Picture the scene. A busy conference chamber in Kensington, London. Four HDTVs glare from an island in the centre of the room. At three of the four sit Monster Hunter veterans, unmistakeable in their branded gear, vaguely goth hairdos and businesslike demeanours. Their thumbs are a blur, their eyes narrowed in concentration. Astonishing feats of valor unfold on-screen, balletic rolls and perfectly timed, boulder-rupturing sword swipes, again and again.

At the remaining TV sits a journalist. Or rather, five journalists, each fighting for a clear view. While the other players remain monkishly calm, the journalists are shouting at one another. They are shouting things like “It’s behind you!” and “No, you can only do that with your weapon sheathed,” and “Hit him with a broom! Hit him with a broom!” and “Quick, try it on that herbivore!” And they are getting their arses well and truly kicked.

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Posted by Edwin on 08/02/10 in Interviews, Previews, Spotlight, and tagged with action, Capcom, Europe, hardcore, Japan, Monster Hunter Tri, nintendo, UK, wii.
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Readers often cry havoc over the conclusions of the gaming press, but seldom are the battle lines scored so deeply and conspicuously as in the case of White Knight Chronicles.

Level 5’s PS3 RPG has been treated to a thorough roasting by reviewers, with a dismal 64% average on Metacritic. IGN’s Ryan Clements comments that “the only thing more colossal than the White Knight is my disappointment”, while 1UP’s Dustin Quillen calls the game a “bland, second-rate RPG”.

I chipped in for VGD yesterday in what began as a review but wound up an opinion piece on WKC’s undelivered promise, remarking that its flaws “are those of a lot of JRPGs, but all the worse for the lateness of the hour.”

After publishing the feature, I took an extended tour of WKC review threads and forum posts. The enthusiasm the game has stirred up across the community – not just from those who have only screenshots and videos to go on, but from those who’ve played its older Japanese incarnation – is, quite frankly, flabbergasting, as is the outrage directed at those less-than-favourable reviews. I’m still convinced I’m right to think of the title as an insipid, sporadically interesting but generally redundant effort from a developer who should know better, but my curiosity has been piqued.

So here’s a simple proposal. Whether you’ve played White Knight Chronicles or not, I want you to tell us why you like it, and why you think I and the majority of writers don’t. Feel free to indulge any conspiracy theories or unpleasant character assessments you might have. If we get enough responses, I’ll add another page, or two, or three to this article and paste the better ones in.

Well, what are you waiting for? Give all that bubbling discontent a voice.

Posted by Edwin on 07/02/10 in Features, and tagged with .
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I can recall the moment I decided to buy a PlayStation 3 pretty clearly: it was immediately after watching the first trailer for Level 5’s White Knight Chronicles. Everything about the gameplay depicted – that visceral combo system, the cliched but vibrant character designs, the apparent presence of such exciting new features as enemy morale, or WWF-style team moves – set my thumbs a-twitching.

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Posted by Edwin on 05/02/10 in Features, Spotlight, and tagged with Japanese role-playing game, JRPG, Level 5, PlayStation 3, PS3, Sony.
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Here’s another nugget from our chat with Capcom UK’s PR manager Leo Tan, who was unfortunate enough to stray within recording distance at the Monster Hunter Tri event in London on Monday. It seems Mass Effect 2 producer Adrien Cho isn’t alone in his belief that today’s games – and gamers – are complete and utter pushovers.

“Yeah, definitely,” Leo reflected when asked whether he agreed with Cho. “But it depends. It depends on what the game is, and what the purpose of the game is. I think there’s a place for hardcore skill, and there’s a place for progression and story.”

Monster Hunter and its many, many expan-sequels are firmly in the former camp, while Uncharted 2: Among Thieves perhaps ranks among the latter. Naughty Dog hasn’t got things entirely right, though, in Leo’s estimation.

“Uncharted 2, towards the end it got a bit difficult,” he said, “and it kind of broke the illusion – because all the way through you’re basically playing a movie, and kind of right at the end it becomes a game again, and that’s a bit annoying. I wish they’d made it easier there.

“But I don’t want people dumbing down Street Fighter or a fighting game system, or something like Monster Hunter – if you make it too easy, you lose some of that sensation of living for the hunt.

“It’s more about things in the right place. You wouldn’t make something difficult just for the sake of it. That would be insanity.”

The chap behind this game must be mad as a hatter, then. Watch out for the full interview with Leo on Monday.

Posted by Edwin on in News, and tagged with BioWare, Capcom, ea, Monster Hunter Tri, News, UK, wii.
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