May 2006 Issue

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The writers of the Gaming Chronicle will add their video game impressions, reviews, previews, and general opinion columns below this post.

(If you are interested in writing for the Chronicle, then click on the groups link in the header. Then chose the Chronicle usergroup, and then click join.)

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What's in a name? Nintendo Revolution renamed to Wii.

Nintendo has announced the official name for its next generation console previously known as the Revolution. If you go to http://revolution.nintendo.com you will see a short Flash movie then the following press release:

Introducing .. Wii.
As in “we”.
While the code-name “Revolution” expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer.
Wii will break down that wall that separates video game players from everybody else.
Wii will put people more in touch with their games … And each other. But you’re
probably asking: What does the name mean?
Wii sounds like “we”, which emphasizes this console is for everyone.
Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they
Speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.
Wii has a distinctive “ii” spelling that symbolizes both the unique controllers and the
Image of people gathering to play.
And Wii, as a name and a console, brings something revolutionary to the world of video
games that sets it apart from the crowd.
So that’s Wii. It’s really not about your or me.
It’s about Wii.
And together, Wii will change everything.”

That’s it in a nut-shell. So I guess it’s time that Wii all get used to the new name, because it is here to stay. Maybe instead of making fun of Nintendo’s choice in names Wii could all just get some drinks, and share what Wii have learned from Nintendo on this wonderful day.

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Xbox 360 Final Fantasy XI Online Review



Link to Game Info, purchase, screenshots and a video.

Overall Rating: 6.9

Synopsis:

When it comes down to it, FFXI Online for the Xbox 360 is not the best choice. If you want to play FFXI just go out and buy the PC version...


Full Review:

The Final Fantasy series has been the bar that off-line role playing games have been measured by for about a decade now. Just about each new game in the franchise has shown huge advancements in gameplay, style, and graphics. So you must understand that our expectations for Final Fantasy XI Online for the Xbox 360 were rather high.

Final Fantasy XI was first released in 2002 for the PC and the PS2. It is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, or MMORPG. Think Everquest or World of Warcraft except in the Final Fantasy universe with Final Fantasy music and the distinctive Final Fantasy style.

So here we are in 2006, and the newest version of FFXI is here, and for a next-gen console to boot. We were expecting upgraded graphics, and some necessary tweaks to make FFXI a little more at home on the Xbox 360. And frankly we received neither.

Final Fantasy XI Online for the Xbox 360 is a near exact port of Final Fantasy XI for the PC. They have included Final Fantasy XI and all three current expansion packs, but failed to upgrade the graphics to take advantage of the Xbox 360’s capabilities. And frankly, the game looks like it was made in 2002 with grainy textures and no advanced lighting effects. To make things worse you pretty much need a USB keyboard attached to your 360 to communicate with anybody.

In addition to the graphical and communication issues, FFXI Online may be a little difficult for a newcomer to just pick up and enjoy. First off, from the time you put it in your 360 you won’t get to play for at least three hours. The game will install the PlayOnline browser onto your Xbox. This process takes a good hour itself from updating to registering. Next it is time to install FFXI and the expansions. This will take another hour to two, so get ready to go do something else. At least Square decided to treat us with an intro trailer during this installation.

Once you finally make it into the game world you get to chose from your choice of five races. They are your standard fare ranging from Humes to Galka. Humes are your standard humans that are pretty well balanced for just about any activity. Then you have the Elvaan race which excels as swordsmanship. There are also Tarutaru who are master magicians, Mithra who are a cat-like race, and the Galka who are renowned for their physical prowess. You also have a large assortment of jobs to choose from, and you can change your job at any time. All that’s left is to choose your starting nation, and you are set.

All of this is well and good, but FFXI is a little slow paced for me. You click on an enemy, check its stats, and then fight to level up. The battles are mostly automated, but as you level up there will be more options available to you. Also advancing in your chosen profession also feels rather tedious at times, which explains why they call them jobs in this game.

For the basic newcomer, FFXI will be rather imposing. There isn’t much of a tutorial, and the world is rather large. A newcomer may have difficulty finding their way around, finding who they are looking for, and trying to figure out what they want to do. In fact just about everything in FFXI is rather time consuming, which hits even harder when you take into account the rather large monthly fee required to play. Now I’m not talking about Xbox Live fees, I’m talking about PlayOnline fees per character. At the time of this review you can expect to pay nearly thirteen dollars a month. At least they don’t require Xbox Live Gold to play; you can have full access with your Silver subscription.

When it comes down to it, FFXI Online for the Xbox 360 is not the best choice. If you want to play FFXI just go out and buy the PC version, and the expansions. As far as the Xbox 360 version goes; it is the only MMORPG on the 360 at this time, but I would just pick up one of the other great 360 titles and save my money for now.

Richard S. Stites, HeroesOfGaming.com

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Okay, Nintendo hasn't actually released the specs on the Wii and they say that they won't.

To keep costs down the Wii won't be as powerfull as the 360 or the PS3. And to be honest it showed in the games. Don't get me wrong, they looked great. But After seeing Gran Turismo HD, PREY or Star Trek Legacy in motion it was obvious that Supar Mario Galaxy just wasn't rendered on as powerful of a machine.

Wii Specs:

CPU / IBM Braodway
GPU / ATI Hollywood
Resolution / up to 480p
Internet Connection / WiFi 802.11 b/g

Media:

Internal Storage / 512 MB Flash Memory
Optical Drive / 8cm GC disc, 12cm Wii disc
12cm Disc / 4.7gb single or 8.5 duel layer
Memory Expansion / 2 SD Memory

Backward Compadibility:

Downloadable / NES, SNES, N64, SEGA Genesis, Turbo Grafx
Disc Compadibility / Gamecube

Connectivity:

Wii Controller Ports / Wireless (minimum of four)
GC Controller Ports / Four Wired Ports
GC Memory Ports / Two Ports
USB 2.0 / Two Ports

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E3 06 has come to an end and we here at Heroes of Gaming were left with fond memories of large rooms filled shoulder to shoulder with interesting people, rushing from one booth to the next to make all of our meetings and very sore feet; but most of all we were left with visions of elves, mechs and star ships dancing in our heads. E3 06 saw playable versions of the Sony Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii (formerly the Nintendo Revolution). It also saw the last generation of Xbox, Gamecube and PS2 games.

So what was the cream of the crop, what games should you go out and pre-order right this very minute? Well, here is what we thought.

This is HeroesOfGaming.com's official 'Best of E3 06' list. It will be up on Heroes of Gaming within a week with full hands-on impressions of the titles and a full range of media from interviews and video.

Xbox 360
Best 360 of E3 – Star Trek Legacy
Runner-up – Gears of War
(Shadowcat's vote went to Dead Rising from Capcom, but it ultimately fell short of being the best.)

Nintendo Wii
Best Wii of E3 – The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Runner-up – Super Mario Galaxy

Playstation 3
Best PS3 of E3 – Resistance: Fall of Man
Runner-up – Gran Turismo HD

Xbox
Best Xbox of E3 – Destroy All Humans! 2
Runner-up – Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

Playstation 2
Best PS2 of E3 – God of War II
Runner- up – Final Fantasy XII

DS
Best DS of E3 – New Super Mario Bros.
Runner-up – Yoshi’s Island 2

PSP
Best PSP of E3 – Tekken: Dark Resurrection
Runner-up – Gitaroo Man Lives!

PC
Best PC of E3 – Medieval II: Total War
Runner-up – Prey

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Star Trek: Legacy Hands-On
PC and Xbox 360

Star Trek is nearing its fortieth anniversary later this year, and Mad-Doc and Brethesda will be bringing us a Star Trek inspired space ship combat title for the Xbox 360 and PC just in time for the anniversary.

We had an opportunity to play a couple of mission and sit down with the developer at this years E3 06 in Los Angeles. What we were left with was some pretty high expectations of what could easily be the best Star Trek game ever made. In fact, we were so impressed with what Star Trek: Legacy is, and what it should end up being, that we awarded it as the best of E3 06 for the Xbox 360.

We started off with the developer from Mad-Doc running us through a mission that had Kahn attacking Kirk’s Enterprise. The mission was complete with sound bites from the movie, and looked great. The first volley from Kahn knocked out the Enterprise’s shields, so you have to decide if you are going to stay and fight or warp to the closest nebula which will disable Kahn’s ship’s shields.

We battled Kahn for a minute and got to see real time damage to the Enterprise. When we were hit with a phaser blast the ship’s whole was be scarred appropriately. We were even told that you could lose a warp nasale if we took too much damage to our engines. Once we realized there was no way to defeat Kahn without shields, we warped to the closest nebula which disabled Kahn’s shields. We made short work of him at that point.

The next mission had us leading a task force of four ships to defend Deep Space Nine from a Romulan attack. DS9 was already being defended by a Klingon task force, but they were losing the battle. We warped our task force to DS9 which included a Galaxy, Defiant, Sovereign and an Intrepid class star ship. The Defiant was quick and had it’s pulse phaser cannons, while the enormous Galaxy class ship was slow but powerful.

We could easily switch to and from each of our ships on the fly, and the control scheme had been optimized for a Xbox 360 controller. In fact if you were playing this on the PC you would probably want to use a controller just because it controls so well. Most of the combat occurs in a third person perspective, but you can also switch to a tactical view that allows you to view and control all of your ships from above. This view is great for larger scale battles. You will also have the ability to manage your power grid so you can delegate more power to the shields or more to weapons.

Half way through the DS9 mission we were attacked by a Borg Cube. At this point the Romulans stopped their attack and we all engaged the Borg. You really get a good feel of how large the Cube is since it dwarfs the entire fleet. That was what we got to play and it left us wanting more.

Reps say that we will be able to play as the Romulans, Star Fleet, Klingons and the Borg. The main story will span the entire Star Trek timeline from Enterprise to Voyager. Of course this means that you will be able to use ships from Enterpise, Star Trek the Original Series, Star Trek the Next Generation, Star Trek Deep Space Nine and Star Trek Voyager including all the movies. They tell us that if you have seen a ship then you will be able to use it. The premise is simple, build your fleet, upgrade your ships, then purchase new ships for your fleet.

The multiplayer modes should be compatible with Xbox Live, and will include co-op and deathmatch play. Mad-Doc is even working on multiplayer mode that allows you to push your enemy back and capture their base. So there should be enough multiplayer options even for the dedicated Star Trek fan.

Star Trek: Legacy is shaping up to be an outstanding title for the Xbox 360 and the PC. The graphics are sharp and the ships look like something right out of the television series. The gameplay is fast paced and can be chaotic in large scale battles, but each ship handles just it should. From what we have played, Star Trek: Legacy isn’t just for fans of the show, it is for any gamer that enjoys space ship combat, and adds a great deal to both the franchise and the genre.

Screenshots
Developer Interview/Demo Video