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By Contributing Writer Jimmy Payne Most video game web sites have tons of previews and columns about how great the PlayStation 2's games are looking. After seeing these things over and over again, I started to think about how dumb all these people are going to look if these games end up flopping. Then I realized that this is a legitimate possibility, so I put together a small list of games that are being talked about on the Internet. First you'll hear the hype surrounding each game (which you've probably already heard), and then you'll hear the other side of the story, the things that other publications have conveniently failed to mention. Please keep in mind that I don't mean to be pessimistic; I'm just trying to cut through all the fluff and bring you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. What You've Heard About Tekken Tag Tournament Already being called the game that will sell the most copies at the American launch, TTT looks to be the most amazing fighting game ever. Many that have seen the game up and running say that the impressive screen shots don't even do the game justice. The arenas are incredible, and TTT promises to deliver just as much replay value as Soul Calibur. The Other Side Of The Story If you haven't noticed already, most of the TTT hype is centered around the graphics. Many magazines have prominently featured the game on their covers, only to feature a few brief paragraphs about the actual gameplay. Most of the text about the gameplay might as well say, "It's pretty much the same as Tekken 3... but look at those graphics!" Also, very little has been mentioned about the control except for one very unsettling detail: It's almost identical to past Tekken games. This will be perfectly fine for some people since the Tekken series is known for its excellent control, but what about those of us who want innovation and something fresh with our brand new video game system? We'll probably have to look elsewhere. Another problem that pops up is the fact that there won't be CG movie endings for each character as there was in the past. I know that the movies were weird and sometimes hard to understand, but they were still a very good reward for beating the game with each and every character. Let's hope that they at least stick in some nice drawings like they did with Soul Calibur. What You've Heard About Gran Turismo 2000 Not only does Gran Turismo 2000 deliver a mind-boggling amount of today's hottest cars, but it also delivers jaw-dropping graphics with little or no slowdown. All of the courses and cars have been polished up, and the replay mode is stunning. Also, with the use of the PlayStation 2's sound system, the cars will sound better than ever. The Other Side Of The Story The Gran Turismo name is guaranteed money for Sony. They could slap the Gran Turismo 2000 name on just about anything and sleep easy with the knowledge that it will sell millions of copies. There hasn't been anything said about what Sony is doing to change Gran Turismo other than improving the graphics (maybe because Sony isn't doing anything other than improving the graphics). Remember that there are only a few months between the time when Sony finished Gran Turismo 2 and the time when they hope to finish Gran Turismo 2000. Most games take over a full year to develop, and much more commonly closer to two years. What does that tell you about the level of ambition that Sony is bringing into the development of GT 2000? Like Tekken Tag Tournament, Gran Turismo 2000 seems like it's going to be a better-looking version of a game we've already played. What You've Heard About The Bouncer The Bouncer is going to be one of Square's first PlayStation 2 offerings. Many people are saying that it's the best-looking game they've seen for the system (even better-looking than Tekken Tag Tournament). Also, Square says that they're working very hard to make The Bouncer feel like an interactive movie, and they seem to be succeeding thus far in their efforts to reach that goal. The Other Side Of The Story Square is one of my favorite video game companies, but only when it comes to RPGs. I've never really enjoyed any of Square's non-RPG products, and I have no reason to believe that The Bouncer is going to be any different from any of Square's previous non-RPG flops (who's up for a game of Chocobo Racing?). There is also the issue of depth. Everyone knows that beat-em-up games don't usually offer the best story lines, and they tend to get monotonous after a while. Unless Square comes up with hundreds of animations that make me go, "Wow, did I just see that?" every five minutes for the entire game, I can see The Bouncer getting really old, really fast once the wow factor of the graphics wears off. What You've Heard About Madden NFL 2001 There hasn't been any hype for Madden 2001 yet, but it will presumably offer a lot more innovation than Madden 2000 offers over Madden '99. Improving the Franchise Mode would make an extremely deep game even deeper. The Other Side Of The Story By the time the next Madden game is released, Sega's NFL 2K1 will either be on the market or just about ready to hit the market. NFL 2K1 is scheduled to offer network capabilities; Madden 2001 isn't. Regardless of how the actual games of NFL 2K1 and Madden 2001 compare, NFL 2K1 is going to have a huge advantage right off the bat because of its network capabilities (a first for console sports games). Madden 2001's development is also going to be complicated by the production of a new graphics engine. This hasn't been officially announced, but do you really think that EA is going to release a PlayStation 2 game that looks just like Madden 2000 (which looks just like Madden '99 itself)? EA is going to have to concentrate on graphics a lot more than they normally do in their one-year development cycles. As a result, they could very well shoot themselves in the foot and screw up the gameplay (or fail to make significant changes to it). Are you noticing a pattern? Awesome graphics and questionable gameplay seem to be the order of the day in the PlayStation 2's first-generation software library. The PlayStation 2 is sure to have the best-looking games on the block this fall, but that's about all you should expect from it this year. When you consider that Sega has games that are graphically impressive in their own right, plus solid gameplay, network capabilities, a great installed base, and a much cheaper price, I think it would be wrong to assume that the Dreamcast is going to quietly fade into oblivion when the PlayStation 2 is released. Send your thoughts on this column to jimmy@mastergamer.com
© 2001 ivan@mastergamer.com