Gabriel Posted July 8, 2007 Author Share Posted July 8, 2007 Shannon, you seem to focus on the classic version. You're right, though. If someone is focused on the original version of the game, they'd be better suited to go play it in one of it's other forms. The wussy sound on the 360's classic version is a big minus. I will say I thought the control was a bit better than say the PS2 Atari Anthology version after I got used to it. The Evolved version is the one I think people should be judging the pack by. After all, you can get classic Missile Command from several different anthologies, but this Evolved version is only available here. I'll start with the best news. The Evolved version is not like Missile Command 3D for the Jaguar or Missile Command for the PS1. In a way, it's like the home arcade ports of old in that it has been "made to fit." In those days, due to the limitations of consoles "making it fit" meant trimming down the graphics, sound, and gameplay to cram an arcade game into a 4K cart for a game system with 128 bytes of RAM. In this case "making it fit" involves inflating the games visuals to match widescreen and HD standards while preserving the original arcade thematic play. As with any such port, there are going to be differences in gameplay. Thankfully, they aren't as drastic of changes as the aforementioned Missile Command 3D and PS1 Missile Command. Mainly, the original arcade play has been preserved. The primary alteration is the move to widescreen, Which means you have to create wider shield walls. Visually, the game has been polygonized and neonified a bit. The sky has some wispy scrolling clouds. The scenery changes from day to night each level. The cities are lit up with tiny skyscraper lights and orbital roads. Your missile bases pivot around as you move the cursor. The enemy missiles glow a bit, and the enemy sputniks and bombers have been changed to 3D enemies. Everything behaves generally the same, though. The first big shock is the new animation for firing a countermissile. Instead of watching your missile streak to the target zone, the new animation features a crackling lighting bolt streaking to the crosshair and creating your explosion cloud. It seems some people consider this modification an utter travesty. I think they're overreacting. It takes a short bit to adapt to, but it looks cool, and that's what's important. I would have prefered to see my antimissile streaking to the target, but this is an acceptable change. The screen needs all the spicing up it can get (more in a bit). The next change involves the sputnik/bomber replacements. When they are destroyed, they don't simply die. They die, shatter, and pieces rain to the ground. These falling bits of debris are harmless, but can certainly be confusing in a game where you must prevent falling missiles from reaching your cities. There are other slight differences. For instance, the difficulty of the game is easier than the original arcade, resulting in longer play times. It also seems as if you can't dip your cursor as low as you should. The kicker is that missiles can MIRV below this level and take out multiple targets. I had one missile MIRV below the deck on me and it took out 3 cities and two missile bases. It requires a bit of adaptation, that's all. One of the main problems is that the game looks sparse. For the entire game, you're looking at a big ass sky. Footless halls of air fit the game, but don't provide much visual eye candy. The night sky and clouds are a good touch, but it just seems boring considering the visual flair of other revamped Live Arcade games. Another nit regards the missiles themselves. They get dimmer the closer they get to the ground. All in all, the missiles should have been brighter than they are. They become hard to see once they get to the bottom fourth of the screen. I dropped my 400 points on this game. I already had it in my account, so I figured what the hell. I'm neither extremely excited by the game nor disappointed. It's a thoroughly average Live Arcade offering. It's not as stripped down as Rally X. Like that game, it's decent entertainment, but nothing to write home about. There are certainly worse games to spend your points on, but you're not missing anything if you don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 That's fine that they enhance the game but when they do it at the neglect of the original game it's a thumbs down in my book. Atari got it right in previous anthologies there is no reason they should drop the ball like that because they are too lazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 Sonic the Hedgehog and Golden Ax are this week's games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 (edited) I see that Jeff Minter's Space Giraffe is going to be a Live game. I thought it'd be a store release. http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/802/802988p1.html Edited July 11, 2007 by Gregory DG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 Probably for the best, I think he wants to bring it to gamers for 400 points, it wouldn't stand a chance in the marketplace at full retail prices sadly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 I see that Jeff Minter's Space Giraffe is going to be a Live game. I thought it'd be a store release. Nope it was always planned as a Live Arcade game. I can't hardly wait for this one either!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriel Posted July 11, 2007 Author Share Posted July 11, 2007 Sonic the Hedgehog and Golden Ax are this week's games. Just a quick note. Golden Axe is the arcade game, not the Genesis port. Sonic, of course, is the same Genesis game which has been available on several compilations. Both are 400pts/$5 each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Helmet Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 Is Sonic the first XBLA game that is also available on the Wii VC? I'm pretty sure it is... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriel Posted July 11, 2007 Author Share Posted July 11, 2007 Is Sonic the first XBLA game that is also available on the Wii VC? I'm pretty sure it is... ::thinks:: Yes. It's also $3 cheaper on Live Arcade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHufnagel Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 I noticed on xbox.com that the Sonic game doesn't have HDTV listed on it's page. WTF? Don't all of the older Xbox BC games play in 720p on the X360? If that's the case, then anyone interested in this game should just pick up a used copy of Sonic Mega Collection Plus. A ton more games for a few more bucks and in 720p! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriel Posted July 11, 2007 Author Share Posted July 11, 2007 I noticed on xbox.com that the Sonic game doesn't have HDTV listed on it's page. WTF? Don't all of the older Xbox BC games play in 720p on the X360? If that's the case, then anyone interested in this game should just pick up a used copy of Sonic Mega Collection Plus. A ton more games for a few more bucks and in 720p! Or they could download the Live Arcade version for convenience sake. Just trying to offer a little rationalization. Sonic is a good game, but it's a uninspiring Live Arcade release. It's a common cart and has appearred in several different compilations over the years, so it lacks the oomph that Castlevania: Symphony of Night had. Like Namco's releases beyond Pac-Man Championship Edition, Sega seems to have phoned it in. Golden Axe is better. I think the best of the classic arcade re-releases are Double Dragon and Rush N' Attack. I don't even like Rush N' Attack, but the graphical remix makes the game at least part way appealling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHufnagel Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 You're quite right about Sega being lazy. I'm still ticked off that lame games like Flicky kept popping up on the various Sega collections, yet no Streets of Rage and Shining Force games! And now with downloadable content, we'll probably never see disc collections again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 I think the best of the classic arcade re-releases are Double Dragon and Rush N' Attack. I don't even like Rush N' Attack, but the graphical remix makes the game at least part way appealling. Do all Live Arcade games have graphical remixes or only some of them? Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 I think the best of the classic arcade re-releases are Double Dragon and Rush N' Attack. I don't even like Rush N' Attack, but the graphical remix makes the game at least part way appealling. Do all Live Arcade games have graphical remixes or only some of them? Tempest Many of the old school games do. The classic arcade games, but not all. Not sure if there is any kind of list available for which ones do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHufnagel Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 You can do what I do and go to xbox.com and go to the XBLA page. You can find out info and see screen shots on each game at each games home page. That's how I found out that Sonic isn't in HD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 Sonic is finally here? It's the Pac-man of the 90's. Surely they aren't going to wring any more money out for it? I might jump on the arcade version of Golden Axe, however. Is there online co-op? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormSurge Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 Sonic is finally here? It's the Pac-man of the 90's. Surely they aren't going to wring any more money out for it? I might jump on the arcade version of Golden Axe, however. Is there online co-op? I believe it does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriel Posted July 11, 2007 Author Share Posted July 11, 2007 Do all Live Arcade games have graphical remixes or only some of them? All of the Konami ones except for TMNT have remixed graphics. Most of the Midway ones do as well. I know Robotron, Joust, and Defender have enhanced graphics, and I don't think UMK3 or Smash TV have any upgrades. The Midway remix graphics are much more subdued than the Konami ones. Double Dragon has redone graphics too, as well as the Atari releases all having Evolved modes. On all of these, there is the option to play with the enhanced graphics or turn them off (or, in the case of the Atari games, play the originals). The Atari ones are odd ducks, more resembling Jetpak Refueled in that they go farther than mere graphical updates, and more or less include two distinct games. Sonic doesn't seem to be altered from its original appearrance. Golden Axe has been smoothed (with an option to turn smoothing off). Castlevania: Symphony of Night also has an option to turn off remixed graphics, but I've never used it and have never seen the original, so I don't know. None of Namco's classic arcade games were given any visual updates. Likewise, Capcom's games (SF2 and Contra arcade) were not upgraded (although a HD version of SF2 is in the works). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Anyone know what Sonic's achievements are? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Anyone know what Sonic's achievements are? http://www.achieve360points.com/game/sonic...gehoghighspeed/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 (edited) Darn, some of those sound kind of difficult. I couldn't do the no dieing one unless there are save states availabe, and I'm not sure I could get all the chaos emeralds without being able to occasionally repeat the bonus stage. Thanks for the link, all I could find were achievements for another Sonic game. Golden Ax has online coop btw. Edited July 12, 2007 by Atariboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormSurge Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Darn, some of those sound kind of difficult. I couldn't do the no dieing one unless there are save states availabe, and I'm not sure I could get all the chaos emeralds without being able to occasionally repeat the bonus stage. Thanks for the link, all I could find were achievements for another Sonic game. Golden Ax has online coop btw. You can save the game at any point, so that achievement isn't that difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Helmet Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Is Sonic the first XBLA game that is also available on the Wii VC? I'm pretty sure it is... ::thinks:: Yes. It's also $3 cheaper on Live Arcade. I tried the demo and I have to say that while the games looks sharper on the 360, I prefer it on the Wii just because of the d-pad. The one on the 360 is shit. The Wiimote has a nice d-pad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Is Sonic the first XBLA game that is also available on the Wii VC? I'm pretty sure it is... ::thinks:: Yes. It's also $3 cheaper on Live Arcade. Unless you want to split hairs about the console ports of arcade games. The 360 stomps on the Wii in this regard so far (at least til the Neo Geo games come along): Golden Axe arcade version on XBOX, Genesis version on Wii Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting arcade on XBOX, SNES version on Wii Pac-Man arcade port (and Ms. Pac, and the great CE sequel) on XBOX, NES version on Wii Xevious arcade port on XBOX, NES version on Wii Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriel Posted July 13, 2007 Author Share Posted July 13, 2007 Bomberman Live this week according to Major Nelson. I like Bomberman well enough, but 800 pts? Unless the trial knocks my socks off, I think I'll probably be passing this one by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.