Seattle est-il prêt pour tout geekiness de Pax V ?

Êtes toi prêt à joindre Gabe et Tycho à Pax?  Août. 29-31, 2008 au commerce de l'état de Washington Et centre de convention dans les geeks fiers de Seattle s'assembleront pour obtenir leur butin d'arcade de penny signé par le duo qui l'a commencé tout.  S'ils peuvent ne pas acquérir une signature ou des conseils à Sur le précipice Pluie-Lisse de l'obscurité, ils recueilleront la sagesse beaucoup geeky du vaste choix de chefs d'Etat de jeu qui seront là.

Trois jours de mains sur le jeu jouent le bruit comme assez pour faire à Pax seul un succès d'hurler.  Microsoft, les jeux d'UbiSoft, Nintendo, et le Sony, sont justes certains des grands cogneurs qui exhiberont et montreront des prereleases à cette exposition de jeu qui a provenu d'un passe-temps.

ECTO-1, of Ghostbuster fame, the PAX 10 independent games showcase, and two nights of music are just teasers of what you will enjoy while you are the exploring every square inch of the almost doubled exhibition hall.  What more can one ask for, next to face to face time with Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik themselves?  Well, if you cannot settle for that, be sure to check out the approximately 72 games exhibitors that are going to be geared up ready to keep you occupied.  Game on!

Patapon

When unexpected genres cross in the videogame world, it’s often a recipe for disaster.  However, in combining the real-time tactical genre with that of the rhythm game, Patapon has not only set out to be all things for all people, but has for the most part succeeded.

The player takes the role of an omnipresent deity worshipped by the Patapons, a tribe of hunter/gatherers that marches to the beat of sacred drums that you control.  By beating these drums in the correct sequence, the player can order the Patapons to attack, defend, or retreat.  Players can further customize the Patapon army by introducing new units such as cavalry or ‘bards’ and collecting upgraded weaponry.  Over the series of missions, players lead the Patapons through forests, jungles, and deserts, fighting the enemy Zigaton tribe and defeating legendary beasts to find Earthend and the mysterious “IT.”

The game’s art is best described as simplified cartoonish 2D.  It will remind gamers of Loco Roco, another game produced by Japan Studios.  This means that instead of awkward-looking 3D, players can expect smooth animation and an eye-pleasing environment in which to lead the Patapons.  The soundtrack is quite catchy, although after extended playing sessions one may never want to hear “pata-pata-pata-pon” ever again.  Most importantly, it’s fun to watch your ragtag army of Patapons tear through the opposition and dance their way across the victory line.

The game’s two apparent flaws are both genre-specific.  On the rhythm side, hardcore music game junkies may find the simple beats to be too simple, nevermind that they’re always at the same tempo.  When in “Fever” mode (which gives units stat boosts as a reward for keeping with the beat), the only way to adjust to an enemy’s changing attack is to drop out of “Fever”, throwing off your army’s rhythm and giving the enemy opportunity to strike.  Allowing players to adjust the tempo (possibly with the D-pad, as the only buttons used during play are on the right side of the PSP), would allow for adjusting fluently to the situation, and possibly provide new challenges where they were forced to stay at a certain tempo in special areas.

On the tactical side, the option to create new units using materials collected both during missions and through minigames is hamstrung by what amounts to grinding for loot through various “hunting” missions.  During combat, one cannot command the individual squads of units separately - when one attacks, all attack.  Additionally, money and items dropped by fallen enemies disappear after a period of time, which means that when the archers cut down the lancers halfway across the screen, by the time the foot soldiers break through that Flaming Sword of Badassness will have already popped out of existence.

Though frustrating at times (and painful for the right hand when played for long periods), Patapon is a fun experience that proves the PSP to be a capable platform for new gaming concepts.

Sony Sells 4 PS3s in Europe

During today’s PlayStation Day event, SCEE CEO David Reeves announced that Sony’s PlayStation 3 has outsold the Xbox 360 in the European market.

According to Reeves, Sony has moved a total of 5 million PS3s in Europe, out-pacing sales of the similar game console from Microsoft. Sony also announced movement of 12 million PSP units as well as a total of 48 million PS2s consoles.

Being no fool, Reeves didn’t make any mention of Nintendo Wii sales in Europe.