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E3 - Hands On Impressions - Nintendo 33

Posted by simoniker from the disturbing-interactive-plumber dept.
Slashdot Games is here on the show floor at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles, and over the next three days, we'll be doing brief hands-on impressions of the major games in each booth. First up is Nintendo, following up our earlier press conference summary with a chance to see and play the games in detail. Here's what we found at Nintendo, including Mario Kart, Metal Gear, Starfox, and.. Wario insulting us?
- F-Zero GX is startlingly fast, both in framerate and vehicle speed. There are great-looking light trails on all your competitors, of which you can see most of the 30 onscreen at once. The background levels included a night-based thunderstorm setting, which looked very smart as you looped around the tracks at near-supersonic speeds. Also, the gameplay seemed similar to previous titles, which is good if you're a F-Zero fan to start with. The 4-player splitscreen ran without slowdown, but dropped the backgrounds.

- Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes showed more clearly that it's a (partial?) remake of the PSX Metal Gear Solid, by demo-ing the first area of the original MGS, but Gamecube-ized. It looks slicker and higher-res, keeping the same stylized color schemes, but the real-time cutscenes slowed down noticably due to the screen-filling snowstorm effects. Still promising, though.

- Starfox, being shown exclusively in multiplayer, is puzzling but interesting at the same time. It seems that you can pick to play Arwing flight-based combat, or Fox and friends in ground-based combat. It's possible to be playing in an Arwing while your opponent is running around on the ground shooting up at you. How this works in gameplay remains to be seen (the two people I saw playing in different modes were having difficulty finding each other), but certainly seems that the over-the-shoulder shooter mode and the flight combat mode are both fun and addictive individually.

- Geist is the mystery new Nintendo title from developers N-Space. It seemed to play and look like a Halo competitor, first-person action to the fore, but with the gameplay possession elements of Messiah in full effect. As a ghost, you can take over people's bodies and then use their weapons and identities as you wish. The concept on its own is appealing if done well, and it's visually impressive, so this is definitely a title to watch.

- Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike looked visually stunning, especially in the forests of Endor, where the player could control AT-STs as they stomped through the dense undergrowth, complete with swinging log traps, Ewoks, and speeder bikes. The great-looking lighting and destructible trees really helps make this one of the stand-outs on the booth. The other stages also look excellent, with the player controlling X-Wings and tauntauns in both air and foot-based levels.

- we may cover Final Fantasy:Crystal Chronicles more when we get to the Square Enix booth, but the action was smooth, fast, 4-player simultaneous, and actually very reminiscent of Diablo or Gauntlet Legends. In other words, this is no conventional FF game, but it looks to have made the genre transition successfully.

- Mario Kart Double Dash was running in networked LAN form, using multiple Gamecubes with the broadband adaptor. It looked smooth, fast, with bright and sharp graphics and an excellent frame-rate, a fitting continuation of the Mario Kart legacy.

- the Mario Kart area was also home to the best gimmick in the Nintendo booth. A CG puppet of Mario was displayed on a monitor above the booth, and a voice actor backstage was responding to events in the booth ,while Mario lipsynced and gestured correctly onscreen. Mario even turned into Wario at one point, so he could plug Wario World and be nasty and evil to E3 attendees. Very neat.

- weird exhibit of the booth was Carrera VRS, some real-life slot cars which you controlled via the Gameboy Advance. They ran round and round a slot track, and the players had their lap times, current position, fuel gauge (!), and other stats displayed on the GBA, as they controlled the cars with the GBA itself. Not quite as strange as the Gameboy sewing machine controller, but getting there.

For further impressions, screenshots, and media try IGN.com, Gamespot, Gamerfeed, or all the other usual suspects. More booth impressions soon, and we'll try to get more GBA titles previewed later in the show also.
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E3 - Hands On Impressions - Nintendo More

E3 - Hands On Impressions - Nintendo

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  • Speaking for us all... (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    You know what we really want -- booth babe pictures!
    • "You know what we really want -- booth babe pictures! "

      Off-topic? Booth babes are half the experience of E3! I'm not joking or being sarcastic about that. E3 would not be the same if not for the booth attractions.

      Is it just me, or am I finding a lot of inappropriate 'Off-topic' moderations lately?
      • > Is it just me, or am I finding a lot of inappropriate 'Off-topic' moderations lately?

        I meta-moderate most Off-Topics are incorrect. I do the same to most of the Troll, Flamebait, etc. I almost always meta-moderate the "good" moderations as correct.

        Why? Because it's always easier to be critical when you have a small amount of power put into your hands... so I tend to try to side with the person being criticized ;-).

        Anyway, as the admins have been pleading for a little while now, may I suggest usi
        • "Anyway, as the admins have been pleading for a little while now, may I suggest using the meta-moderation power at your disposal occasionally? Takes about 1 minute to do... "

          Actually I have been doing that. Unfortunately, there's still the matter of somebody getting dropped under the average threshold and not having their words read. That's why I tried to draw some attention to it. (I usually get modded off-topic in the process. Good thing I have 'excellent karma'.)

          Truth be told, I'm not sure the mod

  • Shameless sexual pandering? (Score:3, Funny)

    by msuzio ( 3104 ) on Wednesday May 14, 2003 @02:49PM (#5957425) Homepage
    Yes, but how are the booth babes? I think that's all people care about.

    Oh wait, this isn't FARK. Sorry about that ;-)

  • Ground-based combat isn't new for Starfox... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Xenex ( 97062 ) * <xenex&opinionstick,com> on Wednesday May 14, 2003 @03:04PM (#5957600) Journal
    Ground-based combat isn't exactly new to the Starfox series.

    After completing the difficult task of earning a medal on Venom while playing the game in expert mode, Starfox 64 (or Lylat Wars, as it is know in the PAL market) gave you the option to choose to fight on foot in multiplayer. You could also choose to be a tank after earning a medal on Venom in standard mode. See here [gamefaqs.com] for more information.

    However, Starfox 64's multiplayer could hardly be considered all that great, so I hope that Namco have done a much better job. This is one game I'm really looking forward to...
    • the difference between starfox64 and starfox2 (previously named star fox armada) is that in starfox2 you can run around on the ground and hop into a tank or arwing if you should feel so inclined. think more like battlefield1942 then starfox64. also, one can hop out of an arwing mid-flight, get on the wing, and fire off blaster shots. its also quite balanced, meaning even if you are on the ground you still have a very good chance fighting against someone in an arwing. each character also has different styles
  • and a voice actor backstage was responding to events in the booth ,while Mario lipsynced and gestured correctly onscreen.
    Kent Brockman: Animotion is up an eighth... after plunging seventy five points this morning!
    Homer: Oh, I hope plunging means up, and seventy five means two hundred!
    • "and a voice actor backstage was responding to events in the booth ,while Mario lipsynced and gestured correctly onscreen.

      Kent Brockman: Animotion is up an eighth... after plunging seventy five points this morning!
      Homer: Oh, I hope plunging means up, and seventy five means two hundred!"


      *psst* hey dudes with moderation points, the parent post isn't off-topic. It's a relevant Simpsons quote, and quite an amusing one.
  • I've been thinking about buying a new system, and my bias is towards nintendo (they've always had the best games, in my opinion). The only thing holding me back is that there's no GTA for the gamecube to my knowledge. Does anyone know if this is a possibility? Cheers, T.H.

    • Re:GTA (Score:4, Informative)

      by wobedraggled ( 549225 ) on Wednesday May 14, 2003 @03:12PM (#5957687) Homepage
      GTA and Vice City will come to the cube once the ps2 lease runs out in October. :)

      True Crime looks better anyway :)
      • from Slashdot.org: "confirmed exclusives for Playstation 2 are both Metal Gear Solid 3:Snake Eater, and the 'next Grand Theft Auto title', although we don't know anything more about the new GTA yet."

        So, yeah, Vice City and III will be showing up on the Cube and XBox but the newest GTA is going to be another PS2 exclusive. I'm considering buying a Gamecube so I can play Zelda and Metroid, maybe later this summer.

        Why haven't I heard of True Crime? I better go check ign for this. Is it a Gamecube only game?

    • Re:GTA (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Echnin ( 607099 )
      As wobedraggled said, GTA and Vice City are coming to the 'Cube. Also, you get kickass games like Eternal Darkness and Zelda. With the lineup from this E3, the Gamecube is definately gaining ground. Plus, the console looks much cooler and is more compact than any other of the major 3 consoles. The controllers are also IMO the most comfortable there is. Just a perfect console. The only thing I regret about getting a GC instead of a PS2 is not getting to play FFX or FFX-2. Then again, what do you have friends
    • "I've been thinking about buying a new system, and my bias is towards nintendo (they've always had the best games, in my opinion). The only thing holding me back is that there's no GTA for the gamecube to my knowledge. Does anyone know if this is a possibility? Cheers, T.H."

      I realize that you probably have your reasons for wanting to play GTA on the consoles, but it really is a superior experience on the PC. Wanna play your own music in the game? No prob! Put your MP3s (or shortcuts to them) in the righ
    • just btw, i don't really think you should consider buying a gamecube if you're looking for gta. Nintendo has repeatedly said that they do not support violence in their games with quotes like "mario will never beat up hookers" and the like. I think that nintendo is the place to go for exceptional gameplay, but you have to be willing to accept that the games are not going to be "mainstream" like pc games. dont look for something like doom III, think more in the direction of Earthbound/Mother instead.

      • Re:GTA (Score:3, Informative)

        by Christopher Cashell ( 2517 )
        I keep seeing this same type of comment, but it's actually quite misleading.

        You are correct that the Nintendo Game Studios will not likely be producing any highly violent and sexual games any time soon. They do produce some absolutely amazing games without that, though, as Zelda, Mario, and others, show.

        HOWEVER.

        That does not mean that third-party developers aren't making them available. I'm currently playing Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, and I have BMX XXX sitting on the table next to my GameCube
        • You are right on that point, GTA will be released on the GC and I was wrong to say that it wouldn't.

          Also, yes there are some excellent "mature" games for the GC as well, I just beat Eternal Darkness and it was great. But I am trying to say that the GC is the only system in my opinion that is breaking new ground in the areas of gameplay, and not re-releasing the same style of game over and over again.

          Games like Fear, which was just announced, where you are a young boy and you have to face his fears,
          • Hrm. Reading your comment here, I think there was a misunderstanding.

            I misunderstood your comment as hinting that you couldn't find many of the more popular games on GameCube, when you were actually pointing out that instead of focusing on those, Nintendo was releasing many of the more innovative, if lesser-known, games.

            All in all, I think we mostly agree, and now it's time for me to go back to playing my GameCube. ;-)
      • Nintendo is, I believe, the only console where you can play the uncensored, nudity-included version of BMX XXX.
  • Did they give anymore information about this title? Can't wait to shell some people off the course!

    Oh and it is all about the hot booth babes!
    • This game will have up to 8 players. You can connect up several GameCubes with broadband adapters and a LAN hub, similiar to the PS2's setup for Gran Turismo III. Each car has two characters, one to drive and one to attack. You can have them switch seats to utilize the different characters strengths at different times. The version I played didn't have a great sensation of speed, but it is still a ways from release, so that might get fixed.
      • What rock have I been hiding under!?! When did Nintendo announce a Broadband Adapter?!? Must go Google!!!
        • It's not only been announced, it's been out since last October. Trouble is, only one game currently supports it. The broadband adapter came out with Phantasy Star Online, the same time the modem came out. You could use either one with PSO. They didn't make that many, and they are hard to find. I assume they will make more available before Mario Kart DD comes out. Info here [ign.com].

          Amazon shows some [amazon.com]
          details, but it is out of stock and discontinued.
  • the widespread appeal among the younger generation may potentially draw them into the sewing field

    Mmmh, I think not.

  • WTF? (Score:1)

    by Shadarr ( 11622 )
    They didn't have anything showing for the GBA other than a slot car track? I want to hear how the new Advance Wars looks, and get somebody's take on the Wario Minigame-game.
  • info here. [carrera-toys.de]

    I bought one of those sewing machine for my mother. It's got some nice stuff. The lettering is particularly impressive. I'm sure she'll use the custom pattern stuff to its fullest too.

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