New Feature: Weekly “Chatcast”

We’re proud to introduce our “Chatcast”, a new weekly feature.  Every week we will take some games or topics that are on our minds and chat about it online, and then share our chat for all the world to see.  This week we discuss Metroid Prime 3, Mass Effect, Halo 3’s “Forge” Editor, and Multiplayer vs. Single Player games.  It came out a bit longer than I anticipated for our first Chatcast, but please feel free to give us your feedback and suggestions.  Our first Chatcast after the break:

(11:14:00 PM) Jeff: There were a couple stories that caught my eye, but let’s start on Metroid Prime 3.
(11:14:08 PM) Geoff: OK
(11:14:35 PM) Geoff: I’m thinking it’s going to be better than I originally thought. The impressions coming in are overwhelmingly positive.
(11:15:13 PM) Geoff: And it’s even more encouraging because if Nintendo can pull off strong FPS controls, it’s bigger than a single game - it vindicates the Wii as a platform for well-made, hardcore games
(11:15:35 PM) Jeff: I have to agree. I’ve been reading the Joystiq, IGN, and some other impressions and they’ve been far more positive than I expected.
(11:16:22 PM) Jeff: I think 1up was slightly less excited about some of the controls, and firing missiles with the D-pad sounds like it could be kind of annoying
(11:16:46 PM) Jeff: but Joystiq mostly complained about how scanning was implemented.
(11:16:55 PM) Jeff: But thought that you could “get used” to it.
(11:17:26 PM) Jeff: I also watched a preview for the game on Monday from Gametrailers that made me WAY more interested in the game than I originally was.
(11:18:08 PM) Jeff: For reasons only Nintendo knows, they had pulled it the next day. My guess is that they will re-post them on Monday as the NDA is completely lifted.
(11:18:41 PM) Geoff: As long as we’re on the subject…
(11:18:51 PM) Geoff: Have you been satisfied with the publicity for MP3 so far?
(11:19:03 PM) Geoff: Because this feels fairly counterproductive to me
(11:19:20 PM) Geoff: Especially on the heels of disappointing Echoes sales
(11:21:16 PM) Jeff: Considering the extremely positive impressions and the fact that just seeing some more of the game in motion in that preview had me far more excited for it than before (and certainly far more excited than the somewhat disappointing “Metroid Channel” movies have made me), it definitely seems like they’ve somehow fumbled the pre-release.
(11:21:40 PM) Geoff: I suppose the proof is in the pudding - how well Corruption sells
(11:21:56 PM) Geoff: but it’s difficult to compare actual sales with theoretically possible sales
(11:21:58 PM) Jeff: My guess is that because it’s the Wii’s first big game since Zelda (and the Wii’s first big game that wasn’t a Gamecube port), it will still probably sell fairly well…
(11:22:05 PM) Geoff: Oh, definitely
(11:22:35 PM) Jeff: But I have no question in my mind that it could have been marketed far more effectively.
(11:23:13 PM) Jeff: I think they could easily have hyped it into, perhaps not quite Halo 3 levels, but certainly at least Bioshock levels.
(11:23:24 PM) Geoff: Part of me wonders if Nintendo’s skimping on the marketing because they know the faithful will buy it anyway, and the more casual audience comprising the remainder of the Wii’s market wouldn’t buy it even with great marketing
(11:24:06 PM) Jeff: This has to be part of their calculations…
(11:24:50 PM) Jeff: but I think they’re mistaken… especially if they’re not only trying to broaden their market, but actually expand their new markets interests as well.
(11:25:10 PM) Jeff: What I’ve gathered from the impressions is that the game is remarkably intuitive
(11:25:34 PM) Jeff: I’m not saying that your mom and grandmother may want to play it…
(11:25:59 PM) Jeff: but what about maybe attracting the 18-35 female audience?
(11:26:37 PM) Geoff: frankly, I don’t see companies as being able to do that - and not just Nintendo. But people seem to equate “female gamer” with fashion sim
(11:26:48 PM) Geoff: You mentioned some other topics that caught your eye besides Prime?
(11:27:50 PM) Jeff: Yeah, Destructoid posted their (unplayed) impressions of Mass Effect
(11:28:08 PM) Jeff: And it was pretty disappointing to hear what they had to say.
(11:28:18 PM) Geoff: Oh right - they mentioned poor facial animations and a “blah” general experience, right?
(11:28:52 PM) Jeff: Yeah. Basically, the game looks great but is apparently pretty “standard FPS fare”
(11:30:19 PM) Jeff: And the much-hyped conversation system is apparently flat
(11:30:41 PM) Jeff: with no emotion and poor voice acting
(11:31:19 PM) Geoff: You would think that the one thing an RPG would get right would be the voice acting
(11:31:31 PM) Jeff: especially from Bioware, who hasn’t had problems with it in the past
(11:31:32 PM) Geoff: Even an RPG hybrid
(11:31:48 PM) Jeff: and especially when they’re hyping it as one of the main features of the game
(11:32:06 PM) Jeff: Hopefully Destructoid is just being picky
(11:32:31 PM) Jeff: They mention hearing other people say that it “wasn’t that bad”, but that’s hardly an endorsement
(11:32:51 PM) Jeff: I’ve got it pre-ordered right now, but if I start hearing more along these lines I may pull it.
(11:33:05 PM) Geoff: I’d be disappointed if ME were lousy - but frankly, there are so many great games out there I don’t think I’ll feel too awful about the experience
(11:33:57 PM) Jeff: this is true… and on that note…
(11:34:18 PM) Jeff: Did you see IGN’s feature on Halo 3’s “Forge”?
(11:36:32 PM) Geoff: Actually i did
(11:37:10 PM) Jeff: Maybe I missed something, but this seems like a huge and potentially awesome feature that no one is talking about.
(11:37:28 PM) Geoff: Really? As far as I could tell, it was basically just a way to customize the multiplayer maps
(11:37:33 PM) Jeff: true…
(11:37:38 PM) Jeff: except it’s way more than that
(11:37:58 PM) Jeff: Imagine something like what LittleBigPlanet is trying to do and place it into the Halo universe
(11:38:00 PM) Geoff: Maybe I didn’t read it very carefully
(11:38:16 PM) Geoff: (we should edit this part out )
(11:38:22 PM) Jeff: haha
(11:38:23 PM) Jeff: that’s fine
(11:38:36 PM) Geoff: So the player can actually customize the map while the game is running?
(11:38:54 PM) Jeff: that’s what I gathered from the preview.
(11:39:01 PM) Jeff: up to 8 players can be involved
(11:39:12 PM) Geoff: Interesting… you’re right, this should be getting more attention
(11:39:23 PM) Geoff: There’s a certain visceral element that I always thought was lacking from Halo
(11:40:00 PM) Geoff: I like to hear weapons that sound like they’re weapons… feeling the shotgun from Doom still beats many games to me
(11:40:11 PM) Geoff: and this could help add some interest to the games for me
(11:40:52 PM) Jeff: I also like the fact that you can just drop things like warthogs and teleporters into random spots
(11:40:55 PM) Jeff: while playing
(11:41:08 PM) Jeff: imagine seeing a charging warthog and being able to drop a jump pad right in front of it
(11:41:19 PM) Geoff: I wonder if people will be so enamored of that part that they’ll stop playing the actual game
(11:42:08 PM) Jeff: Well, amazingly, Bungie said they’d integrate “favorite” custom maps into their matchmaking lists.
(11:43:04 PM) Jeff: I was looking forward to getting in some more Halo multiplayer, but now I actually can’t wait to give this feature a shot.
(11:43:51 PM) Jeff: It could extend the multiplayer value substantially
(11:44:11 PM) Geoff: Do you find it difficult to split your time between single and multiplayer?
(11:44:22 PM) Geoff: I really enjoy progressing through a game
(11:44:53 PM) Jeff: That’s a post-topic that I’ve tried starting on several occasions…
(11:45:06 PM) Geoff: For me, to a certain extent I can’t help but feel like multiplayer is “wasting time” because I’ll never be good enough to get anywhere (like a leaderboard)
(11:45:30 PM) Jeff: I feel like that too, mostly because I feel like I have a huge backlog of games I’d like to complete at some point.
(11:45:45 PM) Jeff: or not even complete, but TRY.
(11:45:54 PM) Jeff: but, on the other hand…
(11:46:03 PM) Jeff: if you have fun playing the multiplayer game, isn’t that the whole point?
(11:46:22 PM) Geoff: Sure
(11:46:50 PM) Geoff: But that’s sort of the issue - I have trouble really enjoying an experience that I’m usually 1) lousy at and 2) can’t really “progress” in
(11:47:37 PM) Jeff: I also think that the most celebrated games are almost always single player
(11:47:44 PM) Jeff: or “campaigns”
(11:47:54 PM) Geoff: Well, Halo 2 was largely a multiplayer phenomenon
(11:48:07 PM) Geoff: for reasons that I never fully understood, since frankly I think there are better multiplayer games out there
(11:48:10 PM) Jeff: True, there are big multiplayer games, no doubt.
(11:48:27 PM) Jeff: but as far as the most memorable game experiences?
(11:49:23 PM) Jeff: I can’t think of a multiplayer game that ranks up there with say, Super Mario Bros, Shadow of the Colossus, any Zelda game..
(11:49:24 PM) Geoff: Battlefield?
(11:49:28 PM) Geoff: that’s true
(11:49:41 PM) Geoff: largely because it’s hard to “control” the experience of a multiplayer game
(11:50:03 PM) Geoff: 1 irritating 12-year old with a penchant for racial slurs spoils it for you
(11:50:06 PM) Jeff: I think it comes down to the difference between a visceral “thrill” and the “experience” that a single player game can give you.
(11:50:22 PM) Jeff: Like Bioshock…
(11:51:20 PM) Jeff: Some FPS fans obviously complained that Bioshock contains no multiplayer, but any multiplayer component it would’ve had could not have possibly matched the experience presented in the single player game.
(11:52:00 PM) Jeff: Metroid Prime 2 tried to implement a multiplayer mode, but most people basically agreed that it sucked, and the single player mode may have suffered for it
(11:52:17 PM) Geoff: Interesting, since all the buzz lately has been over multiplayer
(11:52:28 PM) Jeff: Multiplayer adds to the longevity of a game
(11:52:41 PM) Jeff: and can create social experiences
(11:52:49 PM) Jeff: certainly impossible in single player games
(11:54:37 PM) Jeff: I don’t want to limit myself as Ebert has, but if I can take a page from him, I think that multiplayer games would have a much harder time being considered “Art” than a single player one.
(11:54:47 PM) Geoff: That’s a fair statement
(11:55:12 PM) Geoff: But - and I think Ebert overlooks this too - there’s plenty in the world that isn’t art, but the world is still richer for them

And that’s all we have for this week.  Geoff will be in Belize next week, but we’ll hopefully do another one soon after he gets back. Hope you enjoyed!