

Dragon's Lair on X-box 262
aka pseudonym writes "Remember the game Dragon's Lair, the laserdisc based game from the 80's? Well, it is now out for the X-box and other game systems. You can check it out at www.dragonslair3d.com. This looks like the first game that supports the HDTV 1080i resoloution the X-box is capable of. There is a review of the game here. A related slashdot link is here. Aaahhh memories, at least now I don't have to drop a full dollar into the machine every time I want to play this addictive game."
dragons layer 3d? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:dragons layer 3d? (Score:2)
Perhaps. Like Linux, though, this game's been on every piece of hardware imaginable.
Re:dragons layer 3d? (Score:2)
even, apparently a dvd. aparently the dvd menuing system is powerful enough to play dragons lair on and someone did port it.
funnily enough I've never played the game but I remember reading reviews for the amiga waaay back when
dave
Re:dragons layer 3d? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:dragons layer 3d? (Score:5, Interesting)
The new Dragon's Lair 3D is very, very relevant to the original. Each scene is based on one from the old game, and the progression from one scene to the next is nearly identical. Also, the 3d models were built with Don Bluth's help, and the texture maps taken mostly from his original artwork.
You're right that it's not exactly revolutionary, but it's not just an old name applied to a new game. It's the real thing.
Re:dragons layer 3d? (Score:3, Insightful)
I's much rather have a modern remake of, for example, Ron Gilberts old adventures (Maniac mansion, Indy, Monkey Island I & II, etc.), where storytelling, humour and thinking were the main gaming elements.
Re:dragons layer 3d? (Score:2)
Re:dragons layer 3d? (Score:2)
If Disney repainted the movie Peter Pan using 3D models, would people think it had been cured of its obselescence? It would be hard to improve on the original.
Re:dragons layer 3d? (Score:2)
Re:dragons layer 3d? (Score:2)
Re:dragons layer 3d? (Score:2)
Since the original (Disney) version of the movie was not gimmicky, had a solid story, and engaged the audience, such a remake would be a waste of time, and Disney will wisely stick to re-releasing the original on each new media type to hit the market.
Dragon's Lair, on the other hand, was very gimmicky, &c. The idea of the game appealed to me very much, but the space-chimp gameplay prevented me from spending more than 50 cents on it in 30 years. If they re-release it using modern game design principles instead of that stupid laser-disc twitch bullshit, I might just have to get me a new coffee table--er, XBox.
Re:dragons layer 3d? (Score:2)
Re:dragons layer 3d? (Score:2)
My point was that it's a true update to the original, not just some Joe Schmoe using the name to make a quick buck. Most of the original voice recordings were used, Bluth was involved with the 3d modeling, the original cels were scanned and used as texture maps, etc.
So what? (Score:2)
Personally, I am glad that they are making oilder games available for consoles. One of the most played games in my house is the Atari Archive Pack (Asteroids, Tempest, etc...) on my Dreamcast. None of these games use any 3D (hell, most of them barely use color!) but they are all fun and that is all that matters.
Hmmm... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Hmmm... (Score:2)
I once watched some kid drop something like $10 on this game and I don't remember him getting very far in the game.
Anyone ever 'beat' this game? Man, I always chose Cyberball Tournament over this game- as they were usually pretty close together.
Re:Hmmm... (Score:2)
Yup. All it takes is one "free gaming" night and a friend to write down the joystick/keypresses for each scene. Of course, the scenes flipped on the horizontal axis periodically, so you had to keep that in mind, but even still...once you knew the sequence of keypresses, you the timing was all you had to work on, and it wouldn't be too long before you could drop in your $0.50 and beat the game, to the amazement of onlookers.
Re:Hmmm... (Score:2)
I distinctly remember playing Dragon's Lair - the arcade version - in early 1985. I also distinctly remember wasting an entire semester's allowance on it but that's another story...
Laserdiscs were a losing branch of videogames (Score:3, Insightful)
I like Don Bluth's work on the big screen, but the way to get cinematic graphics in a game is not by just pre-rendering/drawing them like all those laserdisc games did, then allowing a branching path through the story, but by improving 3d computer graphics to the point where they look as good as real-life/traditional animation.
More interesting to me is the (fairly) recent innovation where traditional 3d graphics are used, but they are shaded and textured to look like cartoons/anime, e.g. Fear Effect, various Simpsons and Disney games.
graspee
Re:Laserdiscs were a losing branch of videogames (Score:2)
It's called Cel-Shading.. and that's what this is. This is a redone Dragon's Lair, done in real 3d with cel-shaded graphics.
I'll be checking it out, and possibly (depends on if it's still as annoying as the old "hit UP *now*!" version).
By the way, it's not just for the xbox, it'll be available for the GameCube, the PS2, and the PC as well.
Re:Laserdiscs were a losing branch of videogames (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Laserdiscs were a losing branch of videogames (Score:2)
Hahaha... that's what Final Fantasy and other PS2 games are about (except without the branching path)... loads of games these days are basically movies with a broken pause button...
</cynic>
Re:Laserdiscs were a losing branch of videogames (Score:2)
Or, when considering turned based fighting systems, it's better to say a broken UNPause button.
Turn based. *yawn*
Re:Laserdiscs were a losing branch of videogames (Score:2)
You mean Save Game?
SUCKED?! (Score:2)
Your point about cel shading being better is just absurd, esp. since there was about fifteen years between the introduction of DL and the first good cel-shaded games (e.g., Jet Set Radio). Yeah, we all hated the lag in DL and the other laserdisc games, (and we hated the insane price point), but that game had the biggest crowds at my arcade for about a year straight, which is saying a lot. Most of the time, we'd just be watching some hot shot who could finish the game on a dollar, so it was more like a movie anyway!!
Your opinion only makes sense if you were born yesterday. For the rest of us, who actually lived in the 1980's, we thought DL was insanely cool.
Re:SUCKED?! (Score:2)
That's funny...I lived in the '80s, but thought that while Dragon's Lair looked neat, it absolutely and thoroughly sucked as a game. It was an almost certain waste of $1.00 (at a time when most games cost 25 cents) in that I would invariably get "killed" maybe 10-20 seconds after feeding the machine my money.
Re:SUCKED?! (Score:2)
Re:SUCKED?! (Score:2)
Yes is was cool.....to watch.
The gameplay completely sucked. You were extremely limited to what you could do and playing a game completely based on timing was boring.
Dragons Lair='s fun to look at, crappy gameplay.
Re:SUCKED?! (Score:2)
Re: Anime... (Score:2)
Re:Laserdiscs were a losing branch of videogames (Score:2)
Not that I don't like the game, but any game that you can play with your DVD remote has got to be a bit limited in it's gameplay!
Now, Firefox and Mach3 were a better type of laserdisc game - basically a normal game with backgrounds of the LD.
"Reinvention" (Score:5, Informative)
Also, it's not just for xbox as the article title states but for PS2 and GameCube too. In fact the site shows pictures of the PS2 and GC boxes but not the xbox one.
I just want to know if... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:I just want to know if... (Score:2)
Actually I just posted how the gameplay actually completely sucked. Dragon's lair was fun for spectators to watch but horribly limited in terms of actual gameplay.
Give me the old arcade versions of Tron or Tie Fighter anyday though. Now those games were awesome.
How about gameplay? (Score:5, Funny)
space - up - right - left - DOH!
space - up - right - right - up - DOH!
space - up - right - right - space - left - DOH!
space - up - right - right - space - right - down etc...
Pretty exciting stuff!
Re:How about gameplay? (Score:2, Insightful)
did you mean "action-button" ?
BTW, in these times, <DOH!> only meant "please insert a DOH-LAR" while with this game this'll rather mean "why the Hell did I spent all these DOH-LAR on this game ? if I resign before getting through, it will have costed me more than the Arcade version, around twenty years ago"
Review Link my @$$ (Score:2, Informative)
PREVIEW, not a review (Score:4, Informative)
Screenshots look nice. Dirk still looks the same, i.e. like a 2D animated character. He really was animated last time; now the game is being generated on the fly.
steveha
Re:PREVIEW, not a review (Score:2)
Like the other poster said - maybe for a dollar - maybe not even that much.
No way!!! (Score:3, Interesting)
So what did you get when you wasted hours of your life in front of an interactive laser disk player? A friggin valentine. That was probably the last time I went to Chuckies place. But I still remember the "boink" when you were given the hints, the music swell after you made your choice, and the "die" music
Re:No way!!! (Score:2)
When I did play it myself years later, I remember thinking..."wow, this isn't as much fun as it looked." When you watch someone play it, you don't realize how little control they have over what's going on on-screen.
Sounds (Score:2)
There's a movie (Score:3, Interesting)
Where's the casemod for your C64 (Score:2, Interesting)
Wow - did not all the metal dropped in your C64 have an unwanted effect :))) Here's some screenshots from the C64/128 [pixelpower.on.ca] version. Which imho, was stated of the art in some sense when it first appeared.
Re:Where's the casemod for your C64 (Score:2)
Not to be a stickler for details.... (Score:5, Insightful)
2) The XBox has 64 megs of memory, shared with video, if I understand it correctly. That means that for the resolution to climb to the 19xx x 1080 resolution the game will run at, texture quality, an extra texture pass o' bumpmaps, or some other graphical goodie had to give. Take this tradeoff as you will. I'll be glad to have something that shows off my HDTV, personally (don't even have a digital tuner yet, and while THPS4's 720p support is nice, this will smoke it), but I can see wanting another coat o' shine on the texture work as well.
Also, what will the effect on framerate be?
I suggest we all reserve judgement until it has enough review scores to appear on gamerankings.
Re:Not to be a stickler for details.... (Score:2)
You don't have to have tons of memory necessiarly, you just have to design your graphics a little differently. On the PC we have become accustomed to huge, complex texutres since we get cards with lots of dedicated RAM. That's nice and certianly the best if you are shooting for realism, but that doesn't mean all games have to do it that way.
For example, the GameCube only has 1MB of texture cache on it's graphics chip, and the PSX had only 1MB of total video memory. IT just means your games tend to have more solid colours than texutres.
Also, I doubt the framerate will be a problem. The GeForce 4 4600 can easily handle 1600x1200 at a deceant clip on games that don't use all the advanced pixel shader stuff, I don't imaging the X-box, which is of similar power, will have trouble with 1960x1080, espically since it only have to render at an effective rate of 30fps.
Re:Not to be a stickler for details.... (Score:2, Insightful)
That having been said, the games look excellent on the Xbox, because it's that "one platform only" game writing thing that consoles get and PCs don't. There's still very few games that even begin to scratch the GeForce 3's capabilities. We need to get away from big textures and T&L, and into shader country.
I sucked at this game (Score:2, Funny)
It started in front of a bridge, and everytime I tried to cross the bridge, a tentacle came up and killed my character. I never got farther than that, no matter what I did, the tentacle killed me.
I had a friend who could play through the whole game.
But I always got killed on the damn bridge.
Stupid game.
Action figures (Score:2)
http://www.dragonslair3d.com/games/game_action_fi
Shameless X-box plug. (Score:5, Informative)
Give me a break!
Re:Shameless X-box plug. (Score:2)
There's more info on the PC and Mac versions of the game (although most details will obviously apply to the console ports) at the developers website [bluebyte.net].
Trouble reading? (Score:2)
The reason the X-Box is specificially mentioned is that it's the only system supporting the HDTV 1080i signal.
Re:Trouble reading? (Score:2)
Bullshit, the reason XBox is mentioned in cause Michael, the slashdot editor, is a shameless XBox fan who is simply making his monthly XBox post.
Re:Shameless X-box plug. (Score:2)
I agree. F*ck Slashdot. Or at least f*ck the Slashdot editor Michael. He has been posting at least 1 XBox article every two to three weeks.
The XBox is an economic anamoly. It wouldn't exist except for Microsoft's ability to leverage its desktop monopoly. The XBox has already lost 1 billion dollars. Its projected to lose another 1 billion dollars next year.
Boycott Microsoft, and purchase a GameCube or PS2.
Re:Shameless X-box plug. (Score:2)
How about Space Ace? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:How about Space Ace? (Score:3, Interesting)
If DL3D sells well enough, it'd be foolish not to follow it up with SA3D.
Re:How about Space Ace? (Score:2)
I know that. I did say "they are close relatives"
More Videos, Screenshots, etc. (Score:3, Informative)
Media Page [ign.com]
Laservideo games (Score:2)
I really got hooked at it in an arcade in a really run-down section of town when I was young. I got pretty good at it though, got the highscore on the console which was a good highpoint for me.
Interestingly enough, I managed to pick the game up for a PC emulator, complete with MPG-2 video and sound. Pretty cool (but I still can't beat it)
Games and storylines (ot?) (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Games and storylines (ot?) (Score:2)
Every now and then a game with a storyline has held my interest. King's Quest 6 jumps to mind as do a couple of the other King's Quest games.
RTS games like Warcraft, Starcraft and Command and Conquer, and turn-based strategy games like Civilization * and S.M. Alpha Centauri have story lines, but I don't think the story line adds any interest for me; for those games the interest is in building towards a goal, whether it be annihilating the enemy, becomming the biggest nation/faction or even self destruction and resurrection. And of course the different strategies for doing the above.
Quake and Doom types generally have stories in the manuals, but I don't care as long as I get to blow sh*t up and either get to the next level or outscore some network opponents.
Dragon's Lair was cool when it came out. The gameplay was annoying at times, and after a while it got old for me because I didn't get very far and therefore saw the same scenes over and over again. It was more fun for me to watch a good player play it and see what happens. I'm not going to pay US$50 for it, but I'll try to catch a demo at the store, and maybe I'll buy it when it drops to US$20. (I'm very patient.) It looks like they're keeping the characters true-to-2d animation while immersed in a 3d world.
Dragon's Lair v.s. Imagination (Score:2)
I wised up - spent all the rest of my (Mom's) money on Choose Your Own Adventure Books. Sure, one dollar and ninety-five cents was more than Dragon's Lair, but I got as many run throughs as I wanted, and Ma didn't have a problem with buying those.
And the graphics were kick-ass.
I still have a box full of those books, and they are *still* good for car rides.
Re:Dragon's Lair v.s. Imagination (Score:3)
If you take good care of them, your kids will think so, too.
Not many games you can pass down to them that they will think are "state of the art." And of course, there's extra fun if you teach them how to map the novels out visually, and it's a small step from there to them programming text games on a computer, either with one of the adventure engines that have entered public domain or BASIC or C or Pascal. =)
Re:Dragon's Lair v.s. Imagination (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Dragon's Lair v.s. Imagination (Score:2)
Years later, when studying Kurosawa's Rashomon [imdb.com], I was reminded of Dragon Mountain. The comparison is a stretch, but it's the same idea of "multiple versions of the same story with different facts, and no story is more right than another."
Not just xbox (Score:5, Informative)
How I played Dragon's Lair at the arcade: (Score:2, Funny)
Move joystick.
Die.
Repeat x 3.
Give up.
Go play Tron for an hour on one quarter.
Re:How I played Dragon's Lair at the arcade: (Score:2)
I think Dragon's Lair marked the start of the decline in the game industry. Once manufacturers wised up and focussed more on getting the gamer to drop another quarter quickly over good gameplay, that was pretty much it. We still see a creative and original game from time to time, but for the most part the coin-op world is a vast wasteland and, for me, not even worth visiting anymore. I still like to fire up the oldies in an emulator from time to time though.
Re:How I played Dragon's Lair at the arcade: (Score:2)
Read the frickin post (Score:5, Insightful)
GameCube, PS2 also support HDTV modes also... Duh? (Score:2)
Re:GameCube, PS2 also support HDTV modes also... D (Score:2)
Also, don't all games support 1080i (similarily don't they all support 16:9) since they are all rendered?
dragons lair on EVERYTHING... (Score:2)
It's for the PS2, gamecube, Pc and the X-box...
I'm betting the gamecube version is the best though... damn fine graphics on that cute little thing.
All 3 games are out on DVD (Score:2)
But... I'll probably buy the Gamecube version of 3d as well.
Retro gaming is "in" (Score:5, Insightful)
Shinobi is back, bottomless pits and all. Contra has made its triumphant return on both the PS2 and GBA (along with a slightly modified version of the Konami Code - also note that Gunstar Heroes still destroys Contra hands down). Rygar is coming to town. Ninja Gaiden is in development. Toejam & Earl III just came out.
So what's next? Moon Patrol Xtreme?
Re:Retro gaming is "in" (Score:2)
Re:Retro gaming is "in" (Score:2, Insightful)
See the frachise building post later in this thread for some more insight.
Re:Retro gaming is "in" (Score:2)
Yuck. No wonder I dont own a console.
siri
Re:Retro gaming is "in" (Score:2)
I agree with you though, I hate fully linear plot lines. Games like Zelda and GTA (Vice City is awesome) are more my bag because if you get tired of the main quest there are a million side quests you can do for fun and profit.
Consoles have good games that PCs don't, barring emulation. There is also less headache factor (though with the Xbox, it can get PC like [lordoftherings.com] because of the hard drive). Consoles also tend to be cheaper than a ninja video card. PCs have a lot of good games consoles don't. PCs have more versatility and better input devices or wont work well on a console (I'm a mouse man for FPSs). They each have their place.
Re:Retro gaming is "in" (Score:2, Interesting)
Incase you haven't noticed, retro-games seem to be what is "in" at the moment.
It's called franchise-building, and it's not limited to video games (I believe that 2002 was the most sequel-laden year at the box office in history). Why bother to come up with new character designs and backstory when you can pick an arcade classic with name recognition that a generation of quarter-pushers who now have disposable income and yearning nostalgia can enjoy?So what's next? Moon Patrol Xtreme?
Dude, that would be awesome!How about Metroid? (Score:2)
Metroid Fusion for GBA borrows it's gameplay heavily from Super Metroid, while Metroid Prime incorporates a lot of original powers from the orginal games.
Oh, and if you get them both connected via that link-thingy, you can even play the original Metroid
Re:Retro gaming is "in" (Score:2)
Gimme Sinistar!! (Score:2)
I wish there was an arcade in the Bay Area that had that game.
Retro games are cool, until you play them as an adult and realize "This game sucks!" I can think of 2 good examples: "720" and "Gauntlet." I thought Gauntlet was cool until I grew up and learned it was just a quarter-eater. 720 was cool until I grew up and realized that the game would send those damn bees after you when it wanted to get rid of you. I hate those bees...
Not even out (Score:2)
What's so cool about Dragon's Lair? (Score:2, Informative)
Now there's a reason (Score:2)
Finally a reason to buy the XBOX.
Hacking the over priced console just wasn't enough for me.
I mean look if I want a PC there's plenty out there that can run all the stuff I'd want without hacking.
And hey, if I want Dragon's Lair and Space Ace run on the PC and DVD players... wait a minute, I guess I still don't have a reason to buy the over priced game console.
I liked Dragon's Lair... (Score:2)
Sure, I ponied up a few bucks to try it when it came out, but I gave it a quick thumbs down and went back to Asteroids and Defender. I'm really surprised to hear that so many
The gameplay on DL was so primitive it reminded me of my little brother's 2XL 8-track based "robot". Enter move, wait for the drive to seek, enter move, etc. As for the graphics, so what. It's not like they were computer generated, not in realtime anyway.
Re:I liked Dragon's Lair... (Score:2)
But the girl was HOT. (To a 12-year old boy.) She's the only cartoon character I ever had sexual fantasies about.
Ahhh, just in time... (Score:2)
This game is going to come out just in time for the new Zelda game to throw it in a coffin, bury it, and say, "Bye bye!"
My worst DL memory - Amiga (Score:2)
It would take a long time to load a scene, and if you died, it had to reload the scene from disk. The Dragons Lair itself was spread over a couple of disks and dying was a slow painful process.
Interesting (Score:2)
Original already available on DVD (Score:2)
Daphne, Laserdisk Emulator for Unix (Score:2)
Does anyone actually remember the game? (Score:2)
Hmm, pretty graphics, shite gameplay. No wonder it's on XBox now. It's a natural fit.
Beta (Score:2)
Excuse me, but I was supposed to be lead tester for the PC version of that game last year, I saw an alpha, and never heard from it again...I was told by the higer-ups at the company (I'm not naming names) that there were "contract issues" and that they had dropped the game entirely.
X-box you say? Well...figures...
Man, the testers were bummed we lost that one.
Re:4 in the Morning.. (Score:2, Funny)
Pacman the movie (Score:2)
Re:They are running out of ideas (Score:2)
There was even talk of putting all of the finished projects on the Net in a kind of Phong shaded ghost chasing Pacman orgy . . .