I talked about it a bit the other day, but I wasn’t fully able to convey my new found love for Donkey Kong Country Returns.
It’s crazy to think that Retro Studios, the team behind the Metroid Prime trilogy, were able to faithfully restore what made DKC so great back in the day – I say this only having seen it over the Internet, of course.
In the past I’ve nitpicked the Prime trilogy a bit – more specifically Corruption – but that’s mostly thanks to my ideals on what makes for a great Metroid experience. I’ve never doubted Retro’s talent, something they clearly have a lot of considering how well they’ve transitioned from Metroid to Donkey Kong.
From an art standpoint, I’d put Retro’s design against EAD Tokyo’s Jungle Beat any day. At the very least, it’s on part with it, but I’d argue DKC Returns trumps Jungle Beat.
It sort of makes you wonder what they could’ve done with the Metroid series were they told to go in a classic direction.
P.S. In the past few years or so, I’ve noticed quite a few people bad-mouthing classic Donkey Kong Country. It’s weird considering how universally praised it was back in the day.
Just to be clear: if you’re one of the bad-mouthers, you are wrong.
Posted by Justin on February 5th, 2010 | 1 comment
High Voltage Studios were pretty big on the whole “bring core titles to Wii” theory and while they didn’t see the highest form of success with The Conduit, it didn’t do that bad. Take their 350,000 in worldwide sales for a game I didn’t, uh, care for, and I’d say they made out pretty good.
But there’s that whole other market of millions and millions of gamers on the 360 and PS3 they’re missing out on, both of which are crowds that go unquestioned as to whether they prefer a more casual or core experience.
So while it may be a little surprising to hear that The Grinder was just announced as a multiplatform game to be spread across the Wii, PS3, 360, and PC, I guess it really shouldn’t be. READ MORE
Sorry Pandemic, but unlike a mercenary, I don’t think “payback is a comin’.” EA isn’t footing the bill and it’s time to close the doors.
As you may have already heard, Pandemic (Mercenaries, Destroy All Humans) are heading down for the count. It’s always sad to see a developer go, but EA is facing rough times and the lack of production on Pandemic’s side has led to an untimely demise.
I think it’s safe to assume at this point that EA doesn’t have grandiose dreams of Pandemic’s swan song The Saboteur becoming a multi-million seller. It’s unfortunate, too, because The Saboteur does look good, but nobody is going to buy it.
I’ve never played a Pandemic game, yet I’m saddened by this news.
Naturally, I’m saddened by all the jobs lost in this ordeal, but also, they came up with the Mercenaries 2 commercial theme. Have you ever heard it? If you recognize the quote up top, then yes, you have.