November 2007 Archives
We haven't said much on Grav lately and that's largely intentional.
As I've said in the past, we don't intend to present the game until we have ample amounts of information and media to provide. Also, we don't want to jump any guns and promise planned features which have yet to be implemented. Even though I understand the development cycle now more than ever, as a gamer, it still irks me when I read the promises of a game in development and find that the game doesn't deliver in practice.
You probably won't hear much until we're ready. Frankly, that's the way I want it to be: silence all the way up until the day we come out of nowhere and bombard the gaming media with trailers, screenshots and information.
As I've said in the past, we don't intend to present the game until we have ample amounts of information and media to provide. Also, we don't want to jump any guns and promise planned features which have yet to be implemented. Even though I understand the development cycle now more than ever, as a gamer, it still irks me when I read the promises of a game in development and find that the game doesn't deliver in practice.
You probably won't hear much until we're ready. Frankly, that's the way I want it to be: silence all the way up until the day we come out of nowhere and bombard the gaming media with trailers, screenshots and information.
Here we are: the Xmas season, and with it comes a flurry of impulse purchases and the usual holiday rush of games when we've spent the past few months with few releases to draw our interest.
Let me start by saying that, yes, Super Mario Galaxy is incredible, but I implore you: don't turn your back to a shelf of Wii games that include such gems as Mario and Sonic: Olympics, Zak and Wiki, Raving Rabbits 2 and RE: Umbrella Chronicles.
I understand why the industry releases this many games during a period when most Wii owners will be buying 1-2 games each, but that doesn't change the fact that some of these games stand a good chance of being completely overshadowed by a mythical game like SMG.
There's nothing worse than playing a Wii game, loving it and then checking out its sales figures for the week to see that it didn't get even half of the sales it deserved.
How much weight you want to place in my commentary is entirely up to you, but believe me when I say that you'll be robbing yourself of some excellent gaming experiences if you don't give these other titles a try as well. Rent them if you have to (most video stores also carry Wii games these days), but don't let them go by unnoticed. Nintendo fans have complained about a lack of 3rd party support in the past (myself included) but by not supporting good 3rd party games when they arrive on shelves then the blame falls upon us and ONLY us.
M&S: Olympics is a solid sports game package, featuring some excellent motion control and the ability to play with your Mii alongside famous video game mascots from the Mario and Sonic universes.
Raving Rabbids 2 is one of the better minigame compilations I've seen, and it's downright hilarious to boot.
RE: UC is easily the best lightgun game I've ever played, adding a welcome layer of strategy to the genre which was previously absent.
And Zak and Wiki is a throwback to the point and click puzzle games we all knew and loved. It's a fledgling franchise, with no brand recognition to fall back upon like the others, but it delivers a great time for even a room full of people who love to be challenged by clever puzzles.
I'm not suggesting you buy four additional games, but please, give them a rent if any of them sound like they might interest you. I'm confident you'll be pleasantly surprised.
