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Dear lord...talk about the day that wouldn't end. Non-stop work today, and I'm ending the night with a headache. I just have to keep in mind that it's all relative. There are plenty of people out there in much worse situations that me tonight. A headache and a heavy work load shouldn't even be complaints! Always helps to put things in perspective. With that said, I hope you all had a fantastic day, and I'll keep my fingers crossed for a great week as well. See you all in a few, short hours. - RMC
Well, sorry to say that GameFly has yet to send me either No More Heroes 2 or Tatsunoku vs Capcom. I guess a lot of you guys must be renting it yourselves, eh? I'm sure both games will be good...it's just a matter of how good, isn't it? Since I have yet to get my hands on either game, stay tuned for a review of Blaster Master: Overdrive next week. Quite a surprise, eh? Nintendo just keeps cutting it close with these startling WiiWare launches! Lastly, some people seemed upset that I didn't complete Crystal Bearers before reviewing it. I think my opinion on the matter was explained well enough. If you really don't like it, just pay attention to the blurb at the start of each review and look at it as an "extended preview" or some such. The important thing is that I try to be upfront and honest with you guys. I hope that's appreciated because I could always just review games like everyone else without you knowing how much time I put into it...It's up to you.
Lastly, this review brings up an issue that I have always taken into account with DLC titles: price. If a DLC game (or any game in general, really) has a lower price I will have lower expectations from it. That just makes sense to me. That said, enjoy the review. Later days~
The Magic Obelisk
-Wii Little Sprout-
Time played: About 3 Hours
Obtained: Purchased on Shop Channel [500 Points]
Completion: Completed the game and an extra level
-Small Spirit on a Small Adventure-
The Magic Obelisk, from the get-go, is clearly a cheaply developed WiiWare title designed for a young audience. This much is pretty obvious just by watching a trailer for it. That said, this is precisely the kind of platform that games like this can now thrive in. Games with low budgets and low price tags have totally changed the gaming landscape, and Magic Obselisk, while not superb, is a nice little diversion for Wii owners with a few bucks to burn.
The game's plot is simple but original: Lukkus is a young tree spirit in the form of a little boy. In this world, tree spirits venture out in the land to find a good place to take root and sprout into a proper tree. The problem? Direct sunlight is what triggers their transformation. If you're familiar with the WiiWare title "LIT" then think in reverse here: Magic Obelisk is a puzzle game about navigating environments by moving through shadows. It's tackled in a different manner, of course -- a more flexible one, thankfully. Puzzles don't necessarily have an A, B, C approach. Granted, most of the time there is a formula that needs to be followed, but it's not always exact and I found myself working through areas in slightly different ways than the obvious solution. Speaking of obvious, did I mention this game skewed young?
Coming from an EA conference call...
- EA will release only 36 packaged games in the 12 months ending March 2011
- this is down from 54 in the current fiscal year
- that will account for a 33% drop
- EA releases would drop 20 percent in the next 12 months, aiming for 40 games overall
Uh oh, should Wii and DS owners start to get worried? EA seems to be quickly steering away from that Wii content promise they made a few months back. How quickly things change.
"As gamers, we want great entertainment, and we're really happy to spend money on the interactive entertainment that we love. The DLC option is about a convenient way to offer value to gamers that want it, and it's neat for gamers because if I love something, I'm excited when DLC happens. I can click a button, and a few minutes later it's there - I didn't have to drive to the store, it's not very expensive. It's a nice incremental add-on to something I already understand and trust, and had a great time with. So it's nice for gamers, but it's great for developers too - it's something we can explore, and take risks with. There are things we've done in our DLCs that aren't the kinds of things we'd risk in the core game - because you know you're offering it to the audience that's the most dedicated and loyal." - President and CEO of Gearbox Software, Randy Pitchford
Perhaps some more DLC offerings should be made free. That way devs can really experiment, we can test out some wacky ideas, and then devs can pull feedback to see what did and didn't work. Then they can turn around and make a full game with the feedback we get, and everyone is happy!
G.I. Joe:The Rise of Cobra brings up a question you don't hear too often. Which was actually worse...the game or the movie? I think it's a split decision on this one!
