Lovers of American Pie rejoice as you too can blow your load via a webcam. That's right, Sony's EyeToy is almost here and some unfortunate person (ie me) has to test it.
Remember the scene in Minority Report where Tom Cruise looks through data on a screen using a glove? For those that haven't (where have you been?) using his hands he chucks information about on-screen, accompanied by whoosh! Sounds and fancy lighting. It looked futuristic and believable.
But now it looks crap. Why? Because to play Sony EyeToy we don't need special gloves or a screen. Hell we don't even need a special controller or big red maracas. As long as you aren't transparent then you should be fine.
Let me tell you the basic facts. Positioning the camera on top of your TV and plugging it into one of the USB ports on the PS2 are the simple instillation instructions. All you need do now is stand in front of it and you should appear on the screen (hint: works best when TV is turned on) with PS2 graphics laid over.
The clever bit comes next- your movements are tracked on-screen and you can interact with the environments! Yes people, this is the evolving world of technology. The last time we saw anything remotley related was in Namco's Mazan: Flash of the Blade arcade game in which you swung around a big sword that was relayed onto the screen.
Playing the games is much more successful than I originally thought. The speed and accuracy of the motion sensing is suprising to say the least. Many of the games on offer require you to move as fast as you can, and the camera never lags or slows down.
I don't blame you if you are sceptical by the way. Its generally a tradition for game peripherals to hinder the gaming experience or be priced out of the market with Samba de Amigos maracas and the G-Con 2 being the main culprits. One exception being Dance Mats which have shot PlayStation sales through the roof. And with the first PS2 dancing game on the way, it's not suprising to see that the first EyeToy game is a dancing game.
Bundled with the camera is the 'demo disk' called EyeToy: Play which has 12 different mini-games on offer. Targeted at people wanting fun (or five pissed blokes having a party) the logo and mascot for the game is a monkey.
"What's that got to do with dancing?" I hear you cry. Well once you've jumped around like a blue-assed baboon for an hour you'll see why.
Each of the games has its own cartoon host, which will praise you for good playing and rip the crap from you when failing. Here is a quick run-down of the games featured on the starting disk.
Beat Freak is the dancing game mentioned earlier, in which you touch areas of the screen in time with the music. Its kinda like an on-screen dance mat, of which you'll need the skills of Kylie or Justin Timberlake to keep up. I have neither, by the way!
Kung Foo is quite possibly the best game on offer. Two-inch high ninjas run at you from all sides kicking and punching, with you swiping them away with a satisfying TWACK in which they fly off-screen at high speeds. It won't make you fight like Bruce Lee but very fun indeed.
Soccer fans rejoice as you can now play keepy uppy. In your room. Without a ball. Prancing around like a prat jumping and nodding at thin air. What the people outside don't know is you are heading a football against evil monkeys that will try to pop it if they catch it.
Remember Fantavision? It was the early PS2 launch game that involved setting off fireworks. Very Japanese for those with blank minds. Well Rocket Rumble is a clone in which you grab the firework mid-air to select it and then press a plunger at the bottom of the screen to explode it.
Ghost Catcher combines brilliant visual effects with some of the most annoying gameplay ever experienced. You have to grab ghosts and squeeze them till they go POP. Sounds simple but is made harder with them being near transparent and the way they squirm and bend to avoid your in-coming hand. Later levels involve attacking bats, but a well-timed swipe of the arm takes care of them.
The world's first window-washing sim has arrived ladies and gentlemen. Wishi Washi wave your arms about to wipe away soup suds or just walk in front of the screen to clear it all. Simple.
Boogie Down- a high-tech disco version of Simon Says. Its basically a tutorial of how to play the games. Copy what the on-screen character does and repeat.
Boxing Chump has you sparing against a mechanical monkey (what is it with monkeys?). this'll have you gliding across the room screaming "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee"; in no time.
UFO Juggler- spin the UFOs to keep them airborne and hit the enemy spaceship.
Slap Stream has you slapping rats off the clouds to heaven, but spare the rabbits. Very strange.
Plate Spinner- rotate plates on sticks and swat the monkeys trying to knock them off.
And finally, the drunken mans favourite. It's easy to hit targets right? But in Mirror Time your image is cut up and various parts are mirrored, rotated and placed around on the screen. If this doesn't make you spew after ten pints of Fosters (donkeys piss with sugar) then you have a very, very strong stomach.
So there we have it. The first console camera is set to be released in the next few weeks and Thunderbolt will be there to tell you what's hot and what's not.
As we all know, E3 is here and all kinds of announcements are made from various game developers. But perhaps the most outstanding news so far is the rumours of Codemasters developing Colin McRae 4.
Information was leaked from an insider, and details have emerged that the light storyline type game from before has been dropped to incorporate ideas from 2.0. this time we will be able to select cars and courses from the off rather than playing as Colin for three years. New ideas and features will be packed in as if we are being compensated for a dire third game. Single and multiplayer challenges will be more varied and stages are being re-vamped.
Perhaps the best bit is unlocking parts for your motor in-between stages, rather like the structure in Space Jam on PS One with added elements from Gran Turismo's License Tests.
Of course, expect better graphics as our insider friend said- "we've already got the car modelling spot-on, working with the vehicle manufacturers, but the game will look a lot richer this time around because of the extra visual work that's been done on the environments".
Apparently its all in the details. Trackside grass will wave as you race past, sunlight glinting through the trees and bushes blowing in the wind. Codemasters hasn't forgotten the hardcore gamers either. An ultra-hard mode where computer drivers set almost impossible times will be included, and players will need to be on the top of their game with tough damage physics hampering the challenge.
With all this plus a custom track editor, in which you attach stages together to create the ultimate track, us gamers should be in for a treat. Expect the next top rally experience towards the end of the year.
Retro gamers revelled in the delights of the updated version of Spy Hunter. So imagine the excitement when Midway announced the development of the sequel called Spy Hunter 2. The Interceptor has been updated impressively, as we can now transform the super car into a motorbike, a four-wheel drive vehicle and a snowmobile. Each transformation will have unique handling with various defensive and offensive weapons.
Midway have let us customise our car this time, allowing us to tailor the best weapons to blow enemies away. New weapons include a self-targeting gun turret, meaning we can shoot nearby foes with ease. Defensive wise we have new gadgets such as land mines, oil slicks, smoke screens and a shield that can repel missiles when needed.
New boss battles are also promised for our insane driving skills as we get ready for the release in September.
Moving onto sport, this month sees a busy Codemasters announce details for their upcoming LMA Manager 2004 title.
Facing tough opposition from the new Championship Manager series on Xbox, this next game in the successful series will be much more than your basic update. An expanded transfer market will feature players and teams from Argentina, Brazil and Chile along with new management options, such as individual player tactics and revised dugout calls. The menu screens will receive an overhaul in an attempt to persuade people that this is a new game and not the update that was LMA 2003.
Football fans can expect to see the game some time this October.
Trauma for Xbox fans as Tekki has sold out in Japan and the US.
Known as Steel Battalion here in Europe, the game went down a storm as gamers sought after the 40-plus button controller complete with switches, 2 joysticks, a gear stick and three floor pedals.
The problem lies in demand over available stock levels, according to Microsoft PR manager Mick Grange. Work is underway to ship additional units to those starved of this crazy mech game, and it seems many have taken advantage of the production problems. Going to press I saw at least ten copies of the game reaching well over the retail price on Ebay, which will anger many cash strapped customers.
Unfortunately this casts considerable doubts over a European release. MS told us we could be playing by spring time back in December 2002, but will the demand for such an expensive title (it was released at $199 in North America in November) be as high as those over the pond?
Meanwhile, in Japan, Microsoft are streamlining their department as they axe 34 members of staff. PR manager Nick Grange who said "Xbox is refining its strategy in Japan to deliver gaming experiences and other services more directly targeted to the Japanese consumer".
After shifting just 37,000 units in one year (GameCube has sold over 1 million in the same period) Microsoft Japan has had a series of cutbacks. Japanese gamers have been complaining of scratched disks, Konami have refused to release games in Japan and the head of the Xbox Japan has been repositioned within the company.
Only Tecmo has had considerable success under Microsoft, largely thanks to DOA Beach Volleyball selling 73,000 units on its first day of release.
More trouble for Xbox live has emerged this week as both EA and Eidos have shunned the service. It is understood that EA want more control over their products whilst Eidos are holding back to watch how this online lark works out.
Things are as normal in the Nintendo camp as rumours and speculations surrounding the future of their console are still rife. But recently Nintendo held their annual conference in which they let members of the audience get sneak-previews of their upcoming projects.
George Harrison (the PR man, not the Beatle) took to the stage and discussed Nintendo's position in the industry, stating that the company has taken away some overall market share from Sony and Microsoft, with the help of the launches of the GBA SP and the Wind Waker. Game Boy Advance and GameCube combined, Nintendo has almost 60% of all current hardware sales, and gaining more month by month. The exclamation point to these figures is that Nintendo's GameCube is beating out the Xbox by 1.3 million units sold worldwide, making it "the clear number two" in the industry.
The Nintendo VP then began talking about its philosophy, and how Nintendo's franchise characters would lead the company into the future.
George Harrison's one-liner basically sums up what Nintendo's stance is on what direction the industry appears to be heading in. "Mario will never start shooting hookers" he said, to the cheer of the crowd.
Nintendo then showed off its first game footage burst, containing never-before-seen footage of a new Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, Pokémon Colosseum, Super Mario Bros. 3 GBA, Donkey Kong Country GBA, Pikmin 2, Mario Kart: Double Dash, and Billy Hatcher, F-Zero GX, and Starfox. Afterwards, NCL's big cheese, Satoru Iwata was introduced, and began talking about what's been happing with Nintendo lately in the homeland. More developers have been added to Nintendo's Kyoto studios, and for the first time ever, a new studio will open outside of Kyoto, in Tokyo. Games like Mario and Metroid did not meet expectations and the GC-GBA connectivity features weren't as good as they could have been in the past year. "We understand the challenges", said Iwata, as he specifically pointed out the problems that the company has been facing. He even went as far to say "we will not give our competitors a head-start into the market" leading us to believe that a 2005 release date for the next Nintendo system is now set in stone.
The next video clips that were shown showed off some more new games. N-Space's Geist was shown off with a lot of multiplayer footage, as well as a lot of great Rebel Strike footage. Shinji Mikami made an appearance in video form, debunking rumors that he had "recently been fired" from his position at Production Studio 4. With his warning, "Don't pee your pants," (in English) he debuted Resident Evil 4 in motion, which looked stunning. Clips from P.N. 03 and Viewtiful Joe followed.
After the video finished up, Shigeru Miyamoto was called to the stage to more cheers. Shiggy's big task this was to show off this year's GC and GBA connectivity. More than twenty new games will use the feature, including many third party games. A big surprise was the appearance of Sims creator, Will Wright, who came up to the stage and talked about a new version of the hit PC game designed specifically for the GameCube, as well as a brand-new GBA game that will unlock many features between the two versions.
The next big surprise from Nintendo came in the form of Zelda: Four Swords for GameCube. Each player can hook up a GBA to the GameCube (no GBA game needed), and play a new version of Four Swords, powered by GameCube. The main game takes place on the GameCube screen, and as a player enters a room or cave, their focus switches to the GBA, where each player can see what they are doing individually. In addition, the GC hardware allows for much more action to happen on screen, where as many as twenty or more enemies were on screen at the same time.
Rounding out Nintendo's big connectivity push was a nice treat. Tooru Iwatami, the creator of the original Pac-Man came out to greet Miyamoto. Shigeru jokingly said that he was working on a new Pac-Man game "without Namco's approval", then promptly showed a new GameCube version of Pac-Man.
The connectivity feature between these two is something that is really nice: Three players using GameCube controllers control the ghosts, while the player using the GBA controls Pac-Man. The catch here is that the ghosts can only see a limited area of the maze, while the handheld player can see the entire playfield, much like other GBA versions of Pac-Man. The ghost that catches Pac for that round wins, and gets to be Pac-Man for the next round. It looks very fast-paced, and very fun.
Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes was the subject of the press conference's next segment, and a trailer video was shown. The game will have the same Snake that you've seen on the PS2, that's for sure, but other than some guards dying in interesting ways (not by the hands of Snake), the whole thing was rather cryptic and shrouded in mystery. After the video finished up, Denis Dyack came out and talked about what it was like collaborating with Nintendo and Konami while working on the game.
Before the end of the briefing, one final game compilation was shown, with only one game of notable interest, Metroid Prime 2. The only thing that could be seen in the 15 or so seconds of footage was Samus being attacked by a sort of a cloaked red trooper of some kind, which drew oohs and aahs from the crowd.
All that was left was the Q&A session, which was dumbed down to six pre-gathered questions. The big question was about Nintendo's response to Sony's PlayStation Portable, just announced an hour before. Iwata and Harrison both agreed that with its Q4 2004 release date, unknown price point, and specifications, it doesn't expect much of a threat from it. Other nuggets revealed that 40% of GC owners are over 18, online gaming in general has yet to see a killer-app, and Nintendo sees no reason why it would need to price drop.
So it seems that Nintendo want to address the gaming world on these 'problems' with the Gamecube and shower us with treats and prizes at the same time.
One of these treats was the new information from Nintys E3 catalog. Whilst only minute details, its enough to convince many that the Gamecube is here to stay as GBA connectivity with Wario World was revealed.
The new title Wario Ware will have various download treats including minigames as players advance through the game.
More news on this and many other stories will appear over the course of E3.
Well, that's it from me this week. I need to progress through Wind Waker a bit more, actually play Metroid Prime and get round to reviewing a few more games.
What! You're still here? Go play some more!
No comments
Add your own +