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Gran Turismo 3
In an unusual PR event today, Sony Computer Entertainment America today invited journalists and guests to see and play the latest version of Gran Turismo 3 at the San Francisco Auto Show, held at the Moscone Center, in downtown San Francisco, Ca. This new version only showed one course (Trial Mountain), and three cars (Ford Mustang SVT Cobra IIR, Ravbrig NSX, the Honda S2000), but it was farther along than any version we have previously seen or played. And from what I have seen, GT3 is the most beautiful racing game I have ever seen on any system ever.
We had the chance to sit down with the American producer of the game, Taku Imasaki, who works closely with the executive producer of the series, Kasunori Yamauchi, and speak with him about many infinite changes, alterations, and PS2-specific aspects that Polyphony Digital is currently working on.
The biggest news is that GT3 will feature more than 150 cars, probably around 160, but the final number is still uncertain. In that 150-plus cars we have identified, one kick-butt Pagani Zonda C12, a ,000-plus Italian mega-sportscar, will blow gamers away with its sleek look and impressive specs. The game will include several more surprises beyond that Pagani Zonda, Imasaki said, but he couldn't reveal everything just yet.
The big news doesn't stop there, though. Polyphony is confirmed to be working on a six-player i-link function for GT3. The six-player i-link requires firewire and three PS2s, three TVs, and three copies of the game, and enables players to play horizontal or vertical split-screen games, two per system. If fewer than six human players choose to play, the cars will be filled in with AI drivers, so that six cars will always be on the screen at one time. I guess that's going to mean some serious six-way bouts here in the IGN offices! Yeah!
Imasaki iterated that like the release of the first Gran Turismo, GT3 is slated for Japan first, and will be followed by the American release within about two months. The localization process should take a lot less time than GT2 because there is less text in GT3. Polyphony plans to have GT3 complete sometime in the first quarter 2001. It looks like the game could come out anytime between January and March in the US, we suspect. Still, SCEA won't confirm a date as of yet (probably better considering the debacle that happened with GT2). We'll have to wait and see. Hummmpphhhhh...
While late last summer Sony Japan had confirmed that it is officially endorsing a Logitech steering wheel that's compatible only with the PS2 version of GT3, SCEA has not confirmed any news on this issue -- yet. It's likely that SCEA is working on a deal with Logitech, but it appears that they're both in negotiations at the moment. Kasunori Yamauchi explained at the fall ECTS that the force-feedback steering wheel completes the full vision he has for GT3. We'll have full details as soon as they're made.
A few extra little tidbits made us smile, too. The replay options are totally new. Players can switch manually switch between in-car views of the cars, and they can switch to dozens of still and panning camera shots along the track. The cool thing is that you can pick any car on the track, yours, or any others, and can see from their dashboards, or their rearview mirrors. Players use the L2 and Select to use these options.
Polyphony is planning to add new license tests in GT3. So in addition to all of the tests from GT2, there will be more. Just what they are, Imasaki wouldn't say just yet. Also, Imasaki confirmed once again that Polyphony is working on raising the level of the AI, so that drivers you have treated unkindly will "remember" your behavior and try to seek "revenge" sometime in the race.
The final music song list for the American version, highly touted and also highly criticized in GT2, is still in the works. Deals are still being worked on and negotiations are being played out. Count on a more up-to-date list of songs than GT2, Imasaki said.
A cool new twist on music selection, however, is being worked on as we speak. Polyphony is trying to enable players to create a selectable list of music that can be chosen prior to game. So, players can program prior to race, perhaps three to four songs for any course, something that is especially useful for courses such as the Endurance races.
Lastly, this version of GT3 played very much like the last version we played, and we have provided exhaustive impressions of the game. So, if you want to know how the game plays to date, check our previous updates!
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Game Info:
Publisher:
Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer:
Polyphony Digital
Genre:
Racing
Origin:
Japan
Number of Players:
6
Dual Shock:
Yes
Release:
March 2001
Peripherals:
Steering Wheel
Memory Card
ESRB: E
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silent hill 2 :
.It was, however, far more effective when played with the lights out, which is why I and so many others did so without regard for the effect it had on our nerves. That’s the one problem with the Silent Hill 2 demo on display here at the Tokyo Game Show – the effect is all wrong when you’re surrounded by dozens of games, hundreds of people, and thousands of bright, flashing lights. Just judging it from the unfortunately objectified point of view I’ve been forced into here, though, I’d like a copy of the demo as soon as possible, the better to watch it in completely quiet blackness.
Short, unplayable, and very intriguing, the Silent Hill 2 demo movie is composed mostly (perhaps entirely) of pre-rendered graphics, depicting a disjointed series of half-familiar characters and disturbing images. The lead character, James, is almost alone in the haunted, mist-shrouded town of Silent Hill…although not quite as alone as he might want to be. A few other beings appear in the movie, all of their identities and aims uncertain. There’s a young girl, sitting on a high ledge and chatting down towards a bewildered hero. In another scene, a striking woman holds him seemingly paralyzed and whispers disturbing nonsense in his face. And then there are horrors: a rising body, distended from within by something alive and trying to burst out of it, or a shambling undead in what seems like a torn nurse’s uniform, lumbering towards our protagonist with part of a dismembered corpse in one hand.
The atmosphere throughout is dark, misty, and indefinitely threatening. No extraneous people appear – the other characters shown feel more like omens than human beings, and beyond them there are only culvert-dwelling beasts of obviously ill intention. Grime is everywhere, and frequently blood, in dark hallways and an empty bathroom where James looks into a mirror as if afraid of what he’ll see there. He is summoned to the town by a strange message, a love letter from is wife three years after her death, which turns out to be an omen of grim happenings to come.
Most of the demo was obviously pre-rendered, and none of it was immediately recognizable as gameplay footage. Silent Hill 2 will likely be structured more or less like its predecessor was, but we still can’t say for sure. What we can say with some surety is that the game will be scary - it looks like Konami’s unsung Silent Hill team still has what it takes to craft the kind of atmosphere their first effort had. Their work, meanwhile, will definitely benefit from the new hardware resources they have to tap – I’m certainly looking forward to seeing more of what they can do with PS2
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Game Info
Publisher
Konami
Developer
Konami
Genre
Adventure
Origin
Japan
Number of Players
1
Dual Shock
Yes
Release
August 2001
Peripherals
Analog
Memory Card
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ligend of zelda for game cube:
The Story So Far…
Unfortunately, all we have to go on right now is a brief demo. The demo itself showcased one of the most enjoyable parts of any Zelda games – the final battle. Of course, Nintendo would never actually show the final battle scene so we know this isn't the real thing, merely a demo. However, there are a few things to be gleaned from the demo such as what the general mood, environments, and characters will be like.
Nintendo has fully transformed Link into one of the coolest characters yet to be seen in a 3-D game. No one can argue that this elfish boy has more passion and determination in his look than most do in their actions. Nintendo might have you believe that these characters were merely made for the demonstration, but the Link featured here is a fully decked character model equipped with a bump-mapped sword and shield. There's far too much detail to believe that Nintendo would scrap the models and make new ones. So, we think it's safe to say the new Link will look a lot like this. Overall, we're very happy with his new immaculate hero look.
The ancient nemesis has returned in Ganondorf form yet again. Again, there's no guarantee that Ganondorf will actually make it into the next installment of Zelda, but there's just so much detail in the character model we find it hard to fathom it could be any other way. You'll notice that Ganondorf's sword is also bump-mapped so it actually appears battle-worn and chipped on the edges; when coupled with the lighting effects it produces some of the best eye-candy ever seen in real-time. Also to note is that Ganondorf has had a slight makeover so he doesn't look like so much the hobgoblin that he did before. His face was just a horrible sight to see on the N64. Not on Gamecube, though, for his face represents the pure evil within. Say hello to the new King of Gerudo Thieves.
Now that we've established what the characters might look like we can deeper explore the subtleties of the demonstration. The scene begins as Ganondorf tries to kick Link in the chest, but Link blocks the giant's foot with his shield and is knocked back. After that Link is not easily fended off again, and we also see the return of his spin attack. The one thing that this demo really shows off is Gamecube's awesome lighting effects. If you watch the demo slowly you'll see that not only is there a ton of light sources, but the models are also feature specular lighting. Even when Link rotates his sword in the middle of the demo we see red and orange reflections from sources across the room. To top it all off, the animation in this sequence is extremely fluid. The moves were also likely not motion captured, so this is a perfect example of just how much Gamecube can do. Granted what we see is a cut-scene, but we've seen that Nintendo always takes a lot of care to fluidly animate its characters. Even by comparison Mario (64) moved very fluidly. These are all things we can expect in the final version, and probably something even more brilliant.
Outlook
We have no doubt in our minds that The Legend of Zelda on Gamecube will deliver in a big way. The Ocarina of Time revolutionized industry's perception of how well a world could be accurately 3-D. The control, the camera, and real-time cut-scenes made The Ocarina of Time one of the top-rated games in the history of videogames. Nintendo now has access to a console with extremely powerful capabilities. Nintendo is free to orchestrate a soundtrack, create huge environments that span as far as the eye can see, and incorporate many subtle touches. The designers at Nintendo can let their imaginations run wild with no limits. Expect the day/night sequences to return in full glory, temples and mountains reaching into the sky, and lifelike towns. We're not sure how much Nintendo will add in this game, but what we are sure of is that this game will not disappoint. We leave you with the thought of saddling up on a beautifully rendered horse and riding into the Hyrulian sunset as wind gently blows through the horse's mane. We can only hope to see such brilliant visuals at E3 2001.
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