Video Games: PC, PSP, PS3, xBox, and Wii Gaming News

Like a child’s nightmare gone wrong, Nintendo has issued a release on their Nintendo Revolution subdomain declaring that their new next-generation console will in fact be named Wii, pronounced “Whee.” Unprofessionally, http://wii.nintendo.com/ doesn’t work yet. The press release reads:

Introducing … Wii. As in “we.”

While the code-name “Revolution” expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer. Wii will break down that wall that separates video game players from everybody else. Wii will put people more in touch with their games … and each other.

But you’re probably asking: What does the name mean? Wii sounds like “we,” which emphasizes this console is for everyone. Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii. Wii has a distinctive “ii” spelling that symbolizes both the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play. And Wii, as a name and a console, brings something revolutionary to the world of video games that sets it apart from the crowd.

So that’s Wii. But now Nintendo needs you. Because, it’s really not about you or me. It’s about Wii. And together, Wii will change everything.

Nintendo’s clever attempts to rebrand the first-person plural pronoun “we” have failed, for a number of reasons:

1. The word “Wii” looks close to “WWII.” Subconscious connotations with World War II will not sell video games to families. Heil Nintendo?
2. Using “Wii” with the verb “play” presents problems. Imagine children asking, “Want to come over and play with my wii?” The sexual connotations will become confused.

Their temporary logo, for those interested, looks like this:

As it’s completely lame–just a sans-serif font with “wii” on it–Nintendo will hopefully come out with something more colorful.

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Stickee, a self-proclaimed “Creative Digital Agency,” has conjured up a rather intriguing, fully-interactive viral charade called “I love Dragon Quest”, which is loosely based off of the Dragon Quest franchise that has its roots deeply embedded in the 80’s, in a time when the Rubik’s cube was hip stuff! Wikipedia defines “viral marketing” as a “marketing technique that seek[s] to exploit pre-existing social networks to produce exponential increases in brand awareness, through viral processes similar to the spread of an epidemic. It is word-of-mouth delivered and enhanced online; it harnesses the network effect of the Internet and can be very useful in reaching a large number of people rapidly.” Of course, the “pre-existing social networks” that this viral campaign is exploiting are none other than the aforementioned Dragon Quest series. Like all viral advertisement campaigns, there is a reason, and the purpose of this “I Love Dragon Quest” campaign is “to promote the April release of Dragon Quest [VIII] in Europe” (which is exclusively available for the PS2). Here is a clip from the viral.

The fully-interactive viral can be found here. The viral is essentially a game where the player must interrupt a Japanese guy named Nobu from setting the world’s longest marathon session of Dragon Quest gaming. Although I haven’t finished playing it, there are said to be many different possible endings, so get to work!

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There are three new screenshots and a number of new playable character descriptions that have been released for LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy… and Lucasarts has decided to share the LEGO love with all of us!  Joystiq sums it up quite well:

“Excerpts detailing the new characters and their abilities follow after the jump, as do the three screenshots mentioned, which capture Chewie, Han, Leia, and even Obi-Wan doing his best non-canon work (as can be seen in the Free Play shot aboard the Blockade Runner featured here).

If you played through the original LEGO Star Wars on consoles or the PC, you’ll be able to import its unlocked characters into the sequel, which should come in handy to begin General Grievous’s training with Yoda. (More prequel characters = more sequel lightsabers.) And if you unlocked that secret (but short) bonus level–after completing all the mission requirements in the prequel–you know that you’ll need to get your hands on the sequel. Anyone else lookin’ forward to more LEGO action this fall?”

Without further ado, here are the screenshots you have to see:

Wookie gone wild: Chewie “disarms” an Imperial Trooper. Kenobi looks on in envy, awe, and maybe a little amusement.

Han sends Leia a non-verbal message: “WINK.” Body language can be a powerful thing.

Obi-Wan taking a swing on Leia’s Blockade Runner. Must be that Expanded Universe stuff…

“With the previous game save from the original LEGO Star Wars, it’s actually possible to have over 100 premade Star Wars characters available in the sequel, with over 50 from the original and close to 60 from LSW II (and that number doesn’t count all the user-customized characters possible). The following are quotes and direct excerpts of the new characters and abilities from the upcoming title:

But what good is having so many characters without them showing some, well…character? Thankfully, LEGO Star Wars II prevails by staying true to the likes of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia with character-specific attacks. Chewbacca rips arms out of sockets, for instance, while Darth Vader Force chokes enemies to pieces, Jawas disable droids with their ionization guns, and bounty hunters like Boba Fett, Bossk and IG-88 unleash thermal detenators to clear groups of enemies or to break through scenery. You might even recognize new abilities for characters making a second appearance in a LEGO Star Wars game, like R2-D2, whose periscope allows him to see where he’s headed as he navigates the swamps of Dagobah.

‘My favorite character-specific move has to be the Emperor’s Force lightning. I would hate to be on the receiving end of that,’ comments [producer David] Perkinson. ‘I also love Obi-Wan’s Jedi mind trick and the humorous ways it stuns its victims. When he performs his mind trick, Jawas get stars over their heads while stormtroopers’ heads actually turn completely around.’

With so many characters available in LEGO Star Wars II, the game presents endless replayability possibilities as you take the character of your choice through Free Play mode. ‘You can make Darth Maul a hero of the Rebellion,’ says Perkinson. ‘Or you can have Grand Moff Tarkin take on the rancor at Jabba’s Palace. Or help General Grievous train with Yoda on Dagobah.’

‘Grievous training with Yoda would certainly be interesting, although I doubt he’d have the patience!’ jokes [director Tom] Stone. ‘I’m looking forward to freaking out a young Anakin Skywalker and introducing him to his later self aboard the Death Star.’”

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WHAT IS THE RELEASE DATE?
The game will be available in stores in North America and Europe the week of March 20th. Check with your local retail store to find out when they will receive their copies.

How long has it been in development?
Since Mid 2002.

What does the name “Oblivion” mean?
Tamriel is the world of The Elder Scrolls and Oblivion is the equivalent of Hell in Tamriel.

Where does Oblivion take place?
In Cyrodiil, which is the capital province of Tamriel, as well as parts of Oblivion itself.

What platforms will Oblivion be released on?
PC and Xbox 360.

WHAT IS OBLIVION RATED?
Oblivion has been rated Teen (Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence) by the ESRB.

What are the PC system requirements?

Recommended:

Minimum System Requirements:

• Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows XP 64-bit
• 512MB System RAM
• 2 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
• 128MB Direct3D compatible video card
• and DirectX 9.0 compatible driver;
• 8x DVD-ROM drive
• 4.6 GB free hard disk space
• DirectX 9.0c (included)
• DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card
• Keyboard, Mouse

Supported Video Card Chipsets:

• ATI X1900 series
• ATI X1800 series
• ATI X1600 series
• ATI X1300 series
• ATI X850 series
• ATI x800 series
• ATI x700 series
• ATI x600 series
• ATI Radeon 9800 series
• ATI Radeon 9700 series
• ATI Radeon 9600 series
• ATI Radeon 9500 series
• NVIDIA GeForce 7800 series
• NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series
• NVIDIA GeForce 6600 series
• NVIDIA GeForce 6200 series
• NVIDIA GeForce FX series

Will Oblivion include multiplayer?
No, Oblivion is a single-player game only. Rather than split our focus between two different types of gameplay, we’d rather focus on one and make it the best single-player experience possible.

What perspective do I play the game in, first or third-person?
Both. The game is meant to be played first person. However, you can toggle the view with the press of a button/key. Both views are available throughout the entire game.

Will the TES Construction Set be included again?
The TES CS will be available to download for the PC version. It will not be available for the Xbox 360.

Does the story in Oblivion pick up where Morrowind ended?
No, each chapter of the Elder Scrolls series is a different story unto itself and isn’t directly connected to any of the other storylines. All of it adds to the lore and history of The Elder Scrolls, but you don’t have to play previous games to know what’s going on in this one.

I have lots of ideas and questions, where do I send them?
We encourage you to register on our official forums and post your ideas and questions in the Oblivion section, where our fans and developers share and discuss ideas and answer questions about the game and what they’d like to see.

Are those real screenshots or are they renders?
All the screenshots are 100% authentic screenshots taken while playing the game.

Where can I get more information on the game?
Continually visit our website and check our previews and interviews sections. Information will slowly be revealed on the game until it is released.

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The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Q&A - Oblivion at E3 2005

Producer Todd Howard gives us the latest details on Oblivion, from what’s being shown at E3 to the improvements in the game.
Talk about timing. The last time Microsoft launched a console, Bethesda Softworks delivered the first major role-playing game for it. That game was The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, a sprawling RPG that let you explore a massive continent and follow your own path. Now with Microsoft preparing to deliver the Xbox 360 this year, Bethesda looks to deliver the first major role-playing game for that platform, in the form of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Like before, you’ll get to explore a massive world and follow your own path, but this time, you’ll get to do so with a graphical fidelity that was only dreamed of before. Eye candy aside, there are a lot of gameplay improvements in Oblivion as well, and we caught up with producer Todd Howard for the details being released at E3.

GameSpot: Could you give us an update on Oblivion’s progress? What’s on display at E3?

Todd Howard: We’re in the final phases of development. Most of the content is in the game, and we’re trying to polish it all up. We’ll show off all the major features of the game behind closed doors at E3. It’s a hard game to boil down to a short demo, but I think we’ve got something people will enjoy and hopefully come away with a good idea of what we’re tying to accomplish.

GS: What is the current state of the world of Tamriel in development and production? We know the world will be huge; how much of it is done? What kind of environments will we eventually see beyond the very impressive-looking forests shown in the early screenshots?

TH: The majority of it is built. Actually, the whole thing is built, but we’re going through and doing our “clutter pass.” That’s where we drop in all the stuff, like books, weapons, and thousands of forks and plates. We’re big fans of world clutter. Forest covers about half the game’s space, but even within the forest we have subregions of more tropical-based stuff going up to colder, more conifer-laden areas.

GS: Now that we’re here at E3, what can you tell us about the game’s quest system and overall gameplay direction? How will quests keep players from wandering off the beaten path and potentially losing track of what they’re supposed to do? How will other features, such as the compass, help with this, and how will they be integrated with quests? Will there be a book-style quest log like the one in Morrowind, as well as hand-drawn maps? Or will there be more-streamlined quest logs and in-game maps that can be sorted by area and modified with player notes?

TH: The game’s quest log is broken up by quest, so you see all your active and completed quests and what you have to accomplish next on that quest. It’s much more like the systems that are becoming common in games like Jade Empire or World of Warcraft. You can select any quest, and for the most part, it will highlight on the map exactly where you need to go to accomplish the next step. This mark is also noted on your compass. Some quests have hidden goals, such as “find the secret cave,” and that would not be marked. So we only mark things we want you to know about. For instance, someone gives you a quest to go to the fighter’s guild. The guild is instantly marked on your compass and the map as your quest target, so you can just walk to it without checking over any directions or maps. For the most part, you can follow quests by just following your compass. Again, many quests have alternate paths and secret parts, where nothing gets marked, and that’s open for you to discover.

GS: Tell us about the advancements in the combat system. We already know that the game will have an overhauled combat system that will be more reactive to player input for attacking and blocking with a shield (rather than relying entirely on skill checks). What can you tell us about the combat, about how different weapons will work? Will they be differentiated based on how they’re swung in battle, as in Morrowind? How will ranged combat with bows and other missile weapons work? And are there new tactics and strategies that will emerge in the game?
TH: Our E3 demo shows all of that quite well. We’ve fully integrated melee, blocking, magic, and stealth combat (bows) into one system. You can easily switch between all three, and it really makes the combat decisions interesting. With just melee, which we spent forever tweaking, you have different moves you can pull off depending on player skill and the weapon you have. We think we have a nice gameplay balance and feel between daggers, swords, axes, and larger two-handed weapons. Each feel very different to use in the game, the same way a pistol, rifle, or rocket launcher does in, say, Half-Life.

GS: Are there any details you can disclose about the game’s loot and item systems? Are there plans to let players enchant their own weapons with captured enemies’ souls like in Morrowind, or perhaps through other means, like alchemy? Will the game feature a similar alchemy system that will let players forage for components? Are there any other interesting new crafting features to share?

TH: Yes we have enchanting, alchemy, and the like again. We have always loved those types of things in our games. Especially now with the huge dense forests, alchemy is even more intriguing. We have lots of opportunities to put cool things growing around that you can use.

GS: What can you tell us about the character development system? Is it still a hybrid of both experience levels and advancing character skills? Are characters still defined by their primary skills, rather than by a specific character class? How much variation will different players end up seeing among their final characters?

TH: There are changes, but not as many in this area. I think the skill-based leveling system works very well. It can be repetitive, but it’s fun and rewards you for actually role-playing. We’ve tweaked it, there are different skills and such, and the balance is better, but it will still be a “use-based” system.

GS: Are there any new story details you can reveal to us for E3? We understand that the game takes place in Tamriel in the wake of the emperor’s death–an event that allows gates to Oblivion (hell, essentially) to open and allows foul creatures to cross into the world. Can you disclose more information about who the player character is and how the player character will affect the world?

TH: Not at this time; we’re keeping the story details under wraps other than that. I can say that each faction has its own story, which leads to a great resolution in each of them and a true feeling of accomplishment when you rise to the head of a guild.

GS: What can you tell us about the game’s factions? Which of the powerful guilds we’ve seen in Morrowind will make a comeback in Oblivion? How will players interact with the factions–will they be gaining standing within them and eventually opposing others, as in Morrowind? Will there be new consequences or a more-dynamic system that tracks your standing with guilds? Will there be any new benefits for attaining a high rank in a guild, such as access to new areas or quests?

TH: We have a number of guilds, highlighted by the big four: mages, fighters, thieves, and the Dark Brotherhood (the assassin’s guild). We want each guild to basically be its own game, with a complete story, power arc, and major rewards for reaching the top. Standing in one guild does not affect another for the most part. We like players to be able to experience them all, but obviously certain character classes have an easier go of one or another.

GS: Finally, is there anything else you’d like to add about Oblivion?

TH: I hope all the press get a chance to see it at E3 and everyone checks out the new trailer that’s being released. Thanks!

GS: Thank you very much, Todd.

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