Ken Kutaragi replaced as president of Sony's gaming unit

[Verto]

Originally posted by Asher

Cool idea. Just like Halo!

...and many other games, that expanded on this far more than Halo did? Don't be silly.

[Verto]

Originally posted by asleepathewheel


True, it won't stop, but you will feel the controller rumble/hear the sound. So you can't do the epic lightsaber on lightsaber power struggle stalemate, but you will be able to know if you've made contact and should swing again.

Absolutely, but it could be confusing if you are getting into it, and your onscreen lightsaber stops while your Wiimote continues for another two feet. I'm confident we'll get a well-made game, though.

[Asher]

Originally posted by asleepathewheel
Movement is with the chuk analog pad, shaking the chuck would cause player to deke with puck or check on defense. Z for speed

How do you deke left/right?

puck control with the mote-A passes, B shoots (hold for power), then a movement of the mote in the direction you want the puck to go.

The problem is there's more than just "shoot" and "shoot with power". How do you do one-timers effectively? How do you do a deflection? How do you do a tic-tac-toe passing play?

It's just not going to be affective any way you cut it. It's also far less intuitive than the control stick method (left stick controls player movement, right stick controls stick movement). I don't think of my hockey stick as something I raise my arm up to shoot with, I think of it as slapping the stick forward.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Asher
That would be a bad idea considering how much the control scheme for Madden 07 is loathed.

Not what most critics are saying.

I especially liked Gamespot's (a site you like linking to) review:

Madden NFL 07 for the Wii isn't just a quick-and-dirty port. It's an excellent use of the Wii's motion-sensing capabilities that revitalizes Madden in a number of ways.

[Asher]

Originally posted by asleepathewheel
True, it won't stop, but you will feel the controller rumble/hear the sound. So you can't do the epic lightsaber on lightsaber power struggle stalemate, but you will be able to know if you've made contact and should swing again.

But this fundamentally breaks the immersion of potential 1:1 motion mapping. If in the game, your light sabre stops but in real life it keeps going, the motion mapping needs to be disabled until the lightsabre is in a reasonable position again in the game. Either way, there is going to be a noticable disconnect.

Why do you think that no game for the Wii, despite having swordplay, has done a 1:1 motion mapping? It's trivial to do with the Wii but in the end it's not a good gameplay decision because there's simply no way to ensure your actions will always translate and make sense into the game.

[Asher]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Not what most critics are saying.

I especially liked Gamespot's (a site you like linking to) review:

Madden NFL 07 for the Wii isn't just a quick-and-dirty port. It's an excellent use of the Wii's motion-sensing capabilities that revitalizes Madden in a number of ways.

I can't access it from work -- how did Madden 07 for Wii compare to Madden 07 for the 360 on Gamespot?

[Verto]

From that same link:

GameSpy:
On its own merits, Madden 07 for the Wii is as exciting a development in sports games as I've seen in a long time, and should be experienced by anyone with even a passing interest in a good game of football.

PGNx Media:
On the Wii it is an entirely different beast. The game works extremely well with the Wii Remote and it’s great that EA took the time to deliver a compelling product instead of taking the Gamecube version and just adding a minigame or too.

GameDaily:
These simple mechanics greatly enhance an already phenomenal product.. Furthermore, the inclusion of three very addictive mini games -- 2 on 2, Kicking Combine, and Y.A.C. Attack -- provides gamers with experiences they won't find anyplace else.

IGN:
Madden 07 leaves definite room for improvement, but it's a tremendous leap in the right direction. If Madden 07 is any indication expect EA and Nintendo to become very, very good friends this generation.

And to be fair, 1UP's fairly negative response:
The pick-up-and-play impressions started out positive, but as I spent more time with it, the less I enjoyed the novelty and just wished I could play good football... It's all in the game on the field, and with a defense that's allowing old-school, Hail Mary money plays pretty much at will, this doesn't cut it.

[Asher]

The pick-up-and-play impressions started out positive, but as I spent more time with it, the less I enjoyed the novelty and just wished I could play good football... It's all in the game on the field, and with a defense that's allowing old-school, Hail Mary money plays pretty much at will, this doesn't cut it.

And this is the problem with initial reviews for such games. It comes down to novelty, indeed.

Initial reviews are based on short term gameplay experience, maybe a few days to a week at most. The problem is it gets old, and when it's get old what you're left with is gameplay that can be inhibited by the "novelty" controls.

[Verto]

Originally posted by Asher

I can't access it from work -- how did Madden 07 for Wii compare to Madden 07 for the 360 on Gamespot?

Madden NFL 07 (Wii) -- 8.4 (Great)

Madden NFL 07 (PS3) - 7.9 (Good)

Madden NFL 07 (X360) - 7.9 (Good)

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Asher
I can't access it from work -- how did Madden 07 for Wii compare to Madden 07 for the 360 on Gamespot?

Wii version: 8.4/10
360 version: 7.9/10

[Verto]

Originally posted by Asher


And this is the problem with initial reviews for such games. It comes down to novelty, indeed.

Initial reviews are based on short term gameplay experience, maybe a few days to a week at most. The problem is it gets old, and when it's get old what you're left with is gameplay that can be inhibited by the "novelty" controls.

Or maybe he just sucked at it. That is, after all, the only reason anyone could ever possibly not like a game, right?

[Asher]

Interesting. How were the overall gamerankings/metacritic scores?

[asleepathewheel]

Originally posted by Asher

How do you deke left/right?

chuck left, chuck right

Originally posted by Asher

The problem is there's more than just "shoot" and "shoot with power". How do you do one-timers effectively? How do you do a deflection? How do you do a tic-tac-toe passing play?

One timers-after hitting the pass button, press the shoot button, move the mote in the direction you want the shot.. Not that different in button pressing than the traditional controller.

Same with passing.

Asher, I'm sure if you had some experience with the mote, you would feel differently. Its one thing to conceptualize it mentally, its another to actually have the device in your hands.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Verto
Or maybe he just sucked at it. That is, after all, the only reason anyone could ever possibly not like a game, right?

I think he made it pretty clear it wasn't because it was hard. It just gets old because there's nothing new to be added and it complicates the mundane processes that you don't want to dwell on (eg, the snap).

[Asher]

Originally posted by asleepathewheel
chuck left, chuck right

Err...doesn't that move you left/right?

Not that different