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Posts with tag Genji

Hitting crabs for massive damage, or overcoming allergic reactions?

All right, all right... so this isn't official news or anything, but it's just silly enough to merit spreading around this series of tubes known as the interweb. Way back when, there was this whole big joke with Genji and attacking crabs for massive damage. Half of the humor came from a big "WTF?" reaction to there being a gigantic crab in feudal Japan. The other half was about the massive damage. Funny, right? Well, turns out there's a reason to it all.

The creator of Genji, Yoshiki Okamoto, had something to admit in the latest issue of PSM3. He said: "Obviously no-one among us believes there were giant crabs in feudal Japan. But [I am] allergic to crabs and that's the reason why, if you find its weak point, you can kill it with one blow. It's [my] way of defeating the crab [I] hate." This was via his translator, so we made it less third-person sounding, but the meaning is the same. Allergic to crabs? Well, we suppose hitting them for massive damage is one way to conquer your fears, allergies, etc.

Okamoto, Genji creator, promises more PS3 power harnessing next time

We know that Genji didn't fare very well in the eyes of critics and gamers alike. Some will forgive the game, as it was no more than a launch title. Others will keep a grudge, vowing never to play a mediocre game again (so... they'll play about five games a year?). However! For people on both sides of the lawn there is hope, as Yoshiki Okamoto, executive producer of Genji (and brains behind Street Fighter), promises that the next title will harness much more of the Playstation 3's power. Will it be Street Fighter 4?! No.

The new title in the works will be using the same engine used to create Genji. Hopefully they'll get rid of the invisible walls, though. Whether or not it will be a new title in the same series, Okamoto would not say. He did say how the development team is used to programming for the PS3 now and is excited to see how much more they can do. He said, "If Genji shows what we can achieve with a launch title then think what we will be able to do in the years to come, when we are harnessing the true power of PlayStation 3." Yeah, Genji was pretty gorgeous, but the gameplay kind of fell on its face. Not entirely, but it wasn't "new"... or "fresh"... or something. A good game, a great launch game, but a mediocre next-gen experience? Whatever, you get the idea.

Downloadable content is coming our way!

You know you're tired of looking at the same fugly outfit your character in Genji is clad in. You know you're sick of handing off the controller when you die in Blast Factor. So what're you going to do about it? Initiate some microtransactions, that's what! Coming soon to the PlayStation Store are:

  • Genji: Days of the Blade costume pack
  • Blast Factor co-op play download pack
  • flOw game and demo

Granted, flOw might take a litter longer than the rest. Heard rumors of a January release, though, so maybe they'll all hit at once. In any case... gentlemen, start your engines! Ready, set, down...load? Damn. Wanted a clever download phrase/cliche, but alas. Next time, surely.

Get stuck in Genji? It's not you, it's a massive glitch...

The development team for Genji did a big-hearted thing the other day -- they sent out helpful tips to players in the form of an e-mail. What they failed to give a tip for was avoiding a massive, massive bug in the game that renders your entire playtime useless and forces you to start over. Oh, okay... I'll feed you, baby birds...

At around the 2 or 3 hour mark of playtime, you'll have to hit two switch-thingys on top of a building -- you'll need a key to enter said building and make your way to the roof. However, due to a glitch in the game, that key may or may not appear for you to pick up. That means everything you did is useless. Or is it? Apparently you can stand under the switches and perform an upwards-swinging attack to hit them from the ground, but there's still no access to the building itself. Essentially, you're pretty screwed if that key didn't pop up for your acquisition. Keep multiple save files, guys! Anyone run across this problem?

IGN Reviews Genji, verdict: passable

Ouch! For those of you who thought all early next-gen games would get high scores simply because of the "oooh, pretty" factor, think thee again. IGN posted their review of Genji and in contrast to the slightly higher scores issued by Famitsu a week back, the verdict is... well, passable. Here's the reasoning behind the meager (but not unsavory -- remember a 5.0 is average) scoring:

  • Beautiful graphics, beautiful presentation, and pretty good sound, but meh voice acting (big surprise...)
  • The gameplay suffers through repetition, not long-lasting appeal since game can be long... and repetitive

What always surprises me about IGN reviews is how the breakdown never really adds up and they don't supply a weight scale to see what is measured as more important. Genji received an 8, 8.5, 8, 6, and 7 for presentation, graphics, sound, gameplay and lasting appeal, respectively. Divided by 5, that's a 7.5 -- yet it receives a 6. We're thinking gameplay and lasting appeal are weighted far more heavily, but then, why break it down? Oh well, if you liked the first Genji, you will enjoy this one too. Any questions?

Famitsu reviews the first wave of PS3 games

The overall verdict? Not a sad bloke in the lot. Then again, this ever-intrepid blogulator considers a 7 as it should be considered: above average, but not great. Besides, that number was the lowest. Let's also remember -- Famitsu is a tough cookie when it comes to reviews. Only six games have made perfect scores (and lo and behold, some of my favorites): The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64), Soul Calibur (DC), Vagrant Story (PSX... Best. Game. Ever.), The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (GC), Nintendogs (DS), and Final Fantasy XII (PS2... same people who made Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story... and the lesser cared about Romancing SaGa games, which are also great). You can check out what else got almost-perfect scores on Wikipedia. Some surprises, really, but you have to remember -- unlike our video game magazines that seem to arbitrarily pick numbers based on "awesome factor", Famitsu bases their scores in comparison only to other games in the same genre. A perfect score means that, in that particular genre, nothing else can possibly be better.

Whew. Sorry about that, but it's just so exciting! Without further ado, here are the review scores/highlights for the first wave of PS3 titles:

  • Miyazato Golf Club: 7, 7, 7, 7
    • good tempo, hard to judge where shots will land, doesn't quite look next-gen
  • Genji: 7, 7, 7, 8
    • camera is difficult, but the game looks great; challenging for beginners, good amount of content, good controls
  • Gundam: 8, 8, 8, 8
    • excellent Mobile Suit models, problematic system, great textures, tons of optional/unlockable stuff, satisfying, but with divided opinions (don't look at me -- just copying from the forum)
  • Resistance: 9, 8, 8, 8 (keep in mind, a lot of people say the Japanese don't like the FPS genre -- but again, the grading is based on others in the same genre, so...)
    • standard FPS gameplay, excellent netplay, very high standard of next-gen
  • Riiiiiiidge Racer 7: 9, 9, 9, 9
    • totally satisfactory, tons of content, very high quality graphics and sound

There you have it. Report your reactions in the form of comments! Dismissed!

Japan gets some prices for their PS3 titles... it's not too bad

Not too bad is about the extent of it. While one price shouldn't be indicative of any other game prices, there's at least a little comfort in the recently announced pricing of Resistance: Fall of Man, Motorstorm, and Genji. 5980 yen. Roughly $50 US. That's really cool, should the prices remain the same upon the North American release. Will they? Maybe. Maybe not. No use guessing, but we can pray to the almighty lords of gaming to make it so.

Let's not forget that Sega also released some prices a few weeks ago: Sega Golf Club and Sonic are both being priced at 7140 yen (about $60)... the expected next-gen pricing, but didn't someone see Sonic for cheap somewhere? Maybe that was a dream. Seems the pricing will be stuck around $50-$70. Oh well. Is anyone unnaturally bent out of shape about this?

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