There aren't many games that can hold a candle (Blue OR Red..) to the Legend of Zelda series, and we've certainly seen a lot of variety over the years.  Whether it was that first golden cartridge for the NES over 20 years ago, that not-so-golden side-scrolling, magic-laden follow up (not "golden" in most of our minds, anyways..), an epic adventure on the SNES, the N64 era (with possibly the greatest game of all time), the most recent incarnation on the Wii, and several handheld efforts, a young boy in green named Link has certainly done and seen it all.  It wasn't a constant for the Hero of Time, however.  There have been changes to the story, changes to the character, changes to the arsenal of weapons, and whole bunch of other things.  At the simplest form, we've seen heart containers in the form of 1/1, 1/4, and most recently, 1/5.  Today we take a look at some changes we would like to see in the new incarnation of Link.

The Legend of Zelda, and the story of a boy named Link...

Batman videogames.

There have been a few good ones in the history of gaming, but most (if not all) in recent memory have been, well, more Batman and Robin than The Dark Knight, on a quality scale.

Now we have Batman: Arkham Asylum perched on the horizon, hoping to bank on the huge success of the Christopher Nolan reboot that the film series has gotten.  Don't forget about the DC diehards waiting in the wings to put on the famous cowl.  But what does Arkham Asylum needs to do to bring Batman out of his gaming slump?  What does Rocksteady need to accomplish to put the Caped Crusader on the same plane as Kratos and other videogame action heroes?

Riddle me that.

Since Arkham is an action game, combat will be paramount, and possibly the cornerstone around which the rest of the game is built.  Bruce Wayne is no schlub, and he knows how to take care of himself when the fisticuffs go up.  The combat in the game needs to be fast and fluid, with move sets leading into each other so it doesn't feel clunky or disconnected.  Another key element of the combat will be the number of enemies you can take on at once, and how you can dispatch all of them.  Targeting and camera angles will be key here, because a wonky camera or botched targeting can kill an action game, and spell certain death for the Dark Knight himself.

The upgrade system is another important area of the game, and it would be great to see a system that would allow you to upgrade Batman as you see fit.  It could be divided into three categories: combat, stealth and gadgets.  Let's say you want a brawler Batman.  Go ahead and upgrade his strength and health, and also unlock more advanced combat combos that would have been otherwise unavailable.  Or if you prefer a Batman a bit closer to Solid Snake, then go for the stealth upgrades, which would improve your ability to hide from enemies, know where the enemies are, and have certain moves that dispatch them quickly and quietly.  Or would you rather be a MacGyver Batman, who can make C4 from toothpaste and copper wire?  Then go ahead and upgrade the utility belt with more gizmos and gadgets than you can shake a batarang at.  There could be special gadgets that get you into secret areas, or open up different paths in the game.

With that in mind, it would be cool if there were items or events that you were able to see only by having Batman upgraded a certain way, making sure you play through the game multiple times with three different play styles to truly experience everything.

Could be a good idea, could be terrible.

It all depends on the execution.

Aside from possible upgrades, the gadgets need to play a significant role in the game, seeing as how they're one of Batman's signature elements. From the trailers that have been released so far, batarangs and the grappling hook have been revealed, but there is the potential for so many more gadgets to make their way into the game. There could be different vision modes for the cowl, perhaps with tiny eye pieces coming down to provide night vision or infra red sight.  There could also be an assortment of mini-bombs, like explosive, gas, and smoke bombs.  A claw gadget could make an appearance as well, allowing Batman to cling to walls and maybe crawl about.  The possibilities are many, so here's to hoping that Rocksteady does it justice.

Stealth is another huge area of Batman's expertise, and with all the dark passageways and side paths that snake throughout Arkham Asylum, Batman should get a good chance to sneak around.  A good cover system is important to a strong stealth element, hopefully with context sensitive movements that would make it easy to move from places of concealment to other cover that lay strewn about.  The grappling hook would also be great for the stealth aspect of the game, allowing you to zip down and grab thugs before zipping back into the darkness.  Stealth is often an area where some action games falter, with it either being pointless, or so maddeningly difficult that the player never feels as if it's worth the trouble.  But Batman isn't Superman; he can't just take on the whole world at once, or go rampaging through it like Wolverine.  He has to pick his battles more carefully, and stealth is a huge part of that.

Since Batman is a great detective mind (and perhaps the greatest detective mind of his time), having good, well thought out puzzles is another important feature that the game should have.  Being that Arkham is a very twisted place, the opportunity for some truly vicious traps and puzzles is amazing, and would add another level of gameplay and pacing.  I'm sure there will be some very simple puzzles involving the batarangs or the grappling hook, but here's to hoping that more complicated, context sensitive puzzles are revealed as the game goes along.

Gameplay aside, the cast of characters is very important to any comic book or superhero game.  It's the characters and the way they interact that makes a gamer truly feel as if they're in a story happening in the Batman universe, rather than just walking around in a dark place in the Batsuit.  The Joker is the main villain, which makes sense, and it's been said that Harley Quinn (editor's note: "mmm") will make an appearance as well.  Being that Arkham Asylum is quite a large place, the chance for other Batman villains to be there is fairly high, giving the game a chance to connect us with those characters.  Villains like Poison Ivy, The Riddler, Two Face, Mr. Freeze, The Penguin, and many others could make an appearance, and should.  And even if they don't, it would be great to see nods to those characters in subtle ways, much like the screenshot that has been seen with a dirtied cell with question marks scrawled in blood across the walls, hinting at the Riddler.

Judging from what I've seen and read so far, Batman: Arkham Asylum is shaping up to look like a great game.  The graphics are incredible, and from the videos and screen shots, it looks like Rocksteady has really captured the atmosphere of Arkham Island.  The fact that the game is not a movie tie-in helps it wonderfully, since that means that development will not be rushed to meet a specific movie release date, which is usually the Achilles heel of most movie tie-in games.

So will the game truly put you in the role of the Dark Knight, stalking through the halls of Arkham to deal punishment and justice?  Or will it leave gamers hanging from the end of their grappling hooks, wondering what the hell happened?

Riddle me that, Batman.

We'll find out later this year.

The 2009 Game Developers’ Conference has yet to close up and already I’ve come down to one conclusion; the future of gaming is blindingly bright. With telekinetic technologies on the near horizon, virtual reality being improved upon daily, motion based controls finally getting into the swing of things, and systems looking to change the way we buy and play games forever, it’s anyone’s guess who’s going to coming out on top in the next generation. We at TWG got a chance to hit the show floor, trying our hands at anything we could manage to wrap our over-excited fingers (or otherwise) around. Imagination abounds at this year’s event and it was a blast getting to tinker with the dreams.

3D has been around for a while now, and the first thing that most likely pops into peoples heads is the old school red and blue lens glasses. You know, the cool ones with the red paper frames?

Well, 3D has been getting a lot more popular lately, with more and more movies coming out in 3D, and theaters that support it growing around the country.

But what about games? When do we get to feel the 3D love?