NEWS
NY Daily News Gives dvGs Thumbs Up
November 09, 2003
Hop-'n'-bop is here again
Platform games continue their comeback
By GRAHAM LEGGAT
Ode to Joystick: 'Ratchet and Clark' (above) and 'Kya: Dark Lineage' (below)
Two years ago, platform games - those featuring lovable mascots like Crash Bandicoot, Mario and Luigi, and Sonic the Hedgehog - seemed to have run out of gas.
Then, Sony released three innovative titles - "Jak and Daxter," "Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus" and "Ratchet and Clank" - and the platformer was back. But back with a difference.
Perhaps influenced by Rockstar's "Grand Theft Auto" series, which seemed to shift the market toward more mature games overnight, platform games have become tougher, darker and more complex. "Ratchet and Clank" led the way by adding weaponry to the standard running-and-jumping, kicking-and-punching maneuvers.
This holiday season, the reinvention (some would say corruption) of the hop-'n'-bop game continues.
"Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando" arms its feral feline with an even more explosive arsenal as he and his robot sidekick hurtle through the galaxy. "Jak II," meanwhile, triumphantly plagiarizes whole chapters from "Grand Theft Auto," locating a nasty new Jak in a sprawling futuristic city and organizing the action around underground missions.
"Whiplash" follows two lab animals - crazed weasel Spanx and hapless indestructible bunny Redmond - as they try to smash their way out of an experimental facility. (To add to the pathos, they're manacled together at the wrist.)
"Voodoo Vince" features a courageous squinchy-faced voodoo doll on a mission of mercy in a ghoulish New Orleans. Perhaps the most distinctive new entry, it features a jazzy score, wonky art design and a snappy script.
Equally unusual is "Kya: Dark Lineage," featuring a sassy, midriff-baring heroine who has the power to exorcize villainous Wolfen and soar through hallucinatory realms on powerful wind currents.
If all this sounds too intense, try "Bionicle," the saga of a heroic Lego robot; "Tak and the Power of Juju," a funny tale of a young pygmy with a bad haircut, and "I-Ninja," the adventures of a pint-sized assassin.
Strategy guides on DVD
Walk-throughs and strategy guides are a gamer's best friend. Written up in fan magazines or published as illustrated books, they detail a game's plot, maps, characters, equipment, vehicles and secrets, and provide tips on how to defeat puzzles, rivals and enemies. Already indispensable, these guides just got even better.
On Halloween, New York-based Game Time Entertainment released the first DVD walk-through for "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3," published by UbiSoft for Xbox. This digital video guide (dvG) features extensive video footage of level-by-level game-play by Major League Gaming pro player Paul (Shizz) Baffi and strategic voice-over narrative.
The dvG is smart, and it looks and sounds great. It's also enormously instructive. And because the game-play is so good and the editing so fluid, it's very entertaining. It's like a highlight reel of a championship sporting event that's been made by a Hollywood director.
Game Time plans to release four more guides in early 2004. The "Rainbow Six" dvG is available at Blockbuster, GameStop, Best Buy and Hollywood Video. It contains roughly 75 minutes of footage and retails for $14.99.
'Sims' in space...and gangland
Part ant farm, part soap opera, "The Sims" games charge you with the care and maintenance of virtual people - their health, jobs, hobbies, living spaces and relationships. Perhaps because it is so satisfying to manage other people's lives, "The Sims" is reportedly the best-selling video-game franchise ever.
The new "Sims" title for next-generation consoles (Game Cube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox), "The Sims Bustin' Out," is due in early December. It enables users to get out of the house, frequent Club Rubb and the downtown art galleries, and choose from a range of professions, including musician, mobster, mad scientist or fashionista.
"Sims"-style game-play is also driving two new PC titles, "Space Colony" and "Gangland." But for copyright laws, they might be named "The Sims in Space" and "The Sims in Crime."
In "Space Colony," you manage a motley crew trying to exploit the resources of an off-world planet through mining, farming and tourism. As on most planets, the characters have to work pretty hard to manage their resources, turn a profit and have a good time.
In "Gangland," due in February, you're one of a family of immigrant brothers in Prohibition-era Chicago. If you've been steeped in movies like "The Godfather," "Once Upon a Time in America" and "The Untouchables," this is the game for you. (See also "Mafia," out on PC and due for consoles in January.)
E-mail: gleggat@filmlinc.com
Originally published on November 9, 2003
http://www.nydailynews.com/city_life/tech/story/134777p-120135c.html
NY Daily News Gives dvGs Thumbs Up
November 09, 2003
Hop-'n'-bop is here again
Platform games continue their comeback
By GRAHAM LEGGAT
Ode to Joystick: 'Ratchet and Clark' (above) and 'Kya: Dark Lineage' (below)
Two years ago, platform games - those featuring lovable mascots like Crash Bandicoot, Mario and Luigi, and Sonic the Hedgehog - seemed to have run out of gas.
Then, Sony released three innovative titles - "Jak and Daxter," "Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus" and "Ratchet and Clank" - and the platformer was back. But back with a difference.
Perhaps influenced by Rockstar's "Grand Theft Auto" series, which seemed to shift the market toward more mature games overnight, platform games have become tougher, darker and more complex. "Ratchet and Clank" led the way by adding weaponry to the standard running-and-jumping, kicking-and-punching maneuvers.
This holiday season, the reinvention (some would say corruption) of the hop-'n'-bop game continues.
"Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando" arms its feral feline with an even more explosive arsenal as he and his robot sidekick hurtle through the galaxy. "Jak II," meanwhile, triumphantly plagiarizes whole chapters from "Grand Theft Auto," locating a nasty new Jak in a sprawling futuristic city and organizing the action around underground missions.
"Whiplash" follows two lab animals - crazed weasel Spanx and hapless indestructible bunny Redmond - as they try to smash their way out of an experimental facility. (To add to the pathos, they're manacled together at the wrist.)
"Voodoo Vince" features a courageous squinchy-faced voodoo doll on a mission of mercy in a ghoulish New Orleans. Perhaps the most distinctive new entry, it features a jazzy score, wonky art design and a snappy script.
Equally unusual is "Kya: Dark Lineage," featuring a sassy, midriff-baring heroine who has the power to exorcize villainous Wolfen and soar through hallucinatory realms on powerful wind currents.
If all this sounds too intense, try "Bionicle," the saga of a heroic Lego robot; "Tak and the Power of Juju," a funny tale of a young pygmy with a bad haircut, and "I-Ninja," the adventures of a pint-sized assassin.
Strategy guides on DVD
Walk-throughs and strategy guides are a gamer's best friend. Written up in fan magazines or published as illustrated books, they detail a game's plot, maps, characters, equipment, vehicles and secrets, and provide tips on how to defeat puzzles, rivals and enemies. Already indispensable, these guides just got even better.
On Halloween, New York-based Game Time Entertainment released the first DVD walk-through for "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3," published by UbiSoft for Xbox. This digital video guide (dvG) features extensive video footage of level-by-level game-play by Major League Gaming pro player Paul (Shizz) Baffi and strategic voice-over narrative.
The dvG is smart, and it looks and sounds great. It's also enormously instructive. And because the game-play is so good and the editing so fluid, it's very entertaining. It's like a highlight reel of a championship sporting event that's been made by a Hollywood director.
Game Time plans to release four more guides in early 2004. The "Rainbow Six" dvG is available at Blockbuster, GameStop, Best Buy and Hollywood Video. It contains roughly 75 minutes of footage and retails for $14.99.
'Sims' in space...and gangland
Part ant farm, part soap opera, "The Sims" games charge you with the care and maintenance of virtual people - their health, jobs, hobbies, living spaces and relationships. Perhaps because it is so satisfying to manage other people's lives, "The Sims" is reportedly the best-selling video-game franchise ever.
The new "Sims" title for next-generation consoles (Game Cube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox), "The Sims Bustin' Out," is due in early December. It enables users to get out of the house, frequent Club Rubb and the downtown art galleries, and choose from a range of professions, including musician, mobster, mad scientist or fashionista.
"Sims"-style game-play is also driving two new PC titles, "Space Colony" and "Gangland." But for copyright laws, they might be named "The Sims in Space" and "The Sims in Crime."
In "Space Colony," you manage a motley crew trying to exploit the resources of an off-world planet through mining, farming and tourism. As on most planets, the characters have to work pretty hard to manage their resources, turn a profit and have a good time.
In "Gangland," due in February, you're one of a family of immigrant brothers in Prohibition-era Chicago. If you've been steeped in movies like "The Godfather," "Once Upon a Time in America" and "The Untouchables," this is the game for you. (See also "Mafia," out on PC and due for consoles in January.)
E-mail: gleggat@filmlinc.com
Originally published on November 9, 2003
http://www.nydailynews.com/city_life/tech/story/134777p-120135c.html