Hey there, and welcome to my one time fill in as Alex Williams partakes in strippers, gambling, and whatever else in Sin City for the time being. Lucky bastard. So, yeah, with that said I’m A.J. and welcome to the Friday Fill-in. I have some news to pass along to everyone, and after spending an afternoon searching for this stuff I really have a new respect for the guys who do the news around here. Anyways, enough of me, because what you’re really here for is the news, so let?s get right to it.
Nintendo brings us some more Custom Robo
Nintendo plans to unveil a new entry in the Custom Robo series shortly, the Custom Robo Japanese website reveals today. The new title will be for the Game Boy Advance. Aside from this, nothing is known about the title.
Credit: IGN.com
Well, after playing the Gamecube addition of Custom Robo (and reviewing it for Inside Pulse), I have some mixed feelings about this game. If indeed it does come here to the States, I sure it will do well, but I hope Nintendo goes the extra mile and makes some improvements to this series. I am a Gameboy addict myself, and I’m interested to see the transition Custom Robo will make from the ‘cube, but I’m not getting my hopes up. Still, for you mech fans out there this game is probably going to be right up your alley.
Pokemon Emerald? The jewel themed titles just keep on coming.
In a recent issue of CoroCoro Comic, Nintendo revealed the next generation of Pokemon in the form of Pokemon Emerald for the Game Boy Advance. The upcoming title will follow in the footsteps of Ruby and Sapphire by building on those games and adding a few new touches. The story of Pokemon Emerald follows the adventures of the same male and female trainers seen in Ruby and Sapphire as they set out to stop the schemes of Team Aqua and Team Magma. The two trainers also have new green accessories to fit the theme of the new game, and a new green Legendary Pokemon, Rayquaza, will be introduced.
The battle system remains the same, but with some new twists. Trainers can attack simultaneously, and NPC opponents can call in others to help them fight the player as well. Audacious players can enter Battle Frontier, which features seven different competitions. One of these competitions, Battle Dome, allows players to bring only three Pokemon. The game will support the Wireless GBA Adapter for multiplayer action, and the Japanese version of the game will be bundled with the device. Pokemon Emerald will be released in Japan on September 16, but Japanese Pokemon fans will be able to play a demo at the Pokemon Festa on July 17. A North American release has not been announced.
Credit: RPGamer.com
As a pretty big Pokemon fan (not at Lucard levels, but still pretty high) this is pretty exciting news. The news here is pretty sketchy, but I am hopeful Emerald is as good as Ruby and Sapphire, while also adding some of the things Ru/Sp desperately needed. For instance, seeing Pokemon from R/B/Y and G/S/C as wild, catchable Pokemon would be a plus. At the very least it seems a safe bet that Emerald will act much like Yellow and Crystal did for previous generations of Pokemon games, being a bridge of sorts for the games in terms of Pokemon you can catch, and other aspects. I would also venture to say that it’s a pretty safe bet that Emerald will see a US release when you consider the series popularity here; however, it will probably take awhile since Nintendo will want to cash in on Fire Red and Leaf Green before putting another GBA title out there.
Violence in games is ok! Really! Look, a judge even said so!
The long story of the state of Washington’s controversial law banning the sale of violent games to minors came to an end today–with an important victory for the game industry. Judge Robert Lasnik of the US District court in Seattle ruled the law unconstitutional under the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of speech.
Rejecting the state’s argument that violence in games should fall under the state’s obscenity law, Judge Lasnik noted that similar portrayals of violence can be seen in literature, art, and the media, and that “there is no indication that such expressions have ever been excluded from the protections of the First Amendment.”
Credit: Gamespot.com
Common sense prevails here, and I agree 100% with the judge?s statements here. Limiting the sale of video games like this, in essence, opens things up for limiting of other similar items. I mean if you, for example, not let someone under 18 purchase a Grand Theft Auto title, then shouldn?t you (using that logic) also not allow them to purchase many DVD’s, books, etc. That doesn’t make any sense from any vantage point, and I’m just glad someone who doesn?t see video games as a scapegoat finally saw that and made the right decision. Hopefully this will set some precedent for other cases around the country that deal in similar matters.
Yes, I know there really isn’t that much news. It’s the summer though, and generally a down time for the gaming industry so let’s just get right to the plugs before I wrap this up with some closing comments.
Plugs
Thank God It’s Thursday News Report – Bryan Berg
The Casual Gamer’s News Report – Matt Yeager
The Angry Gamer – 7-15-04 – Liquidcross
That’s about it folks. Next week Alex will be back in his normal slot and I’ll be back doing reviews. Have a good weekend.