Virtual Console Round-Up: August and September '09
After a two-week hiatus of releases at the end of July, Virtual Console came back with a vengeance. We've seen one release every week for the last two months. Mondays were good days, and not just because the releases were regular: we actually got some decent games this time around.
16-bit Luke rides a 16-bit Tauntaun.
The most notable releases were a trilogy of titles from LucasArts for the Super Nintendo. SUPER STAR WARS, SUPER STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and SUPER STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI are absolutely classic 2D platformers. Among the handful of games actually worth the 800-point price range of SNES titles on VC, I have to recommend these three. They are hard, they are crazy, and they are certainly worth giving a try. If you only want to try out one of them, go with Empire Strikes Back. That's the best movie of the three after all, right? (Flame wars start?!) These three games were released two weeks apart, on August 10th, 24th, and September 7th, respectively. All I have to say is that it's about time we start seeing great games pop up on VC instead of stupid obscure crap that no one wants.
Oh hey, speaking of, how about the arcade version of TECMO BOWL for 600 points? This was released on August 3rd, and the redundancy of the release pinpoints exactly what I dislike about VC: multiple releases of the same game. Two years ago, VC had this same game released on the NES. The arcade version is slightly better, but not enough to warrant a separate release (or, worse, a separate purchase).
I'm a man-beast. And I'm very very expensive.
While on the topic of original arcade versions of a game that are superior to console ports, why not check out ALTERED BEAST, released on VC September 28th? I'll tell you why! They're charging 1000 points (that's $10) for the frickin' thing! Look, Altered Beast is a fun platformer, and the arcade version is certainly the version you want compared to the dumbed-down, ultra-censored Sega Genesis version. But I really have no desire to pay a solid $10 for this game. Do you? Granted, the arcade cabinet was always a collector's item, and will forever be worth lots and lots of money. But yeah, seriously...I just can't get over the high price point for this one. Quit the price-gouging, Nintendo!
Next, in the war of pirates vs. ninjas, we know that ninjas dominate. Here are two games to prove it.
First up, we have THE LAST NINJA 2: BACK WITH A VENGEANCE for Commodore 64. Released September 21st, this C64 classic is something that every gamer should try at least once. You're a ninja, and you run around these zones in isometric view and chop up stuff. Meanwhile, you're also picking up items and solving some basic puzzles. It's a fun, happy time. Many people have never even heard of this series, which is fine. But if you're one of the blessed few who know and love this series, here's your chance to re-live the glory days. Sweet.
Creepy ninja eyes overlooking a city. I think Ninja Gaiden did this as well...
And then, there's the mother of all ninja games, THE REVENGE OF SHINOBI for Sega Genesis. This one hit the VC store on August 17th. It requires no explanation. As far as side-scrolling platformers went on the Genesis, this and Sonic were really all I ever cared about. So um...yeah. This one might actually be worth buying.
As a side note, the audiophile in me must point out to y'all that if you're willing to buy import Japanese soundtracks, you'll want to get this recently-released four disc set of awesomeness. Every Shinobi score ever, packed into one box. That includes some work from the legend Yuzo Koshiro himself. Yes sir, it's a winner!
Alright, this next one is super cool. Aksys Games actually picked up the publishing rights to this next one. CRASH 'N THE BOYS: STREET CHALLENGE was originally released on the NES. It's from Technos Japan, and it's part of the Kunio-kun series (y'know, RIVER CITY RANSOM and all that). It's a variety sports pack kind of game, and it's super cute in an "isn't it fun to beat people up?" kind of way. It came to us on September 14th. Thanks, Aksys!
Finally, and I don't know why this took so long since it's available on nearly every Sega "best of" collection released on consoles in the last five years, we have PHANTASY STAR. The game that started it all, man. This is one classic RPG. If you're ready for some action on the Sega Master System (that's the 8-bit NES rival), and you have your graph paper out, ready to draw your own maps for dungeons, it's time to load up this beast of an RPG. Level-grinding required. Love of really old stuff is a plus as well. Released August 31st.
Leave the what? WHAT?! Oh, the town. Right. It's dangerous.
Jurassic Radio #21: Acoustic Disaster
First, mea culpa: It was my brilliant idea to begin making a podcast studio out of my basement guest room, its massive size and tiled floors be damned. Well, the tile floors won. This week's episode, jam-packed though it is, sounds like we recorded it while spelunking, and only I'm to blame.
There's exciting stuff coming to the podcast in the weeks ahead, provided that my finances come together as planned. Which occasionally does happen, believe it or not! We've been recording since May on a single, omnidirectional USB microphone that has made the whole enterprise much, much easier, but you and I have been into this podcast thing long enough now that we're ready to grow up a bit. As soon as I can assemble a few-hundred bucks, I'm investing in some XLR mics, pop screens and a very basic mixer, which means the audio quality on these puppies will roughly skyrocket.
I'm also planning a few new segments, some to be recorded out of sequence and not all of which are totally tied to video games. Games will continue to be the emphasis, obviously, but we've got to do SOMETHING about our book-report-style breakdown of what we've been playing. As you'll hear this week, the whole thing quickly deteriorates into soporific interviews in which one person talks and I poke him with a stick. Everyone else goes catatonic, and I swear I saw Nate staring at the CEILING for five-sixths of this episode.
But I'll be buying only four mics, which means each segment definitely will be limited to four people. The era of five-person shows ends as soon as this Amazon order is filled. Tough love, but we'll all be happier for it, I promise.
That said, we banish ourselves to my barren echo chamber this week to dish on HALO 3: ODST, THE SIMS 3, LEAGUE OF LEGENDS, HEROES OF NEWERTH, MARIO & LUIGI: BOWSER'S INSIDE STORY, SOUL CALIBUR 2, AUDITION and FINAL FANTASY IV for the DS. In the second segment, we list our favorite fall pilots and premieres of the season. Plus, TGS, KINGDOM HEARTS love/hate and why you should(n't) kill everything in FALLOUT 3.
With music from George Gershwin and Shpongle.
PODCAST
(right-click to save, use player below, or get the show on iTunes here)
Jurassic Radio #21: Acoustic Disaster
00:00 - 50:35 -- What we've been playing
ACT BREAK -- "Tonight's the Night," Crazy For You (Original London Cast)
51:09 - 1:37:55 -- Our favorite fall TV pilots and premieres
ACT BREAK -- Shpongle, "Vapour Rumours"
1:39:01- 1:58:31 -- The news, what's coming out
NO OUTRO. CRY YOURSELF TO SLEEP.
SHOW NOTES
Afrogamer - Genocide in Fallout 3 is hard on the soul - http://www.afrogamer.com/?p=1798
Kotaku - Wii price drop, brings it in line with Microsoft's gimped offering - http://kotaku.com/5366441/nintendo-announces-official-wii-price-cut
Brainy Gamer - Michael Abbott picks refinement over newness - http://www.brainygamer.com/the_brainy_gamer/2009/09/ill-take-refinement.html
Kotaku - Capcom's Kenji Inafune declares Japan's games industry "finished" - http://kotaku.com/5368490/capcoms-inafune-declares-japan-game-industry-finished
Cheap games, you should buy them
If there's one thing you can count on us to do, it's to point out where all the free and cheap shit is.
Case in point: Digital games merchant Direct2Drive is turning five years old, and it's celebrating by slashing more than 50 relatively recent games to $5 each.
We're a little late to the party here -- the deals began earlier this month and have closed in waves, with each week offering a new pile of thematically linked games. This week, for example, you can pick up WORLD OF GOO, DEFENSE GRID: THE AWAKENING and other indie titles for a cool $5 apiece.
That deal closes next Monday, when the site's unannounced package of "war games" goes to $5.
In other words, you have through Sunday to buy World of Goo on your PC if you haven't yet. That's six days. If you haven't yet, BUY THAT GAME.
And there's a pile of other games underneath the indie titles that will remain at $5 throughout the entire promotion, including BIOSHOCK, CIVILIZATION 4, CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK: ASSAULT ON DARK ATHENA, SAINTS ROW 2 and a bunch of other really solid titles.
Don't say we never did anything for yas.
Slippery When Reviewed: "Wet"
At its core, WET is a fast-paced shooter with platforming elements. When it tries anything else, well, it's still slightly more enjoyable than having your pubic hair set on fire.
The Good: Bullet time is back, and it's infinite, but this time you do it any time you run along walls, jump in the air or do a slide. You also get a sword. Upgrades are bought with points earned by killing enemies with enough pizazz. You get a couple different guns as you progress
The action sequences are divided into arenas and corridors. In the corridor sections, you are trying to get from point A to point B by running on ledges, jumping over pits etc. During those sections enemies will appear and you have to dispatch them as you move along. The platforming is reminiscent of PRINCE OF PERSIA -- very structured jumping from here to there, using a pole to cross this chasm and a lot of climbing along ledges. But throwing the gunplay into these sections achieved one thing that Prince never did well, which was merging its combat with its platforming.
When will shooting people while flying through the air stop being fun? I can't tell you, but I hope I'm dead before then.
The arena sections showed some frays in the game's design. Enemies spawn from a series of doors, and you must kill them while blocking all the doors to stop the influx of new mooks. You can see in the level design that you're meant to plan a route and use wall-runs, pole vaults and so on to make one long, elegant combo across the arena, hitting every door. In practice I found (note that I played on hard mode) that anytime I wasn't in bullet time, I was basically dead. So I had to eschew the fancier moves in favor of rolling back and forth in an open space. Divorcing the action the platforming made Wet feel like a simple MAX PAYNE clone.
The Bad: Where to begin. First off there's the bizarre door opening 'mini-game'. Whenever confronted by a door, your asskicking, take-no-prisoners, I-drink-tequila-to-restore-my-health character spends 30 seconds prying open doors, which requires you to tap X. Why? Other Gameosaurs have posited that it might be to cover for load times. It's also possible that the designers are simply sadists.
Wet also is riddled with "push this button to not die" cutscenes. The two "boss fights" are simply cutscenes with button queues. The flipside of these scenes are sequences that have you riding on cars or falling from planes, and your only option is to shoot enemies. When the only thing your game has going for it is slow-mo and sweet Woo moves, why would you make levels where you can neither slow time nor do sweet backflips?
Palette swaps and better music don't qualify as a "mode."
The Ugly: As a fan of JRPGs, I'm on pretty shaky ground making fun of games for cliché storytelling or facepalm dialogue, but this game physically hurts in the style department. I don't have the word count left to go into detail, but let's just say I was embarrassed for Eliza Dushku -- and she was in Bring it On (ed. -- a fine, unfairly maligned film, and Dushku is awesome in it). The game wants to be Tarantino but feels more like something an eighth-grader would write if you told him he was allowed to say "fuck."
The tragedy is that there's something really interesting boiling under the surface here. The levels where the platforming and combat overlap are fun and play like nothing else, but those moments are buried under metric tons of absolute shit. A couple years down the road, someone is going to give these guys another shot, and they're going to make something great. I recommend you wait for that game.
Rent me.
Jurassic Radio #20: Don't Touch Pat's Squishy Bits
We relocate from Hyrule to the Dark World this week as Pat, Pete R., Ben and I tackle the first four crystal dungeons in THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: A LINK TO THE PAST. Only one more Winning Time segment in the 16-bit era before we're whisked away to MEGAMAN 9, 2008's 8-bit opus.
We also talk up a shitload of today's games: MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 2, SCRIBBLENAUTS, MARIO & LUIGI: BOWSER'S INSIDE STORY, SPECTROBES ORIGINS, STRONGBAD'S COOL GAME FOR ATTRACTIVE PEOPLE, WET, MAJESTY 2 and, believe it or not, more.
With music from Wild Beasts, Cut Off Your Hands and Streetlight Manifesto.
Something new for you monkeys to chew on this week: count on getting your syrupy Jurassic Radio goodness each and every Tuesday. We've been putting these online variably on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays, which is a messy and foolish way to do business. This also gives me another day to get things together, since the other Gameosaurus guys insist on recording on Sundays and no other day.
I'm typing this up on my iPhone minutes before midnight Tuesday outside a York County GameStop, which I'm not terribly proud to admit and excited to put behind me. HALO 3: ODST will be mine in moments. Expect impressions and compromising photos of me later this week.
Wait, what?
PODCAST
(right-click to save, use player below, or get the show on iTunes here)
Jurassic Radio #20: Don't Touch Pat's Squishy Bits
00:00 - 46:24 -- What we've been playing
ACT BREAK -- Wild Beasts, "Hooting and Howling
47:15 - 1:05:52 -- Winning Time: THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: A LINK TO THE PAST, part 2
ACT BREAK -- Streetlight Manifesto, "Somewhere in the Between"
1:06:26 - 1:26:26 -- The news, what's coming out
OUTRO -- Cut Off Your Hands, "It Doesn't Matter"
SHOW NOTES
Ars Technica - AT&T: Broadband isn't for games, it's for serious - http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/09/is-it-broadband-if-you-cant-play-internet-games.ars
Game Politics - Games can teach kids without being educational - http://www.gamepolitics.com/2009/09/18/nyc-school-adds-games-curriculum
Exploratory Review: "Spelunky"
As a gamer, you're bred to take chances. There's little penalty for throwing yourself off a cliff just to see what's below. After all, what's one death among the extra lives, automatic saves and endless continues that most games throw at you today, or the save states that make death in older games meaningless. Put enough time into most games and you'll see the end. You might have to adjust the difficulty, but you'll get there.
This is not the case for SPELUNKY, a 2D retro platformer by Derek Yu. Spelunky will kill you. Over and over again. And each time you'll start from a new beginning. And you'll love it.
I want the gold.
At the start of each level, Spelunky generates the map and populates it with area-specific monsters. The first set of caves has cavemen, snakes and bats. The jungle area has piranhas and frogs. The ice area has yetis, and the last set of stages is still a mystery to me, but in my two trips there, I've seen giant mummies and los luchadores. If you die or finish the level, you'll never see one like it again.
Deaths are easy to blame on the game. The first time you break a pot and find gold instead of a spider, you'll probably die. If you open a chest and find an active bomb, you'll probably die. It doesn't seem fair -- the game never warns you of danger -- but the next time you're in that situation, you might survive. It's up to you to use what you've learned: Explore further down the caves or take bigger risks.
You can save the damsel or please Kali. Not both.
Spelunky's casual approach to death makes exploration the most rewarding and dangerous aspect of the game. You start the game with four bombs, four rope and a mostly useless whip. The bombs, ropes and other items found or bought throughout the game help you explore each level. It's possible to run straight for each level's exit, but then you'll miss a lot of the weapons, treasures and damsels strewn around the level.
There are progress points that make seeing the later levels a possibility. If you make it to the end of an area, you meet a digger who will make a shortcut for you if you pay enough money, allowing you to start at later areas.
188 plays. 188 deaths. 0 wins.
I've died nearly 200 times so far on this install. That number creeps to around 300 if count the ones I've racked up in previous versions of the game, which came out of beta recently. I still haven't made it to the end. I've only made it to the fourth set of stages twice, and my visits to that area have not been very long. Los luchadores are a lot meaner than cavemen and lava is not very friendly. But I'll trust that in the next hundred deaths, I'll accomplish something.
But Spelunky makes each death important. No mater how much gear you've found, death isn't as devastating as the loss of a high-level Diablo character in hardcore mode; the feeling is closer to a bad drop in a particularly good run in Tetris. I may quit in a huff after an untimely death, but more often I'm up past my bedtime saying "one more run" to myself.
I make bad life decisions. For other people.
Ported Portables Review: "Strikers 1945 Plus Portable"
You may have hundreds of little bullets, BUT I HAZ LAZORBEEEEAM!
When I saw STRIKERS 1945 PLUS PORTABLE on PlayStation Network (PSP), I thought I recognized the game. It looked like a remake of any number of vertical scrolling shooters I played on my NES as a child. But apparently, I had my series names confused. The "Strikers 1945" series, developed by Psikyo, didn't have much exposure outside of Japan. The original arcade game, published in Japan in 1995, had some naughty bits; all the pilots are female, and if you could beat the game earning all gold medals, you got to see them topless. This feature was cut from all subsequent versions of the game and was not included in its sequels.
STRIKERS 1945 PLUS is an alternate version of STRIKERS 1945 II released for arcade, later ported to PSX. Add "Portable" to the title, and you have the PSP version, which was released on UMD in Japan, but came as a download-only title in America via PM Studios (a small publisher whose previous experience includes DJMAX games). By the time this game reached American PSPs (about six weeks ago), a bunch of other companies had also gotten their names on the title screen(s).
Title screen to the original arcade version.
So here's the game, in brief. Start the game, pick a plane (10 second time limit!), shoot stuff, die a lot. Beat eight levels (technically seven, two levels got mashed into one for the Portable release), beat it again with harder enemies, THE END, high score. Rinse and repeat with different planes if you feel like it.
This is a standard bullet hell shmup, using an alternate history post-WWII as the setting. The graphics are clear and crisp, so you can usually tell what's going on. The audio is decent, more for the sound effects than the music (the soundtrack can't touch most other shmup soundtracks I've heard). The gameplay shines because each of the six planes are completely different.
Each plane has three attacks. There's your standard, hold-down-attack-button-for-rapid-fire attack. Hitting the SQUARE button sends out a "bomb" attack, which is a complete misnomer: it's actually a shield. The actual effect varies from plane to plane, but essentially, what happens is that a much larger plane (or planes) slowly fly across the screen and shoot stuff for a few seconds. Meanwhile, they also block all bullets headed your way. When you're in a bind, it's bomb (SHIELD) time!
Finally, all planes have a super attack that is "earned" by shooting and killing a certain amount of enemy planes. The gauge fills at a different pace for each plane, and the super attacks can be stored in different amounts based on each plane. One plane has a missile that, upon contact, creates a black hole explosion that will do MASSIVE DAMAGE and also suck up enemy bullets. Another has a lightning bolt that only fires short range but can really pack a punch. One plane just drops a bomb that leaves a vertical path of destruction behind it (somehow the bomb hits stuff in the air too...?).
I have to say that the game is a ton of fun. I've beaten the game at least once (and often, twice) for each of the planes (I haven't played with the "secret" seventh plane, because I haven't bothered looking up how to unlock it). And I did so not out of necessity for writing this review, but just because the game is truly addictive. The boss battles at the end of each stage are great.
Time is running out! Quick, select the FLYING PANCAKE!
But I can see why this was originally an arcade game. It's a real "quarter pounder" (that is, you pound the quarters into the machine). You have two lives, and then you have to continue after losing two lives. In my best plays, I die at least three times per stage. Playing through this game in arcades would easily cost me $10.
That said, some people might consider it a good deal to have a home version for only $12 (the current price of the game on PSN). But I don't think this is a good price for the game. The newly-developed SHATTER for PS3 was only $8, and that game had a far more interesting premise and was developed from scratch. Perhaps with a few more touch-ups, some bonus levels, and the removal of having to "continue" every two lives (just give me infinite lives and punish me via decreased scores for each time I die!), it would've been worth the price. But, in my opinion, they should only be charging half the price for this game.
With price point in mind, the game gets 3 out of 5 stars. Shmups are great, but I've played better for far less money.
Oboro Review: "Muramasa: The Demon Blade"
I never thought I'd be the one to say it, but I fell in love with a game with middling gameplay and amazing graphics. I've always argued that the time and money invested in the polygon-count arms race has hurt gaming, but MURAMASA: THE DEMON BLADE is proof that gameplay isn't the end-all be-all of gaming.
It's hard to undersell this game's visuals. I stopped playing at one point just to look at farmlands for a while. No joke. Developer Vanillaware blends traditional Japanese artwork with its own slightly madcap sense of style, and the combination makes for an aesthetic that begs to be seen. The enemies are beautifully drawn and, more impressively, animated in such a way that it feels like playing a painting. For my money this is the most beautiful video game ever made.
I came into this game as a big fan of ODIN SPHERE, another Vanillaware title, and assumed that Muramasa would contain the same depth in its RPG elements. I was sorely disappointed. The focus of the game -- forging new swords -- is only a matter of collecting the currency that enemies drop and buying the stronger swords. And since you need to buy every low-level sword to get the higher level ones, you end up buying them all, regardless of what you want. Leveling up your character is also strictly linear; you're simply given more hit points, strength and vitality without any control over character growth.
Combat is fun but shallow. You equip three swords that can be swapped on the fly. Each sword has its own energy meter, which is depleted by using special moves or blocking. Sheathed swords slowly regain power, so the game becomes a balancing act of trying to use as many high-damage super moves as you can without depleting all the swords. But the game doesn't demand much of the player; there isn't much reason to use anything other than the super moves. The item system gives you a huge HP pool and, eventually, the ability to use an almost infinite number of super moves. I got through the hard mode doing little more then spamming super moves and eating a lot of Grilled Squid. It is twitchy and fast-paced enough to keep things interesting, but little changes, and I found repetition-fatigue setting in around hour five.
That all changed on the hidden hard mode, which gives you all of one hit point to work with. When every hit means death, you learn that there are a lot of mechanics you weren't aware of before. Aerial combos become the only way to keep your sword energy high. Special attacks become defensive; a way to cancel out damage from hard-to-avoid attacks. Without a health cushion, you actually have to learn how to predict and counter enemy attacks.
The flaw in the game is that that these tricks aren't necessary unless you're playing on the hardest difficulty. If you're a serious beat-'em-up fan, the secret hard mode is the game you'll enjoy.
As a hack-and-slash, Murmasa is pretty solid. The bosses are varied, and killing ninjas is fun, but that's all there is. Kill ninjas. Next screen. Kill ghosts. Next screen. Kill ninja boss. Next screen. The plot is entirely forgettable when it's not just confusing. Yet it's impossible not to recommend that everyone play this game. The visual style will keep you going just to see new areas and gorgeous bosses. As someone who would give a game a five-star rating for great gameplay with mediocre graphics, I'd be a hypocrite not to give this game five stars for amazing presentation with decent game play.
Jurassic Radio #19: John Cena's Got the Key!
It's all whole notes and hit points this week as we get by with a little help from THE BEATLES: ROCK BAND, MURAMASA, the WANDERERS EDITION mod for FALLOUT 3 and SPECTROBES: ORIGINS for the Wii.
We also collapse our Top 3 and culture roundtables into one smashing segment by weighing in on RX Bandits' "Mandala" and, well, by not doing a Top 3 this week.
With music from Joy Division, Relient K and The Dropkick Murphys.
Shorter show this week! At 75 minutes, we run well short of last week's absurd 150 minutes, making this our shortest and most tightly focused episode yet. Too short? I don't think so, but if you do, leave a comment, and we'll unfuck this situation at a later date.
PODCAST
(right-click to save, use player below, or get the show on iTunes here)
Jurassic Radio #19: John Cena's Got the Key!
00:00 - 33:04 -- What we've been playing
ACT BREAK -- Joy Division, "Interzone"
33:39 - 53:52 -- Music Club: Rx Bandits' "Mandala"
ACT BREAK -- Relient K, "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything"
54:43 - 1:15:00 -- The news, what's coming out
OUTRO -- The Dropkick Murphys, "Captain Kelly's Kitchen"
SHOW NOTES
Kotaku - EA tempts journalists in Dante's Inferno promo - http://kotaku.com/5355784/electronic-arts-tests-journalists-greed-with-cash/gallery/
Dreamcast, FFVIII turn 10, we feel old - http://itsinthegame.ea.com/archive/2009/09/08/9-9-99-ten-years-after.aspx
Pop Matters - Dudes hate virtual boobs, sorta - http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/111089-misconceptions-about-the-female-avatar/
Interview: Telltale Games' Dave Grossman
Guybrush being heroic™, after his own manner.
Perhaps the best way to begin an anxiously anticipated interview is not to babble at your source about just how anxious you are and how much you can't wait to get home. But that's precisely what I did to Dave Grossman, who worked closely on THE SECRET OF MONKEY ISLAND at LucasArts way back when and is now design director at Telltale Games.
The company is almost halfway through TALES OF MONKEY ISLAND, the five-episode follow-up to SAM & MAX, STRONG BAD'S COOL GAME FOR ATTRACTIVE PEOPLE and WALLACE & GROMIT. Setting aside my exceptional professionalism for a moment, I'll say briefly that all of them are tremendous, often guffaw-inducing adventure games and that anybody with a mouse should play them.
I can't quite recommend the WiiWare versions (for technological handicaps detailed below), but the requirements for the PC versions are so modest that pretty much any computer with a video card should be able to run them smoothly.
Without further ado, here's my fully transcribed interview with Grossman from PAX on Friday.
GAMEOSAURUS: Did you get a chance to see Ron (Gilbert)'s keynote?
DAVE GROSSMAN: I did. I got a chance to look at it before he gave it. He actually sent it to me for comment a few weeks ago, I guess. I thought it was really good. It was a very charming look into Ron, you know?
When he got into the Grumpy Gamer persona, I guess in the second half, he was talking about Secret of Monkey Island, seven people, $135,000.
Yeah.
How many people are working on the Tales episodes?
You know, it's hard to say because the team kind of grows and shrinks as it needs to. At the maximum size, I think we probably got like 20-plus on it, because we're working extra fast. We're actually plucking people who ordinarily would be working on something else and dropping them on there when we need the backup. A typical size for one of our teams is probably between 15 and 20 people.
In orders of magnitude, how much bigger is this, now that you've got a 3-D engine and blocking and things like that to work out, versus the 1990 games.
(ed.: Dave presses me to make sense of my question. I fumble helplessly, and he eventually helps me settle on man hours as a metric.)
So let's see, Secret of Monkey Island, he said it was seven people? I'm not sure I actually believe that, but it seemed like that sometimes. There were a few artists actually on it. It took us about a year to make that. For a season, which is probably a comparable amount of gameplay and a similar amount of dialogue and all that, we usually use a varying team size. It starts out as only a couple of people, but then it kind of ramps up. We get into production, and it ramps up quickly to a team twice the size, but it only takes us about six months to get to the end of the season. So it's actually probably pretty comparable, now that I do all that math in my head. It's probably not that different in terms gameplay size or the amount of effort. Of course, everybody makes more money now, so dollar figures vary.