This week is an exciting week for those in the game
industry as the Game Developers’ Conference takes place in San Jose, California.
I’ll be back here next Monday with comments on the show, but don’t let that stop
you from reading this week’s Gist List:
Daikatana: MPlayer Only?
First of all, let me be very clear this isn’t a comment
on Daikatana as a game. Truthfully, it’s impossible to judge whether Daikatana lives
up to the hype based on a two-level multiplayer demo. However, what I will say is this:
Doing an exclusive multiplayer demo with Mplayer was a really bad idea. Here’s a game
that has been the topic of countless publicity for years, and then the first time the
public is exposed to the game is exclusively through Mplayer? I’m sure Ion Storm
profited nicely from this arrangement, but to restrict players to only using Mplayer is a
disservice to those fans who have stood by for years waiting to play Romero’s next
creation. Sure, the ‘Internet’ demo is coming in a month, but there’s no
reason why it shouldn’t be out today. In addition, I’d argue it was the wrong
decision to put out just a multiplayer demo. I know a large segment of gamers
downloaded the demo, checked it out, and never even went online to Mplayer. Already a few
friends have asked me, "Well, are there any enemies?" Some bots might have been
a good idea!
But judged as a multiplayer game, Daikatana does have
some good things going for it. A few of the weapons are unique, and I particularly like
the environmental rain and fog effects. In a recent interview designer John Romero
promised a storyline in the singleplayer game that is on par with Half-Life’s, so we
will have to see what Ion Storm has up their sleeve. But they should be ashamed of forcing
people to experience this demo through Mplayer. This is a very disturbing trend that has
"for the money" written all over it.
Nvidia TNT2
Nvidia’s last 3D graphics chip the TNT was an incredibly
impressive effort from a company which was long in the shadow of 3DFX for 3D graphics
acceleration on the PC. With 3DFX not having a 32-bit color video card anywhere in sight,
last week information started to surface on Nvidia’s next part, the TNT2, which will
go head to head with the forthcoming Voodoo 3 chip from 3DFX. With most games being
Direct3D these days, it will be interesting to see what happens over the next few months.
Without question the TNT2 looks impressive on paper. We will likely find out more about
this exciting accelerator at the Game Developer’s conference later this week. I'll
keep you posted!
and The Wing Commander Movie
Ok, so Wing Commander bombed at the box office with only a $5
million rake, and with negative reviews and lukewarm word of month, it will be lucky to
make anything over $15 million. (Half of its production costs). However, is the movie
really as bad as Entertainment Weekly says? (They gave it an F). I don’t think so.
Perhaps I’m cutting the film some slack because I know and love the computer game
series, but the film actually pleasantly surprised me – Although admittedly my
expectations were incredibly low. Sure, the script was confusing and there are incredibly
hokey moments such as the Angel and Blair "You’re all right, Chris!"
exchange in space that is one of the lamest moments of cinema I've ever seen, but as a
whole the picture wasn’t the embarrassment it could have been. Sure, putting the Star
Wars trailer in front of it was probably a bad marketing move because it makes the movie
look like a crayon drawing by comparison, but the audience I saw it with on the weekend
seemed to enjoy the film. Not great, but not deserving of an F either.
Heavy
Gear II
Activision’s first Heavy Gear game was nothing to write
home about, in part because it was rushed out the door to make a Thanksgiving release date
two years ago. However, Heavy Gear II looks to be a much more impressive product, in part
because Activision delayed it past the holidays to add some finishing touches. I had a
chance to play a late beta of the game last week and I was impressed with the attention to
detail and the game’s 3D engine. (The same engine is used in the forthcoming
Interstate ’82). Although the demo might not have ruffled your feathers, keep an eye
out for the full product.
Wild Wild West Game?
Believe it or not, a few companies are still trying to make
games out of big feature film releases – I guess Capstone’s "Beverly
Hillbillies" game didn’t scare them off. SouthPeak Interactive has tried to
convert films like Men in Black to games and the result was atrocious. The Men in Black
game had a lot of potential but the product ended up being no better than a Shockwave game
you’d find on the movie website. Then SouthPeak signed a deal to do a game based on
the Kurt Russell film Soldier, which totally tanked at the box office – The game
might have even been cancelled, or at least it should have been. SouthPeak's latest effort
is a game based on the summer blockbuster Wild Wild West starring Will Smith and directed
by Men in Black helmer Barry Sonnenfeld. Some of these film properties are really
incredible paleetes from draw hope; I sure SouthPeak doesn’t waste another good
license, but their past efforts don’t leave a lot of room for hope.
GDC Keynotes
A few weeks ago I complained about poor choice of a keynote
speaker for E3 this year, but I’m happy to report the Game Developer’s
Conference has an incredibly exciting lineup of speakers this week. The highlight will be
a special keynote from Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, and the week will also give us
talks from Westwood Studios’ Louis Castle, the always-entertaining David Perry from
Shiny Entertainment (creators of Earthworm Jim), and the first U.S. demonstration of the
next generation of PlayStation from Sony. It should be an incredible week, and you’ll
be able to hear all the insider scoop next week in the Gist List’s special GDC
edition.
Until next week, that’s The Gist of It.
Your Ideas?
Do you have a suggestion about something that should be added to next week's list?
Is there a game that gist doesn't cut it or one that does it gist
right? E-mail gistlist@gameslice.com
and we'll consider your suggestion.
Thanks for reading!
Geoff
Keighley
Editor-in-Chief
GameSlice
