GF! Weekly Wrap-Up #15

Hello gamers, and welcome to another episode of the GamesFirst! Weekly Wrap-Up for the week ending January 6, 2006. Happy New Year! I’m Val Townsend, the Atomic Goddess, and this week I’ve got reviews of PoPoLoCrois, an old-school RPG for the PSP, Kosumi, a unique turn-based strategy title out now for PC, and Call of Duty 2, the mega-hit out for Xbox 360 and PC, and possibly one of the greatest World War II games ever created. In Previews this week we’ll take a look at Chromehounds, a big-robot action title due out this Winter for the Xbox 360. That’s a lot of game-stuff to get through, but first let’s take a look at the News.

NEWS:

In a move sure to fuel the Nintendophile forums for weeks, European gaming publication, NGC Magazine, is reporting that The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will feature unique controls suited to the Revolution’s one-of-a-kind controller when played on Nintendo’s next-gen console. Twilight Princess will still be released for Gamecube, but when the disc is inserted into a Revolution console, the game will become playable using the Revolution’s specialized controller, making it a much different experience. Nintendo has neither confirmed nor denied the assertion, which has us scratching our heads. But from recent statements from Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto, we know that Nintendo has at least one secret hidden away. This could be it, or it could be wishful thinking. We’ll keep an eye on this story as the facts develop.

The Asian Gaming Show and Digital Entertainment Expo 2005 took place during the last days of December in Hong Kong. Our man, Aaron Stanton, was on the show floor to get us the scoop. Aside from some mouthwatering videos of Resident Evil 5 for PlayStation 3 and some nifty new gadgets, the show was more focused on the recently released than the future of gaming. Aaron did manage to spy a few key new products, including Sketchfighter 4000 from the developers of Darwinia, which looks like a videogame based on a seventh-grader’s notebook doodles. Another interesting find was an experimental game and controller called Pebble, developed by Addi Lam, a student at the City University of Hong Kong. Lam’s controller responds to its spatial positioning in a way similar to Nintendo’s upcoming Revolution controller, and the experimental games he has created to show it off were a blast to play with. In a sea full of updates and improvements, these two radically new products really stood out, making them undoubtedly the mos t interesting things at the show. We’ll have to wait until E3 to see much more of the PlayStation 3, but you can get more on Sketchfighter 4000 and Pebble on GamesFirst.com right now.

Back in October we covered the new anti-violent videogame law recently passed by the California legislature and signed by the Govern-ator, Arnold Schwarzenegger. We also told you about how the Entertainment Software Association was not at all happy with t he law. Now, the ESA has succeeded at winning an injunction against the law going into effect as planned thanks to a decision by US District Judge Ronald Whyte. Judge Whyte determined that there is a good chance the law violates the First Ammendment rights of minors and questioned whether violent games should be regulated by the state. In his decision, Whyte wrote, “The plaintiffs have shown at least that serious questions are raised concerning the states’ ability to restrict minors’ First Ammendment rights in connection with exposure to violent videogames, including the question of whether there is a causal connection between access to such games and psychological or other harm to children.” This decision comes on the heels of other recent decisions that ha ve upheld the ESA’s take on anti-violent videogame laws.

REVIEWS:

In reviews this week, we’re kicking things off with Shawn’s look at the first old-school RPG to come out for the PlayStation Portable, Agetec’s PoPoLoCrois. The PoPoLoCrois series has been popular for over a decade in Japan, even spawning an animated TV s eries in addition to several games. But the franchise has never been available in the US until now. PoPoLoCrois for PSP combines the first and second games in the series, originally released for PlayStation One in Japan, and adds a bunch of new content to create a very robust game experience. Packing over 30 hours of gameplay, PoPoLoCrois takes the ten year old Prince Pietro well into maturity.

At the beginning of the game, we see a beautifully animated cutscene that shows the Queen of PoPoLoCrois sacrificing herself to defeat the evil Ice Demon. Her son, Pietro, grows up without a mother until his tenth birthday, when he discovers that his moth er is not actually dead. She is in a coma, and the King has kept her hidden in a tower of the castle until a cure can be found. Pietro sets out to revive his mother, beginning an epic quest.

The story is told through spoken character dialog and wonderful cutscenes. The cinematic sequences are hand-animated in the tradition of the best fantasy anime style. Characters are cute and action sequences are dramatic. The voice-acting is also very goo d, and along the way Pietro meets a variety of interesting and humorous characters.

The gameplay in PoPoLoCrois makes use of a strategy-RPG style of combat that plays out directly on the map screen. There is no moving from world view to battle views, making the world of PoPoLoCrois feel seamless. Quick bursts of loading happen throughout the game, which means that you never have to sit through more than a few seconds of load time, compensating nicely for the PSP’s biggest weakness. As your party grows, new strategic options open up, making PoPoLoCrois a great choice for hardcore strategy fans.

If you’ve been waiting for that old-time RPG feeling to come to the PSP, then wait no longer: PoPoLoCrois is definitely a must-play. But if you have little tolerance for cutesy anime characters or old-fashioned RPG stories, then you might want to try this one first. We’ve decided to take the middle ground and give PoPoLoCrois an enthusiastic three out of five stars.

If you like the strategy thing, but don’t have time for epic RPGs and intensive ongoing campaigns, Chris Galbraith would like to direct your attention to the multiplayer PC strategy title, Kosumi.

Kosumi takes place in a world similar to feudal Japan: You control one of 15 clans and use units such as ninjas and samurai to conduct a highly strategic campaign against your enemies. Kosumi is a turn-based strategy game designed for gamers who don’t hav e a lot of free time. Gameplay moves slowly as players take turns submitting moves at the rate of one or so per day. Playing against several others online, you are notified of a new turn via email, and submitted turns are not finalized until midnight of th e day they are made. This slow turnaround gives plenty of time for deep strategies to evolve, and also keeps things even for people who might not be able to constantly check in with a game.

In order to build your skills, its advisable to work through the solo tutorials and even play a solitaire-style game to get the hang of things. These modes of play are free to download, making Kosumi an easy game to try out. If you decide to play online, you’ll pay a $19.95 per month subscription fee. A subscription allows you to play in up to three simultaneous online games each month.

Kosumi is obviously not for everyone: Many gamers will just not tolerate the slow pace. However, for folks who have fun with email chess games or appreciate deep strategy and find they don’t have time to invest an evening in a campaign, Kosumi could be ju st the thing. It’s not hard to find a lot to like about Kosumi, and the only real beef we have is with the pricing scheme: At $20 per month, it seems a bit expensive. But for professionals who want a solid gameplay experience, maybe the price tag is worth it.

The sheer innovation of Kosumi is enough to make it stand out, and the fact that it is developed and produced independently qualify it as a true accomplishment. We’re happy to give Kosumi four out of five stars.

Activision’s Call of Duty has been a popular World War II series, and the Xbox 360 and PC version of Call of Duty 2 is a worthy successor. Matt James took on the challenge of Call of Duty 2, and he discovered a love for wartime shooters that he didn’t eve n know he had.

Featuring an epic soundtrack and amazing visuals, Call of Duty 2 is easily the most cinematic World War II shooter to date. The game opens at the Russian front, in the middle of winter, and the environmental effects are truly amazing. Smoke grenades becom e your best friend as you move from emplacement to emplacement, and the intensity of the action is visceral. The graphics are so beautiful that it’s hard to resist stopping to appreciate the quality, even in the midst of a chaotic firefight. All of the sen sory input comes together to create an immersive experience that is virtually unrivaled in gaming.

The gameplay itself has been enhanced by the audio and graphical superiority. The sounds of warfare are as important to surviving and succeeding as the sights. And the sights are so perfectly rendered that the battlefield feels more alive than ever before . The action is mostly linear, which has the effect of making Call of Duty 2 feel like a giant, amazing World War II movie.

Of course, all of the fanboys will be happy to see the major multiplayer modes make a comeback: Deathmatch and capture the flag are still staple offerings. In addition, two new modes are added: Head quarters and Search and Destroy. These new modes are fun and provide a unique take on otherwise traditional multiplayer action.

In the crowded genre of World War II shooters, it’s hard for any game to stand out. The fact that Call of Duty 2 has made us stand up and take notice of it speaks volumes for the quality of the game. We’re happy to give Call of Duty 2 a gritty, cinematic Five out of Five stars. Excellent work soldier!

PREVIEW:

Moving from the games that are out now to the games that are just around the corner, Shawn came up with a preview of Chromehounds, due out for Xbox 360 in February 2006. Developed by fan-favorite FROM Software, creators of the Armored Core series, Chrome hounds boasts a very impressive big-robot pedigree. If anyone knows how to make customizable mechanized mayhem, it’s the folks at FROM.

Chromehounds takes place in an alternate history timeline where the Cold War never ended. Players can fight for one of three factions, each affiliated with one of the competing superpowers. While details are sketchy, we figure this means the US, Soviet Un ion, and China. Once players have chosen their affiliation, they play out a series of battles consisting of some 40 missions.

Once you’ve dominated the single-player mode, you can take your skills online in 12 player squad-based battles on Xbox Live. Online battles will occur on over 100 different maps, giving Chromehounds an insane amount of variety. And FROM Software promises to release updates and customization packages in the Xbox Live Marketplace for the truly die-hard Chromehounds fans to customize their battle-bots.

Chromehounds is another beautiful title for Xbox 360, too, featuring full HDR rendering, depth of field effects, and motion blur. This gives the game’s battles a realistic appearance that makes the action truly exhilarating. The detailed physics engine sh ould make for some exciting environmental strategy, too, and you know how much we love to break shit.

Keep an eye out for Chromehounds to make an appearance on Xbox 360 in early 2006.

CONCLUSION:

And that pretty much finishes the fifteenth episode of the Weekly Wrap-Up. This is the first episode for 2006, and we look forward to a whole year’s worth of podcast-y goodness. Remember, you can get more on all of this episode’s stories posted everyday at GamesFirst.com. From the entire GF! Staff, we wish you a happy new year gamers! I’m Val Townsend, the Atomic Goddess, and you can podcatch me next week.