Pure Drivel

Today I read a great preview of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption on IGN. It actually got me really excited for the game, as I’ve been looking for a compelling single-player core-gamer experience to renew my interest in the Wii. It mostly collects dust while I play Oblivion or Bioshock on my PC or Tiger Woods ‘07 or Gears of War or Overlord on my 360. When I have people over, the Wii shines, but otherwise… I was especially excited since the IGN folks wrote about how it’s the crowning graphical achievement on the Wii. I’m an admitted graphics snob. Don’t get me wrong; it’s not the only thing I focus on when I play a game. The gameplay definitely matters to me. That’s why I recently played through Deus Ex and God of War II despite their being non-HD. I mean, Deus Ex is seven years old, and frankly looks awful by today’s standards. But the flawless blend of FPS and RPG and the pretty compelling story line kept me playing.

The graphical quality of the games on the Wii has always bothered me. It’s fine for the casual games that I currently own for the system, like Wario Ware and Mario Party. But anyone who says that Nintendo hasn’t left the core gamers out in the cold just isn’t paying attention. I often wonder why Nintendo didn’t go the multiple sku route and offer an HD-capable version of their “next-gen” system. I understand that “next-gen” doesn’t always mean improved graphics, but some kind of visible upgrade would have been nice. I’ve played a number of games on the Wii (Call of Duty 3, Red Steel, Super Swing Golf), and the Wii just doesn’t cut it. Especially when I can get an amazing gameplay experience, and outstanding graphics on other systems. So back to MP3:C - you can imagine my excitement when I read through this preview and about how awesome this game is to play and how it’s the best looking game for the Wii so far. I crave an awesome experience on this machine that I purchased above cost on eBay and so desperately want to love. So you can further imagine my utter disappointment, nay, disgust when I saw this:

Notice the lack of definition on the face, the lack of life in the eyes, and the blocky sausages that I’d assume are fingers. But, hey, maybe this is an android! That’d explain the blocky look of her, right?

Nope, still looks like crap. It’s full of jaggies and the textures are washed out. It lacks the definition that should be a standard in a game intended for core-gamers. The bottom line is, this game falls tremendously short of my standards for graphics in today’s gaming market, just like every other game I’ve played on the Wii. A lack of refined visuals can really take me out of a game. It sounds like the gameplay and story are tremendous enough that I’ll probably play it anyway. I know there probably won’t be any backlash for the low graphical quality of this game. People will still turn out in droves to buy it, and it will be critically acclaimed, I’m sure. But don’t we have a right to expect more in the visual department from the company that essentially resurrected the American video game market? Especially when they’re supposedly not abandoning the core-gamers?

Via Kotaku.

Take-Two Interactive, parent company to Rockstar, announced yesterday that they will be pushing back the release of Grand Theft Auto IV by a whole six months. Originally slated for an October release, the game won’t see daylight until Q2F 2008. Take-Two execs made the decision after spending time with the current build of the game. As reported by Gamasutra:

Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick pegged the delay on its multi-platform release, saying, “Certain elements of development proved to be more time-intensive than expected, especially given the commitment for a simultaneous release on two very different platforms.??

I honestly don’t see how Rockstar can expect to stay afloat with two major failures in the last six months. First the Manhunt 2 debacle, and now they’re pushing back the latest game in their most popular IP. The gaming community is loyal, but impatient. We understand that development takes time. The greater issue here is Rockstar’s name and credibility as a developer.

Manhunt 2 is off the table, and I think that pushing GTA IV back could have a detrimental effect on its sales in the end. Not to mention that sandbox games as a whole are suffering from stagnation. Rockstar may have perfected the sandbox game with GTA 3, but what have they added that’s truly innovative since then? Flying vehicles? Girlfriends? It’s not enough. I had more fun playing Crackdown than I had playing any GTA game.

They’ve stood on the back of GTA and an anti-establishment ideology for a long time. But now that the ESRB has made clear that there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed, even for Rockstar, where will they go from here? If Rockstar doesn’t do something astounding with GTA IV, especially after pushing it back, I think they’re in a lot of trouble.