Well, it seems practical if someone already owns 4 Gamecube controllers :)
This seems to be one of the better mods I've seen lately. Looks clean too.
I believe the Virtual Console controller gets it's wireless abilities by connecting to a normal Wiimote. It would be nice if they would make a Gamecube controller adapter to hook into your Wiimote as well, so you can use those untethered, and also not have to open the side door on your Wii.
I disagree. I like seeing the visuals brought up to HD resolution. If I can see razor-sharp edges instead of jaggies, I'm all for it. It's not like the visuals are completely different. They are just cleaned up, which I welcome. You see text on a sign that is now too clean...I see, no jagged edges, and better textures on the rocks in the background, which also appear to have some interesting specular highlights. I guess it's a matter of opinion, but when I see a million Street Fighter 2 remakes with the same antique pixilated sprites, I am disappointed.
Now as far as what Sega did not to long ago by redoing their old classics in 3D, that sucked. But, freshening up the old 2d sprites, like done here is fine by me. I have a HDTV, and am playing on a video game system that touts itself as being for HD games. I'd expect the game to be cleaned up a bit (as long as the integrity of the original graphics isn't lost, which I don't feel it has here).
To Jonathon: I never said Tony Hawk Downhill Jam wasn't fun. I have had some fun with the game. I said the graphics were bad. Not bad on a "compared to 360/PS3 level", but bad compared to a Gamecube level.
To TheBigUnit622: I chose Perfect Dark as the example, because it was hyped as the premiere 1st person shooter for the 360, just like Resistance was for the PS3. Of course COD2 became the best game of the 360 lineup, but even that game is trumped by Resistance in the graphics department. I see COD2 and Perfect Dark as being similar on a graphics quality level.
To logikil: I understand that the 360 us supposedly capable of an all-digital connection. But, so far no word on an HDMI release date (and not even a rumored release date...doesn't sound like its gonna be soon). Also, just because movie companies might bot being taking advantage of the digital copy-protection now, doesn't mean they won't in the future once HD-DVD burners become more popular, and HD-DVD blank media becomes more available. I agree it isn't quite fair to compare launch games for the PS3 and launch games for the 360. But I think you've taken it a bit far in the other direction. I don't think that the playing field is completely level yet. The 360 was available in retail stores before the final PS3 dev kits were ever made. You have to give them some slack.
One thing I will HEAVILY praise Sony on is their ports on the PS3. Phenomenal. USB ports on the system AND on the controller. Also, a normal HDMI port on the back of the system. I don't need to buy or use some special video adapter. I like how I can use the exact same cables that other electronics use, and not have to buy proprietary stuff that just works for the PS3. Also, now I can use my lovely Logitech headset that I use on the PC for my Starcraft gaming sessions. I can't believe that you can use 3rd party USB PC headsets, and use standard cables like USB and HDMI.... How "un-Sony-like".
So, this is a video of a group of friends playing Wii Sports together, laughing, and having a good time. Wow, sounds like a complete failure for Nintendo.
I have all 3 systems. This is obviously a biased opinion from the Times. How is the movie viewing experience a tie? You have one system with Bluray built-in, along with 1080p, and a HDMI connection. On the other hand you have the 360 which requires an external drive for HD-DVD, doesn't use digital cables (no HDMI), which means you won't be able to get 1080p on most TVs, and most HD-DVD movies require a digital connection for their copyright protection or they won't play in 1080p mode.
The graphics are very close (now). BUT, The PS3 is noticeably prettier than the 360 was when it launched (example: Resistance vs Perfect Dark...yikes). I wouldn't say Gears of War is necessarily better looking than Resistance either. I have played through both games in the entirety, and have found Gears to have much more detail, but Resistance to run smoother and have much less aliasing (jaggies). Both games look great. I anticipate seeing a difference in graphical quality in about a year (going in Sony's favor). The difference won't be huge, but it will probably be as big of a graphical advantage that the Xbox had over the PS2.
The Wii's graphics are poor. You look at a game like Wii sports for example. I have absolutely NO problem with the very low poly-count characters. But, if you are going to have basic shapes as characters, at least anti-alias them. There is no reason to have as bad of jagged edges as there are on those simple shapes. There should be more than enough power in the system to smooth out edges on characters made of simple shapes. Some of the Wii games I own look like poor Gamecube games as well. Tony Hawk downhill jam looks like a Nintendo 64 game. Out of the 5 Wii games I own, Zelda probably looks the best, but I was playing Viva Pinata on my 360 last night and switched over to Zelda on the Wii, and I was amazed how bad it looked in comparison. I should mention that I have a 1080p TV, I guess.
The one advantage that the 360 really has is their Live service. I know Sony and Nintendo's service will get better as time goes by, but they are SOOO far behind that it looks like it'll be years before they catch up (if ever). The services don't even compare at this point, with Nintendo definitely in last place as far as online goes.
Soul Caliber was one of those magical titles. A system launch game that was so technically impressive, that a few years later, the last wave of Dreamcast games still hadn't caught up. One of the few games that "exceeded" the hype. Also, it could've been the "arcade killer". This was the first time a home console version of the game completely outclassed the Arcade coin-op version.
Soul Caliber definetly isn't my favorite game of all time (it's not even in my top 10), but I can't remember being more impressed by a game in my life.
I graduated from Full Sail (Computer Animation). I remember the heated Mortal Kombat 2 battles in the lobby of one of my buildings. They were lined up to take on the "champ of the hour". It reminded me of old Street Fighter 2 days, when people would pile around the machine for a glimse.
Think about this... The Wii controller is unlike anything these game companies have ever created for. What do you think is the chance that these companies aren't going to run into any problems, or need little tweaks that will possibly delay their games? I don't see how you can come out with something completly brand new, where nobody has any background experience creating games for, and have the biggest launch ever. Call me crazy. I'll be there on day 1 to pick up my system, and if there are 15-20 games on the shelf that day, then I will be pleasantly surprised.
Wii mod moves those Gamecube ports to the front
Jan 31st 2007 7:50AM (Joystiq)This seems to be one of the better mods I've seen lately. Looks clean too.
I believe the Virtual Console controller gets it's wireless abilities by connecting to a normal Wiimote. It would be nice if they would make a Gamecube controller adapter to hook into your Wiimote as well, so you can use those untethered, and also not have to open the side door on your Wii.
Peep Double Dragon's XBLA makeover
Jan 26th 2007 9:18AM (Joystiq)Now as far as what Sega did not to long ago by redoing their old classics in 3D, that sucked. But, freshening up the old 2d sprites, like done here is fine by me. I have a HDTV, and am playing on a video game system that touts itself as being for HD games. I'd expect the game to be cleaned up a bit (as long as the integrity of the original graphics isn't lost, which I don't feel it has here).
NY Times: It's a Wii60 Holiday
Dec 8th 2006 12:56PM (Joystiq)Mike M = MrPolarBare
NY Times: It's a Wii60 Holiday
Dec 8th 2006 12:53PM (Joystiq)I never said Tony Hawk Downhill Jam wasn't fun. I have had some fun with the game. I said the graphics were bad. Not bad on a "compared to 360/PS3 level", but bad compared to a Gamecube level.
To TheBigUnit622:
I chose Perfect Dark as the example, because it was hyped as the premiere 1st person shooter for the 360, just like Resistance was for the PS3. Of course COD2 became the best game of the 360 lineup, but even that game is trumped by Resistance in the graphics department. I see COD2 and Perfect Dark as being similar on a graphics quality level.
To logikil:
I understand that the 360 us supposedly capable of an all-digital connection. But, so far no word on an HDMI release date (and not even a rumored release date...doesn't sound like its gonna be soon). Also, just because movie companies might bot being taking advantage of the digital copy-protection now, doesn't mean they won't in the future once HD-DVD burners become more popular, and HD-DVD blank media becomes more available. I agree it isn't quite fair to compare launch games for the PS3 and launch games for the 360. But I think you've taken it a bit far in the other direction. I don't think that the playing field is completely level yet. The 360 was available in retail stores before the final PS3 dev kits were ever made. You have to give them some slack.
One thing I will HEAVILY praise Sony on is their ports on the PS3. Phenomenal. USB ports on the system AND on the controller. Also, a normal HDMI port on the back of the system. I don't need to buy or use some special video adapter. I like how I can use the exact same cables that other electronics use, and not have to buy proprietary stuff that just works for the PS3. Also, now I can use my lovely Logitech headset that I use on the PC for my Starcraft gaming sessions. I can't believe that you can use 3rd party USB PC headsets, and use standard cables like USB and HDMI.... How "un-Sony-like".
Wii Sports controls: An exaggerated truth
Dec 6th 2006 10:40AM (Joystiq)NY Times: It's a Wii60 Holiday
Dec 6th 2006 10:20AM (Joystiq)The graphics are very close (now). BUT, The PS3 is noticeably prettier than the 360 was when it launched (example: Resistance vs Perfect Dark...yikes). I wouldn't say Gears of War is necessarily better looking than Resistance either. I have played through both games in the entirety, and have found Gears to have much more detail, but Resistance to run smoother and have much less aliasing (jaggies). Both games look great. I anticipate seeing a difference in graphical quality in about a year (going in Sony's favor). The difference won't be huge, but it will probably be as big of a graphical advantage that the Xbox had over the PS2.
The Wii's graphics are poor. You look at a game like Wii sports for example. I have absolutely NO problem with the very low poly-count characters. But, if you are going to have basic shapes as characters, at least anti-alias them. There is no reason to have as bad of jagged edges as there are on those simple shapes. There should be more than enough power in the system to smooth out edges on characters made of simple shapes. Some of the Wii games I own look like poor Gamecube games as well. Tony Hawk downhill jam looks like a Nintendo 64 game. Out of the 5 Wii games I own, Zelda probably looks the best, but I was playing Viva Pinata on my 360 last night and switched over to Zelda on the Wii, and I was amazed how bad it looked in comparison. I should mention that I have a 1080p TV, I guess.
The one advantage that the 360 really has is their Live service. I know Sony and Nintendo's service will get better as time goes by, but they are SOOO far behind that it looks like it'll be years before they catch up (if ever). The services don't even compare at this point, with Nintendo definitely in last place as far as online goes.
Top 10 ranked games developed by third-party publishers [update 1]
Sep 12th 2006 8:51AM (Joystiq)Soul Caliber definetly isn't my favorite game of all time (it's not even in my top 10), but I can't remember being more impressed by a game in my life.
Toshiba shows off "DS" e-book concept
Sep 10th 2006 9:38AM (Engadget)Top 10 gaming colleges
Aug 31st 2006 5:20PM (Joystiq)The confirmed Wii launch lineup
Aug 13th 2006 10:01PM (Joystiq)Think about this... The Wii controller is unlike anything these game companies have ever created for. What do you think is the chance that these companies aren't going to run into any problems, or need little tweaks that will possibly delay their games? I don't see how you can come out with something completly brand new, where nobody has any background experience creating games for, and have the biggest launch ever. Call me crazy. I'll be there on day 1 to pick up my system, and if there are 15-20 games on the shelf that day, then I will be pleasantly surprised.