E3 2005: Day Three Game Impressions
The show is over. It absolutely FLEW by. I was so busy, I never had time to just look around and grasp the immensity of the event. But enough of that crap for now, plenty of time for reflection later. Here's MORE of my game impressions starting with a remaking of a classic.
- New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
- Star Wars: Empire at War (PC)
- Unreal Tournament 2007 (PC)
- Alan Wake (PC, Next-Gen Consoles)
- Gears of War (Xbox 360)
- StarCraft: Ghost (PS2, Xbox, GCN)
- Perfect Dark Zero (Xbox 360)
- Prey (PC, Xbox 360)
- Quake 4 (PC, Xbox 360)
- Mario Kart DS (NDS)
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Luminair
replySo is the DS conclusion of the show that the touch screen is a gimmick?
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nintendo zealot deactivate, it basically does nothing here: http://www.shacknews.com/extras/e3_2005/052005_newsupermariobros_imprs.x
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I bet some PSP games don't use the analog stick either.
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The way I look at it is this: The feature is there if you've got a good idea for it. No need to force yourself to find a good use for it, the system is well off for playing games without using the stylus or touchscreen as well. There are games that find interesting and fun uses for it, and there are games that don't. There were almost 30 DS games playable at E3. Some took advantage of the touchscreen in interesting ways, some didn't. The future still looks bright for me as a DS owner.
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My conclusion is that Nintendo DS is vastly superior to the PSP in enjoyable gameplay.
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*sigh* I really have no time of day for people who call it a gimmick. I can't see how you can have such a lack of imagination that you can insist it's a gimmick. You're pretty much calling a fucking mouse a gimmick, only a touch screen has even more uses than a mouse because it has a more direct relationship to the screen.
But there are two types of DS game - ones that are built to use the touch screen as the core of their design, and ones that are GBA++ games. And yes, I'd probably concede that in the latter type, its uses are pretty much tacked on and in a lot of cases, kinda pointless.
Overall, the DS conclusion of the show seems to be that it rocks and that with its extra features, it's doing what Nintendo promised and opening up new kinds of games that are great fun. eg. http://www.shacknews.com/ja.zz?id=10106096-
nintendo zealot deactivate!!! I didn't insist it's a gimmick, I asked if it was. All you goofs and quit loading my question with explosives.
Alex has done two DS game previews. Mario Kart and Mario platform, two of the best and core games that define Nintendo first party title quality. Mario Kart and Mario 3 are my favorite games ever.
But neither DS game has a compelling reason for having a touch screen, nor a second screen at all for that matter. What I'm looking for is all this innovative gameplay Nintendo talks about.-
Lol, if you don't like the reaction you get, don't ask loaded questions. ;)
Haiku's informative also has some cool DS game info.
I think Alec/the Shack have been deliberately aiming at covering games they know are popular on here. If you want to find the awesome DS games you need to look for those games that are built from the ground up for its features - which = new IP, which = easily overlooked.-
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If it's fun, I don't care what its packaging is. The surgery game? Sounds amusing to me. :)
Nintendo makes the stuff that is unapologetic for its subject matter and promises only to be fun. For the precisely market focused stuff for when something with general appeal doesn't appeal, Microsoft/Sony have always been the people to turn to.
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The touchscreen allows for better controls of genres than was previously possible on a handheld, like FPS and RTS.
Also, it works great for other types of odd games like Nintendogs or Black and White Creatures, or one of the many amusging puzzle/weirdjapanese games.
I am seriously looking forward to Goldeneye Rogue Agent, Splinter Cell, and Metroid Prime Hunters, all of which use the touchscreen similar to mouselook.
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Just because the system has a feature does not mean that games on that system have to use that feature.
Not every game needs all two gazillion PS2 buttons. Not every game needs 2 analogue sticks and the dir pad.
Hell, not many PC games use the thousands of key combinations that are possible.
If a game could benefit from the alternative method of input, now it has the option to use it. Otherwise, it's just a nice little system with two screens (which can be handy so that you don't have to keep swapping screens to view inventory, exp til level, etc.-
Bingo
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do you really think it's valid to compare industry standard controller features to a second screen which adds like 50% more thickness and weight? Even if it was, it has no bearing on my question.
Rather than just coming up with games that take advantage of the DS to answer my question, everyone is pretty much saying 'it doesn't matter if it uses the DS or not'... and I can read between the lines there.
If the DS isn't used well here, do you think Nintendo will bother with it in the next generation? I think the touch screen is sweet for FPS games, but since I don't have a DS, I don't know what uses the second screen well. Since nobody else seems to either, I guess that answers my question.
That said, since I'm not a troll like half these Nintendo zealots, I'd still like to know of some good games that take advantage of the second screen.-
I'm not a troll like half these Nintendo zealots, I'd still like to know of some good games that take advantage of the second screen.
Why didn't you ask that question (good games with two screens) the first time, instead of posting simple, inflammatory comments (aka trolling)? You didn't get trolled by anyone, you got flamed. You didn't even ask about the two screens in your original post, you asked about the touch screen. But go ahead, call us trolls if that helps you ignore opinions you don't like.
The double screens is at once its most distinctive feature, but yeah, the one I could most easily see getting dropped. It's not nearly as compelling as the touch screen or the microphone - it's definitely one of those this-is-kinda-useful-but-you-could-live-without-it-if-necessary features, unlike the others that would critically wound the game (eg Metroid sans touch screen). In terms of its future potential, I can see it hanging around. Even if it doubles the width of the console, Nintendo seems very convinced of the superiority of clamshell designs, after the success of the GBA-SP. -
Well, those controller features were not always industry standard, and we got by just fine in the NES days, just that it's better now (having the option of, say, 16 buttons + 2 sticks).
Same might happen with the touchpad. Sure, only the DS has it now, but who knows if it'll catch on in a big way. Hell, this might be the first and last generation that has that as a controller option. That's cool.
But my whole point was that just because the option is there does not mean it must be used. I would rather a game ignore it than try and shoehorn some awkward minigame just to be said to be using the touchscreen. Same with the dual screens. If it has a real use for them both, great. If not, stick some little subscreen or dancing kirby on the other. -
FPS
Goldeneye Rogue Agent http://ds.ign.com/objects/697/697519.html
Mertroid Prime Hunters http://ds.ign.com/objects/682/682835.html
3rd Person/FPS
Splinter Cell Chaos Theory http://ds.ign.com/objects/729/729102.html
Strategy games
Age of Empires http://ds.ign.com/objects/736/736742.html
Shogun Warrior http://ds.ign.com/objects/737/737298.html
Advance Wars http://ds.ign.com/objects/707/707311.html
Goofy games
Nintendogs http://ds.ign.com/objects/736/736312.html
Black and White Creatures http://ds.ign.com/objects/746/746555.html
Pretty much all of the above use the touchscreen in a way that a d pad or an analog stick just wouldn't work.
Seriously, spend some time look at the screenshots download a video or two ( Rogue Agent and 2nd or 3rd Shogun Warrior vids would be good) and really think about how mouselike control would help out those types of games. Or just contine to make wild ass statements without bothering to take a look at what is actually the case.
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Add these to that list:
Lost in Blue
Pac N' Roll
Touch Golf
Trace Memory
Kirby: Canvas Curse
Trauma Center: Under the Knife-
And Viewtiful Joe DS.
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Goldeneye in particular made excellent use of the touchscreen for mouselook control. It actually felt better and more responsive than the control for the Metroid Prime Hunters demo, plus the running speed felt much faster.
id would make a killing porting Quake 1 over to the DS (and much of my love).
Age Of Empires DS worked really well with the touchscreen as well. Building towns and commanding units was a snap using the stylus instead of a d-pad or analog stick.
Advance Wars DS (I want that NOW) also benefitted from a touchscreen control.
There are the "touch" oriented games like Nintendogs and the surgery game, but those may be seen as "gimmicky" by some. However, the games I listed above are a few examples of games shown where the touchscreen is a superior control method over standard ones.
And I'll also jump in and say that (surprisingly for me) the DS had the strongest lineup of upcoming games for a single system this year. -
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Oh yeah. Screen is really, really small but it's so much brighter and better than the GBA SP's that I might just buy one. Plus, it's just hard to say no to something so tiny and so full of gaming goodness. I have to touch those shoulder buttons though, they looked weird (the Micros were behind glass for us non-press folk)
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