Console Clash 2K2: Games January 21, 2002 Alan Dang

Three consoles. One week of non-stop gaming.

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The Premise

When you compare different products, it usually makes sense to compare the products with an identical set of benchmarks. For video cards, you can’t benchmark Unreal for one card and Quake 3 for another and then somehow compare the framerates. For cars, comparing lap times from two different tracks is meaningless. With consoles, it’s different.

Paradoxically, a console is not defined by its software library but only by its exclusive titles. For the most part, games that show up on multiple platforms tend to be very similar to each other. The reason you have Madden 2002 for all three systems is for convenience, so comparing multi-platform games is only useful in revealing hardware strengths and weaknesses, which we’ve already covered. What makes or breaks a console are its exclusive games. You always have great games on every platform, but it’s the exclusive ones, the games you can’t find anywhere else that really sell the system.

In this article, we’ve chosen the most-hyped, exclusive games currently available to represent each console. These are the games everyone’s heard about and are most likely to influence your purchase decisions, and also seem to define the console’s personality. So if our comments about these games seem unusually positive, it’s only because we have tried to choose the best of the best.

The Contenders

Since 1999, every forward-looking PlayStation 2 article mentioned the triad of Sony’s Gran Turismo 3, Konami’s Metal Gear Solid 2, and Square’s Final Fantasy X. These are the games exclusive to the PlayStation 2 and would suppress those who would dare question the power of the PS2. These would be the games that would stun the world with not just graphics but next-generation gameplay. So we’ve been told. Two years after the Japanese launch of the PS2, all three games have shipped. Gran Turismo 3 lived up to the hype, offering cutting edge graphics and great gameplay to any fan of cars and driving, but the question is if Final Fantasy X and the extremely hyped Metal Gear Solid 2 can keep the PS2 momentum going strong.

Nintendo has always marketed the Gamecube as a family-friendly system where the focus is on gameplay rather than theatrics. Representing the Gamecube are Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader, the last of the “Classic Star Wars Trilogy” games and Super Smash Bros. Melee, the sequel to the N64 favorite. Factor5, the developers of Rogue Leader, have been long and vocal proponents of the Gamecube hardware, ignoring the fact that they have $100 less of equipment to work with. Coming from Nintendo’s own studios is Super Smash Bros. Melee. The original Super Smash Bros was a mega-hit for the Nintendo 64 and was a game that seemed to transcend age levels. Nintendo’s animation and game design had made the fighting game genre cute without being saccharine. This sequel has been at the top of the sales charts in both Japan and the US.

Leading the Xbox’s attack is Bungie’s Halo. Once a Mac-only developer, Bungie began the Halo program on the PC. After Microsoft acquired the company, Halo’s focus was shifted to the Xbox. With few exceptions, first person shooters just aren’t ideal for consoles. Many lamented the loss (or delay) of the PC version of Halo, but when the Xbox version shipped we saw the most involving first person shooter storyline of recent time and a 2-player co-op experience that exceeded all our expectations. Dead or Alive 3 leads the second wave of attacks with its style and flash.



SIDEBAR: If a game is mentioned in this article, we have completed it.

Final Fantasy X

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If video game historians ever became tenured professors at a renowned university, much of their scholarly endeavors would be directed toward the question of how and why the PSone was able to command an unwavering lead in the 32-bit era. This question would be the center of heated debate at international conferences and countless papers. Even so, one incontestable element would be the significance of Square’s console RPG, Final Fantasy VII. In Japan, Square had been considered one of the best developers in the genre and their commitment to the CD-ROM and Sony’s PlayStation made the system an easy choice for gamers. Final Fantasy VII had an even grander role in the US, as it transformed RPGs as something esoteric for the hardcore gamer into a more acceptable and appealing pastime. Before Final Fantasy VII, only a handful of Square’s RPGs made it to the US; our Final Fantasy III was Japan’s Final Fantasy VI. After FF7, every RPG Square has produced has come to our shores and the PlayStation became the RPG platform of choice. It would not be hyperbole to say that Square is as important to the console world as id is to the PC world. Those historians of the future would likely look back on Final Fantasy X with similar respect.

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PS2 only

Like FF7 before it, having Final Fantasy X exclusive to the PlayStation 2 secured Sony an early international lead in this console war. FFX is probably directly responsible for millions of PS2’s sold. In Japan alone, FFX sold almost 2 million copies in the first week and Square predicts worldwide sales of 10 million copies after all is said and done. Though Final Fantasy X did not receive the same amount of hype as Metal Gear Solid 2 did, we still had enormous expectations for the game. After playing, we now realize just how important Final Fantasy X is for the whole genre.

We can say without any hesitation that Final Fantasy X is the console RPG with the most universal appeal. What needs to be stressed is that Square has achieved this not by “dumbing down” the game for the masses, but by streamlining and carefully polishing the narrative and presentation. Not only is the story quite involving and touching, but the pacing of the up to 80-hour narrative is superb. Anytime I felt as if the game was beginning to slow down the next event would bring me back into the well-developed story.

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FFX Continued

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Presentation

Graphically, Final Fantasy X is both very good and very poor at the same time. The texture aliasing (shimmering) and polygonal aliasing are both evident and initially distracting, flaws of the PS2 hardware. In-game character animation seems imprecise and unrealistic as compared to the motion-captured FMV. Yet, when your character stops moving (hence removing the shimmering), FFX begins to look like a masterpiece. The backgrounds done in full 3D are exceptionally detailed with stylized trees that have polygonal leaves. Facial animation is used to convey emotion. Motion blur is well executed and used sparingly during battles. Depth-of-field effects are implemented widely, although the effect isn’t as clean as it could be, marred by a lack of a blurring (on the DOF) and significant edge-aliasing. Despite the occasional appearance of an upgraded PSone engine, the real beauty of the game is found in its art as opposed to graphics. The environments draw you into the exotic world of Spira and its tropical and evergreen forests, deserts, plains, and mountains. Despite technical flaws, FFX is one of the best visual experiences on the PS2.

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Cut scenes

The pre-rendered CG also deserves mention. Although it is no longer fashionable to use FMV, Final Fantasy X’s cut scenes are inseparable from the game. Console RPGs are the medium of a novelist, a cinematographer, and director -- watching the game is part of playing the game. Those who would vehemently disagree probably wouldn’t enjoy any game in this genre. That said, the FMV in FFX impresses with jaw-dropping detail and fluidity. Imagine the quality of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within with more interesting characters. Final Fantasy X contains full voice acting for the main characters and most of the important non-playable characters as well. Although FFX’s voice acting isn’t bad at all, it’s not as good as other games. Even so, you grow to enjoy the characters and end up ignoring the sometimes artificial delivery – a tribute to strength of FFX’s story.

Battle System

In addition to the narrative/exploration portion of the game, FFX has a completely redesigned turn-based battle system. Although only three characters fight at any given time, they can tag in and out of battles at any given time. This seemingly trivial feature makes a big difference in strategy because each of your characters has their own strengths and weaknesses, so continuous management and planning is required. Repetitive battles can be a barrier for RPG novices; however, FFX goes a very long way to keep things interesting and enjoyable.

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MGS2	Page:: ( 4 / 11 )

If you look at the title of this article, you’ll notice that it reads “MGS 2” and not “Metal Gear Solid 2.” Why is this? Well, MGS2 is a phenomenon, a miracle of the Emotion Engine, the vision of Konami, and the marvel of the marketing machine at its best. What other game has ever won two Best Game of E3 awards in a row – without actually having any hands-on gameplay? Simply put, the experience that began in 1999 that is MGS2 is so big that we dare not speak its name.

Some of you might be tempted to skip this section of the article. Maybe you think you already got your share of MGS2 coverage a month ago. While you’ve probably read reviews and articles about MGS2 at other magazines and websites, you’ve probably also read that Metal Gear Solid 2 couldn’t be hyped any further, and we just proved that’s simply not true. However it’s also the excessive hype surrounding MGS2 that makes it so difficult to talk about.

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Playing a movie

If Final Fantasy X was the “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” of games, Metal Gear Solid 2 is “The Rock” meets X-Files. Metal Gear Solid 2 is the action movie meets videogame concept done right. There are other games with a strong cinematic feel, however Metal Gear Solid 2’s is filled with Hollywood-like editing and cinematography, top-notch voice acting, melodramatic sequences in slow-motion, plenty of explosions, plenty of plot holes, and some of the best parts being in the trailer. Don’t make any mistake though; it’s still a good game.

The biggest disappointment is that the E3 trailers and demo CD do not accurately represent the overall gameplay at all. The demo and trailers presented a picture of an exciting game in which the action was nearly non-stop, involving unique scenarios in a highly dynamic environment where ice cubes melted and shooting steam pipes was a useful trick to confuse the enemy. In the second part of the game that accounts for 80% of total game time, this interaction wanes.

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Useless toys?

In MGS2, your character has been given a multitude of new moves such as using enemies as human shields, hiding in lockers, dropping down on their head, and throwing empty clips to lure guards. The trailers featured many of these stunts but these moves are rarely used in the actual game. There is frequently no opportunity and never a necessity. The addition of the first-person perspective has destroyed the balance in MGS2 for veteran FPS players. Sneaking around takes on less of an emphasis since the first person targeting allows you to subdue your opponents from so far away with consistent headshots. You can force yourself to avoid offensive attacks and play the game in stealth. However this doesn’t come naturally, a flaw of the level design and scripting. Ultimately, the gameplay falls slightly behind the original Metal Gear Solid in terms of “tactical espionage action.”


SIDEBAR: Can anyone actually remember how many times they’ve seen Top Gun?

MGS2 Continued

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Story

The storyline of MGS2 is less of an action movie than it is a mystery or conspiracy thriller, a marked change from the trailers. What you think you know is true and false will be challenged throughout the game, confirmed, rebuked, and then confirmed again. MGS2 has more fakes, reversals, surprises and characters with ulterior motives than any other game. Most importantly, the player is fooled most of the time and it is IMPOSSIBLE to predict the ending up until the very last point. In addition, the story can be read from multiple levels which has led to threads on console message boards with a thousand posts. This shift away from a more direct story makes the game less satisfying to finish since there are too many unresolved issues and plot holes. What’s noteworthy is how the game plays you along the way. If you don’t expect an action movie, the tortuous path the story takes is very interesting.

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Presentation

Graphically MGS2 is one of the best looking games on any system. Characters are richly modeled and move accurately. On top of the polygonal detail, MGS2 features gorgeous environmental effects. MGS2 is, like FFX, a game that will be most appreciated by those who agree that watching cut scenes is as important as playing the game. Actual gameplay accounts for perhaps 60% of game time, voice-acted CODEC messages (text screens) are responsible for as much as 10-15% of the game, and real-time cinemas filling the rest. These real-time cinemas are designed with the best of Hollywood techniques. The camera is almost always in motion with paths that seem to have been chosen with great care rather than just relaying on a handful of key frames. The attention to good cinematography doesn’t stop at just the camera work, but also the position of characters in a scene, lighting, Harry-Gregson Williams music, and editing. The graphics are further refined through careful use of motion and depth-of-field blur that not only looks great, but is judiciously used. The excitement you had after watching the E3 trailers are just a sample of what Konami’s team has to offer in this section.

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Rogue Leader

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If you saw the Tomb Raider movie, you might remember the part where those sword-wielding stone warriors ambush Lara Croft. At one point she’s surprised by one of these warriors and as it prepares to deliver a lethal blow, Lara takes out her pistol and shoots it in the head. The whole “killing a skilled swordsman with a single gunshot” stunt was really cool … about a decade ago when Indiana Jones did it. That’s a bit how I feel Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II.

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Been there, done that

As one of the first games announced for the GameCube, Rogue Leader received great press coverage throughout its development as what would probably be the last hurrah for the “Classic Trilogy” for some time, a welcome solace after Jar-Jar. Adding to the hype was Factor5, the most vocal proponents of the Gamecube’s hardware power, presenting the game as if it would be the best graphics ever produced. Early screenshots looked great, and Rogue Leader was the first Gamecube game I wanted to play and I eagerly anticipated its release. I realize now that I could have already played Rogue Leader three years ago in Rogue Squadron PC.

All of the gameplay issues with the first Rogue Squadron are present in Rogue Leader. Your mission objectives and primary targets aren’t obvious, making the game much more difficult than it should be. In the default third person view, aiming is very difficult, requiring you to simply look at where your previous shots have hit. Gameplay is the same repetitive drill with you basically holding down the fire button as you just try to shoot all of the enemies down or bomb your target. Three years ago, this gameplay might have been acceptable, but today it’s not; Tomb Raider had good gameplay when it first came out. Taking down Imperial walkers with your snowspeeder in Rogue Leader is no different from doing it in Shadows of the Empire, a N64 launch game.

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Apples and apple-pears

The game pales in comparison to the original X-Wing for the PC. Though marketed as a flight sim, X-Wing was trivially more complex but ultimately more rewarding. “But Alan! That’s not a fair comparison, you’re comparing two different types of games.” True, one game is the type that’s fun to play and one is the type gets old after an hour.

If you insist the addition of battery drain for lasers in X-Wing is too complex, you could compare Rogue Leader to Ace Combat 04, a PlayStation 2 arcade-flight shooter. AC04 does a better job when it comes to targeting in both the in-cockpit and third-person views. Time critical targets are clearly identified with the time remaining listed. The game is less repetitive and offers a more entertaining storyline than Rogue Leader, something we found surprising considering the strength of Star Wars universe and backdrop of the movies.


SIDEBAR: N-Sync was filmed for a cameo in Star Wars Episode II.

Rogue Leader Graphics

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The polygon counts of fighters are improved from Rogue Squadron, with more enemies appearing on screen. Textures are detailed with very good use of emboss bump-mapping to increase apparent detail. This is particularly noticeable in ground textures. One of the new features of Rogue Leader is the cel-shading targeting computer in which all Z-buffer data is “flattened” allowing you to see obstructed enemies. Yet despite these features, I still felt as if I was simply playing the original game with an S3TC upgrade patch. Ground textures look great with superb emboss bump-mapping. However, colored lighting from lasers looks just like PC games from 3 years ago (albeit more of it). Explosions did not have much impact, nor were debris effects widely used. When you shoot marching snowtroopers during the Battle of Hoth they just disappear. That’s it. No scrambling, no significant return fire, and most aggravating, not even a fall animation. When you “trip” Imperial walkers with your Snowspeeder tow cable, it looks even worse. The cable just seems to fall to the ground as the walker tips over to the side. “Next-generation textures and bump-mapping” are useless without the next generation animation.

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Super Smash Bros. Melee!

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Nintendo’s strength has always been their first party, universally appealing franchises such as Mario, F-Zero, Zelda, and kid-specific franchises such as Pokémon. Super Smash Bros. Melee is a 4-player fighting game with no gratuitous violence that allows you to pit Nintendo’s heroes (and villains) against each other. Think Pikachu could take down both Link and Mario or that Kirby could simply swallow Donkey Kong? With Super Smash Bros. Melee, you can answer these questions.

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How it differs

The gameplay does not involve a traditional health bar. While each attack weakens your opponent, the round isn’t complete when their damage has reached 100%. The goal is to knock your opponents off the level rather than knock them out. Fresh opponents may be able to jump (or fly) back when near the edge, but as players grow weaker, physical attacks push them farther away from center stage, making it more difficult to recover. At 60% damage, you may be at risk of losing when near the edge of the levels. However, it may take 200% damage before you’re knocked out if you always loiter near the middle of the stage. Despite the wide variety of characters, character balance is very good due in part to this system, but also because no individual move is actually that powerful no matter how cool it looks.

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Single Player

The single player mode includes a new Adventure mode in which you have to navigate a side scrolling level of sorts before reaching the actual battle. It’s more like a bonus stage than anything else, however it’s a nice diversion to the regular battles. The Mushroom Kingdom’s Mario-esque level is probably the most memorable, but each has its own unique flavor.

The importance of Nintendo’s franchises in fighting this console war could not have a better example. Not only do you have a wide selection of a playable characters, but there are also plenty of cameo appearances of different Pokémon and other games. Sometimes franchises will present themselves in more subdued ways such as playing classic Donkey Kong music when you pick up a hammer.

Despite having one of the longest titles in our comparison, we only need one page to say what we want to say about the game. It’s just a simple game that’s a lot of fun.


SIDEBAR: Did you know that John Carmack is working with a team of aerospace enthusiasts in developing a hydrogen peroxide powered rocket? http://www.armadilloaerospace.com

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We’ve talked in great detail about Halo and Dead or Alive 3 in ourXbox Launch Overview, so I’ll keep my comments short.

Halo

With the Xbox being the system with the latest graphics hardware, it’s interesting to note that the best game for the Xbox is the one with the most framerate stutters. Graphics flaws aside for a moment, a quick visit to our sister-site Gamers.com has the ZD staff giving it a perfect 10/10 and a user rating of 9.2. Just what makes Halo so impressive? Good level design/storytelling and good gameplay. As we mentioned in our earlier Xbox article, weapon balance is well executed in Halo, where conscious decisions between using alien or marine weapons must be made, since marine weapons are different, not worse than alien technology. With the limitation of only being able to carry two weapons at any given time, you need to think about which style of weapon will be easier to find replacement ammo for and which will pack sufficient firepower. In addition to the solid gameplay, levels are expansive and well designed. It’s linear enough so that you know where to go, but not so linear that it feels restrictive. Combined with an engrossing narrative that’s well integrated with the game (an evolution of Half-Life), it’s not too hard to see why everyone’s gushing over Halo.

However, that’s not to say that the game is flawless. As we mentioned earlier, there are some visual glitches such as choppy framerates and we cannot forgive some of the lengthy load times. The strong marine team AI and interesting level design found in the early game disappear toward the end, leading to repetitive textures, tunnels and levels.

Dead or Alive 3

There’s not much more we can add to our discussion about DOA3 than what has been written in the Xbox Launch Overview. Dead or Alive 3 is one of the best looking games of any console, full of rich environments, high-polygon characters, and razor sharp images with only minimal aliasing. From one perspective, DOA3 is a tech demo for the Xbox, showing off the easy programming environment and rich texturing abilities of the system. Tecmo’s Team Ninja has created one of the best Xbox games on their first attempt. In terms of gameplay, DOA3 doesn’t have any of the strategy or skill required in other fighters such as Capcom vs. SNK or Tekken Tag Tournament. You play Dead or Alive 3 the same reason you watch kung fu movies such as Iron Monkey. No one ever doubts that the good guys will win. It’s just a question of what crazy moves will make their way into a particular battle. Dead or Alive 3 has that same performance and visual feast of a good kung-fu movie.

When human opponents are thrown into the mix either via simple versus matches or 4-player tag team battles, Dead or Alive 3’s shallow gameplay becomes more complex. With Super Smash Bros. Melee, the balance was achieved by making sure no move was too powerful. In DOA3, attacks are excessively powerful, with most of the attacks capable of being blocked or reversed. The balance of power therefore comes from something almost as similar as mutually assured destruction. It just works.


SIDEBAR: The Xbox will launch in Japan on February 22.

Ballistics Report

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In choosing the games to look into for this article, we simply picked the games that had the most buzz. There are other great games for each system; however, as we alluded to on the first page, looking at these games seems to reveal a certain characteristic about the console.

Both Final Fantasy X and Metal Gear Solid 2 are heavily story-oriented. Taking a step back, this seems to be a characteristic of PS2 games with greater proportion than you might expect. We mentioned Ace Combat 04 already, but games like Grand Theft Auto 3 and Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance also attempt to tell a “grand” storyline. Grand Theft Auto 3 is actually the first game in its series with a coherent storyline and AC04 is the first US Ace Combat with a story. Sony promised “Hollywood in your home,” and indeed many of the exclusive titles for the PS2 seem to be concentrated on storytelling.

On the GameCube, we have games which are very easy to pick up and play for 15 minutes. With Rogue Leader, simplicity has led to repetitiveness, but with Super Smash Bros. Melee, the simple interface and control do not damper the game at all. The other popular exclusive titles such as Super Monkey Ball, Luigi’s Mansion, or Wave Race all seem to fit with this description of simple but fun. Nintendo was quick to point out that the GameCube was not designed to be a multi-purpose entertainment hub with extravagant budgets for games, but a console with good games.

Though Microsoft would later spend time to point out that Xbox was also “games first” console to deflect any “it’s a PC” comments, Microsoft’s earliest words were that Bill Gates told the engineers that they had to develop a console at least three times as powerful as anything else out there. Look to the games on the Xbox at you’ll see that most of the games have great graphics. This has more to do with the hardware capabilities than content fitting a personality, however it’s worthwhile to notice how the popular exclusive Xbox games (PGR, Halo, DOA3, Munch’s Oddysee) don’t seem to have as much of a binding gameplay element other than nice graphics.

We’ve conveniently picked examples fitting our needs and there are more than a few exceptions. Gran Turismo 3 doesn’t have a storyline. Resident Evil for the GameCube is neither easy to pick up and play for 15 minutes nor is it gameplay-over-story. Halo itself is a game that has elements of all three stereotypes. However, the way a console is perceived by the public directly affects its sales.

Perceptions

The Dreamcast had great titles from every genre, however Sega focused its advertising on niche games such as Space Channel 5 and Shenmue, making it seem “too hardcore” for the masses. Accordingly, despite unanimous praise for the system in the print and online press, the average individual did not see the Dreamcast as something he should get.

Nintendo’s “kid friendly” aura seems unshakable and while some fanboys consider that a weakness, this has also Nintendo helped it sell systems. The N64 had games like Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, and Conker’s Bad Fur Day. The GameCube has Resident Evil. None of them kid friendly, yet none of those could affect people’s perceptions. The PSone actually offered more Disney-themed video games than Nintendo did, but that didn’t matter.

Microsoft has made a good start by establishing itself as the system with the most graphics power, allowing them to grab the attention of the technically oriented. However, what they need to do now is develop an identity that will attract the masses. Currently, the Xbox is a great system with great games. However when the PS2 came out, people had the triad of GT3, FFX, and MGS2 to look forward to. When Gamecube was released, people were talking about the new cel shaded Zelda. Unfortunately, with Halo already released, there doesn’t seem to be a single game for Xbox proponents to rally around other than the hardware.

SIDEBAR: The Xbox enters

the console war with thunder.

Where is the lightning?

Final Verdicts

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