I picked it up on launch day, but regretfully haven’t had a chance to sit down and give it any attention due to having some relatives and friends in Los Angeles to visit and stay with us (aka hoarding the tele *shakes fist*). Which means the majority of my gaming since their arrival has been via my shiny new Onyx (black) DS lite and New Super Mario Bros. (I had to get my Mario on somehow!).

So finally, late last night (around midnight), pushed the blow up mattress (filled with relatives) that has turned my gaming space into an impromptu guest bedroom, aside and powered on the Wii.

First impressions: Fun, creative, funny, smart, colorful, fun, endearing, fun, oh and fun.

I was anxious to get into the game quickly to try out the 2D to 3D flipping gameplay, but the game had other plans as a 15 minute background-story of the premise of the game was set forth.

I’m all about the story, but at the moment really just wanted to get my hands on some gameplay, regardless you have to at least go through all the text-speak so you might as well enjoy the witty and well written story.

Once finished, you get a mini-tutorial on how things work, and then go into the first chapter. Its not till you enter the first house in the first level that you get the ability to flip from 2D and 3D and once you do its non-stop from there on out.

I’ve only played through the first two chapters thus far and am having a great time. The thing I love about Nintendo games, and especially Mario games, is that they are Video Games. They’re what I remembered growing up as GAMES. They’re fun, creative, unique, and addicting.

The creative ways they use the two perspectives is great. Sometimes they’ll hide items behind what seemingly is an ordinary 2D bush, or a 2nd pipe behind what appears to be just one pipe from a 2D perspective.

Puzzle Solving:

The puzzle solving is great. For instance at one point I came upon a huge gap, previously I could switch to 3D and use the hill in the background, as a walkway across. This time, there was no hill, so I jumped into the nearest pipe, and I popped up really small in the distant background. Using that to enter a house that looked like just background art at first, to discover the bridge keeper who let the bridge down.

Thwomps aren’t so intimidating in 3D when they’re paper thin and you can just walk behind them to avoid their crushing Thwomp. Same goes for seemingly impossible barriers, when you can flip the view, and walk behind / in front of them. I know its been said time and time again in reviews for this game, but it REALLY DOES change the way you look at the world in-game. You’re always looking for what could be hidden from view in a 3D / 2D world.

Power Ups:

Of course in any Mario games we have to have power-ups with Mushrooms and Stars being par for the course, Super Paper Mario throws in all kinds of fun power-ups that add a lot of life to the game. Similar to the Giant Mushroom in New Super Mario Brothers, theres a power up in Super Paper Mario that turns you into a giant 8-bit Mario which plows through the level taking out any bricks, pipes, and enemies in your path.

Theres also Pal Pills which surround you with a handful of tiny 8-bit Marios which attack any enemy that nears you. You jump, they jump, all in sync with the classic jump Sound FX from our 8-bit days. Be careful though, their jump is a little delayed from yours, and if you’re waiting till the last moment to jump a gap, you’ll be sending your little friends down the hole to their deaths.
Their not the smartest of little helpers, but their fun to watch and helpful against attacking enemies. Thats about all the power-ups I’ve come across thus far in the first few chapters, I’ve got some hidden items I’ve found here and there but haven’t used any yet.

Conclusion:

All in all, another amazing Mario game (as if thats a surprise). If you have a Wii, go pick this game up. Its fun, its creative, its fun, and its fun. Plain and simple.

With that in mind, I decided to just do what I like to call a Turd-free summary, and just summarize GDC ‘07: “Oh… thats cool!” moments. So unless its something that caused me to stop and smile and immediately IM a link to a related video to a friend, then its not blog worthy. So here it is, the best non-turd things coming out of GDC ‘07 at the moment.

Super Paper Mario (Wii)

Probably the biggest, “holy shit thats awesome” moment for myself was this in-depth look at Super Paper Mario hitting this April for the Wii. Check out that 2D to 3D transition! As the presenter so chessily put it towards the end, “this is probably the most awesomess thing eva!”.

You said it booth presenter guy, you said it.

Not to mention some of those power-ups! Hello! Mega Star anyone?!1! Complete with classic 8-bit giant Mario wrecking havoc on the unsuspecting tiny mushroom kingdom. Gooooood stuff.

Half-Life / Valve Portal Gun

This wasn’t exactly debuted at GDC but I’ll jump at any chance to hype this thing anytime! Probably one of the, if not THE, most innovative weapon in FPS games ever. I can’t even begin to grasp the full potential of a weapon like this in-game! The possibilities of gameplay are honestly endless.

This video gives yet another cool look at the power of the Portal Gun, and its puzzle solving capabilities. I’ll let the video speak for itself, because words honestly can’t describe what it shows. Kudos Valve yet again you shisty devils you.

LittleBigPlanet

Now, this blog is typically Sony free. The biggest reason is, I’ve had a PS3 and its a turd, I refuse to keep it in my home. I know first hands the pains and pitfalls of it, and as such am never hyped on it or its exclusive software, hence no blogs. Well, I have to give credit where credit is due, and thats with Sony’s surprise announcement of LittleBigPlanet for the PS3.

This video takes a little bit to get into the goodies of it, but basically its a user-created content heavy multiplayer game that allows users to create dynamic levels, share them with the community, be commented, rated, and played by anyone. The physics and dynamics of the game are really cool, and I can see endless possibilities and fun on this game alone. I love the interaction of the characters with the dynamic environment and the creative use of on the fly puzzle solving. Really cool stuff.

The big question is, is this, coupled with Playstation Home a console seller? Hardly. I doubt this game alone is going to persuade anyone to purchase a PS3 based on this development, but its a step, nay a big step in the right direction.

Home

Sony’s flagship announcement coming out of GDC and what many are calling the ‘tide turner’ for the PS3 is the new ‘HOME’ feature. Essentially Sony’s answer to Xbox 360’s Achievements and Wii’s Mii aspects combined.

Quick Facts:

1. Walk around a virtual [second life / sims] similar world.
2. Interact with other players via virtual avatars.
3. Fully customize and create your avatar.
4. Unlock / purchase new content for character / space.
5. Create a personal, public, and private space as your ‘home’.
6. Share music, video, and photos from your HD via your ‘home’.
7. Meet other gamers, play Multiplayer Games, or access Arcade games.
8. Show off game achievements via game trophy room in ‘home’.

Thats that jist of it, and all honesty a really cool concept. The problem I foresee, how many people are going to actively use it to its full potential? I mean, its cool to have a trophy room with virtual forms of your achievements, but if I want to see someones achievements, I don’t want to enter this world, walk all the way to their place, walk around their achievement room.

I think its a neat concept, and basically a mini-sims / second life game within a console, but I want information quick and easy so I can get back to gaming which is why I think perhaps Xbox 360’s more OS set-up is ideal.

I don’t know, I like the interactivity of it all, but if I’m sitting in front of my TV and console, I wanna play a game, not stand around a virtual world all the time, sometimes perhaps, but very limited sometimes.

I’m torn on how I feel on this one.

Conclusion:
Decent GDC, Nintendo’s keynote and presentation is today (happening right now) so I’m anxious to see some of the really cool stuff coming from this in the coming year or so. Hit me with something good Miyamoto! ]]> http://www.fourzerotwo.com/2007/03/08/gdc-07-oh-thats-cool/feed/