http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-20 ... pic/101479

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Day 0!

The gameplay looks freaking solid. The graphics are very interesting and different for a Kirby game. I look forward to this... but there is one thing that concerns me after seeing the trailer for the game: Why doesn't Kirby suck in his enemies anymore?

'Cause he's just a yarn outline and thus can't breath because he doesn't have lungs?

At first glance, this reminded me of Yoshi's Story. And then I watched them actually do something with the art supplies look.

I'm sorry, but Kirby not sucking in enemies and copying their powers is like taking away Mario's jumping or Link's Master Sword or Megaman's buster or Simon's whip... I dunno. I guess I'm too old school.

I'm... conflicted. I agree with Lantis.
I can see why wouldn't he suck and absorb enemies, or maybe even float around, but it's still weird to see Kirby deprived of what made him Kirby.
Still, I'll definitely get it. It looks awesome and I like the concept.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/112/1128257p1.html

So apparently you can't die in the game. As in you can't lose. I hated Fable 2 and all the Lego games for the same reason. Why should I exclude Kirby from this? It's bad enough they took away Kirby's ability to copy enemies... but this is a little sad. I'll probably still get it, but I'm not near as excited anymore. A challenge is a major factor in a game, and not being able to lose de-winds it to a large degree.

So they rely on the difficulty formula that they used in Yoshi's Story? That really sucks. I play a game for the fun of the game, not to be a completionist. And if being a completionist is the only way I can have fun with the game, then I shall pass.

Funny how you don't really hear about this kind of stuff till the game is out. It's like the developers didn't want you to know or something... as if they knew it sucked.

Okay, so here's the deal. I just spent all of yesterday debating with a friend of mine over the direction of the gaming industry. And it seems to me, if you are a core gamer, you'd better like FPS games. But if you are casual gamer, prepare for all of your games to have training wheels for little Timmy and grampa.

And the classic gamers (as in us) have to watch our childhood memories be defiled as thinks we love undergo some changes.... because let's face it. We aren't the key demographic anymore. It's the FPS/sport game jocks and the casual/waggle-fest children and grandfathers.

I could elaborate on this for a good few pages, but cutting to the point... I'm not giving a game any slack if it doesn't meet my standards any longer. Kirby just got formatted for the casual crowd, so Nintendo won't be seeing any money from me (I know, right? How will they survive now?!) It's more on principle than anything else.

So back to the guy I was talking to. HE'S already bought it. And he wants us to hang out this weekend and blow through the whole game. I'll probably take off a bit early Friday, and try to finish the game before going to bed... with pizza and Dr. Pepper at our side, I'm sure we can manage. So what I'm asking of you guys is to wait to get this till after I report back. Maybe taking away Kirby's signature move isn't such a big deal, and maybe the platforming is so difficult, that you'll NEED to not be able to die. I dunno. But I will by Saturday. So yeah.

Aaaaaand here's my report:

The game isn't bad. Not exactly. But what it is... is boring as hell. The only truly bad thing about the game is that you, in fact, are incapable of dying. And actually, some enemies can't even make you drop your gems you've been collecting. The game has been so badly casual-fied that almost all the fun has been taken out.

Earlier I stated that it really bugged me that Kirby no longer sucks in enemies and copies their abilities. That wasn't as much of a concern as I expected. Kirby has a pretty good range of moves that he can do without sucking in anything. So I'm not going to dock the game for that. Though I still kind of feel that it's out of place taking his signature ability away from him like that.

The level design is good for the most part. The graphics are very interesting to look at and fit the Wii extremely well. Platforming was okay, but just so boring as there was no challenge behind it. Also, I was playing with someone. I assume that if you were playing by yourself, the boringness of it all would just increase.

This is a game aimed at casual gamers. Not classic gamers like us who actually remember Kirby. Now that there's been a line drawn that distinguishes gamers from casual gamers... this is nothing short of a causal game. I didn't draw that line...Nintendo did. As such, you have to call it for what it is. Grab it if you want to, but I personally don't think it's worth the cost.

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