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CG cutscenes and gaming culture
In an interview with Lost Planet Community's Brian Dunn, Cutscene Director Yoshiyuki Tonoe and Director Kenji Oguro discussed the differences between how cutscenes are used in Western and Eastern gaming worlds. Their decision to use real-time cutscenes in Lost Planet stems from their research into how Western developers tended to tell the story within the game engine, whereas Japanese developers typically rely on CG graphics for the cinematic storytelling.Tonoe dates the Eastern obsession with CG cutscenes to the original Biohazard (released March 1996), though arguably Square Enix had already begun to look into CG before the horror title's release with Final Fantasy VII, whose long development process began in 1995. "The latest CG movies found in games are stunning and really help sell the game," said Tonoe, "but when I think about how they are used to tie the story to the gameplay, I wonder if they are effective at making the games any better."Pictured are some of the games used as reference material during Lost Planet's development. Tonoe cites The Lord of the Rings games, whose cutscenes were amalgamations of movie footage and in-game footage, as "above what Japanese developers were doing at the time."Specific to their game, Tonoe remarks that there are 33 cutscenes in Lost Planet, totaling 73 minutes, averaging just under three minutes with the longest cutscene at around six minutes in length. What's your preference -- explosive CG eye candy or more immersive real-time storytelling?[Via 1UP]
Biohazard watch detects aliens, consumers of gimmicky timepieces
We've seen our fair share of questionably designed watches (and extraterrestrial detection devices, too), but the Biohazard timepiece takes this alien watchdog stuff to another level. Sure, the solid stainless steel design and squared motif isn't the hippest thing to fly out of Japan, but the overall aesthetics still top some wrist adornments out there, and its functionality isn't half bad either. The company makes no bones about informing you that the "red and white DNA helix bars" are actually not registering levels of alien activity around you, but rather spell out the time via colored blocks, and the date via an "alien DNA percentage" meter. Aside from fooling your friends into believing that ET resides in your guest room, this thing actually performs the single most important duty a watch is supposed to accomplish, and it can be yours for (an admittedly steep) ¥15,900 ($138).[Via BoingBoing]
Resident Evil heads to PSP in November (via PSone emulation)
The PlayStation Store that'll be available on your fingerprint-covered PLAYSTATION 3 in a few weeks will feature PSone games for you to download and play on your PSP. Japan will have 9 games available at its launch: Bio Hazard Director's Cut (Resident Evil) BishiBashi Special Everyone's Golf 2 Jumping Flash! Konami Antiques MSX Collection Vol.1 Konami Antiques MSX Collection Vol.2 Mister Driller Silent Bomber Tekken 2 Strangely, no Ridge Racer (it was the first game to show off PSone emulation on the PSP). My personal picks have to be Resident Evil and Mister Driller (if the same games come out to America). According to Eurogamer, Sony plans on adding ten more games to the roster every month. That's about twice the content provided by Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays.[Via Joystiq]
Rumor: RE5 to reside solely on 360 [update 1]
Perhaps you noticed that there was absolutely no Resident Evil 5 information revealed at TGS -- not even a peep. This has led some to speculate that somebody -- Microsoft -- has secured the exclusive rights to the game. What's more, the head honcho of 360 Japan, Takashi Sensui, gave a tantalizing reply when questioned directly about the issue: "All I can say is we are very good friends with Mr. Inafune." As any good Fanboy already knows, Mr. (Keiji) Inafune is the producer behind Resident Evil 5 as well as the runaway smash hit, Dead Rising. Wait a minute, Scooby. Didn't we run a story last month about Capcom ending PS3 exclusives as a result of Dead Rising's high sales numbers? And Lost Planet looks like it could be pretty big, too. Hmmm, this RE5 exclusivity business just might have some legs after all. If only there were some huge convention where Capcom and Microsoft could reveal such a bombshell, somewhere in Europe. Spain perhaps. [Thanks, The1] Update: It looks like Capcom has officially shot this rumor down. Speaking with CVG, a spokesperson said, "Resident Evil 5 will release on PS3 and Xbox 360 as announced. There a no plans for an exclusive with the game." Oh, well. At least we know it won't be exclusive for that other console either. Thanks to Abraham for the tip.
ReWii confirmed as Umbrella Chronicles
And that's really about all that has been confirmed for Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles. Here's what we do know, and it's not much: the game is categorized as "action" (you don't say) and Kawada Masachika, who handled the port of Resident Evil 4 from the 'Cube to the PS2, will be the lead producer. The game also appeared briefly in the Wii preview video that we've been cooing over all day. There are a lot of rumors flying around about the game, naturally. Some people think it's at least a partial remake of the remake of the original Resident Evil (that's a lot of remaking). There's word of an established voice actress lending her pipes to Jill Valentine. And some people say it may even -- wait for it -- have some zombies. Now that's news.Speculate your fanboy hearts out and we'll bring you information as it comes. [Thanks to everyone who sent this one in!]
Resident Evil info coming next month
We now know that there is definitely a Resident Evil title planned for the Wii. It's just not Resident Evil 5, is all. Instead, evidence points toward a "Wiimake" of the original REmake on the GameCube. What evidence points to this, you say? Well, the image above this post shows a rather large update on the game is planned for the September issue of this Japanese magazine. And who is that but Jill and Chris from the REmake? Coincidence, or merely there to fill the void of information on the title?[Via Go Nintendo]
Biohazard G.S. scans
An odd image is linked which discusses what we can only assume are plans for the upcoming Biohazard (Resident Evil) title on Nintendo's Wii. Emerging upon the net in the wake of the greatness that is E3, we cannot confirm the validity of this image, yet our desire for some concrete information beyond 'yes, it will be on the Wii' causes us to report it. Anyone out there read Japanese? [Via 4cr]
Early video of Resident Evil 4; we barely knew ye
Check out this incredible video of early footage from Resident Evil 4, before they reinvented the series! What is on display here confirms the incredible change the series undertook with the latest version. While the environments are fully 3-dimensional, the puzzle look the same, and the camera is still (mostly) static.Watching the player run from "shot" to "shot" hoping for a decent angle to shoot from not only re-awoke the frustrations of playing earlier games, but highlighted the elegance of the over-the-shoulder approach. In the screen above, you can see they experimented with this approach early, and rightfully reimagined their entire game around it. Resident Evil 4's button-based minigames are here, as well as the title's gorgeous graphics, but the environment and enemies are all different. Good job, Capcom! Instead of releasing the same old game with a fresh coat of paint, you trashed most of what you had, thereby reinventing a stale franchise and reinvigorating a stagnant genre, and you were rewarded for it![Thanks, Timpac]Keep reading for the video.
Resident Evil 4 heading to PC?
After sweeping up enough game of the year awards to keep the franchise around for another decade, Resident Evil 4 may be heading to PCs to finish what it's started. According to European retailer Play's website, Resident Evil 4 is scheduled to hit PCs on March 31st. We all know how unreliable retailers websites can be, but Blue's News is reporting that Capcom Germany delivered an unofficial confirmation (whatever that means). It seems plausible enough; they've already made a fortune off both the PS2 and GCN versions, and they'd be in good company. Condemned, another console creeper, is heading to the PC as well. Now PC gamers can grab a Windows Xbox 360 controller and sit back on their couch in their computer chair and wait until late March. [Via Blue's News]
