Even though Banjo and Trouble in Paradise are Rare’s major sources of income (or so we hope) later this year, Pocket Paradise (a DS version of Rare’s 2006 critically acclaimed Viva Piñata) is also worthy of being in this same sentence. A lot of people saw that the original was simply for the wrong system, and from the news released yesterday, a lot of journalists agree with this prospect.
But before we summarize the hands-on impressions, let’s take a look to what the DS team has to say about their new game in different interviews around the Net. Lead Designer Gary Richards and Software Engineer Joe Humfrey sat down with the guys of Play.tm and Spong as well, while VPPP producer Paul Machacek spent some time with the people from Videogamer.
First, we’ve known that the game was completed in only eight months, from January 2007 to October 2007, which is one of the reasons why the recently commented feature to make a connection with Trouble in Paradise was ruled out: “we’ve never really overlapped. Our game was virtually done by the time they were starting off,” comments Joe Humfrey.
Of course, when you come with the idea of porting an Xbox game to the DS, you have to bear in mind the huge limitations you must face. As Humfrey explains, the team itself was split into two camps: “Half of us were saying: “We’re doing a 360 game on the DS? No way!” Then, we broke it down, and we considering leaving off more complex parts, unnecessary parts on the DS - Squazzils running up trees, pirching on buildings, etc.” But with a game of such a graphical detail, the visual aspect was also one of the most discussed fields: “We spent a long time thinking about how to implement this side of the game. We really wanted to capture the beauty of the Xbox 360 version in this game, and get it on the DS. I was in charge of the engineering for the landscaping, and we could have used some tile-based system - had everything locked-on a grid. But we really wanted everything to be more free-form than that, so I’m really proud that players can literally draw on the screen; with the dirt and the grass, etc. You can also build ponds anywhere, of any shape,” explains the VPPP software engineer. The game producer corroborates it himself: “They really really spend a huge amount of time trying to get things absolutely right. You wouldn’t believe the level of ‘is this pixel right or not?’.”
And what about gameplay limits? We all know how easily our gardens become full in the original VP title. Again, Joe Humfrey, comes with an explanation: “The large garden is four screens in size. But you start off with a smaller garden size. […] Actually, the limits are quite high on the DS. You’re more likely to be limited by physical space in the garden itself, than by the limitations of the DS. The actual footprint of the garden is quite similar to the Xbox 360 version. […] You can have 20 piñatas in the garden. It’ll take a long time to reach this stage.”
Obviously the main gameplay difference with the original is the stylus, but after testers started playing with the game they immediatly wanted to use the D-pad to scroll around the garden, so the team added that possibility. Moreover, if you are left-hander, you can use the right-side buttons instead: “We hoped there’d be a certain proportion who would appreciate that,” claims Humfrey. Nice!
Gary Richards also confirms that the new seven species will appear in both Paradise titles and comments on the trading system from VPDS via the local Wi-Fi: “You can just pack your piñatas and other items in a crate, or try your hand at sabotage by packing-up a sour piñata, and you can send that to your friend and it’ll run around his garden destroying everything.” But he also gives a hint of why the online trading was turned down: “We did discuss it at one point, but for the type of game this is, we’re not sure the younger kids go online.”
And talking about the audience. We all know that Rare and Microsoft are basically trying to reach to a lot of people with Piñata, but Joe Humfrey explains it clearly by saying that Microsoft “put the Viva Piñata franchise on TV to reach a broad audience, they put it on PC to reach a different broad audience, and they’re doing the same thing with the DS. They’re trying to widen the audience of the franchise, basically.” Paul Machacek seems to agree: “I particularly have a bee in my bonnet that as many people should see this as possible, because I think it can appeal to a very wide group of people regardless of what machine it is on; and all of the games stand up extremely well on their own.” Richards mentions it from the point of view of gameplay: “I think kids are attracted to it. But there’s so much depth to it that adults are entertained at the same time. The kiddie graphics are appealing… and they like messing around in the garden. This is why we included the Playground, so kids can play with previously unlocked piñatas. I can set-up a garden, unlock the animals, then pass the game to my son so he can play with the piñatas.” The overall feeling that this time the franchise will find its way to the general public comes from Richards’ mouth: “Fingers crossed the right people will find the game this time.”
While it’s a pity that Rare can’t accommodate the older audience in regards to the Wi-Fi connection, we’ll forgive them… for now.
So what do some major sites also think of the game from what they played? IGN, Eurogamer, and TVG are overall very impressed with it. Let’s go through the strengths and weaknesses uniquely mentioned on the three sites in our classical list form!
* IGN note that the encyclopedia is “quick, easy, and much more accessible than the 360 version was originally.”
* “Movement can be handled in three different ways, either via the d-pad, by sliding the stylus around the edges of the screen, or by moving it in the bottom right corner of the touch screen only on a small on-screen d-pad.” Of the three, IGN really likes the latter due to “since it’s quick, precise, and leaves the screen open to check out our garden as we zoom by.”
* Amongst all the good, Eurogamer add that when you zoom out, it adds “only a slight fussiness.”
* They give off the impression that Playground mode is more for the kids, while older fans will probably never use it due to the addictiveness that is the main game and the appeal of customization.
* The only concern TVG had their “inability to place fences accurately.” At the same time, Rare acknowledged that there was nothing wrong with the game itself.
* Romance sweets are now rewards for mini-missions instead of being as abundant as they once were.
* Last but not least, TVE are the only one of the three chosen popular sites that claim the lack of the “esteemed” Wi-Fi Connection to be a disappointment. A site after our own heart.
And that’s it! With this much positivity and promotion from THQ, once can hope that they’ll continue and make this game and prospect earn the sales it truly deserves.
From : http://mundorare.com/
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น