I played Mad Maestro a bit when we got it in stock at my store and really liked it. I don't own a 3DS, but I've put nearly 60 hours into Theatrhythm on iOS. I'd still buy it on 3DS though...
That's one of my favorite tracks in the game. It's so sweet and intimate.
The dance mechanics of Britney's Dance Beat are even better than Bust a Groove 2. Don't hate, hater.
I'm hoping Capcom puts as much love and attention into this as they did with Final Fight Double Impact.
I'd like to see less combat in some games, but it depends on the situation. I think Spec Ops: The Line would be a much better game with about 40% less combat, while letting the remaining 60% be against less enemies but making those enemies feel like real people. Alan Wake also could benefit from a good 40-50% less shooting dudes.
I haven't played the new Tomb Raider yet but from reviews I've read I can already tell that I'd prefer to have less combat and more survival mechanics in there. I want Lara to still have problems killing people after that first one. My dream scenario with the next game would be to have her dealing with PTSD from her time on the island and having that come out in some interesting ways. Maybe she starts to enjoy the killing because it empowers her and keeps the memories of being helpless away.
I have high hopes for The Last of Us, because Naughty Dog keeps saying that a group of three enemies will be a "holy crap" moment, and very dangerous to the player.
I actually find that a deeper problem if the game is a wholly online experience with no single player mode. Simply put, a game like that becomes unplayable if no one is online.
I'd like to state for the record that I stand behind my score for Diablo III 100%. I had very little problem with the game during the launch week, and the game always played great, even when I've gone back to it over the past year.
I really don't see the need to attack a game if its online structure is messed up at launch. If it's a persistant problem that's an entirely different matter. Sim City is working fine now from all reports, but it sounds like the game has plenty of other problems in its core design that I haven't seen reflected in a lot of reviews. As more and more games move towards having online functionality things like this are going to happen more often. I'm not happy about it, but once you get past the initial launch strain things tend to work out fine.
Thanks for the kind words, everyone! I don't know if it was the ZzzzQuill or just passing out, but I got some rest. I could use more, but I feel much better.
Speaking of C&Ds, I really hate that Square Enix put a stop to this:
Dead Pixels has been one of my favorites. It's basically River City Ransom meets Fallout 3...with zombies. And yes, it's as cool as it sounds.
