Dragon's Lair - Back into the Lair

I recently had the privilege of interviewing David Foster from Digital Leisure about the Dragon's Lair series. Dragon's Lair, the hit arcade game from 1983 has lived on over 20 years of popularity and will probably continue to do so for another 20. I was thinking about what makes Dragon's Lair so popular and I think I've come back to "the experience". I don't think anyone would disagree with me in saying that Dragon's Lair is not about the gameplay ... after all, 4 directions and a sword button all timed events? That's not much of a formula for in-depth gameplay.

What's it's all about is the experience. The experience of Dragons' Lair is immersive and somewhat magical. That's why I keep playing it and enjoying it. I think more games should consider that.

The article is on Armchair Empire and you can find it here: http://www.armchairempire.com/Interviews/dragons-lair.htm

God of War II - Release Date Confirmed

So now it's official ... on March 13, 2007 Sony will release God of War II. I have to admit: I'm both excited and cautious about this coming out. The first game was amazing, but I find myself fearing Star Wars Syndrome (ok I just made that up). Will the new one create the amazement and wonderment the first one did? Unlikely, but I'm sure I'll be happy with just "more of the same". The experience was so immersive the first time around, especially the sound which is often overlooked. I'm also a little worried since this is most likely the last PS2 title ever created with a big budget and AAA specs all the way around, something I'm a little sad over. The PS3 and 360 have yet to deliver any great platforming / adventure games (save Tomb Raider Legend on the 360, but that was more of an up-port than a true next-gen game). Is this going to be like playing Zelda, where I kept playing longer than I needed to just because I didn't want the experience to end? I hope so and I hope not. Here's to you Kratos: it's going to be bittersweet.

Crackdown Includes Halo 3 Beta - It's Official

Well it's official ... after months of speculation about how to get into the Halo 3 beta program, and then the black hole signup on their website (I call it that because you signed up, and then jumped into a black hole--waiting to here anything). Now, you can get yourself into the Halo 3 beta program by purchasing a copy of Crackdown ... only the first print run will include keys to do so ... others will be SOL and have to wait for the masses to play this monster upcoming game.

The good thing is that Crackdown looks like it's going to be a good game, and it should be -- it's coming from the mastermind, David Jones, behind the original Grand Theft Auto and -- surprisngly perhaps -- the cute Lemmings title that won numerous awards in the 90's. I've seen some initial footage of this game and it looks pretty interesting ... it's more of a 3-D free form playing game than ever so we'll see how this all pans out when it releases on February 20.

December 2006 Video Games Sales Numbers

The NPD released the following game sales numbers:

HW Sales (month and LTD)
Nintendo DS 1.6 mm 9.2 mm
PS2 1.4 mm 37.1 mm
GBA 850.7 K 35.1 mm
Xbox 360 1.1 mm 4.5 mm
Wii 604.2 K 1.1 mm
PSP 953.2 K 6.7 mm
PS3 490.7 K 687.3 K

Top 10 Video Games
360 GEARS OF WAR - MICROSOFT 815.7 K
PS2 GUITAR HERO 2 W/GUITAR - ACTIVISION 805.2 K
PS2 MADDEN NFL 07 - ELECTRONIC ARTS 737.1 K
GCN LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS - NINTENDO 532.9 K
WII LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS - NINTENDO 519.2 K
PS2 WWE SMACKDOWN VS. RAW 2007 - THQ 484.5 K
NDS NEW SUPER MARIO BROS - NINTENDO 427.5 K
360 CALL OF DUTY 3 - ACTIVISION 410.8 K
NDS YOSHI'S ISLAND 2 - NINTENDO 407.2 K
PS2 CALL OF DUTY 3 - ACTIVISION 365.3 K

So the XBOX 360 is dominating the next gen for the end of the year ... no big surprise, considering the Wii was unavailable for most of the month. The PS2 is still kicking butt though with its lower price point ... so all 12 of you that don't have one can get one for sure.

I am a little surprised at some of the software numbers.... not that Gears of War was #1, that is a no-brainer...but that Guitar Hero with the controller is number 2 ... that is a LOT of units for something with hardware, so good for them -- it's a great product, but that doesn't always translate into great sales.

I was also surprised to see there are over 6 million PSP's ... the media tends to kick the PSP a bit, compared with the DS (maybe because the DS is the underdog when it comes to power, the same with the Wii) but really, 6 million is respectable and they should be able to get some decent software sales out of it ....yet, there isn't a PSP on the list of best selling software. That is a bit worrisome and I think about myself -- I'm only buying PSP stuff when it's cheap but have no qualms about buying a 360, PS3 or Wii game for full price..... maybe if the PSP games weren't $50 or $60 new (in Canada anyways) that would be less of an issue.

The other big surprise I saw was that the Gamecube version of Zelda outsold the Wii one ... but that's probably only because of a lack of systems.

I've been taking a bit of a game break since finishing Twilight Princess but I should have some new reviews up here soon.

Zelda: Twilight Princess on the Wii

It's over. I hate to admit, I hate to think about it. 92 hours later and it's over. Why did it take 92 hours for me to complete The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess? Well, that's what happens when you get every heart piece (sans 3 that I just couldn't be bothered with) and open pretty much every treasure chest and spend a couple of hours just fishing.

There are few games out there that offer what Zelda does. Maybe it's the environment, the music, the awesome controls on the Wii ... or maybe it's all of those things. It's the familiarity of the universe combined with new things like snowboarding and boating and incredibly improved fishing (by far the coolest min-game I've ever played). Most of all, it's Zelda.

I don't want to ruin the story for anyone that is playing through it or will play through it ... but there are some great twists and turns especially near the end.

The bad: some people have critcized Zelda's presentation (ie: no voiceovers) for being outdated and due to the "cartridge" sized mentality...clearer that's no longer an issue although I'd be curious to know how much of the disc space they used without voice...I imagine it's quite a bit. Maybe the gameplay is a little bit rehashed from what we've already done, but that's not necessarily a bad thing--especially when they added in some new stuff. The worst part of the bad? Waiting. Please don't make us wait another 1336 between Zelda games.

The good: pretty much everything else. It's hard to find fault in this game ... it might start a little slow but once the ride begins you don't ever want it to end. Despite the minor notations, I can't give this game anything other than a 10 out of 10!