We tried to wait for the blue bomber.

We watched his franchise spawn many branches and go through numerous changes. And then, we weren’t so sure we wanted to wait any longer.

A lot of the adults playing games today started that habit in their childhood. Primarily, marketing departments aim for the 20-24 age bracket of young men, and believe they’re only capable of playing Halo and more Halo. This results in a lack of gameplay variety amongst AAA releases. Because a lot of these aimed-for consumers played Mega Man entries during the late 1980’s and mid-90’s, and Master Chief’s diminutive predecessor was also armored and did have a gun he could shoot, maybe executives thought it wouldn’t hurt to release a title like that today. Were they right?

There are no franchises I love more than Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man, but I don’t see the sense in a release that mimics graphics from 1988. One could argue that Mega Man has never been about originality, but over the years, it did introduce Rush, new moves (like the slide), additional playable characters, and more. It was the same old, same old at its core, but it did evolve. Why buck that trend? In this effort to revitalize the original series, and after the fine Mega Man X8, why are we going so far backward in time?

This is a game about robots, isn’t it? You know, from the future? Where things are supposed to be… advanced?

Regardless, I await the game, knowing that Keiji Inafune is involved and this isn’t just some throw-together knock-off (even though it looks like that so far). If he’ll be able to infuse some excellence, much as he did with MMX4 and the original Zero, I’m all for it. More closure beyond what Mega Man 2: The Power Battles’s story offered? Please, I’d love that too. What about a memorable soundtrack? Oh, that better be there! It’s going to be hard to top the music from the series’s NES entries, along with inspired tunes by modern bands like The Protomen, and unofficial remixes by Japanese doujin artists.

In other words, you’ve got your work cut out for you, Capcom. Fans are jaded, and the market group you’re aiming for already rejected the wonderful Mega Man Powered Up!. This has to be amazing, and is it going to be?

Does anyone even care?

This blog article should be recognized as the sole opinion of the editor and does not necessarily reflect GotNext’s official position on the subject.

Prequel to the most immersive FPS of all time.

Welcome back to the dust-choked Zone, set in the fictional aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster.  Set one year before the first game, take the role of Scar, a mercenary fighting for survival against the rival factions vying for control as much as the hostile wasteland of the Zone itself.  It’s a war of territory, artifacts, and true power, with Scar as the deciding factor.

The original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was lush in its ruined detail, creating the feeling of a real environment, cast in a lighting system that still hasn’t been surpassed.  Direct X 10 support in Clear Sky results in truly spectacular visuals, including dynamic transitions between day and night, detailed landscapes, and lifelike animations.  Though it’ll naturally still work with DX8 and 9.

The AI of the original could be dangerous and downright amusing, flanking you when you least expected it and giving you a helping hand when the odds suddenly turned against you.  That’s also been improved for the prequel, so enemies and allies make situation-based decisions to create the sense of a real struggle.  To take this further, very little in Clear Sky will be predetermined.  Battles will play out in real time with the player there to tip the odds in favor of one faction over another.

Everything you loved from S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is making its return, from vast areas to a wide assortment of quests, quirky NPCs and an arsenal of realistic weaponry.  New levels, movie-quality cut-scenes leading up to the original, fast travel, weapon modification, and other welcome features have also been thrown into the mix, for what’s certain to be a grotesque beauty of an experience.

Mega Man 9, Niko Bellic is a rapist, and more.

Busy week?  No worries.  Here are the most noteworthy news items of the past week.

Monday: Kotaku’s Stephen Tolito wrote an interesting piece on figures now available from the Wii’s Nintendo Channel.  He highlighted some surprises, the greatest being that people actually enjoy Wii Play to the tune of nine hours logged per person.  Carnival Games was another unexpected winner.  Most compelling, indeed.

Tuesday: EGM’s Quartermann is reporting one hell of a rumor this month.  If their sources are correct (and their hit-to-miss ratio is decent), Microsoft might be looking to farm out Xbox 360 hardware production to third-party manufacturers.  So… if respected Japanese companies started producing these units, could that change the landscape over there?  Probably not.  But it sure as hell would be interesting. (more…)

The ultimate SRPG is set for an August release.

The magic of Disgaea is in the minutia. Where most games only give you one helping, Disgaea offers an all-you-can-eat buffet. The next installment of NIS’ flagship SRPG series, titled Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice, is making the jump to the PlayStation 3 and is set for a US release in August. Some may balk at the chosen console, but NIS America has long supported Sony and though the graphics still preserve that “old school” look (a big thank you for that BTW), there will be that much more room to cram in all the little things that keep fans playing for hundreds of hours.

If static images aren’t enough to get you excited, check out the trailer! Make sure to cast your vote for the songs and cover art you’d prefer on the Disgaea 3 bonus soundtrack: http://disgaea.us/vote/. Expect a full review a little closer to launch (and let’s hope they release some new figures to accompany this latest release).

Find out if your name made the list.

There’s not really a whole lot to this post other than to reveal if you’re among one of the lucky 8 winners selected for the Commando 3 giveaway. Five of those winners got the best deal of all as they’ll be among the few who can enjoy the Super SF 2 Turbo HD Remix beta! Double bonus for fighting fanatics.

So without further ado, here are the random names who were picked:

• Bbobb
• Timber
• Lawd
• Do You LIke Erotic
• cka

The remaining winners for the PS3 version include:

• Ashen Victor
• Firstblood
• Josh *

** If an asterisk is next to your name and you don’t have a PS3, please get in touch with us so that we can offer you a alternative prize. Congrats to all the winners and stay tuned for future giveaways!