March 10, 2004
Gaming While Drunk: Ports BAD! Gaiden GOOD! by Robert Keenan
Sorry if I’m late on this article, but I’ve been nearly consumed by the hell that is Ninja Gaiden.
It’s not even really that the game is hard. Its more like the game is really, really hard, but so good you just need to see what happens next. The demo really doesn’t prepare you for this, as the first level just shows you an old Japanese complex and some ninja action. Great stuff. What you’re not prepared for though is that after that you’re thrown against ninjas, cyborgs, soldiers, tanks, zombies, bats, and I’m pretty sure at one point you fight a koala to the death. The level of detail and sheer amount of gameplay and disparate environments raise the bar for what we should expect from action games from now on.
If you haven’t bought this game, buy it. If you need help start a thread in the forums and we’ll try to give you a leg up.
This gets me to my point though: what a development house can achieve when you don’t have to worry about porting the game over. You see this all the time in this industry, especially with the price of making games going up and the thought of a big release across all three systems being very enticing. Unfortunately concessions need to be made for a simultaneous release. You have to code graphics and sound to the lowest common denominator (most of the time it seems the game is coded for the PS2 and then ported to the Xbox and the Gamecube) and often there is no time before the game ships to optimize for the more powerful hardware.
This is way games like Bond: Everything or Nothing, Spiderman, and Madden are at a disadvantage. When you work knowing you’re going to port the game you simply don’t have the time or resources to play to each console’s strengths.
Case in point: Look at what Team Ninja was able to do with Ninja Gaiden and then look at any multiplatform release. When you begin making a game from just ONE console you can make sure you use every trick in the book to make sure the game plays and looks great. There are a ton of other examples, any Nintendo game on the Gamecube, or even Jak 2 on the PS2. These games are so far above what other games look like on their respective systems and they’re all exclusive.
In this day of sequels, ports, and endless sports games we have to respect the development houses that have the guts to take the hit in sales in order to see their vision made perfect for only one system. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does the results are hard to argue with.
-Written by Robert Keenan
Do you agree or disagree? What are your thoughts? Comment on the discussion forum.
