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Friday, August 29, 2014

New 3DS ..HMMMM

Nintendo announced today that they will be unveiling a new 3ds. Not sure what to say about this.  It'll release first in Japan of course,  around October 11th. It has buttons. Buttons that look hijacked from an Xbox controller and tossed in a color/letter spinner.
The screen and camera are improved.  In the internal side things have also received an upgrade for a faster system and better graphics. There have been 'bumpers' added and anot her analog stick, presumably for camera control.


There are supposedly games that will be exclusive to this 3DS/3DXL set. Which it better. At 160/180, people would need a real reason to abandon the current system. I can't say for sure  Nintendo has given them that reason. I can't say I'll be running out for one. I will wait to see the exclusives. Xenoblade Chronicles is a good start.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Bioware just saved gaming. .well the switching consoles part

So I have had my first look at the keep. Some of you may already have, but for those of  you who didn't, I think it's fantastic.  Many of us may have started DA on a system that we aren't on any longer and this was the perfect way to get all that information into DAI. It's fast..on my tablet at least and beautiful.  The rest you will need to see for yourself.  I think its the future of gaming.  When we switch consoles and a game comes out that is part of a series, it's problematic.  I think the issue has been solved. In a past article I had the link. I highly suggest you sign up and check it out.  Me... I'm already imagining what the Mass Effect version will be called and look like.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Multiplayer Dragon Age Inquisition. .yes please

So in the spirit of Mass Effect 3, Dragon Age Inquisition will have multiplayer.  It won't be in a fixed area though.  Supposedly to begin with there will be 3 large levels, each sectioned into 5 smaller areas that you and 3 other players battle through. Hopefully something like the wave system from ME3. There should be plenty of lootables. It's confirmed you can unlock skins and heroes like in ME3. They have something called Platinum that can save you the work time,  but they have made it clear you get nothing but saved time  by spending money.. in other words.. its all free. I love Dragon Age but Dragon Age with friends..even better.



Saturday, August 16, 2014

Games with Gold..Dishonored

I LOVE this game.  I've already done a full review on it, so check it out if you can.
I opted for the kill everything, then stealth. Both are rewarding. Game play and visuals are awesome...and hey,  its free. Check out my review, if you need help,  leave a comment or email me @ gamerchickdish@gmail.com


6

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Introducing Shadow Realms


I guess Bioware wants to make sure we have plenty top play. This is a 4 vs 1 online co-op mission story driven game. The world is ever evolving so nothing should be the same. All fights should be different so you can't just assume you know how a battle will go. Players can choose whether they want to be the Shadow lord or one of the 4 modern heroes.

The press release states: In Shadow Realms, Modern Heroes on Earth are being awakened and recruited, because of magical powers they never knew they had, to fight in a new and dangerous war against the Shadow legions of Embra. The Shadow Legions, who have been battling on Embra for years against the members if the Radiant Empires, have gained new strength with the coming of a powerful, unknown force that we call the Shadowlords. And they have just figured out how to leave Embra and invade Earth.

The gameplay should almost be episodic...so everyone should be able to get a grasp on the story.

Click here if you'd like to sign up for the alpha.

Dragon Age Inquisition Official Trailer



I think it looks great! Epic! Can't wait to play. The one dragon attacking the other makes me wonder if we will have control over dragons. Either way I'm excited and can't wait to build my mage...or maybe Qunari?  What are you playing as?

Monday, August 11, 2014

Mass Effect Creator Leaves Bioware..Thank you Casey

Well first off,  thank you Casey Hudson, for your part in bringing one of my two favorite trilogies to life. The hours I have spent playing Mass Effect are absolutely ridiculous.  As is the amount of time I spent co strutting my female Shep. .all total badasses.

16 years at Bioware and he's outta there.  Optimistically,  but he's still gone.  He thinks that future ME installments will still be game changers, but I don't know..i loved that consistent,  connecting feeling i got when playing the ME trilogy. Will it still be there? I know no one person makes a game,  but generally one or two create one. It's crazy to think of an ME without him.

In a letter to his  coworkers, he said that it was the most difficult decision. ...ya think? !?!?! The dude has given nothing but greatness..... come on..Star Wars Knights Old Republic....classic.

I was glad to see Bioware handle it with class....some companies don't do that.
I wish him well in his future endeavors..whatever he decides to do with himself after his well deserved break.

I will definitely feel a little sadder next time I'm zip up my N7 Hoodia or go kill geth.

Friday, August 8, 2014

Nintendo and the repair process. ...

So i gave my youngling  a special/limited edition 3ds for Christmas.

One day, it just wouldn't turn on.  Now he's pretty responsible and I plug it in and stuff so I knew it wasn't user error. I called Nintendo and explained to them the situation. .....their immediate response was water damage we don't cover. I didn't ask you that, nor did I say it was near water. I'm calling about a power issue. Guy starts a rant and rave about how their warranty is the best. Great..show me. Well we printed the label and shipped it out on the 22nd or so. They received it on the 24th. Mind you they are in the same state. Takes a week for them to even update it to received, but I had already checked the tracking by then. It sat until the 31st with no change in status. The 1st it shows that it's in repair.  Then they email me saying there's an urgent issue. This was what I was not looking forward to.  From  what I had read, Nintendo is infamous for cop outs on the warranty.  Well their issue wasn't that, it was what color system did he want because they couldn't repair his.  Of course he was devastated because he loved that blue. In fact they only actually had 2 colors to pick from which I found kind of sad. People spend the extra money on limited editions/ special editions and are kind of screwed if nintendo can't fix it. If it's your fault that the system messed up,  fine,  but if not,  you lose. They are at least sending a factory certified instead of refurbished so at least the parts are new and the warranty is reset. One guy who lost his special edition legend of Zelda 3ds due to a motherboard issue said that was the last time he purchased one.  When he brought it up to them they said he only paid for the game, basically said the case didn't matter. I'm not sure I totally agree with that. People have preferences for a reason. I'm not sure what they could do to fix that, but may be something they want to look into.  Overall I think they have one of the  better warranties,  but the execution leaves much to be desired. 

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Abilities. ..we've got TONS


  1. Mike Laidlaw says that your character and party will have over 200 abilities to choose from.  Top me that is awesome. Seeing  how party driven this game seems to be, it will be interesting to see what abilities compliment what. There will be the standard rouge, mage and warrior classes and  more specializations.  Laidlaw says they have focused more on specializations for this game and have  more of an effect on your chracter. I'm wondering how noticeable it will all be. I personally build spirit healers, will my focus be on that or can I throw in some extra and make her a bad ass arcane warrior who can also bring you back if you fall out somewhere? I can't wait to see. I also like playing as a rogue.  I'd be cool if  my rouge could do like the assassin in Dark Souls and flip over an enemy's back and slit their throat.  I'm also wondering how the Qunari will play in.  Their mages were......different.  will that be reflected? 

Monday, July 21, 2014

strictly straight, gay or bi

The characters in Dragon Age Inquisition won't bend to your will like in Da2. There's twice as many romance options and they've covered almost every base.  Some were upset about this but Bioware's David Gaiden said that these relationships will be much more fulfilling.  He was able to create much more of a back story unique to each characters sexual orientation and gender. With at least 8 options for relationships,  I don't feel its a loss that they aren't all bisexuals.  With a game of  this magnitude, that would be a waste. I mean in life everyone we encounter has a preference. With this amount of people,  the characters can be set up that way. Instead of fixing Bioware grief, congratulate them on trying to build on the rich character experience that we all know they are capable of  making.  At least now there will  be more than just Alistair to fawn over. Hush it guys you had options. I can't see myself pining away for Ohgren.

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Deadlight

Never have I loved and hated a game so much at the same time.  I'm all alone. Searching for my family. Fighting shadows (zombies). This side scrolling survivor/ horror game was awesome.

You play as Randall Wayne in 80s Seattle. You were a park ranger before the zombie apocalypse. Gameplay was sluggish. Being able to only go left to right was ok.  You can't get lost or caught up like in an open  world game.
At the beginning you are separated from your friends. You meet up with various people as you go and there are tons of lootables. You really have to pay attention to to when you need to perform actions (jumping etc) and I can't say it enough..check your environment.  It's a good game. There is an alternate ending, which I liked better, that you get by playing in nightmare mode.
The biggest thing to re ember in this game is check your environment and go in every structure that you can. The mini games kind of suck but they are a great throwback. 

Rating 6/10
I really like it but some things need improvement. Its hard to get into the game without giving it away totally. . But the rat king alone is worth it.  It's 14.99 on Xbox, but occasionally offered free.  

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

2 new characters. .

So two more new characters to add to the Dragon Age World. First up:



Leliana....everyone's favorite. .or second favorite Rouge.  Bioware describes her for this game as:


 She has many names. Most know her as "Sister Nightingale” or “the Left Hand of the Divine.” To the rare friend, she is Leliana. They say she found faith amid darkness, and that her devotion to the Maker is matched only by her devotion to Divine Justinia V, a woman who is both mentor and savior. Those who have earned her loyalty know her as a steadfast ally. But enemies of the Divine know to fear her, for she is the shadow behind the Sunburst Throne—the one who watches and waits, who strikes when her mark is most vulnerable and least suspecting.

The sneak peek of her at the end of  DA 2 gave us an idea of what direction her life has gone.  It'll be great to have her around to fill in pieces.  She is going to be an advisor.



Next up we have Solas.

Every game has to have that apostate on the edge I guess. Morrigan, Cullen and now Solas. Bioware describes him as: Solas has spent his life as an apostate, living in the wilderness well away from the civilized world and those who would shackle him for what he is. He mastered his magic without the help of tutors, spending years exploring the spirit realm of the Fade and coming to an understanding of its denizens that few others could claim. He would be happiest left alone to sleep in ancient ruins, searching for memories and knowledge that has been lost for ages, but the Breach in the sky threatens all worlds.
At a time when other mages flee into hiding, Solas has put his freedom at risk by emerging from the shadows to assist those who would combat the chaos. He will not stand idly by when his knowledge of the arcane could mean the difference between salvation and utter destruction. 

They look interesting.  I can't wait to see what Leliana has to offer. 

Mass Effect 4 Pre Orders

At E3 it didn't seem like Mass Effect 4 was anywhere near being complete. As bioware put it,  they were maybe at the halfway point.  So I was surprised to see the preorder.

The preorder listing for Amazon UK originally had a release date of 12/16/2014, putting it way ahead of the schedule they laid out at E3. Maybe they just really want to focus on Dragon Age Inquisition and will announce ME 4 in November. That or amazon jumped the gun a bit.  Either way if you want to preorder for the Xbone click here. To preorder for the PS4 click here. And for all versions in the UK click here.

They haven't said much about it other than it won't be a Shepard continuation and we will be able to explore other worlds. They should have plenty of material, because we didn't get to explore every planet and with the quarians and geth rebuilding the quarians a home planet. . We could see that end result. Guess we can just wait and see.

Monday, June 30, 2014

Confirmed: Characters in Dragon Age will have more of a range....keep invites?

So I reached out to Mike Laidlaw and asked him about the lack of cold range for characters and he said that we will have more ME like options in

I asked him about the keep, which will be how we transport our saves to the new game. It's an interesting way to set things up. ... run the scenario you had through the computer and have it register to your game. Having played DA:O several times, I'd be curious to see how that plays out.

It's shaping up like DA will be decent. They are currently working on bugs. . One which made a character sound like Bane..that'd be kind of weird...and funny. I hope they don't mess this up.. but I doubt they will. They've had time and plenty of feedback to get this right.

People are tripping over Dorian being gay... I'm just like can I have a black/hispanic character please.

So I've seen backlash over Dorian being gay. Is no secret Bioware is inclusive. .. on the sexual preference thing anyway. Mass Effect, Old Republic, Dragon age Origins.....all had a character that was bi or gay.

What Dragon Age lacked was the ability to make a true person of color for my character.  While Mass Effect perfected this,  the Dragon Age team must have been comprised of mostly white males who've never seen anything but a white female,  let alone biracial people.  It sucks having to spend extra time doing whatever to your character to make them appear brown.  I didn't have to work that hard on Mass Effect.  I shouldn't have to period.  It's 2014.. The world has been multicolored forever.  It's absolutely fantastic that Bioware is being all inclusive with sexual preferences, but can I get the same inclusiveness show when it comes to my skin color choices? Talk to the Mass Effect team if you need to.  The  days of targeting straight, white male gamers should long be over.  Lets have products that reflect that.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Things Mike Laidlaw said about Dragon Age Inquisition

Mike Laidlaw,  Key developer on DA:I has been answering questions left and right on twitter. A few I find great.

In regards to Day 1 DLC characters. .NONE! Thank goodness. They seem to have gotten the message.

There will be ridable mounts, but nothing that flies

It seems there has been a bump in difficulty.  Normal will be a bit harder. I wonder how that will work for the nightmare difficulty.

The DPS for a sword and shield should increase

I love the little tidbits he occasionally drops.



Break from the norm...For Those in NY/SF

So I've recently relocated and have been going  out exploring. . finding game shops and just stuff to do.  Cost friendly.  I came across this Upout site.  Try it for free.  Here is a link. Its concerts,  plays,  events,  clubs,  all kind of things.  I believe in sharing what may be usual information.  Someone may have relocated life me and  be looking for activities and ways to meet new people. If so, good luck.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Known Dragon Age Characters

These are the known characters from Dragon Age Inquisition. Bioware has provided a small summation of each.




Though of noble birth, Cassandra Pentaghast turned her back on a life of wealth and privilege to join the Seekers of Truth. The ancient order serves as a watchful eye over corruption and magical threats, granted ultimate authority in its investigations by the Chantry—or it did, prior to abandoning their duty in response to the mage rebellion. Cassandra did not join her brothers in this, instead remaining loyal to Divine Justinia and her efforts to restore order in the face of chaos. She is both pious and driven, the sword in the right hand of the Divine, seeking justice above all else 

 Being from a proud bloodline of the Tevinter Imperium has its advantages: Dorian was born with a flair for magic that made him the envy of his peers. He is charming and confident, his wit as sharp as any blade, and if some suggest his manner cocky, it could be attributed to being a powerful mage in a land where mages rule. Indeed, Dorian would be the pride of his family—if he didn't oppose everything his homeland has come to stand for. He wears the labels of "pariah" and "outcast" proudly, knowing that views of the Imperium are unlikely to change until and unless someone of his ability stands up to make a difference. 


Referred to as Madame de Fer, “the Lady of Iron”, Vivienne lives up to her title. A leader among the mages and official enchanter to the Imperial court, she is renowned as a fearsome woman who achieved her position through guile and deft political maneuvering. Vivienne allows nothing to stand in the way of what she desires—not those who claim she is a social climber, not those who seek to restrict her power, not even her fellow mages who would conscript her into a rebellion with which she disagrees. Vivienne fights to restore order in a world gone mad…so long as that leaves her among those left standing, once all is said and done. 
Qunari are known across Thedas as the brutal horned giants who descended from the north to nearly conquer the continent. These ruthless followers of a harsh philosophy enforce their will through the Ben-Hassrath: their spies and secret police. One brilliant agent did it all, hunting spies, rebels, and deserters until the day he finally broke. To preserve a valuable asset, his superiors sent him to Orlais to observe and report… and The Iron Bull was born.
Today, Bull’s Chargers are famous mercenaries, fiercely loyal to the huge Qunari warrior who leads them into battles and taverns with equal enthusiasm. The Iron Bull still sends the Ben-Hassrath reports, but years of living outside Qunari rules have him wondering which identity is really him. Whoever he is, he’s more than happy to join the Inquisition and get paid to kill demons. 
Varric Tethras is one part adventurous rogue, one part dashing storyteller, and three parts trouble. Born on the surface, Varric has little love for his underground brethren—all his contacts lie with the dwarves of the Merchants Guild, though he has little taste for their schemes. Still, he has found a place as an outsider, rubbing shoulders with both the wealthy elite as well as the worst of scoundrels. To hear him tell of it, that’s all he truly cares about, though anyone who truly knows him claims differently. They say that, try as he might, Varric has been drawn more and more into conflicts that shake the world—ones that he can’t get himself out of with a quick tale. 


He is a ghost in the shadows, walking unnoticed through crowds. He can slit an enemy's throat before they even realize he's there, and slip away, never to be seen again. Those few who do notice him soon forget he ever existed… and Cole isn't certain that he doesexist. He is a spirit, impossibly caught between the immaterial realm of the Fade and the confusing realities of our physical world, but does that make him real? Does it make him human or a demonic pretender, as some believe?
All Cole knows for certain is that the world is full of pain and he must find his place within it. Those who wish to restore order and help the helpless will find him a strange but unwavering ally. Those who use their power for selfish reasons may never see Cole again—if they remember that he was there to begin with.


Whether the dark-haired sorceress seeks to influence the Imperial throne, or harbors more sinister motives, no-one knows for certain. This Witch of the Wilds arrived in Orlais rather suddenly three years ago as the newly-appointed “arcane advisor” to Empress Celene. In this role, Morrigan presents a source of information unfiltered by religious dogma, and satisfies Celene’s life-long curiosity about magic. However, whispers carry concern of Morrigan having Celene wrapped around her finger, teaching the Empress forbidden, dark arts in secret.


The Grey Wardens hold a lonely vigil, enduring lives of hardship and sacrifice to protect the world from an evil that can never truly be conquered. Few would volunteer for this: the suffering, isolation, and promise of a violent death. But the path of a Warden is also one of valor, and those who give themselves to the cause are rewarded with the knowledge that they have become something more than they were. Blackwall is one of the rare few Wardens who chose, of his own accord, to pick up the shield. He believes so wholeheartedly in the noble ideal of the Grey Wardens that he would rather have this life than any other.

Sera is impulsive and revels in the moment. For her, it's not about what's right, it's about what's right now. In the Friends of Red Jenny, she humbled authority and had fun doing it. But now the nobility are being not just selfish but blind. War, demons, a torn sky: these are more than troubling—they're terrifying. Fortunately, Sera and her "friends" can be frightening, too, and if she needs to put an arrow through some baddies so regular people can sleep at night, so be it. Sera fights for those caught in the middle, but she also needs order restored. The world has to be normal so she can play.

So far so good. I can't wait to play as a Qunari. 

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Book Location Guide Fable Anniversary

Just a quick guide to the 25 books:



Making Friends - Library Arcanum - Guild Demon Door
The Arena - Heroes' Guild
The Dragons - Heroes' Guild
The Northern Wastes - Heroes' Guild
The Oakvale Raid - Oakvale - One of the houses nearest the Chicken Kicking competition
The Old Kingdom - Heroes' Guild
The Other Land - Heroes' Guild
The Tailor's Tragedy - Bowerstone North
The Trials of Aarkan - Oakvale
The Ugly Guide - Oakvale
Windbreaker Rule Book - Bowerstone South & Oakvale
A Love Story - Heroes' Guild or The Witchwood Cavern, Witchwood Demon Door
Creatures of Albion Book I - Heroes' Guild or The Witchwood Cavern, Witchwood Demon Door
Creatures of Albion Book II - Heroes' Guild
Creatures of Albion Book III - Heroes' Guild
Eyes of a Killer - Bowerstone South
Jack of Blades - Maze's Quarters, Hero's Guild
The Balverine Slayer - Knothole Glade
The Guild of Zeroes - Bowerstone South & Witchwood Cullis Gate
The Pale Balverine - Hero's Guild
The Repentant Alchemist - Tailor's Shop, Bowerstone South
The Sock Method - Oakvale, The Witchwood Cavern, Witchwood Demon Door or in a barrel in Bowerstone South  
The Tale of Maxley - Heroes' Guild
The Tale of Twinblade - Heroes' Guild
You Are Not a Bad Person - Bowerstone South & Darkwood Camp Merchant


Any questions, email me: gamerchickdish@gmail.com

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Really Sony????

So here's a reason NOT to pre-order from PSN. Seems like people have really been going in on the PSN preorders. Sony is pleased.  So pleased that they've lowered the price $10.....and you early adopters get nothing.                                                                 

Everyone who has asked about a preorder refund has been told no citing the fine print. ... my suggestion: If you must preorder do it from Amazon or some place that will charge you market price. Hopefully, Sony is just trolling for headlines and refunds people their money.

Here is a break from my norm..food discount


If you like ordering food,  here's $7 off at seamless...grub hubs little sister...i love them
Happy Gaming
http://seamless.extole.com/a/clk/rFrS6

Friday, June 20, 2014

extended Dragon Age Inquisition demo

Not sure how long it will play.  EA keeps taking it down.  It looks good to me though.


The excitement I feel for this game is ridiculous. When they said the entire Origins game was like one level in DA:I... all I could think was YES! The storytelling of DaO, combined with a better fighting system. . The speed of combat in DA2... that would rock.  This looks good to me. Not sure why they won't just let it be.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Don't miss these free with gold games

Two games are currently free with gold on Xbox. The first is Charlie Murder.


This indie game is usually $10.... there are 5 characters,  all playable,  all here to save the world. You battle little demons raised by a former band member. Get fans and stuff. Fight through zombies, witches, ninjas and rats. You'll move through several areas. Is not too bad.

The next free game..Super Street Fighter 4..arcade edition
 I'd grab this. . Is usually 29.99. And it's a good fighter. Lots of reply value.






Not much to say here.  Get a character. . There's like 40...and fight. Rinse and repeat. I LOVE this game.  Tons of fun.  Find your favorite finisher.

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Happy Father's Day

Just taking a break from the norm to wish everyone it applies to a happy fathers day.


                                  I hope you thoroughly enjoy it. .happy gaming

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Like dying ...... then grab Dark Sous for free today

So I noticed I forgot to announce the first free game of June for Xbox gold.


Dark Souls!! I love this game.  I'm a huge rpg fan and the challenge in this game is fantastic.  You'll die.  Several times.  Get pissed and throw a controller,  but you'll love it. Bonfires are your friend.  There is no well laid out plot. You actually have to figure this out.  It's free. Download it and give it a few weeks. . You'll love it. 
Just make sure to pay attention to the mags and everything NPC say to you.  It all comes together. .. and if you have difficulty,  email me at gamerchickdish@gmail.com and I'll see what I can do for you. 

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Sony E3

Ok. Let's give Sony their due.  They had an ok E3. I kind of expected more, I don't know why.  They made some big announcements, but again, I was let down from last year. I lke a few of the games, but they aren't exclusives.  I think they need a few more of those.


I love little big planet.  Its a great game. Big on creativity.  I think anyone can fall in love with it.
Entwined. .a love story between a bird and a fish. .... Yeah. . Just watch the trailer. 

This is a strong exclusive.  It looks gory,  gruesome,  scary and FUN. I like the Unchartered series.  I consider them a must play.


This caught my attention.  I am interested in playing it.  I think its a strong contender for Sony.



While I don't think Sony 'won' E3, they did, as usual,  have the best stage set up.  They always do.

 PS4 is getting YouTube, more free games. Those are good things.  A white PS4 will be avaliable.  Not bad.


Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Nintendo Celebrates.. gives players deals

Nintendo has had a great E3. No denying that.  Theyre making a strong push. They have a decent one up of games coming out. .The new Legend of Zelda, Bayonetta 2, Yoshi's Wooly world, Mario Party 10. They also are currently having a sale to celebrate such a great E3. Click here to see their offerings. Check out some of these stills from the games. They are also coming out with this that will function life skylanders. Toy by day, gaming companion by night kind of deal. Wonder if Wario will get one. ...













Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Star Fox..well done Nintendo



Top be clear,  Star Fox is amazing. Fantastic.  And in demand. Surprisingly to some, it landed on Nintendo.  I think this is the perfect home for it. Here is what Shigeru Miyako to had to say about this news:

We originally began working with Star Fox back on Wii, and we had a small group of people experimenting with it for many years, maybe about six years, but we didn’t find an idea that really brought that together for the Wii. So instead we moved experimentation to the Wii U using some of the same assets. It’s been maybe 6 to 10 months that we’ve been experimenting with it.
...When we were developing a game, I wind up playing it for many hundreds of hours, and so because of that, I tend to get a little further away from the experience people have when they’re playing it for the first time. But that’s something we always pay attention to when we’re developing the game, and in this case I think Star Fox will be a game you spend a little bit of time getting used to the controls, but that once you do, then you’ll understand what’s fun about that experience.
I don’t think it’ll take a lot of play time for people to get used to it. For most people, it’ll take maybe 30 minutes to an hour. So from that standpoint it’s not a game that’s particularly well-suited to displaying at a show like this, where you only have a short amount of time to play, so that’s why we held the event yesterday, to get everyone in to play for a longer period of time than they might normally.
And then I also think that for a lot of people, they don’t have experience playing this sort of dual-screen gameplay, where you’re aiming with motion control and playing across two screens at once, so that also is maybe taking people a bit longer to get used to. But I look at video games as something that people who play them… One of the thing they enjoy is learning the controls, learning to master the game. And once they do, that sort of opens it up for them, they’re thinking about, “Oh, what’s this play style?” And then as they get deeper and deeper into the game and get better at it, they feel that sense of accomplishment having mastered it.
And then once you get used to the play style… I didn’t go into this detail the other night because it starts to get a little bit complicated, but once you get it, you’ll also be able to press a button to switch the view from one screen to the other. So you could play with the cockpit view on the TV and the fighter view down on the GamePad screen if you feel like that’s a better way to play.
...With Star Fox, one thing we’re doing is to make the game feel like you’re piloting your own aircraft. And so in that sense, probably initially one of the best ways to play is to have it up in front of you, in your line of sight from the TV. But also as I’ve been playing Star Fox more and more, what I’ve noticed is that it gets easier to play the game looking at the TV with the GamePad down. So as you get better, you’re gradually able to depart from holding it up.
...With the helicopter, we’ve been thinking of the two-screen gameplay, and so that was one of the early ideas. One of the things we’re considering at this point is making the helicopter so you could have two pilots, two people playing together, and what that’ll allow is you could have one player piloting the helicopter, and another player who’s using another controller to control the robot.
In the case of the Arwing spaceship, if you have two pilots, they’re most likely going to be sitting front-to-back, and you’ll have one piloting, the other able to look around. When you have someone piloting but someone else who can look around, what’s most beneficial to the person who’s looking around is the ability to look down below. In designing the Arwing we couldn’t quite think of a good way to have to redesign it so you’d have one player who could look down below. Thus we decided to create the helicopter.
...One thing I’m thinking is that with this Star Fox we may take a different approach, so that rather than one big title we have multiple releases that are connected through different missions. If I was to describe the Star Fox series up until now as being sort of a movie series, I guess I’d describe this new approach as something that’s more like a TV series for Star Fox.
I'm excited for this. ..