Graphics
The myth of the hardcore gamer
Ok, OK. There are certainly hardcore gamers out there, but there’s a point to made in here somewhere. The point is that for Nintendo, the phrase “hardcore gamer” is about as relevant to their bottom line as tube socks. Microsoft themed tube socks. It’s irrelevant to Nintendo because I seriously doubt Reggie or Miyamoto or Iwata sit around big stuffy conference rooms sweatin...
Wii: Bringing gaming back to respectability, one game at a time
I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t mention that in addition to hundreds of Nintendo games, some of my fondest gaming memories are of other fare like Soul Caliber for Dreamcast, and Halo for Xbox (a fighter and a FPS, respectively). With that said, here’s a cool column clip that caught my eye in a Blake Snow-provided Infendo news tip today: As a gamer for 15 years, I’ve had my f...
"Next-gen" graphics finally arrive on Wii with pending release of Mario Galaxy
Impressive. Someone over in the Mario department has been flexing their graphics muscle…
Chris Heckler, Maxis know what fun is
Chris Heckler (no pun intended, you’ll see below), one of the developers of Spore — otherwise known as the game in a neck and neck race with Duke Nukem Forever for the title of the most hyped game that may never come out — took Nintendo and the Wii console to task during a “spirited” session at the GDC this week. Hecker said the Wii is nothing more than two GameCubes ...
GDC impressions: Super Paper Mario
I was looking at my collection of Wii games the other day — a fierce fivesome of Wii Sports, Madden, Wario, Link and Excite Truck — and I realized something: I yearn for a PLATFORMER. Call it an addiction to Mario or Sonic from the Genesis era or whatever, but it was a craving. So when Blake gave the Infendo tip line a heads up about Game|Life’s GDC impressions of Super Paper Mar...
Sonic’s future is on rails
A quick confession: I don’t think I’ve played a Sonic title since the days of Game Gear. Well, strike that, I asked for Sonic Rush for Christmas in 2005, played it once and never progressed past the first stage. Some may think that’s a act of gross negligence (Sonic is a gaming icon, right?), but I see it as a silver lining of sorts — by not playing Sonic for so long, I mis...
Why readily discounting Wii graphics can actually hinder their potential
I’ve got a bone to pick with EA and/or third-party Wii developers in general. Perhaps even Nintendo. There have been some really poopsky looking Wii games up to this point because the entire Nintendo community — including developers — readily discount Wii’s graphics potential. Yes, they are inferior when compared to the competition, but that shouldn’t give developers ...