Nintendo Key Franchises To Return - Eventually

If you thought that Nintendo's showing at E3 2008 was dismal, you are not alone.

None of Nintendo's landmark franchises (ie. Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc.) returned at E3 for an upcoming title for either the Nintendo Wii or DS outside of a sports spin-off title.

However, 1up recently published a report that Nintendo is indeed working on new titles from their key franchises.

Word came form the UK-based "Edge" magazine that published a comment from an official Nintendo representative:

We have never neglected our core gamers. We still have developers working on popular core gaming franchises but we need longer to complete these games, approximately two to three years. These games are not ready to launch in early 2009 but are being worked on by all development teams.

Does this mean that we will have to wait two to three years for another Mario or Zelda title?

It wouldn't be too far of a stretch baring that we first heard word of what ultimatly led to The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess at E3 2004 and that game wasn't released until two and half years later, in 2006.

Additionally, with Nintendo's three previous consoles , there has been a total of three mario titles. The Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, and Nintendo Gamecube each had only one official mario title per plateform.

The Wii already has Super Mario Galaxy, does that mean that will be the last Mario title we will see on the Wii?

1up's report also notes a statement made by Nintendo's President Satoru Iwata shortly after E3 2008:

If there is any perception that Nintendo is ignoring the core gamers, it's a misunderstanding and we really want to get rid of that misunderstanding by any means...however, the fact of the matter is the so-called 'big titles' need a long, long development period.

The time required to make as high of quality of games that Nintendo produces is understandably lengthy, but that means that Nintendo needs fantastic third-party support to keep Nintendo console owners happy in the mean time. That is where Nintendo failed with the N64, it again was Nintendo's downfall on the Gamecube, and it looks like history may repeat itself with the Wii.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Demo Impressions

The playable demo of LucasArts' newest lightsaber flinging action-adventure title recently hit Xbox Live and the Playstation Network.

The game - slated for release on September 16th in North America - showcases Darth Vader's secret apprentice as you complete various missions as the apprentice under secrecy and with no witnesses: meaning you get to kill anything and everything you see.

The demo allows you to traverse an imperial star ship in search of a Jedi master as you destroy everything in your path.

And I mean everything.

The plethora of destructible objects and environments is outstanding as you can force grip and throw crates, people, and other objects and hurl them in nearly any direction to witness a fanfare of explosion and carnage.

Many of the game's basic abilities are available in the demo such as force grip, push, and lightning and your character will be able to "level up" allowing you to gain experience for stylized play as you dispatch foes.

The game looks to have a combo system with many combinations resulting from any variation of button mashing and utilizing your various force abilities.

The control scheme feels very fluid and logical for a hack-and-slash title and will feel right a home for fans of the genre. However, camera controls feel slightly loose and over sensitive at first, but comes naturally in time.

Visually, The Force Unleashed is a very crisp and polished title with nice detail in both character models and environments. Having said that, I found a few glitches at times such as when my character's clothes started to flail randomly upwards in a brown mess.

One of the most refreshing aspects of the game is both it's use of new "rag doll" physics and an original score.

The true might of your force abilities is felt by an incredibly fluid physics engine that manipulates the environment around your actions to bring a new level of legitimacy to your actions.

Also, one of my biggest pet peeves with LucasArts appears to be resolved with The Force Unleashed. The game appears to have an authentic and original musical score. Too many times have I played a Star Wars title while hearing the same classic scores from the films repeated over, and over, and over again. A new score is certianly a refreshing change.

Nevertheless, the playable demo of The Force Unleashed still makes the game feel like just another hack-and-slash, action-adventure title with a leveling system. One way that this title could avoid a mediocre fate would be to integrate an interesting story and allow for gameplay that keeps the flow fresh and interesting.

Be sure to look out for this one when it hits store shelves next month.

SingStar Disney Invading PS2 This Fall

1up.com has recently reported that a Disney-themed addition to the SingStar lineup will be landing on the Playstation 2 this Fall.

That's right, you may very well be able to sing along with Aladdin, Cinderella, and Ariel as the series will feature songs from various, classic Disney films.

Also, announced was a Playstation 3 update which will allow PS2 SingStar owners to play the songs from their games on the PS3 version of the franchise.

Be ready for "A Whole New World" of fun this Fall.

Heavy Rain Gameplay Trailer

Here is a first-look at the new Playstation 3 exclusive title "Heavy Rain."

This appears to be a survival horror title with incredibly impressive visuals:



As you may have noticed, much of the gameplay will consist of selecting various buttons via an on-screen prompt.

However, this title is attempting to take the survival-horror series a step further with additional fluidity in cinematic sequences including dialogue selection within each sequence by moving the SIXAXIS controller in the direction of the statement you want your character to make.

Be on the look out when this storm arrives in 2009.

Meet the Sandvich

Interesting advertisement for Team Fortress II:


Sure looks tasty!

Madden 09 Video Reviews

The verdict is in and Madden 09...is okay.

Checkout the video reviews from Gamespot, 1up.com, and gametrailers:

Gamespot


1up


Gametrailers



What do you think? How do you keep a 20-year-old series fresh, yet consistent?

New Spider-Man: Web of Shadows Trailer

The newest trailer for the upcoming Spider-Man title from Activision shows X-Men veteran Wolverine as part of the fray:


Looks like it's a bit of an epidemic.

VGF: 50,000+ Hits

Wow, in just under a year we have managed to accumulate 50,000+ hits!!!

Thank you to everyone who has ever intentionally or accidentally stumbled upon this blog. Please feel free to provide any feedback or comments about what more you want to see from Video Game Freedom and...

THANK YOU

Star Trek Online Trailer Revealed

I know that this is a few days late and I am a little slow to post because I am back at school, but here it is anyway.

A teaser trailer for Star Trek Online was officially released yesterday and seems to show the possibilities of incorporating the Star Trek universe online:


It appears that the game will be divided between "away team" campaigns on foot using various races found within the Star Trek saga and starship battles.

However, this looks to be another cookie-cutter MMORPG just like we are seeing DC Universe Online and Lord of the Rings Online as well.

This looks to be a new wave for the industry with publishers trying to cash in on big franchises in hopes of striking World of Warcraft gold once again.

For continual updates on Star Trek Online, you can visit the official website at www.startrekonline.com.

New Kingdom Hearts Games

It took a while for information to finally trickle through, but it seems that there will be two new Kingdom Hearts titles released either this Fall or early 2009.

However, they are both on hand held consoles so no official Kingdom Hearts 3 just yet.

One will arrive on the PSP while the other can be played on the DS.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep - PSP

The PSP continuation of the the Kingdom Hearts saga will follow three new characters: Terra, Ventus, and Aqua.

These characters are keyblade apprentices and are on a quest to find the keyblade master.

Apparently, this title takes place prior to the original Kingdom Hearts so I would doubt you'll be seeing Sora, Riku, or Kairi without some time traveling.

Nevertheless, check out a teaser trailer with fantastic visuals and music:


Also, another "teaser" trailer popped up on youtube, not sure if this is legitimate or not:


Not too much else is known about the game except that Maleficent makes an appears and according to the new screen shots, so does Cinderella.


Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 - DS

The oddly named DS title follows Roxas after the events of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and before Kingdom Hearts II.

This title will delve deeper in the backstory behind Organization XIII.

Gamespot and 1up both seem to feel that the move to the DS may be a difficult one given the console's unique control scheme.

Sadly, no concrete video pops up for this title aside from three seconds of "gameplay footage":

GTA IV on the PC

News broke today that GTA IV will officially be released for the PC.

Rockstar Games founder Sam Houser said that the game "...plays beautifully on PC..." and the new version will also include an expansion in multiplier modes found on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

The PC release is slated for November of this year.

New PSN Trophy Support

It should be no secret that I was no fan of the v2.40 firmware update and that I found the trophy system to be useless since it unsupported.

Well finally, we are hearing some news down the wire about support for Sony's answer to the Xbox 360 achievement system.

Naughty Dog recently confirmed that they will be adding trophiesto Uncharted: Drake's Fortune in a new patch to be released for the game.

However, no release date was set and none of the trophies will work retrospectively, so it looks like you'll have to play the game once again.

For a complete list of games supporting the trophy system and updates visit: PS3Trophies.org.

If you are still a little confused about the trophy system take a look at Director of PlayStation Network Operations Eric Lempel's description:

Mirror's Edge Level Made By Portal

Wow, someone took the landscape from the trailer seen in the upcoming game, Mirror's Edge from EA, and re-created it in a modified version of Portal - which is one of my new favorite games by the way:

Just think of the possibilities of allowing users to create their own "Portal Worlds." That would be an incredibly fun ability to utilize one of the most ingenious and innovative gaming concepts in recent history.