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Summary
Noah, Aaron and James discuss Silicon Knights, Nintendo profits, a possible Wii U redesign and more 999.
UPDATE: In this podcast, we talk about Silicon Knights reportedly laying off 72 people, leaving just 25 remaining. This was a rumor that was reported on 1UP.com and later on Gamespot. This morning on Financial Post we learned that the layoffs were fewer– 45 people– leaving about 40 employees left at the developer. The cutbacks were implemented because, after X-Men Destiny, SK was going starting another project that had been greenlit with a publisher, but was just canceled by the publisher.
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Recording Date
November 8, 2011
Hosts
Noah, James and Aaron
Contents
00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:59 What We’re Playing
00:18:03 Wii U Anticipation, Super Mario 3D Land Japan Sales and More
00:25:04 Warm Fuzzies Feedback
00:29:24 Conclusion
00:30:15 Credits
00:31:52 Total Length
Links
Okay, here are my 2 cents on Uncharted 3. I think its Metascore is right where it should be in the low 90s.
First of all, I replayed Uncharteds 1 and 2 before starting 3 (all on Hard difficulty), and my feeling is that the first game is far below the other two in quality. I don’t think I could decide between 2 and 3; 2 may have a slight edge in overall story, but I preferred the characterization in 3, with the exception of some obvious loose ends that held it back. Uncharted 3 also definitely has an edge with respect to weapon selection, and combat: the melee fights were great fun, if not on the level of Arkham (but what is?), and the grenade throwback ability was a godsend. An absolute godsend.
Uncharted 2’s worst aspect, as most would agree, is its ending and boss fight. It just feels entirely out of place. Uncharted 3’s ending, without spoiling anything, handled the supernatural themes of the series in a much better way, and the boss fight was a lot more relevant to the gameplay, if lacking in difficulty because of it. But I don’t consider that a bad thing, because it was a fun fight unlike Lazarevic, which was frustrating tedium.
The setpieces in Uncharted 3 were fabulous, both thrillrides and more deliberately paced ones. Except for the London section of the game, which I found rather dull, the whole adventure was superbly paced from beginning to end. The desert chapter was one of the most lonely and agonizingly beautiful experiences I’ve ever had in a game. It was easily the highlight for me. Even the puzzles were much better than in the previous two games, as everything wasn’t *entirely* spelled out for you. It was never challenging, per se, but always made me think just enough to keep the pacing of the game on point.
Finally, the issue of difficulty. The Jin were tough to be sure, and the mini-bosses with PAK-80s were tricky, but despite playing on Hard, I was never frustrated. The former simply required using the proper weapons (I used the combination of Tau Sniper and M32 Hammer), while the latter called for a bit of scampering around strategically. It was never unfair.
Where the game fails for me largely is with the development of the villains, who seemed promising at first, but never quite paid off as I might have hoped. Furthermore, where Uncharted 2 was a huge step-up for cinematic adventure games, Uncharted 3 seemed more like a side-step at best. Thus, the stagnancy of the genre, combined with lack of genuine risks in game design keep it from reaching the perfect 10 I would have awarded Uncharted 2. Nevertheless, Uncharted 3’s the most fun I’ve had this year playing anything.
Here’s to the impending releases of 3D Land and Skyward Sword!
/end entirely too-long post
P.S.: James, I’ll be honest, the Wiimote’s control pad had never even occurred to me when I was drawing that comparison. I’ll admit, it feels good, but I think it’s a bit too small, and the fact that I loathe holding the Wiimote sideways doesn’t make it any better. DualShock D-pad for life.
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Say it ain’t so, Noah! DSG coming to an end?!
DSG was one of the podcasts that got me into podcasting. After DSG started, I actually tried to get Philip to get a DMGice podcast going, and when it looked like that project wasn’t going anywhere, I met E*Master on CAG and we started CBG. Between my 3 DSG appearances and the 6 combined appearances of DSGers on CBG, I am proud to be associated with you guys.
As far as new ND podcasts, I’d love to see a retro-themed podcast. Nintendo has a long history of great games & systems, and I’d love to hear a ND podcast about that history.
Anyway, thank you for these past 168 episodes & the 2 to come.
-Hbomb
We’ll still have the same people, though … :) Stick with us! Noah still loves you, I promise.
RIGHT NOAH? * nudge *
DON’T LEAVE ME
Oh, you’re not rid of me yet! Get ready to feel the love… That’s all I’ll say for now.
So, Japan isn’t very interested in the Vita and the 3DS is selling much better now that Super Mario 3D Land and new hardware colors have arrived. Hmm.. I wonder where I have heard that before. :-P I picked up Super Mario 3D Land recently too. It’s great.
Okay, I love the music in Chrono Cross, but I honestly feel that -plot wise and later on: engine wise- it’s about half the game that Chrono Trigger was. Once you get deeper into Chrono Cross.. you’ll find out why Square never made a third Chrono Trigger game. If any game really needed a remake, Chrono Cross would be it.
My post is gonna be full of heresy. I got Super Mario 3Dland and like it. It plays like Mario64 but “feels” like a NES or SNES Mario game? I gotta through this out. I prefer Sonic or Bonk to 2D Mario/NSMB. Ia actually think Bonk is the best 2D platformer. Don’t hate me. Mario didn’t click for me until it went 3D. So the lack of exploration in 3Dland is a bit disappointing for me. However, I’m only done the first 2 worlds. Hopefully it opens up more. I also prefer having a Hub World like the Castle or Observation Center. Galaxy 2 & 3Dland having the old school progression line kinda disappointments me. But I still love this game. I’m sure I’ll have more to say after I finish it.
2nd Hersey. I think Chrono Trigger is massively overrated and Chrono Cross is much better. @James I hope you like Chrono Cross. Its a very sad game.
Bonk over ALL of the 2D Mario games? Chrono CROSS over Chrono Trigger? Turn in your gamer card, son. Next you’ll be spouting nonsense like “Way of the Warrior” over every Street Fighter game. We can’t have that. Let us save you from yourself.
Neogeo Fighters > Street Fighter
Depends which Neo Geo fighters you are talking about. Art of Fighting isn’t King of Fighters and World Heroes isn’t Samurai Shodown. Also, for technical fighting games, Street Fighter Alpha and Street Fighter 3 are certainly better technical fighters than the original Art of Fighting or World Heroes 1. (Not WH2 or WH2j.)