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November 10, 2008: wallet threat level yellow
With two exceptions, I don't have any first-hand intel on the threats to your wallet this week. Mirror's Edge could be the first-person Prince of Persia/Parkour it intends, or it could be a tech demo in search of a game (I suspect the latter). Call of Duty 5 could be every bit as good as Call of Duty 4, or it could be every bit as bad as Call of Duty 3 (I suspect the latter). Banjo Kazooie could be the platformer we've been waiting for this season, or it could be yet another Rare disappointment (I suspect the latter). Sacred 2 could be a slick and polished action RPG sequel, or it could be every bit as sloppy and unfinished as the original Sacred (I suspect the latter).
With so little intel available, as intriguing as these titles may be, I can only issue a wallet threat level of yellow. However, I do have solid intel on Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels for the Wii and Populous for the DS, neither of which changes the threat level.
Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels is terrible. After trying a few fighting games that substitute sloppy Wii waving for button pressing, I'm convinced you cannot use the Wiimote's motion controls to play a fighting game. Which is too bad, because this could have been a pretty cool little fighting game considering it's got that stinky Star Wars prequel junk spilled all over it.
Populous DS is great, but it's only Populous. Many folks couldn't ask for much more, but I can imagine new players thinking, "This is it? Terraforming and occasionally casting a spell?" To which I'd respond, "Yeah, isn't it great?" because Populous was one of my first introductions to real time strategy games. There are a couple of new twists, mainly in terms of the different gods (each with unique worshipper stats and distinct spells) and worlds with slightly modified rules (zombies on the horror world never die of exhaustion and worshippers in the Persian world never drown because they're floating on magic carpets).
Finally, I think there's something going on with World of Warcraft this week, like an update or a patch or something.
By obonicus at 12:06 PM ON 11/10/08
Mirror's Edge is running UE3, so it's hardly a tech demo, unless it's a technical feat to show colors other than brown in it (which is a possibility).
By PeterD at 4:24 PM ON 11/10/08
Err . . Sacred 2 is not an RTS. I believe "RPG" is the acronym you're looking for.
By markgreyam at 1:12 AM ON 11/11/08
Obonicus, the tech has nothing to do with the point Tom is making. The point is that Mirror's Edge appears to be an attempt at a first person parkour game, but without enough solid gameplay, level design, story or probably even general polish behind it to count as anything more than a tech demo. More like a "Wow, this is an nice idea, hopefully next time they can build a game around it" etc
And Sacred 2 is probably as sloppy and unfinished as the original, personally I didn't jump on the Sacred bandwagon until Gold, and the release of a 0-day 400 meg patch fo Sacred 2 will do little to allay your fears, Tom.
By obonicus at 7:45 AM ON 11/11/08
Tech demo means something specific. Note, particularly, the use of the word tech. Using a phrase incorrectly doesn't magically give it new meaning.
If Tom meant something else, well, he probably should've said something else. But then it wouldn't have been a snarky sound bite, and wouldn't have fit into the cutesy 'I suspect the latter' pattern.
By budgethero at 11:14 AM ON 11/11/08
tom: so are u calling mirrors edge a bad game or "kind of not-a-game"?
By markgreyam at 9:08 PM ON 11/11/08
Ah sorry, I've made a mistake. If I had have realised that we were working with your own personal interpretation of the phrase 'tech demo' then I may have not bothered attempting to explain the meaning in the "snarky, cutsey" comment. At what point you suddenly decided that all references to a 'tech demo' somehow needed to be in specific reference to a completely new game engine and not simply a prototype of a new idea that hasn't been fleshed out enough to be truly submissible as (in this case) a game probably isn't the point here, more that I've misinterpreted what was simply a poor attempt at a cheap shot at Tom's writing style. In which case I shouldn't have wasted my time in a futile attempt to explain the point. Snarky and cutsey yes, but then that's part of the attraction of his writing style. Personality, I believe is the word I'm after here. Maybe you have your own definition of that we should all be working with as well, I'm not sure (that I care).
By Tom Chick at 12:48 AM ON 11/12/08
Mr. Hero, I'm afraid I haven't even tried Mirror's Edge, so I'm not really qualified to call it anything yet. :) I hope to correct that in the near future.
And obonicus, I'm afraid you're wrong about the definition of "tech demo". You can substitute the term "proof of concept" if you're more comfortable with that.
Tom Chick:
Mr. Hero, I'm afraid I haven't even tried Mirror's Edge, so I'm not really qualified to call it anything yet. :) I...More »