GeekNights 070828 - Mario Strikers Charged

Rym

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Mario Strikers Charged.
Scott's News - Valve Bans Bioshock

Rym's News - Valve on DX10
Scott's Thing - Nick's Vids

Rym's Thing - Angry Videogame Nerd

Magic

It's not in the feed, update please.

tmerren

This episode isn't showing up in iTunes.

Apreche

Rym forgot the categories, I fix.

VentureJ

Excellent episode, though you didn't really cover the strategic differences between each captain, but it was still thorough nonetheless.

Apreche

Excellent episode, though you didn't really cover the strategic differences between each captain, but it was still thorough nonetheless.

Some fast, some shoot better, some hit harder, some are well balanced, etc. It's the same as in most games of this kind where you have character selection.

Erwin

This game is similar to Winning Eleven with some differents such as instead of mario characters we have the soccer/football players from different countries, and there are no power ups, but there are crazy fouls. Also Winning Eleven is way better than Fifa. Well, I better check out this game also.

Apreche

This game is similar to Winning Eleven with some differents such as instead of mario characters we have the soccer/football players from different countries, and there are no power ups, but there are crazy fouls. Also Winning Eleven is way better than Fifa. Well, I better check out this game also.

Yeah, you must understand that because soccer is not so popular in the US, soccer video games are also not so popular. I'm sure there are lots of very good and popular soccer games out there, but we have not had the opportunity to be exposed to many of them, so Mario Strikers is the best to us.

VentureJ

Excellent episode, though you didn't really cover the strategic differences between each captain, but it was still thorough nonetheless.

Some fast, some shoot better, some hit harder, some are well balanced, etc. It's the same as in most games of this kind where you have character selection.

There's also character item differences, etc. But that's just being too technical.

What I love to do, though, is to use Wall-uigi and run around in a square. Box myself in, then do an uber Mega-Strike.

Apreche

What I love to do, though, is to use Wall-uigi and run around in a square. Box myself in, then do an uber Mega-Strike.

I do something similar with Luigi. I run around squishing all nearby opponents and then do the uber mega-strike.

Erwin

By the way is anyone is interested in an RPG soccer game, the Captain Tsubasa games for SNES are ok.
Also I just remembered the Megaman Soccer game, I wonder how it would look if it is updated :P

Rochelle

I'm holding you two to the PAX promise. =P I can understand where Rym doesn't want to be a guest there because their is honestly SO many things to do there, you will more than likely miss something you wanted to do.

I finally played Mario Strikers Charged at PAX at the Nintendo booth and at console freeplay. Yeah, I'm buying this game when I get paid. It was pretty funny because I was playing against my boyfriend and we were just pretty much doing the special kick move every time we got the ball. It got kinda redundant, but it was still fun.

Jason

I don't understand the bad rep that FIFA gets. I love that game, and have purchased multiple incarnations. I do wish, however, that there was a more RPG element to the game (as Chrono alluded to) wherein I could level up individual players.

I had a roommate in college who was crazy about Milan and Italian league football, and another who was a US citizen who grew up in Brazil. The three of us played FIFA like crazy. Maybe that's why I have a more forgiving mindset toward it.

Let's just say that if you're in a three-way bracket tournament against Brazil and Milan, don't pick Scotland or Japan. You'll get your ass kicked every time. I finally learned to take my lumps with England.

Erwin

Do not get me wrong Fifa has its mertis, the recent games of Fifa are really good, it has a great opening song, good music and great graphics. The first game of Fifa I bough (illegaly, well it was back in Peru and everything was illegal) was my first soccer video game. I was amazed with the graphics (it was back in 1998 and the World Cup in France was going on back then), I thought to myself wow that was a good videogame, However, it became really easy to score goals and by the end of the year I was waiting for the next Fifa to see how much it was improved.
However, I got a playstation on the christmas of 98 and I got 3 games, Winning Eleven 3, and some other DBZ games for the ps one. Back then I though, well it does not have a great opening and I can't understand a word they are saying (it was in japanese). But once I started to play I saw how different it was from Fifa, I mean no to goals were the same, and the ball felt natural. I then got Fifa 99 and it was not the same, there was something missing, maybe the gameplay, I really do not know. Ever since I played Winning Eleven 3, until I moved to the USA and I came to the realization that there was no soccer video game here with the exception of Fifa.
Then in 2003 I got in my hands Winning Eleven 6 for the PS2 and I gotta tell you it was pretty awesome, of course I was missing the japanese comentator but it was cool, if you have a PS2 you owe it to yourself to get a used copy of Winning Eleven 6, even if you do not like soccer, even if you do not like sport video games. I am saying this cuz you can do anything with the soccer ball if you are good enough. The only bad thing about the WE franchise is that it lacks the name of the real players, and it does not have a great opening. The music in the menus are like old tecno music and sometimes repetitive.
Here is a video of how it grew in 10 years:

Also the latest version of the Winning Eleven franchise does have a career mode in wich you basically can train your players to increase their status and then maybe trade them or just increase their status more.
The RPG thing from Captain Tsubasa is more like an RPG game, you control any character from your team that has the ball, most of the characters in your team have specific defensive moves and attacking moves. Once an opponent is in front of you the game pauses for a moment and then you choose what you will do, the choices varies from making a special dribling move and shooting to the other team goal, or just passing to another team mate. Granted that you will only get high experience points if you win a match, this is the same mechanic for the midfield, goaly and defenses.
Here is some of the gameplay of the Captain Tsubasa game

MitchyD

Okay Rym - I full on believe that a mouse and keyboard controls infinitely better than a standard dual analog controller - I want to put you to the test.
 
IF Orange Box allows cross platform play, once we both get enough practice in with the game I openly challenge you to a 1v1 duel (if possible) - your mouse versus my analog nubs. I believe that your controls will be more precise, I just want you to put your money where your mouth is - MAKE ME FEAR that little computer icon - I don't when I play Shadowrun. I've played a fair share of PC guys on that game and noticed no significant advantage at all on either fronts. I want to see if my controller skills are enough to combat your skills on a PC which you so highly praise. : )
 

Apreche

I have never played the Shadowrun, but I have heard whispers on the net that the gameplay is gimped to make it so PC gamers don't just win. Just what I've heard, I actually have no idea.

The thing is, for the PC gamer to have a real advantage the game needs to be designed in such a way that precision matters. For example, if you make an fps where the game is entirely narrow hallways and all weapons are grenades, PC gamers won't have much of an advantage. If you make a game where everyone has pistols that only kill on headshots, and everyone moves around very very quickly, the PC gamer will own.

Kiey

Also you have to remember that typically in console FPS games there is an aim assist to help out the player since its obviously not as precise.

Apreche

Also you have to remember that typically in console FPS games there is an aim assist to help out the player since its obviously not as precise.

So they're cheaters, essentially. All using aimbots.

Rym

So they're cheaters, essentially. All using aimbots.
That's my worry.  They may well, in order to level the playing field, assist the console players in their aiming.

Andrew

That's my worry. They may well, in order to level the playing field, assist the console players in their aiming.

That is what they did in Shadowrun, the first game to allow Consoles and PCs to play each other.

Apreche

That's my worry. They may well, in order to level the playing field, assist the console players in their aiming.

That is what they did in Shadowrun, the first game to allow Consoles and PCs to play each other.

So the rumor I heard is true, the console version is gimped. That's all the evidence we need then. Console players with cheats are merely equal to PC players. Case closed.

HeavyCruiserLost

I'm really glad you guys just committed to PAX 08 because 07 was an entire weekend of moments almost as awesome as this one:

Zeehat

Off topic: Is any Mario Strikers game set to come out on the DS?

Apreche

Off topic: Is any Mario Strikers game set to come out on the DS?

No.

Andrew

So the rumor I heard is true, the console versionisgimped. That's all the evidence we need then. Console players with cheats are merely equal to PC players. Case closed.

They also nerfed the PC controls so that the crosshairs expand to a larger radius whenever the player performs a quick turn, thus eliminating the PC's advantage of maintaining fast movement and accuracy at the same time.

MitchyD

The thing is, for the PC gamer to have a real advantage the game needs to be designed in such a way that precision matters


So the design itself needs to be slanted towards the PC gamer for them to have a real advantage? So basically Shadowrun, as far as I can tell, is balanced.
So they're cheaters, essentially. All using aimbots.


You can turn it off in most games, and helps out a lot.
They also nerfed the PC controls so that the crosshairs expand to a larger radius whenever the player performs a quick turn, thus eliminating the PC's advantage of maintaining fast movement and accuracy at the same time.


This happens in the console version too, and fucking sucks.

Apreche

So the design itself needs to be slanted towards the PC gamer for them to have a real advantage? So basically Shadowrun, as far as I can tell, is balanced.

Precision aiming without any sort of auto-aim is sort of the point of an fps. Letting the computer help you aim in Half-Life would be like letting the computer help you jump in Super Mario Bros. Once you let the computer help you aim, you aren't playing an fps anymore. Just like if the computer helped you jump, you aren't playing a platformer anymore.

You don't design an fps in such a way that slants it towards PC gamers. A first person shooter is a type of game that is inherently meant played when using a precision pointing device, like a mouse, combined with a keyboard. If you try to play one with a lower precision device, like an analog stick, it's going to suck ass. If you add in some sort of auto-aim, you aren't playing the same game anymore.

Rochelle

I'm really glad you guys just committed to PAX 08 because 07 was an entire weekend of momentsalmost as awesome as this one:

Don't forget this:



I just found this in the goodie bags and was "Oh shits, this is going on my car!" and I really detest putting stickers on my car.

MitchyD

 
If you try to play one with a lower precision device, like an analog stick, it's going to suck ass.


I've played countless FPS' that don't "Suck Ass" on consoles. The 360 is ABUNDANT with the genre, and most are excellent. Rainbow Six Vegas is one example - It's an incredible game and I don't feel like I'm losing out on anything by not playing with a mouse. Even if my controller is technically inferior, I would play it with a controller if I had the choice anyway.
 


As I said, Auto-Aim's can be turned off. If you have the option to do so, you should. This is why Halo kids are so "good". They just crank up the auto aim and fire blindly. The option is there to remove it, and while most don't, you get a better experience by doing so. You don't lose anything in the gaming experience by playing with a controller, even if you aren't able to aim quite as precisely, you can really get the job done...
 
If you know how to use an analog stick, I really believe that you can get *almost* as precise aiming as a mouse should you remove the auto aim.
 
Regarding speed with a mouse, you can crank your sensitivity. If you think you can't aim quickly on a controller, play Timesplitters.
 
 
EDIT: See you at PAX 08.

Apreche

Mitchy are you saying that someone with a gamepad, and no aim assistance, can beat someone with a keyboard and mouse at a game in which precision aiming matters, and all other factors are equal? If you think that, be my guest. You're basically saying that someone with a modern scoped rifle can't beat someone with a musket in a sniper battle.

Also, you say you don't feel like you're getting a different gaming experience using your gamepad on your XBox there. Have you ever played a truly serious fps on the PC for an extended period of time? Try playing some old school Counter-Strike, Tribes 2, or Natural Selection. Better yet, try to play either game by binding the controls to a USB XBox controller. I've love to see you try to hit a celerity skulk with that analog stick to aim.

MitchyD

I mentioned earlier, I do not doubt the mouse's acuracy - Without a doubt a mouse is more precise than a pad, but what I am saying is that you're poo-pooing a pad completely. You're dubbing it obsolete and completely inferior to a mousepad so much that you doubt anyone with a controller to hit... a celerity skulk...
 
I'm not a PC gamer, I did buy Half Life recently though. A lot of my friends are PC gamers and we've LAN'd at their homes a ton, I love me some Quake and Unreal, and I've played those on the console as well. While it's more accurate on PC, I personally am better on a console than I am on a PC. Tribes was on the PS2 (Tribes 1 that is...) and I got to play that on my control pad...
 
I think you misunderstood my "Experience" bit. I was referring to a conole experience, not a console vs PC one. I was referring to the shitty default auto aim killing it for me, and turning it off is mandatory as you get more precise accuracy with it. I'm in no way saying that a PC gamer CAN NOT beat a console gamer, I'm saying that a console gamer COMPLETELY stands a chance against a PC gamer. PC gamers DO have the advantage. You and Rym would be much more precise and have much more ease of killing me in TF2, but I don't think that I would be so totally dominated that I would need to "Fead the little computer icon" - I think that you doubt a controller as a useful device. Just because it's less acurate than a mouse does not make it useless.