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Friday Video: People love Ryan Drummond
Maybe we're not as up on our Sonic fandom as we should be. Legions of fans have been sounding a battle cry, and where were we? Not paying attention, clearly. But now we're aware that an injustice has been foisted upon dedicated Sonic fans, fans who want something very simple:Ryan Drummond. Ryan Drummond provided the voice of Sonic in the 1999 Sonic Adventure and in several games, until he was replaced with jonny-come-lately Jason Griffith. But what about the fans who adored Drummond? What solace can we offer them? All we have lying around is a shoulder to cry on and a box of tissues ... but wait! Perhaps there will be a solution! Dedicated fans have begun a campaign to get Drummond back (at least for Brawl), and that is the subject of this week's video spotlight. The above video is but one part; you can continue the saga here, and in a bevy of related videos on the subject.[Thanks, Preston!]
Joystiq at E For All 2007
So, we came, we saw, and we'll be back for more throughout Friday and the weekend, but the big question you all wanna know is ... will there be an E For All 2008? Signs point to "not very likely." Judging by some of the empty rows of gaming stations we saw, and the fact that it doesn't fill the South Hall at the Los Angeles Convention Center, it's hard to imagine this show being a giant success.In fact, since it's held in the exact same place that E3 used to be, it's impossible not to compare it to the other shows. In fact it sort of feels like E3 reborn, except that they forgot to send out invites and let people know about it. There were a few busy areas, like the Konami booth which had a line of people all day long waiting to play the MGS4 demo (which was sweet, more on that later), and the Nintendo booth had bleachers set up where people patiently waited to get their hand on Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which was also sweet. If by sweet you mean button-mashy, which we do.Also popular was Link's Crossbow Training, which we'll be playing tomorrow, and of course, Guitar Hero 3. We also witnessed several people pulling Peter Moore's at the Rock Band trailer, which was an extremely cool setup ... but sort of sparsely attended. Probably due to the fact that no one really wants to hear perfect strangers butchering The Clash's "Should I Stay Or Should I Go."While there's not a ton of material out there that hasn't already hit the shelves, we did have fun playing around at the EA booth (we still love you, The Orange Box), and Civiization: Revolution is a lot of fun, which we'll be telling you more about soon. For now, the obligatory Guitar Hero III stations, the elaborate Rock Band stages, the ubiquitous cosplay shots and an overdose of Fatal1ty await you in the gallery.%Gallery-8799%
Joystiq hands-on: Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
Hello, I'm Zack, and I had never played Smash Bros. until today. I don't know if that should be a confession or proclamation. Let it be both. Let the flaming begin.Super Smash Bros. Brawl felt frenetic. To me, it seemed like too much was happening on-screen to play with precision. But apparently people wring ever moment of control out of this fast-paced game. Just not the first time they play.In my games, Brawl always had a lot going on. A power-up poured out 2D sprites lifted directly from Advance Wars. Another caused a Nintendog to briefly paw playfully at the screen, for no reason other than to annoy us. I just laughed at the puppy as I was knocked off the platform to my loss.I like my fighting games with more of an immediate sense of cause-and-effect and without this power-up focus. But I could see the appeal of Brawl. It had so much happening that I was always entertained. And the sense of humor and strangeness -- Mario versus Sonic in a fighting game -- also hooked me.%Gallery-8530%
Confirmed: Smash Bros. Brawl delayed in U.S.
Looks like we chose the right thing to speculate on this morning: Super Smash Bros. Brawl has in fact been delayed for U.S. gamers until February 10. The delay for Japan was announced yesterday, and we expect similar news for other markets within days, if not hours. There's good and bad to the announcement, however. Nintendo doesn't usually delay games without reason, and as we said this morning, if Brawl needs to be fixed, we want it fixed. It gives us a little time to recover from holiday expenses as well. But it will probably eclipse the release of poor No More Heroes, and that's just sad.Of course, if we keep getting dojo updates through February, we'll have seen the entire game by then.
Wii Warm Up: Will non-Japanese gamers see a SSBB delay? [update]
The good news about Super Smash Bros. Brawl: pretty much everything. The bad news? Looks like the title is being delayed in Japan until the end of January. So here's our question: will that delay be spread across the globe, or will it be unique to Japan? We hope it won't be delayed, of course ... unless there are things what need fixing, and then we're 100% in favor of a delay. Please, give us the best game ever. We'll wait. We'll even pretend to be patient.Update: The delay has been confirmed. Get your weep on.
The Smash Bros. MEGATON that is a surprise to nobody: Sonic confirmed
A lot of really cool stuff is coming out of the Nintendo conference that's going on in Japan right now, but this is the most immediately satisfying: Sonic the Hedgehog will be a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and he'll have his Super Sonic transformation. We've all been expecting this announcement, so it's not a huge surprise, but it's still a big deal.This brings up so many questions! Like, will Sonic be able to pick up rings to regain health? Will both attack buttons just make Sonic jump? Most importantly, will he be bringing Tails, Knuckles, Rouge the Bat, Amy Rose, Mecha Sonic, Metal Sonic, Cream the Rabbit, Big the Cat, Bean the Dynamite, and all of his other friends along?In less happy Brawl news, the game has been delayed until January 24th for Japan. No word on whether the release date has changed for other regions, but we doubt it.
Brawl and Galaxy at Nintendo's E For All booth
We've known for quite some time now that Nintendo would be backing E For All. Word just hit today, however, that playable versions of Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Mario Galaxy will be on-hand for those in attendance. Nintendo, who wasn't showing their face at TGS07, didn't even have a playable build of Brawl on the show floor at E307. Even with the game only a few months away, it'd be nice to get a taste of the action. Perhaps even get to play as one of the new characters. Not only that, but Nintendo will host daily tournaments, hooking each day's winner up with an exclusive Wii T-shirt.Head past the break for all of the Wii games on-hand at the show.
Friday Video: Today, back in the day
This week has been video-heavy, so thought thought we would take a light-hearted approach with this week's video spotlight. You've seen tons of great new trailers and gameplay footage all week, so let's join hands and trek back in time ... to see the latest video games.Wait, what? No, that doesn't make any sense, and we know it ... at least, until you see these 2D renditions of some of Nintendo's most exciting upcoming titles. The videos aren't the newest, so maybe you've seen them before, but they're no less awesome for all of that.
Conjecture Countdown: 5 days to go
Even with a diminished E3, there's no controlling the wave of rumors that hit the Internet every year before the show. Why fight it? From now until E3 hits, we'll be posting one piece of wild speculation every day. Some may be patently ridiculous, and others just might turn out to be true. Even some of the ridiculous ones might turn out to be true! Rest assured, everything will be totally made-up and unfounded. Except, of course, when we speak about all the ass Reggie is going to kick. That part? Totally true.Rumor: Super Smash Bros. Brawl's online mode will be revealed! It's an online store in which you can purchase different-colored ties for Donkey Kong.
Apt timing for Nintendo's pre-E3 downers
On Tuesday, we saw two announcements from Nintendo that we're sure caused a handful of fanboys to tear up: no online Metroid and no playable Smash Bros at E3. Why did the House of Mario decide to break hearts just one week before their E3 press briefing? It's just good business, as observed by Newsweek's N'Gai Croal. Nintendo PR revealed their "damage control playbook" last year, Croal said, when they announced the then-distressing final name for the Revolution, Wii, just 12 days before E3 2006. (Check the linked post and its 593 comments for a look back at the announcement.) Of course, the oft-teased title change did little to waver its hype and Nintendo is widely regarded as having a stellar E3 showing that year. Sony, as Croal noted, gave their bad news at the very end -- namely, the $600 price tag. And with it being their final note, they left a sour taste in all gamers' mouth. With Nintendo's bad news out of the way this year (hopefully), Iwata and company can end on a high note. We've illustrated this phenomenon on a chart above. (Note: all values are approximate)
Conjecture Countdown: 8 days to go
Even with a diminished E3, there's no controlling the wave of rumors that hit the Internet every year before the show. Why fight it? From now until E3 hits, we'll be posting one piece of wild speculation every day. Some may be patently ridiculous, and others just might turn out to be true. Even some of the ridiculous ones might turn out to be true! Rest assured, everything will be totally made-up and unfounded. Except, of course, when we speak about all the ass Reggie is going to kick. That part? Totally true.Rumor: Having peeked into the distant and dystopian future of December 2007 through the mystic arts of augury and tea leaf reading, we've discerned several Assist Trophy characters that are guaranteed to appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Take care, young readers, as you pull back the curtain that separates your eager eyes from what lies beyond the post break. Once you've known the truths that destiny has planned, you can never unknow them!
Dojo update: a comedy classic
Today's Super Smash Bros. Brawl Dojo update actually revealed something new! Like, actually new, and not something that was also in Melee. We wonder if it was a mistake-- maybe this update was meant for September and they accidentally posted it instead of more about Fox.Banana peels are the newest addition to the arsenal of items that serious players will ban. We look forward to the hilarity! Poor Kirby looks really annoyed, either because he slipped or because he didn't get to eat the banana and gain its Potassium Power.
Wii Warm Up: The no-waggle zone
Sometimes, waggle makes everything better ... and sometimes, it makes us want to gouge out our eyes, or maybe a friend's eyes. Really, any eyes will do. We're not picky. The thing is, everyone has different opinions one what makes for a good waggle game. And what exactly counts as waggle, anyway? Excite Truck and Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam used limited motion-sensing controls, and that worked out pretty well. But a lot of people are uncertain about how a fast-paced game like Super Smash Bros. Brawl will work with the Wiimote and nunchuk control scheme. Will we like it? The good thing is, if we don't, we have option. But we're not always so lucky.In the games released so far, where do you think the controls have worked, and where have they been less than good?
Conjecture Countdown: 16 days to go
Even with a diminished E3, there's no controlling the wave of rumors that hit the Internet every year before the show. Why fight it? From now until E3 hits, we'll be posting one piece of wild speculation every day. Some may be patently ridiculous, and others just might turn out to be true. Even some of the ridiculous ones might turn out to be true! Rest assured, everything will be totally made-up and unfounded. Except, of course, when we speak about all the ass Reggie is going to kick. That part? Totally true. Rumor: The disembodied head of Dr. Kawashima will be revealed as a surprise character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl! The catch? You can only use him once per day.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl still on for 2007
It's tough going to the party without a date. Earlier this week, Nintendo laid out its release plans up until September 2007, notably leaving a still dateless Super Smash Bros. Brawl out of the whole affair, forcing it to watch as Metroid Prime 3 marched to the ball with an alluring 20th of August on its cannon arm. With no solid release window in sight, the Wii's frantic fighter must have considered going on a lonely drinking binge and slipping into a coma until 2008. That is, until Reggie Fils-Aime administered an unforgiving slap to the face and instilled hope once more. Speaking at the recent Nintendo Summit in Seattle, the Nintendo of America president confirmed that the musically rich Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Mario Galaxy would both be out before your Official Iwata Swimsuit 2007 calendar becomes worthless. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for DS was given similar assurances and will likely join the anticipated Wii duo in this holiday season's battle for shoppers. You'd best start stocking up on that financial ammunition.
Smash Bros. website finally updates
After a day of wearing out our F5 key, the Super Smash Bros. Brawl webpage has finally made its promised update. Unfortunately, we have yet to find any huge megaton announcements. In fact, some of the content is a little too non-megaton-- like an explanation of the (unchanged) basic rules of Smash Bros.There is neat stuff to be found, though, most obviously in the form of a few screenshots that, while they still don't show any new or new-to-Brawl characters, do show off a day/night cycle. Also, the list of composers contributing to the game is massive-- a total who's-who of Japanese game music. Some of the composers, we're sure, are only credited for having created the music from Smash characters' original games. But Jun Fukuda and Masafumi Takada from Grasshopper Manufacture are on the list, and that is really exciting.The website promises updates every weekday, so don't let the somewhat underwhelming first day put you off. Keep checking the site for the inevitable character announcements and control scheme explanations!%Gallery-3347%[Thanks, Tigeron Starfire!]
Report: Kojima feels Smash Bros. Brawl "very complete"
The next game in the Super Smash Bros. saga may be ready sooner than later. At a recent gathering of Japanese game developers, Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima reportedly got a chance to play a version of the game with Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai. According to Kojima Productions podcastee Ryan Payton, Kojima later said the game was "a lot of fun" and "already feels very complete." How complete? "You guys could put it out right now and it could sell millions of copies," Kojima reportedly said.Nintendo has been characteristically stingy with details about the highly-anticipated game, releasing no new information since a trailer last November. Could this be a sign the game will indeed make the 2007 release date promised way back at the last E3? Here's hoping.[Via 1PStart]Listen - Kojima Productions podcast (Smash Bros. discussion starts around 11 minute mark)
