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Tokyo Game Show Impressions
By admin | March 13, 2010
2003 sees one of the better Tokyo Game Show line-ups in recent history. A number of high-profile companies have saved some of their big titles for announcement at the show, giving a distinctly fresh feel to proceedings. Here are our impressions of the things we saw and played. Please understand that some of the games we played are not complete yet, so things could change between the playable versions at the show and the versions that get released.
Gradius V
Konami / Treasure
PlayStation 2
Release: Feb 2004
Scientist: Jonnyram
Knowing that this was being developed by Treasure beforehand surely added to my anticipation of this title, but being a huge Gradius fan since the first one way back in 1985, my excitement was already pretty high. The Treasure influence was obvious right from the get go - rotating 3D backgrounds featuring huge structures, vertical scrolling sequences, bosses in the middle of levels and a revamp of the traditional Gradius power-up system to boot.
The game plays like a dream. The four power-up selections at the start of the game are made even more unique by each one having a different configuration for your "options" or "multiples" as they were called in Nemesis. You can configure them in game using the R1 button - in one version, R1 will freeze the options in position relative to your ship. Another version has the options at equal distances from your ship, two above, two below, while R1 increases and decreases the space between the options and your ship. By far the most intriguing version was where R1 rotates the angle the options fire at - so you can aim their shots up, down, behind you, or at any of the diagonals, as well as the standard
forward shot. Another major change to the playing system was the fact that you can pick up your option immediately after losing a ship, similar to Salamander. Your other power-ups will be lost, as usual, but being able to get an option back is definitely a life-saver.
The graphics really set this game apart from its predecessors. The 3D moving backgrounds are really impressive, but don’t interfere with the foreground visuals. Although the graphics have all now evolved into 3D, including Vic Viper, the change is strangely unnoticeable while you are playing, and the slick finish that enemy ships have is most welcome. Amazingly the game retains a constant frame rate - something Gradius has not been so good at in the past. In the game I played, and games I watched other people playing, I didn’t notice any
slowdown at all, not even "theatrical".
Excitement for the final product: high
Firefighter F.D.18
Konami
PlayStation 2
Release: 2004
Scientist: DCharlie
Tucked away in a corner of the Konami stand, this game seems like it may well have some potential. Whether my enthusiasm is misplaced, simply because the game didn’t involve a sword wielding warrior remains to be seen. The game sees you as a member of a US firefighting team, putting you in a number of situations requiring you to rescue trapped survivors of whatever accident has occured, all
the while dousing flames, avoiding debris and ensuring you don’t become a human torch yourself.
Whilst graphically not overly outstanding (the graphics are adequate enough) the game certainly seems to have potential. The combination of flame dousing and rescue, coupled with some set piece moments seemed to work well; it’s very much akin to Burning Rangers (without the sci-fi element) and Zettai Zetsumei Toshi mixed. One concern is the game seemed slighly ponderous, but if this were to be addressed then this could turn out to be an quite an enjoyable game.
Excitement for the final product: medium
Mojib Ribbon
SCE / Nana On-Sha
PlayStation 2
Release: 20 Nov
Scientist: Jonnyram
Mojib Ribbon’s predecessor, Vib Ribbon, was a cult hit. Fans admired its quirkiness and simplicity, as well as the endless playability provided by its CD-reading mode. Mojib looks like it will redefine quirkiness all over again. Examine exhibit A on the left. You see the main character (this time there is more than one), walking on a circle of text that spins around an axis at the bottom of the screen. On this circle are a number of points where you can put the brush down, by holding down the right analogue stick, resulting in Japanese calligraphy being drawn. Keep the stick held down until the end of the phrase - let go too early and the phrase will disappear, let go too late and the last
character will end up being a big splodge of ink, i.e. learn the songs and learn them well! Complete a circle of text, then push the stick up as you come to the inkwell at the end of the circle, to replenish your ink supply and start the next verse.
The graphics for Vib Ribbon were curiously simplistic, but very fluid. This time, the graphics have reached new heights of fluidity with waterbrushed backgrounds constantly moving around, as well as very good ink effects, both for your brush strokes, and for splashes of ink against the screen. The sound is as wacky as Vib Ribbon. To suit the new play mechanic, the text you are writing is rapped at you. Although the speakers at the game show were not the best quality,
I could make out that the voice is very similar to the singing heard in Vib Ribbon’s tutorial mode. There is also a constant musical background playing too, although I did not notice whether it changed each verse or not.
Although I was only shown the same level the few times I played, there seemed to be a lot menus, and possibly a lot more to see. One thing that is definitely in the final version, is the ability to download text files from the Internet and use these as the rap in the game. It’s not clear yet whether this will be possible with any language other than Japanese, but we’ll be sure to recommend some good sites for playing with when the game ships next month!
Excitement for the final product: high
RalliSport Challenge 2
Microsoft
Xbox
Release: 2004
Scientist: DCharlie It’s hard to come up with the superlatives to describe RSC2s graphics - whilst it has long been held that GT3 is the best looking racer to date, RSC2 looks set to snatch that away (and from GT4, although it’s still a close run thing!). Running at a crisp 60fps, the game looks stunning: sun beams through trees illuminating the surrounding snow covered bump mapped track, the sense of speed is fantasic, slumbering mountain shacks whizz by. It truly is beautiful. The car damage model is much more
refined in RSC2 - dirt collects on the cars, bumpers will hang off, body work will get dented and windshields will inevitably fall by the wayside. It’s very well done.
Handling is, as in the original RSC, tight and responsive, but one major tweak seems to have been added - veering off course will no longer send your car flipping or skidding into an oblivion - your car will ride out the minor divots and bumps at the side of the course, perhaps making you wobble a bit. This is a very welcome improvement over the original. Whilst only the one player game was on display, it certainly showed enough to make this one of the most impressive
games of the show. Here’s hoping for tight multiplayer modes.
Excitement for the final product: high
Grabbed by the Ghoulies
Microsoft / Rare
Xbox
Release: Winter
Scientist: DCharlie I never expected to play this game before TGS, and previous expectations had been low. Upon first play, this feeling of disinterest seemed to grow. However, after extended play the game actually starts to become mildly entertaining.
The graphics, which in still shots look very average, are well animated with some nice comic book moments. Curtains and the like are also well animated, swaying nicely in the breeze and the main character and spooks have plenty of charm. Action wise, the game seemed to play out as a straight forward beat-em-up with some mild puzzle/exploration elements, with each room having a required
number of phantoms, spooks and ghouls to take care of, or a hidden entrance to find, or a switch to flick.
The control method was initially off-putting, with the left thumbstick devoted to movement and the right thumbstick taking care of attacks. Once adjusted to, it makes sense with the direction of the 2nd analogue stick corresponding to the three-dimensional direction of the attack. There was something oddly satisfying about giving some of the spooks a right good kicking, with our hero seemingly able to stick the boot in over and over again.
At the moment, it’s standard fare, but with a little bit of work….
Excitement for the final product: low - medium
Sega GT Online
Sega
Xbox
Release: 30 Oct
Scientist: DCharlie There isn’t a great deal to write about Sega GT Online - the demo version was played over a LAN, so wasn’t entirely indicative of the online experience. The game is exactly as it says on the tin: Sega GT… online, with the game being pretty much the same as the original. This is a good or bad thing depending on your view of the game. Fans of the original will obviously be excited, and if the price of this package is low, then Sega may pick up some new fans of the game.
Excitement for the final product: low - medium
3D Ages Virtua Racing
Sega
PlayStation 2
Release: 2004
Scientist: DCharlie Looking perhaps a little less sharp than the arcade original, but still good none-the-less, the 40% complete version of Virtua Racing on the 3D Ages budget range looks to be shaping up quite nicely. Although early in development, the game is showing plenty of promise, with the tracks well created with a solid frame rate, albeit with pop up creeping in here and there.
One graphical effect has been added to the remake so far - some kind of environment mapping on the flat shaded polygons. This might be the first sign that the entire game engine may get a bit of a make over, but the effect in the demo looked odd and out of place. The demo version also had no collision between cars, and hopefully the inclusion of the extra basic physics should not cause any hit to the smooth frame rate.
Excitement for the final product: medium
Chou Aniki:
The legend of the holy protein
Global A
PlayStation2
Release: 30 Oct
Scientist: DCharlie Chou Aniki is indeed an oddity. Previous incarnations have been littered with homoerotic enemies, vaguely covered sexual references, and a camp yet sinister style that, well, probably hasn’t attracted the pink gamer just yet. Following in the line of Aniki shooters, this horizontally scrolling shooter seems to veer from the usual format in one specific way: with want of a better way of putting it, it’s just not as gay as the other Aniki shooters.
Instead it seems that this game focuses on parody, with the demo level having large goofy (in terms of teeth!) versions of the sea snakes seen in the underwater level of Metal Slug 3, oddly deformed jelly fish, semi naked men in shark suits… well, perhaps it isn’t total parody! Whether this is the intent of the game, or whether i’m missing the joke this time around remains to be seen. The action is, as with the other aniki games, fairly standard. So at the moment, the eft-field charm might have actually been removed. Slightly worrying, but i hope to be proven wrong - the static art and musclemen "options" still give me hope. The world needs end-of-level bosses made entirely out of be-trunked men crouched into a human pyramid.
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