The Future of 3D Gaming?

For the record, I have never been a fan of the idea of 3D coming into our homes and to our gaming consoles. To me, the idea of strapping something to my face to watch and interact with the media I own seems rather ludicrous, cumbersome and ultimately lame. However, if this is what the direction of 3D in gaming is like, then I might have suddenly become a believer.

Check out this proof of concept video where a Nintendo DSi camera is linked to the software, creating startling 3D images within the screen of the handheld itself. Basically, the camera is recognizing the relative position and viewing angle and adjusting the image to match. The result? Awesome 3D. What do you guys think?

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GamerSushi Asks: Portable Classics?

ff7I’m flying to Florida this weekend for some much needed vacation, and if there’s one thing I’m not looking forward to its the flight. Being a rather big dude makes flying a completely uncomfortable affair, not to mention that I hate the way flying makes me feel. The one thing that makes the experience more bearable is portable gaming of some kind, be it the PSP or Nintendo DS.

One thing that got me really excited this week was the realization that I could download any number of PS1 classics onto my PS3 and then transfer them over to the PSP. I could play Suikoden, Symphony of the Night, Final Fantasy 7 and Metal Gear Solid. The cooler part? I can even copy those save files back onto the PS3 when I get back, and continue the games I started there. This makes me happy.

The idea of playing FF7 and MGS in particular is what really has me stoked, mainly because they are two of my favorite games. This got me thinking. If you guys had a chance to have a handheld and portable version of any of your old school favorite games, what would it be and why? Go!


Nintendo E3 Presser Highlights

nintendoHere are the big points of the big N’s press event today:

  • Looks like those reports of a new Mario Wii game were right. However, they shocked everyone with a new Super Mario Bros. game – with 4 player co-op! Plays a lot like LittleBigPlanet from the looks of it. It will also be out by X-Mas!
  • Wii Fit Plus is out in late 2009. Oh joy.
  • Wii Sports Resort uses the new Wii Motion Plus for enhanced movement – isn’t this what the Wii was supposed to do to begin with? However, the sky diving looks cool, also there will be basketball and archery.
  • Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 packaged with Wii Motion Plus. Neat.
  • Red Steel 2 also comes packaged with Motion Plus and can only be played with the peripheral. Gameplay looks pretty sweet, and love the new art style.
  • Square Enix announced Final Fantasy Crystal Bearers, a new open world RPG headed exclusively to the Wii. That’s what I’m talking about. The system sorely needs more RPG’s.
  • A new DS Mario and Luigi RPG called Bowser’s Inside Story is coming at the end of the year. Those games are fun, but they really need to change the formula.
  • Next, they teased everyone with a “legendary RPG announcement”. No, it’s not Zelda. Turns out it’s Golden Sun DS. Meh.
  • Cop, a new DS game from Ubisoft, looks like a rip-off of Chinatown Wars, only it might be even better.
  • Wario Ware DIY for the DS lets you design your own games. Could be cool, but due to Nintendo’s fear of the Internet, I can’t see this going anywhere.
  • Facebook is coming to the DSi. That’s two systems now. You can upload your pictures of yourself with a squished head!
  • Every presser is bound to have a wtf, and Nintendo unleashed one with the Wii Vitality Sensor. It’s a pulse reader that helps you relax? Seriously, they just showed a pic of Iwata in a recliner with his eyes closed and the thing on his finger. Wtf Nintendo. Games, please.
  • Super Mario Galaxy 2! This one’s got Yoshi in it apparently. I have to say, that’s a pretty cool announcement. Any new 3D mario game is a total bonus. No date given, though.
  • You know it’s bad when Reggie has to come out and say “I read the blogs, too”, and has to defend Nintendo’s hardcore-ism. After that, he showed off Sega’s Conduit, Dead Space: Extraction and Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles. Nothing too exciting here.
  • Oh snap. A new Metroid game dubbed Other M is being made by Team Ninja, the Ninja Gaiden dudes. It’s a mature game with awesome third person action and platforming elements. Coming in 2010, and holy crap it actually looks cool. Maybe one of the best announcements at E3 to date.
  • Kind of weird that Miyamoto didn’t make an appearance. I’m guessing that means we won’t be seeing Zelda until next year.

I have to admit, while most of that was a snoozer, the Project M reveal at the end was incredible. Check back throughout the day and these bullets will be updated with links to videos and screenshots.

What’s the coolest news from the Nintendo event? Discuss!


GamerSushi Asks: What Are You Playing?

peggleIt’s been awhile since I’ve checked in with what you guys have been up to, videogame-wise, so I thought I’d take a little poll. Now that the Spring games have come and gone, and we enter that familiar “release drought” that plagues gamers each year, I’m curious what games are currently being tackled by your calloused fingers.

For me, I’ve been playing lots of Halo Wars, Peggle, and even a little Final Fantasy VI on my Nintendo DS. I’m hoping to move towards finally finishing Valkyria Chronicles later this week, as well as some Resistance 2. Right now, I just don’t have as much time as I want, and I end up playing Halo Wars instead of moving onto some other games that I seem to have wasted money on. Also, Peggle is stupid addicting and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t played it. Hopefully, I can get my act together soon.

What about you guys? What are you playing?


GameCop Vs LameCop #6

GameCop vs. LameCop is a feature where Anthony and I argue about video game issues, playing the role of either the GameCop or the LameCop as we do so. We switch roles each time. The GameCop has your best interests as gamers at heart, while the LameCop is just what he sounds like: a total loser.

This week, we tackle several issues including multiplayer in single player games, Nintendo’s lackluster GTA: Chinatown Wars sales and E3 predictions.

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A Tale of Two Liberty Cities

liberty-cityIf you’re unaware, GTA: Chinatown Wars was just released recently on the Nintendo DS, and from what I hear, the game is actually pretty good. It returns to the top down view of the old school GTA games, but brings the thieving and action to the small dual screens of the Nintendo handheld.

The game takes place in the same Liberty City that GTA IV takes place in, and I have to say, it seems that Rockstar has done a great job re-creating the living breathing world that we saw in the next gen version. Even though I’m not crazy about GTA IV, the city is probably my favorite piece of the game. GamesRadar has put some side-by-side comparisons of Chinatown Wars and GTA IV up for gamers to check out, and it’s pretty breathtaking.

So what about you guys? Anybody interested in Chinatown Wars? I might actually pick it up now.

Source- GamesRadar


Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks Trailer

I’ve never played the Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the Nintendo DS, but I hear that it’s a solid and really fun handheld title, if not one of the better Zelda titles. Nintendo has just introduced a new DS Zelda game, Spirit Tracks, which might just continue the goodness. I have to say that some of the gameplay on here looks like a sweet time. Count me interested!

Did any of you play Phantom Hourglass? Thoughts?


Review: Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen

dqiv5Before there was Final Fantasy, before there was Mass Effect, there was Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior previously). Dragon Quest was the RPG that focused on gameplay, grinding and consistency. It left the cinematics and mind-blowing graphics to other JRPGs, focusing on creating a fun world to explore with awesome monster designs and old-school notions. It’s actually more popular in Japan than Final Fantasy is. Shocking, no?

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen was previously released in the United States in 1992. On the NES. If you were wondering why you never played it, that would be the reason. Sad to say, its also my reason. But now we have the DS release from this past October. Bringing the game into the new century with a few tweaks here and there and updated visuals, this is a must have for any RPG gamer.
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Nintendo Releases List of 120 Games I Don’t Want

punchoutwiiOk, I kid, maybe I want one or two, but even that might be stretching it. Nintendo recently unveiled a whole ton of games coming out this year with release dates, and put them all together for us to see and ogle. Problem is, I’m just not that interested in anything that they have listed, giving more credence to the selling of my Wii.

The only two games that I have even the slightest desire to play are probably the new Punch Out game as well as the exclusive Indiana Jones title, but beyond that, I feel very much “meh” about it. I’ve said before that while I don’t and have never hated Nintendo, they’re just baffling me this generation, and I’ve been severely disappointed in their complete lack of games. So what are they? Check the list out after the jump.
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January Sales Figures Show Nintendo’s Pwnage

nintendoReally, Nintendo? I’m starting to get suspicious. Either you’re lacing your consoles with crack, or it’s full of hidden money, or maybe the Wii really is more than a fad. Whatever the case, the Big N is still smoking the competition month after month, and at this point it’s just getting shameful.

So how did Nintendo do in January? Well, here’s the list:

* Wii – 679,200
* Nintendo DS – 510,800
* Xbox 360 – 309,000
* PlayStation 3 – 203,200
* PSP – 172,300
* PlayStation 2 – 101,200

Nintendo needs to tell me the secrets of how to take millions of dollars from people. I need that info.

Source- Kotaku