Castlevania Connectivity

[JayVe]

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, the upcoming Metroidvania game for the Nintendo DS, is getting some additional features through connectivity (http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/2008/10/13/tgs08-bouncing-beatdowns-in-castlevania-judgment/) with a Wii title, Castlevania Judgment.

...there's a bit of news on the Order of Ecclesia/Judgment DS-Wii connectivity front. We knew the DS title's heroine, Shanoa, was unlockable in Castlevania Judgment, and as we speculated, so is Aeon -- both through the DS/Wii game connection. In the DS game, Wii connectivity adds a hard mode and raises your level cap in one mode to a whopping 255. Do we need to be so badass? Oh yes. Yes, we do.

[quidmonkey]

Bullshit. You better not need Judgment for those DS unlocks.

[JayVe]

Bullshit. You better not need Judgment for those DS unlocks.

Hey man... I don't make this stuff up.

[quidmonkey]

Hey man... I don't make this stuff up.

I'm happy if I can unlock those after beating Normal mode or whatever normally. I don't want Hard mode restricted to whether I own Judgment or not. Gamers bash DLC. This is worse.

[Banacek]

Bullshit. You better not need Judgment for those DS unlocks.

Looks like I'll be renting Judgment for all of 5 mins :)

[Abyssion]

Just gamefly it, connect, and send back!
(if you have gamefly, which I could really use right about now...)

[JayVe]

I'm happy if I can unlock those after beating Normal mode or whatever normally. I don't want Hard mode restricted to whether I own Judgment or not. Gamers bash DLC. This is worse.

Outside of a few small instances, most 'connectivity' has been this kind of unlockable crap that required you to own two games. I believe IGN had up a full connectivity guide (http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/370/370145p1.html) between the Cube and GBA.

I wish I had tried some of these better connectivity options.

Good Use of Connectivity:
Rayman 3 Hoodlum Havoc
In one game mode, the Game Boy Advance player builds a road with Tetris-like blocks, the Nintendo GameCube player speeds forward along the road as it forms. This gameplay mode supports two Game Boy Advance systems for four player gaming, two players on the GameCube, and two on the handhelds. This mode actually does not require the Game Boy Advance game, as the GameCube uploads the necessary file to the connected GBA systems in the handheld's internal memory.

Poor Use of Connectivity:
James Bond: Everything or Nothing
EA has snapped screenshots from in the game, and when you get close to certain objectives the GBA will pull up a screen from that area and give you a text hint to help you out. But more help is probably something most players won't want. On the plus side, GBA also tracks a few basic statistics as you play. So you can see how many people you've killed, how long you've been playing the level, and how many Bond Moments you've completed out of the total. This is pretty handy, but it's also not as advanced as the final stat screen, which displays your accuracy percentage, ammo preservation, and a few other things.
(Requires James Bond: Everything or Nothing GBA Version)

[Abyssion]

I think another good use of connectivity is the upcoming Resistance 2 stuff, it sounds pretty cool to me.

[maharahaj]

I think another good use of connectivity is the upcoming Resistance 2 stuff, it sounds pretty cool to me.

Care to elaborate? Or provide a link?

[JayVe]

Care to elaborate? Or provide a link?

Here you go! (http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/10/09/resistance-retribution-resistance-2-interoperability-and-then-some/)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3128/2924568700_008d9ab47b.jpg

[maharahaj]

Thanks, that does seem pretty cool. Though, it would be nice if it permanently unlocked that enhanced game mode instead of having to sync it each time (and essentially only play it at home). The other feature, using the sixaxis to play a PSP game, is really really clever. Sold and sold.

[Abyssion]

*snip*

Thanks for doing that, I actually didn't know about the using a PS3 controller thing. But I like the infected idea. I thought it was mentioned on the news of this site, but its been giving me trouble all day, and I can't go anywhere near the front page.

Yay no more trouble with the site!!

[That Darn Kat]

Wow, that increased level cap sounds awesome. I don't suppose the mode they're referring to is just regular old playing the game mode, though. Most likely one of the extra game modes. =(

[JayVe]

Thanks, that does seem pretty cool. Though, it would be nice if it permanently unlocked that enhanced game mode instead of having to sync it each time (and essentially only play it at home). The other feature, using the sixaxis to play a PSP game, is really really clever. Sold and sold.
Clever... but pointless IMHO. It looks really cumbersome, having to play hunched over your PSP while you prop it up on stuff on your desk. Infected is cool.

What is NOT cool is the advertisement. The model pretending to be a 'gamer' isn't using the analog sticks to play Resistance.

Right.

[Banacek]

Clever... but pointless IMHO. It looks really cumbersome, having to play hunched over your PSP while you prop it up on stuff on your desk. Infected is cool.

What is NOT cool is the advertisement. The model pretending to be a 'gamer' isn't using the analog sticks to play Resistance.

Right.

Personally I think all of this handheld to console connectivity is pointless. It's just a marketing ploy.

[mister slim]

Outside of a few small instances, most 'connectivity' has been this kind of unlockable crap that required you to own two games. I believe IGN had up a full connectivity guide (http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/370/370145p1.html) between the Cube and GBA.

I wish I had tried some of these better connectivity options.

Good Use of Connectivity:


That Hoodlum Havoc minigame was pretty clever. The GC player would do the light-surfing game from Rayman 3, but on the track the GBA player was creating by playing Pipe Mania.

[Tayaya]

Clever... but pointless IMHO. It looks really cumbersome, having to play hunched over your PSP while you prop it up on stuff on your desk. Infected is cool.

You did see that you can output the video to your TV and play it in a tiny window on that, right? I've actually used that video out and it actually looks really good....albeit tiny.

[JayVe]

You did see that you can output the video to your TV and play it in a tiny window on that, right? I've actually used that video out and it actually looks really good....albeit tiny.

You know... I have a big-ass High Definition projector display for a reason... and that reason isn't to display a 480x272 postage stamp in the middle of it. Better ergonomics than leaning over your PSP while propped up somewhere, but equally pointless.

[Mike Kelehan]

I was going to rent Judgment anyway. It's got Castlevania in the name; I don't have a choice but to play it.

[Young Al Capone]

Level cap of 255?!?

Awesome, even though I am sure that I will have beaten the game and moved on long before I am that godly.