Some quick thoughts

I just wanted to drop a few thoughts from an interesting week...

Firstly is the new module I released.  'Nightmares to Dreams' which is in NW Vault.  The aim was to have something roughly playable to be released and that is finally out of the way.  Have not received much of any feedback but I'll let that sit for awhile there while I ponder on what to do next.  I plan to reinstall the NWN toolset into Linux.  I don't like working on Windows.

Second thing to get out of the way is the texture map task my brother keeps wrangling me about.  Hopefully by the end of the week, it'll be finally finished.

Third thing is how I have been indulging a bit on Witcher by reading short stories and watching the Polish serial.  It has been quite interesting and I fairly enjoyed the short stories.  The TV series seems to have some pretty laughable effects but I am still remotely interested in watching it.

Fourth thing is how more videos of Tatsunoko vs Capcom are finally going around and this game is looking like a winner.  One game for the holidays that is for sure.

Lastly, I had a good couple of hours with Tomb Raider Underworld on Wii.  In a word, it's a mess.

Anniversary had a very good control system and she was very agile.  The camera, while not perfect, was something I could adjust to.  The Wii exclusives also made Tomb Raider a much more enjoyable experience.  I have used the flashlight for so many times even if I do not particularly need it.  It was very nice additions and added to the immersion.  

Underworld was a straight up port sprinkled with even less Wii additions.  I am boggled why and how Underworld for the Wii got several steps behind Anniversary.  This game has an atrocious camera system, the motion capture moves makes Lara look like a clumsy lady.  The wall scaling system needs improvements and her acrobatic moves are gone.  One thing I liked about Anniversary was that Lara looked perfectly confident with the leaps she makes.  It makes for an exhilirating piece of acrobatics.  Underworld makes her seem ordinary.  That is not what it should be.  Furthermore, the control scheme seems to have been changed for the worse.  I always liked the nunchuck shake as the action for Lara to throw her grapple.  Now it's the 'B' button.  Less Wii immersion.  The swimming part is also incredibly bland and weak.  Also, there have been multitude of bugs in this game.  One puzzle had me scratching and I decided to exploit physics to solve it.  Hey Eidos/Buzz Monkey, did you playtest this game at all?

What did I like about Underworld?  The idea to use more of the Wii remote speakers.  The sound samples they used have not worked out though.  Sounds more like a broken speaker sound.  The graphics are alright even though I think Lara kind of suffered a bit.

Over all, if I were reviewing Anniversary, I would give the game a solid 8.  Underworld deservedly gets a 5 or a 6.  Granted I have only played the first few levels, that might end up being a bit higher to say, 7, if the changes dramatically make this an awesome game.  I doubt it though.  I am not sure if Buzz Monkey did Tomb Raider Anniversary but I am positive they did Tomb Raider Underworld.  If Buzz Monkey had nothing to do with Anniversary, I would suggest Eidos not to hire them again.