PixlBit

...For now.

PixlBit's reader, Zap, has fed the Mailbag, saving me a fortune in zebra import tariffs and fees. Since he sent such a robust and fulfilling message, we've decided we'd go ahead and feature it in it's own Pre-E3 Mailbag! Hooray Zap!

He says:

Hello, thank you for keeping up such a robust mailbag for Pixlbit. After so many great letters have been posted, I thought I would ask a few of my own.

What type of games will Telltale's recently announced Back to the Future and Jurassic Park games be? I remember a Jurassic Park arcade shooter that was pretty terrifying (and fun), but I don't have much hope for BTTF (I mean, even less than usual for a licensed game).

With Wii sales lagging in Japan, could there be a price cut announced at E3? They've added a black console and packed in Wii Sports Resort, what more do people want?

Every Zelda of the last 10 years has had some odd adjective/noun jammed into the title; we've had mask, sailing, trains, and wolf-man mechanics. Care to speculate on what the big Zelda "hook" is going to be this time?

And don't say, 'Ganon turns out to be Captain Hook,' I already thought of that.

Have fun at E3, it's gonna be epic.

Sincerely, Zap

First, to get over the obvious points, both Back to the Future and Jurassic Park have already seen video game adaptations with mixed results. We've seen the NES BttF title everyone thinks is terrible, and I think most people recognize that the adrenaline-infused Jurassic Park lightgun arcade game was likely the pinnacle of the franchise's gaming history.

That said, I have high hopes for both titles, believe it or not. Like GoldenEye, these games will benefit from not trying to target a movie's premiere, and thus, will be allowed complete development cycles. While I worry more for a story-based BttF title, I can say I've at least experienced a simple plot that could work well for the game in the former Universal Studios ride, where a remote-control Delorean chases the car Biff stole through several time periods, like an ice age and some time in a dino-filled prehistoric age. While it strays from the movie, and perhaps comes closer to Carmen Sandiego, I could see it being an enjoyable experience. I'd go so far as to say a Back to the Future game would need to ignore the formula of the movies to be an exciting, enthralling piece of software.

On the other hand, a Jurassic Park game would probably play very well following the design of the first movie: A suspenseful, borderline horror game, where something goes wrong at a Dino-filled theme park, and the player has to carefully work his or her way out, perhaps even controlling multiple characters and storylines. Do you remember how nerve-wracking the scene in the kitchen with the kids and velociraptors was? If done well, the game would implement facets of several genres, including puzzles, stealth, first person segments, and lightgun sections to make something incredible. I'd say I have a lot of hope for what the two titles could be, but I'm more optimistic in Jurassic Park's case.

I've always been a proponent of Wii price cuts. I thought Nintendo should have started lowering the price or adding value in their console bundles back in Spring 2008, just because I believe maintaining a shortage is a powerful market shortage. At this point, there's a few options I think Nintendo could take with the Wii, but I don't think price or bundling will be discussed at E3. Regardless of when, there's additional controller bundles, a Wii Fit/Balance Board bundle, and general price reductions, and I'd say all three options are possible. My favorite, of course, is an actual price reduction, but a bundle created to kick off a complete four-player Wii Sports Resort experience would be very customer-friendly, with four Wii-Remotes, Motion +'s, and Nunchuks, and without any new compelling, widely appealing software similar to Wii Sports Resort or Wii Fit, I just don't see Nintendo bundling a new game as an incentive for late Wii buyers, Japan or elsewhere.

Now, when it comes to your last question, I'm going to be honest, and admit I'm not actually a big Zelda fan. I haven't kept up to date with the series, so I'm not going to say much, aside from a simple title possibility, "The Legend of Zelda: The Silver/Shimmering Maiden," and instead, defer to Chris, for what he thinks could be the hook.

Chris says:

Looking back, I believe Link will be traveling with the girl we've seen in the concept art. Of course, they just featured a travel companion in TLoZ: Spirit Tracks, so that probably won't be the distinguishing feature of the title. I don't believe the twist will center around co-op, though co-op would be a new, interesting option to include--just maybe not for such a central entry to the Zelda series.

Anyway, what could the hook be? I think the concept of traversal (like Wind Waker, Spirit Tracks, etc.) isn't going to show up in a new form for the moment. I don't think the subject of time (a la Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask) will be an emphasis either. I think the hook is going to be something new(er). I personally think not only will Nintendo focus on Motion Plus, they'll take an experimental--but not exotic--approach to the Zelda formula. Motion Plus could either be the focus or the inspiration--either way, I think the hook could be in-depth motion control. The symbol for that hook? My guess is the Silver Maiden (to quote Jason) from last year's E3 Zelda snapshot.

While talking it over, personally, I could see two options: Heavy, co-op based gameplay, perhaps more involved than that in Super Mario Galaxy 2, or a nearly-constant Light-World/Dark-World gameplay switch between Link and the Maiden representing the Master Sword. Those are just ideas, but I can see the appeal.

And that concludes our broadcast Mailbag. Keep sending letters, and over the week, as the show ends, I, or other staffers will reply. Maybe by the end of the week, the mailbag will smile?

...Probably not.