This Week in Games, January 18, 2008.
Transcript below:
It's pretty apparent that the industry has returned to the traditional post-holiday depression: only Midway and Interplay's stocks are one the rise, while almost every other gaming stock is even or taking a dive.
David Edery, Worldwide Gamers Portfolio Manager for Xbox Live, in an effort to increase sales and conversion rates of Xbox Live demos and trials advised developers that they should strive to make quality demos for upcoming products. He believes that many teams simply abandon the demos too soon, releasing a lackluster experience for the user. Apparently David is the king of the obvious stating "if the trial stinks, most people won't bother to" buy the full game.
Although he's chock full of obviousness, David also offers some useful advice: developers should not only build their demos more completely, but should also end them on a cliffhanger so the player is left wanting more. This bit of advice leads me to believe that David was the reason for Halo 2's ending
Sierra apparently has nothing better to do than continue to bastardize Al Lowe's bastard child, Leisure Suit Larry. This time, Sierra Entertainment and Team 17 have announced Leisure Suit Larry's Box Office Bust for Fall 2008 on the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC, and select mobile phones.
The games places Larry - the Magna Cum Laude bastardization from the last game - working on his uncle Larry's movie lot, and ends up trying to protect the studio from a rival company, with gameplay including mission-based exploration, platforming, racing, and puzzle-solving. There will also be a "Director's Game" that allows the player to create their own Larry movies.
Yes, platforming. I do believe this means the Larry series is officially eating itself.
If you're looking for a triumphant return of Al Lowe writing the script then don't hold your breath. The script will be written by Allen Covert - whose writing career includes Eight Crazy Nights, Grandma's Boy, and the Benchwarmers. The game will be voiced by several big names including Jay Mohr, Dave Attell, and Carmen Electra.
There Can Be Only One! Eidos has officially announced that it will be bringing the cult-hit Highlander to the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC later this year. The game, to be developed by Widescreen Games, will be written by Highlander TV Series writer David Abramowitz, and will take Owen MacLeod across multiple locations through the centuries - from first-century Pompeii through futuristic New York City.
How will Widescreen Games handle MacLeod's immortality? Eidos says that it will be incorporated it into the gameplay by letting players manipulate certain situations to their advantage that would normally cause death. The game will also include swordplay and the ever-popular Quickening powers.
The one question I have is: why aren't we getting a Wii version? Come on, swinging the wii-mote and chopping another immortals head off is the definition of fun.
Empire Interactive announced that it, along with Hoplite Research and Cyan Worlds, will bring Myst to the DS. That's right, the game that brought maddening puzzle solving to the mainstream gamer is coming to the most wildly popular gaming system ever. Unfortunately for veteran gamers, Myst DS is just a remake of the original Myst with a new soundtrack, re-mastered video, and will make use of the dual screens.
Don't fall for the hype though, and take that information for what it's really worth, because Myst was originally a CD game with a beautiful digital soundtrack, which now has to be translated into a portable handheld form, and the screen size has been drastically reduced, so it makes sense that the sounds and movies both need to be re-mastered.
The important question is: how will the game make use of the dual screens? The top screen will be used to provide information and video of magnified items while the bottom screen will access mini tools and navigate the world. How exciting and original.
I was going to say something here about John Romeo's disapproval of Gamecock, but the Ion Storm founders opinions haven't mattered in about a decade, so let's move on to the new releases.
Here are the releases for the week of Jan 20th, 2008:
- On the Wii we have: No More Hero, One Piece: Unlimited Adventure, and Endless Ocean
- The DS will see: Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
- The Playstation 3 & Xbox 360 are getting Burnout Paradise
- The Playstation 2 (that thing's still alive and kicking) is getting Iridium Runners
- The PC will get Pirates of the Burning Sea, and Pacific Storm: Allies
- Finally, the lonely PSP is getting Rainbow Islands Evolutions