N-Query

Will Revolution really be so different?

Slice and Dice

i've seen lots of heads flying in screens and vids for PoP2, but are you going to be able to severe any other limbs like arms/legs, etc.? it would be sweet to slice a guy's leg off so he falls over before you behead him.

Matt responds: I'm not sure that I've seen Prince chop anybody's legs or arms off yet, but I have seen moves that allow him to slice enemies in half. So that should make you happy, you sick bastard.

Revolution and "Xbox Next"

Just a quick response to a letter in yesterdays mailbag, expressing concerns about Nintendo's revolution. Rumors are about that Nintendo's and Microsoft's new machines are so similar in design and architecture ( both based on Macintosh/Apple hardware ) that it makes porting a breeze for development studios. Any thoughts you have would be great. Also I've always looked at the gamecube as being a mature type of console for several reasons. However, after trying to read "Take a Breath" yesterday It makes me wonder.

Thanks.
Michael

Matt responds: Thanks for your letter, Michael. Sadly, I can assure you that yesterday's 'Take a Breath' letter was only a small sample of some of the fecal-mail that arrives in my inbox daily. Were I to publish any more, my fear is that readers' eyes would fill with blood and they would run screaming from their computers. In fact, I should probably warn you that since you read the letter, you only have seven days to live. Expect a scary phone call to reinforce that premise later.

To answer your question, you're probably right, though we can't say for sure one way or the other just yet. Yes, IBM and ATI are involved in developing both Nintendo's and Microsoft's hardware. In fact, the hardware specs that were leaked for "Xbox Next" would have originally described Revolution's hardware design to a tee, according to one source in the know. But things change, and more true still, Nintendo changes -- constantly. And while the internal guts of these machines may ultimately prove very similar, the input devices used to play them could be worlds apart, which would present some problems for development studios working across platforms.

Rash

there was a road rash game annouced for gcn along time ago but i havent heard a single thing about is it canceled or what

Matt responds: Mer? Unless this announcement took place in an alternate universe, I think you're incorrect. I've long been a huge fan of the Road Rash series and would have remembered such a sequel, were it in development.

Spiked

I've been playing the best sports game in a long while for the last week. And its not Madden 05. Beach Spikers is great. Any word on a sequel or other volleyball games for GC?

Matt responds: None. Unfortunately, Beach Spikers sold impressively poor on GameCube and therefore I wouldn't look forward to a sequel any time soon. Meanwhile, there are no other volleyball games in development.

Pikmin 2

When will the Pikmin 2 review be posted?

Matt responds: Sometime before the game comes out. Please feel free to speculate on the score we'll give the game right here. It's a fantastic sequel and will receive a very well-deserved high score.

Graphics and Art

"Ehem, so yeah, my system can pull twenty gazillion fotygons per second all while breakdancing on the roof upside down." "Oh yeah? Well my system can display twelve barillion texture fexture on romotized bexture a second all while shining green and proud. Beat that."

Okay, so enough with the mumbo jumbo. All this crap means nothing to the eyes, the mean by which the graphics truly shall be judged. I don't care if Person A has more polygons than Person B if Person B is better looking. Polygons mean zit in a case like this. Supply me with visual evidence on why your system got the best graphics and I shall be sold. Say a car got more gizmos under the hood but pales in the looks department next to a car with less gizmos under the hood. Does the gizmo jargon help the car look any better? Um, let me answer that: a big fat no.

Anyway, on the current competing home consoles who wins the title of "Best Graphics"? Definitely the one that feeds the eyes with candy like none before it. To me, the Resident Evil games of GameCube help the lunchbox net the "Best Graphics" award. I don't care how many polygons Game X pulled as long as my eyes say the RE games looked better.

Matt responds: Every system has its graphic stunner. (And by the way, there are far prettier games than either Halo or Halo 2, in my eyes.) On Xbox, games like Chronicles of Riddick and Splinter Cell come to mind. On PlayStation 2, Ico is an absolutely jaw-droppingly beautiful game. On GameCube, titles like Wind Waker and Resident Evil 4 are gorgeous. But as I wrote in yesterday's mailbag, so much of what appeals to us "graphically" has more to do with great art design than outstanding technical application. I would comfortably argue that a game like Okami from Clover Studio is every bit as gorgeous as, say, Metal Gear Solid 3, Fable, or Metroid Prime 2, for very different reasons.