Boiled HD movie) are region free...assuming they understand English of course.
Hmm...seems like it won't even be delayed in Europe since this was just a simple mistake by Midway in Europe: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3161861 Got to love the journalistic integrity found at Joystiq and these others sites.
Time for a recap on the reviews (some of these have been posted in other threads though)... Video reviews from Gametrailers: <object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" id="gtembed" width="480" height="409"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=23439"/> <param name="quality" value="high" /> <embed src="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=23439" swLiveConnect="true" name="gtembed" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="409"></embed> </object> 86/80/74 for 360/PS3/Wii version at Metacritic. <object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" id="gtembed" width="480" height="409"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=23824"/> <param name="quality" value="high" /> <embed src="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=23824" swLiveConnect="true" name="gtembed" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="409"></embed> </object> 96/97 for PC/360 version at Metacritic. <object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" id="gtembed" width="480" height="409"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=23919"/> <param name="quality" value="high" /> <embed src="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=23919" swLiveConnect="true" name="gtembed" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="409"></embed> </object> 61 at Metacritic. <object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" id="gtembed" width="480" height="409"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=24117"/> <param name="quality" value="high" /> <embed src="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=24117" swLiveConnect="true" name="gtembed" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="409"></embed> </object> 91 at Metacritic. <object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" id="gtembed" width="480" height="409"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=24268"/> <param name="quality" value="high" /> <embed src="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=24268" swLiveConnect="true" name="gtembed" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="409"></embed> </object> 77 at Metacritic. <object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" id="gtembed" width="480" height="409"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=24324"/> <param name="quality" value="high" /> <embed src="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=24324" swLiveConnect="true" name="gtembed" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="409"></embed> </object> 78 at Metacritic. Video reviews from IGN: <embed src='http://videomedia.ign.com/ev/ev.swf' flashvars='object_ID=899091&downloadURL=http://wiimovies.ign.com/wii/video/article/816/816896/tigerwgolf08_review_082907_flvlowwide.flv&allownetworking="all"' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' width='433' height='360' ></embed> This is from the Wii version. Here's a (text) review from Gamespot on the 360/PS3 version: http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/sports/tigerwoodspgatour08/review.html?sid=6177873 Metacritic only has an average score of 80 for the 360/PS3 versions (no avg score for the Wii version). <embed src='http://videomedia.ign.com/ev/ev.swf' flashvars='object_ID=748468&downloadURL=http://ps3movies.ign.com/ps3/video/article/816/816879/warhawk_vidreview_082907_flvlowwide.flv&allownetworking="all"' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' width='433' height='360' ></embed> 84 at Metacritic. <embed src='http://videomedia.ign.com/ev/ev.swf' flashvars='object_ID=761161&downloadURL=http://ps3movies.ign.com/ps3/video/article/817/817250/lair_vidreview_083107_flvlowwide.flv&allownetworking="all"' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' width='433' height='360' ></embed> 61 at Metacritic. Apparently, people don't want more dragon games given the reviews for this and Blue Dragon. The review process for Lair has been a bit of a weird experience. Basically, the thing I was worried about with Lair turned out to be true, according to reviews anyway (pretty game with great presentation and sound, but not much else). That said, it seems all of the reviewers just hated the controls, basically making the game unplayable (partly/mostly why it is getting such low scores). Strangely enough, just about all the early impressions from people who bought the game (it is out now BTW) have said that the controls aren't really an issue at all (despite what reviewers have said), especially if you do the tutorial missions. Don't know if the reviewers did them, or if they even had access to them (given the positive previews about the controls, maybe Factor 5 didn't bother enabling it in the review builds?). Apparently you can use a generic controller w/o motion control and the controls map back to the analog sticks, so I guess some people can get a feel of how the game controls that way if they prefer (though some things won't work). Either way, I won't even bother renting it at this point. If Sony puts out a demo, I may give it another look, but that's about it. A pity since I was interested in some of the things Factor 5 was doing with the game. Gamespot Text Reviews: Mega Man Star Force (DS) http://www.gamespot.com/ds/rpg/mega...t=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;review Scores range from 61-64 at Metacritic. Jeanne D'Arc (PSP) http://www.gamespot.com/psp/rpg/jeannedarc/review.html?sid=6176961 87 at Metacritic. Stuntman Ignition (Multi) http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/driving/stuntman/review.html?sid=6177812 76-77 for PS3/360 version at Metacritic. Dynasty Warriors: Gundam (Multi) http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/gundammusou/review.html?sid=6177925 56/59 for 360/PS3 version at Metacritic. MOH and Stranglehold (360/PC) both got pushed back to September. More on that in the next thread I guess.
I guess I was way off in thinking that Lair will give Bioshock a run of its money for game of the month. It seems like Bioshock will be known as one of the best of all time.
