Madden NFL 08 Review
Madden lands on Wii again with higher highs, and lower lows.
by Bozon
August 13, 2007 - During the Wii launch Madden 07 was a no-brainer for sports fans that were looking to get a solid Wii experience, and an amazing introduction to the world of motion control. Everything from stiff-arms to jukes, big hits and interceptions were handled with simple flicks of the wrist. What was even more of an accomplishment, aside from the general gameplay itself, was the fact that EA was taking its time in creating a unique, enjoyable Wii experience that really set itself apart from the other versions, and that Madden 07 was - above all else - better because of Wii. Now that the Wii has had an extremely successful year under its belt our expectations rise, but for the most part so have those of EA itself, as Madden 08 brings another enjoyable football experience to Wii; as long as you can get past a few "last-generation" flaws.
With Madden 07 it was all about getting players involved with Wii's new input devices, and Madden stepped up to the challenge beautifully. This year, it's about depth and options, particularly those in the multiplayer department. Madden 08 takes what 07 began and unloads a barrage of gameplay options on users, whether you're looking for a better way to play Franchise mode, a stronger Superstar Challenge, more local multiplayer in Party Mode, or online play against users all across the world via EA Nation. The core of Madden remains, and now it's about taking that design and spreading it across as many options and modes as possible, and in that sense 08 is a huge success.
For starters there's the new single player effort. This year's Madden features the same offerings as last year, along with a few improvements as well. For 08 all console versions now include "Player Weapons," which is a new on-field icon system designed to show users which players are an automatic threat play-by-play, in any and every situation. Simply hold C while waiting for the snap and the camera pulls back, showing off a varying list of icons over players. You'll know who has speed, which blitzers are known for being powerhouses, and whether or not your running back has the speed and agility to take his route. Mix this with the automatic (and customizable, of course) button or gesture-based audible system and hot routes and you've got an offense that's always ready to morph given the situation. On defense, Player Weapons can also be used to scout potential threats, shift the D line to exploit a weak offense, highlight key players to gun for, and allow you to also call defense audibles, should they be needed.
In addition to the Player Weapons you can also look forward to a vastly improved NFL Superstar: Hall of Fame mode, which gives you the option of creating a new rookie or selecting from the 07 class. Then you progress through the life of a superstar rookie, including everything from agent signing, press conferences, drills, and games. This year EA has spared us the annoying "random parents" stat-assignment from last year, where players would essentially shuffle through random outputs of their parents' traits to determine what their superstar would be good at. This year you select your position, create your player, distribute a full mass of stat points, and jump on in. It's faster, more user-friendly, and a far better Superstar mode than last year. Along those same lines there's an updated Franchise mode that - aside from a few basic changes - is still deep and intuitive, though we're a bit saddened to see that this is yet another year where classic "Season" mode has been omitted. If you want that season experience from older Madden games you'll need to play Franchise mode and just refrain from screwing with rosters, salary issues, or prices of hot dogs at the Metrodome, as the classic Season mode seems to be entirely dead.
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Friday, September 28, 2007
Madden NFL 08 Review
Link’s Crossbow Training
Link’s Crossbow Training
September 27, 2007
The latest issue of Nintendo Power includes a small selection of screenshots from Link’s Crossbow Training. The screens are very brown and grainy but do help to demonstrate the controls for the Zapper.
Written by admin · Filed Under Wii Gaming
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Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Donkey Kong Barrel Blast Hands-on
Donkey Kong Barrel Blast Hands-on
The US version has arrived. Check out our updated impressions, including tons of new screens.
by Bozon
Published by: Nintendo
Developed by: Paon Corporation
Genre: Racing Action
Release Date:
US: October 8, 2007
Japan: December 31, 2007
MSRP: $49.99
Also Available On: GameCube
September 25, 2007 - Over the last few months we've had a chance to do some pretty extensive coverage of the Japanese version of Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, previously known as "DK Jet." Since we're nearing the game's US release, however, Nintendo of America has hooked us up with the final version of the stateside build. We've already given you our import impressions, but since the October 8th release date is soon approaching we figured we'd update you with our latest feelings on the game. Our synopsis: You might want to leave this one on the shelf.
If you're late to the party, Donkey Kong Barrel Blast is the latest brainchild of Nintendo of Japan and developer Paon, best known for the DK: King of Swing and DK: Jungle Climber on GBA and DS respectively. The game is a departure from classic Donkey Kong gameplay, instead adopting what was originally going to be GameCube bongo control, similar to something like DK Jungle Beat or Donkey Konga. With the hype train taking off on Wii, however, Barrel Blast was pushed to Wii along with Super Paper Mario, in hopes of capitalizing on the larger audience.
Why the wait, when Super Paper Mario was such a fast conversion? It's due mainly to the controls and Mii incorporation. Barrel Blast works with the Wii-mote and nunchuk to simulate the controls you would have gotten with the GameCube bongo set, so you'll drum with the nunchuk to move left, drum with the Wii-mote to move right, or slam both together to do a leap. In addition other Wii-esque support was added, including Mii support for profile saves and local leaderboards, as well as IR control for the main menus, Wii-mote speaker audio, and a motion-based trick system. From what we saw of the original DK Jet for GameCube the game has gotten a pretty decent ramp up in its conversion to Wii, as the interface and gameplay is now 100% Wii-specific.
What didn't convert so well, however, was the game's overall control, which is essentially trying to simulate what you got with the two-pad bongo peripheral on Cube. Instead of dropping a bongo set on your lap and drumming away, players will need to air drum to control their character. While this does drop the cost of the game substantially, you lose that tactile feel, and it just isn't as intense as the original looked to be. In addition, there's no ability to connect the Cube drums through the GCN port on Wii, so while we literally sit five feet from two sets of bongos we can't swap them in over Wii-mote control. Why? Our guess is the trick system integration, which allows for four-direction Wii-mote gestures to rack up points during the race.
As for the race system itself, it wouldn't be too bad for the younger Wii owners if it was a bit more polished. The overall concept is there, it just lacks the intensity or depth that most gamers are looking for. You'll kick off the race by drumming until your "Max Power" is reached. At that point it's all about steering with drum control, attempting to pick up bananas and power-ups along the way, while simultaneously triggering level shortcuts or avoiding hazards. As you increase your banana hoard you'll earn speed boosts which can be activated with the analog stick, sending your racer forward in a dash. Continue to hit in-level barrels that would normally mean certain death - or at least certain slowdown - and your speed boost continues.
It has the makings of a good racer, but Barrel Blast just isn't grabbing our attention. The game's overall speed is pretty low, characters stay on-track for the most part even if you stop steering and let them cruise though the levels, and aside from hitting special tiles on the ground to trigger shortcuts or frequent DK Country actions - riding a mine cart or hopping on any of DK's animal friends to gain the lead - it's unfortunately pretty anticlimactic.
If you've got younger gamers in the house, however, or you're obsessed with the DK franchise to an unhealthy degree, Donkey Kong Barrel Blast does have a pretty decent amount of content to it; something we couldn't exactly confirm when playing the Japanese version. The game begins with a total of six racers available, including DK, Diddy, Dixie, Kritter, Kip, and Kass, and leaves the door open for five more on both the good and bad sides of the roster. In addition there are six total cups in the game, beginning with only the Topaz Cup unlocked and moving to Sapphire, Diamond, and three others. Levels are inspired from classic DK locales as well, so you can ride through DK Jungle, hit up the fiery Mt. Dynamite, or hit the snowcaps in Mammoth Glacier. Some of the levels are doubled up, however, as we've come across levels such as Mt. Dynamite Remix, which are essentially the same track locales revisited and tweaked, but with more for us to check out there at least seems to be a decent amount of tracks for DK enthusiasts.
On the graphical side, the US version still runs in 480p and 16:9 like the Japanese build, and for widescreen owners curious about the "actual" 16:9 ratio it does fill the entire screen with no black bars. The audio is a bit of a mixed bag, as you get remixed music from the DK world, but also have to put up with the annoying new English voices that Donkey Kong and the bunch have been so lovingly assigned.
We'll have more on Donkey Kong Barrel Blast as we near the game's review. For now, be sure to check out our latest screens of the game in action, along with gameplay video in our media gallery below.
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Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition Review
Two years later, Capcom's survival horror sequel still impresses, but is it made better on Wii?
by Matt Casamassina
June 19, 2007 - Let's dispense with the pleasantries. You know what Resident Evil 4 is. You know that the still-atmospheric survival horror sequel was one of the best games to grace GameCube and, nine months later, PlayStation 2. And so you would also know that Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition is essentially an enhanced port of a two-year-old project. If you didn't know all that, now you do. The third-person action game, which stars franchise hero Leon S. Kennedy on quest to save the president's kidnapped daughter, comes to Nintendo's little white console with improved controls that partially utilize the Wii remote, all the extras from the PS2 iteration, and a true 16:9 widescreen mode. Those additions aside, nothing has changed - a truth that isn't really a negative. After all, RE4 remains as frightening and as frantic as it was when it debuted two years ago, only now it looks and plays just a "Wii" bit better - and did we mention it retails for a reduced price? You could call it Wii Edition, yeah, but we prefer Collector's Edition.
This review does not reiterate everything you already know about the original project. For that, read our GameCube or PlayStation 2 reviews. We wrote mini-novels for each review and we're confident you'll be able to discover any minute detail you need to know about the title. For the purposes of this analysis, we'll summarize so if you had a hankering for a full-blown refresher, please accept our apology for skipping the flood of regurgitated factoids. 
The game remains as moody today as it was in 2005.
Resident Evil 4 was and is this: a successful departure from the formula of the franchise. Prior to the game, survival horror relied upon seemingly empty hallways and zombies that crashed through windows to shock you just as much as scare you, but in RE4 the B-movie clich¿s were toned down as a state of fear was alternatively generated from frenzied chases and from being outnumbered by the enemy.
Leon finds himself in a desolate village saturated by disturbed men and women that want him dead. He doesn't know why. In fact, he doesn't know much, and before you have time to ponder the situation you're being run-down by a man wielding a chainsaw and wearing a burlap sack over his head. Resident Evil 4 rarely lets up, throwing everything in Capcom's arsenal at you, from pitchfork-carrying villagers whose heads erupt into masses of flailing tentacles to giant ogre-like creatures, mansions and castles, lakes and creepy hallways, chanting monks, and even some recognizable faces for good measure. The first time we trekked through the robust 15-plus-hour adventure, we wiped sweat from our palms just as many times as our jaws dropped at the sheer variety of levels and characters - a lot, if you're counting. 
Uh... run?
All of the above still applies to the Wii iteration with one caveat, which is that the graphic presentation - outstanding for 2005 - is not nearly as impressive as it once was. If you own an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, you will have played games with much richer and more detailed visuals. At the time of this writing, though, RE4 remains one of the prettiest efforts on Wii, a truth that probably should make us happy, but doesn't - it only serves to demonstrate the lazy approach that the majority of studios have taken on Nintendo's new system thus far. What holds up by today's standards is the quality of the art. The character models, the make-up of the world that Leon explores, the sheer variety in environments and creatures - it's all still sensational. However, the blurry textures skinning the figures and stages are more noticeable today than they were when low-res graphics were the norm. It is worth noting that RE4 pushed GameCube to the maximum; Wii, though, has roughly twice the power and memory, and several times the storage capacity, and yet Capcom has made no effort to really improve the graphics, which is unfortunate.
We do want to clear up, though, that the Wii iteration is based on the initial graphics from the GCN build, not the PS2 one. That means that cut-scenes use the real-time game engine and that the added lighting and water transparency effects from the GameCube version are in the Wii port. In addition, the Wii incarnation boasts the true 16:9 widescreen mode of the PS2 title, which means that it's really a combination - the best of both worlds.
You very likely realize that the biggest change to the Wii build of RE4 is the new control scheme, which makes use of Nintendo's pointer and, occasionally, the gesture capabilities of the device. Leon is still controlled (somewhat clumsily) with the nunchuk's analog stick; this moves him forward and backward in addition to left and right through the environments. To be clear, you still turn the character with the analog stick and not the Wii remote, which is problematic because Wii owners have been taught to expect that turning is a mechanic handled by the pointer; just point and drag the screen or move the on-screen cursor beyond an invisible bounding box. Wrap your head around this: in RE4, you can point to the far-right side of the screen all you want, but if you press left on the analog stick, you'll turn to the left, anyway. The functionality takes some getting used to and we're not going to lie - you may occasionally fumble it up. But give it 15 or maybe 20 minutes - that's all it'll take, and then you'll discover the strengths of the new scheme and why, ultimately, the new Wii controls are superior.
Using the Wii remote, you can point at the screen and aim with a higher level of accuracy and speed than was previously possible. The controls haven't been magically overhauled. You can't all of a sudden target and shoot enemies while running, for example. You will still need to stop walking to shoot. But the extra speed and accuracy count for a lot. Birds that flew away before you could cap them in the GCN build will be a breeze to shoot dead in the Wii game. Headshots will come more naturally. Targeting legs and arms won't pose a problem. You will with very little practice be able to walk through environments with the analog stick, all the while setting up your next shot with pinpoint accuracy using the Wii remote. It's an undeniable improvement in control and one that helps you play better. 
PS2-exclusive Ada wong missions are included in the Wii sequel.
There are also some largely unnecessary waggle movements. You can hold B-trigger and shake the Wii remote to draw and slash Leon's knife, for instance. It works just fine, but you can alternatively tap the A button, which is preferable. When your weapon goes empty, you can shake the Wii remote to reload. This one makes a little more sense. Our personal favorites, though, are the motions tethered to some of the scripted sequences. As Leon flees from a rolling boulder, you shake the Wii remote back and forth to make him sprint. When a villager grabs hold of the character, you do the same to break free. Frantically shaking the controller to escape these situations feels very natural.
Resident Evil 4 for Wii thankfully includes all the extra modes from the PS2 iteration. The Ada Wong missions, the new costume sets, the new weapon, the movie browser - it's all there, so if you already played the GameCube version but missed out on the additions, now's your chance to check them out. The Ada Wong "Separate Ways" side story explains the side-character's storyline and her relationship to the always-devious Wesker. As an added bonus, Ada sometimes uses a blowgun. The extras don't make or break the experience, but they do offer some tangible incentive to come back to Resident Evil 4 if you've already played through the standard single-player affair. 
We love you, El Gigante.
Closing Comments
I always approach a review like this with some level of caution. The original Resident Evil 4 was an exceptional effort and little has changed in the two years since it debuted. But there it is, right? It's a two-year-old port with a handful of enhancements. How do you re-review that? The process wasn't nearly as difficult as it could've been. Our ratings scale exists to define our scores, and there's little doubt that RE4 remains as engaging, frightening and atmospheric as it was on 2005. Old or not, it's still great, and it deserves its place in Wii's top-tier of titles. The visuals aren't as impressive as they once were, true, but Wii owners do walk away with improved controls that enable a greater degree of shooting speed and accuracy, a true 16:9 widescreen mode and all the content extras of the PS2 build – all for a bargain price of $29.99. If you played the GameCube original, consider the Wii game the ultimate collector's edition – frankly, that's what it is; the culmination of the best from its predecessors with some added Wii improvements. And if you have never played RE4 before, consider the Wii release an absolute must-own experience.
The GCN original scored a 9.8 and the PS2 iteration and 9.5 in 2005. The Wii title is the best of the three, but it also arrives two years later, which is primarily why we've dropped the score. The fact is, while an amazing experience, RE4 does not push Wii in the same way it did GCN or PS2.
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Charts: Tiger burning bright [X360]
Charts: Tiger burning bright [X360]
Tuesday September 25, 12:45 PM
Enjoy this week’s all format/full price games chart while it lasts, for as of tomorrow morning it’ll be all change, with Halo 3 occupying all top ten positions. Probably...
But for the time being top honours belong to Tiger Woods, whose splendid ‘08 rendition adds further shine to an already impossibly glossy franchise, complete with killer online features, a cool ‘Confidence’ system and a return to the classic 3-Click swing for those can’t get on with the analogue stick-based method. Brilliant stuff, really, but we imagine that just as many who bought it would rather watch paint dry.
After that there’s just the one new entrant in the top ten in EA’s cutesy MySims. Whether this new variant sticks around the charts forever, like its big brother, remains to be seen. We still prefer Animal Crossing, though. Then lower down we have a handful of other debutantes, some not faring as well as they deserve – World in Conflict at 11, WarHawk at 25, Medal of Honor: Vanguard at 33 and Warriors Orochi scraping in at 38.
But enough of those stragglers, here’s how the top ten star performers arrange themselves for the week ending September 22nd.
1. Tiger Woods: PGA Tour ‘08 (3)
2. MySims (NE)
3. Super Paper Mario (4)
4. John Woo Presents Stranglehold (2)
5. Medal of Honour: Airborne (1)
6. Colin McRae: Dirt (8)
7. Transformers: The Game (9)
8. Heavenly Sword (5)
9. The Sims 2: Bon Voyage (6)
10. Bioshock (7)
Oh, and looking back at our Bafta story (below) we see that Wii Sports has garnered the most nominations, not Gears of War as we reported. There's only one nomination between them, but d'oh! all the same...
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, © 2007 ELSPA Ltd.
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Wii Becoming Obscure
Wii Becoming Obscure
The co-op adventure sequel is headed stateside.
by Daemon Hatfield
September 25, 2007 - Today Playlogic announced a publishing and distribution agreement with Ignition to bring Obscure: The Aftermath to North American Wiis. The sequel to 2005's budget PlayStation 2 game Obscure, The Aftermath takes place two years after the first game and sees the survivors going off to college. After the discovery of a strange, beautiful plant on campus, the students must again cooperate to survive.
Obscure: The Aftermath was developed by Hydravision, makers of the first game, and will be published by Playlogic in Europe. Under the agreement, Ignition will publish and distribute the game in the U.S.
Obscure: The Aftermath
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Pool Party Review
Pool Party Review
Scratch.
by Bozon
September 21, 2007 - We all know there are games out there that exist strictly to make money, and in no way are given a large enough budget or long enough development window to create something that's actually worth playing, let alone spending hard-earned cash for. With the recent success of Wii, fans of Nintendo's new motion-based system will simply have to get used to the fact that big sales bring huge libraries, and not everything is going to be worth the time or money. Pool Party is just one of those titles.
Published by SouthPeak Interactive, Pool Party is designed to be a semi-customizable game of traditional pool. The environments are extremely generic, the characters are about as forgettable as possible, and the game types and options are exactly what you'd expect from a budget Pool game. You can play single player against a computer, or go multiplayer with a friend, playing in a variety of pool games including a practice mode, time attack, bonus 9-ball, 8-ball, 9-ball, 10-ball, 15-ball, straight pool, rotation pool, blackjack, full snooker, short snooker (10-ball), and killer.
Each of the main pool games allow for two-player modes, while time attack and practice are only one player. Aside from that you've got a few options to change things up, including eight rooms, 11 tables, five ball sets, ten cues, six characters, 31 songs, and three different table speeds. Select your options, play the game, rinse, and repeat.
That's the entire game. No player customization, no attribute boosts for different equipment, and no campaign or tournament modes. It's literally just a step above the Wii Play pool mini-game.
What isn't a step above Wii Play, however, is the control, which does very little to make this game a Wii title at all. The entire interface is all handled via IR, but once you get into the main game things get far too simplistic for what we'd expect nearly a year after system launch. You can either control your aim via IR by holding A, or move the cursor around with the analog stick on the nunchuk Holding Z and moving your left hand controls a rubber-banded camera, while C will change to specific camera views.
The shooting, however, is a total mess. Once you line up your shot you'll hold the B trigger, and rather than just shooting like Wii Play allows, having your pull-back determine the power of the shot, you'll instead tweak an on-screen power bar with the analog stick, and then stab the Wii-mote forward to "shoot." It's weak, it feels totally tacked on, and there's nothing that makes it an actual Wii experience. Your Wii-mote action doesn't factor into the shot at all, so it's basically just a button press mapped to the remote itself.
A great place for shooting pool or hiding dead bodies.
To make matters worse, the computer A.I. boarders between moronic and simply amazing, taking a ton of time to "think" about a shot, including an on-screen status percentage bar, and then will pull off three, four, or five-wall shots, sinking balls that would be nearly impossible in real life.
As for the audio/visual package, Pool Party is a mess. The interface screens are extremely basic, and the in-game visuals are extremely primitive, easily surpassed by Xbox Live Arcade games, or barely pushing above what something like the original PlayStation could do. Character art is extremely generic, music is about as standard as can be, and what limited VO and sound effects included have a tin-like, low quality sound to them. Web games have stronger overall presentation than this.
Closing Comments
Pool Party had an extremely silent release, and for good reason. The game is about on par with a chop-shop web game, and does very little to use the Wii controls at all. Gameplay is extremely basic, computer A.I. is both moronic and genius at the same time, and the audio and visuals are like something from a late PSX game. It should be obvious at this point – if not far before this review even hit – that Pool Party is a quick-cash cop-out, and is in no way up to Wii standards.
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Wii Play Review
Wii Play Review
Written by Gods_Vessel
With Wiis being sold like hotcakes, buyers also need extra controls for their family and friends. That’s where Wii Play comes in. The game is essentially a tutorial for using the Wiimote that comes with a free control. It’s all about simple, intuitive gameplay for everyone. The game is split up into 9 stages, ranging from Shooting Range to Billiards. Each game has to be played before the next one can be unlocked. Each stage teaches you how to use the Wiimote in a different way, getting more complex as you progress through the stages.
The sound in the game is fairly simple, but good enough to keep the player satisfied. The Wiimote speaker is also utilised, may it be gunshots or a tiny jingle to let you know whether you won a point.
Wii Play’s graphics retain the simplistic look and feel of the Wii itself. The game menus are very similar to those of Wii Sports and are easy to navigate through. It all flows nicely, albeit with the minor annoyance of having to go back to the beginning to change the number of players (up to 2) and/or Mii characters. Without being flashy, the graphics get the job done with a couple of nice artistic touches along the way. That said, the game also supports 480p and widescreen.
One great touch is the ability to play with your Miis. This fits into the style of the game really well. You’ll at least crack a smirk when you see your Miis running for their lives in some instances. They also hold another purpose. Your high scores are tied to your Mii.
Shooting Range
The first stage is an obvious homage to Duck Hunt, as the player uses the Wiimote as a gun to shoot down various targets. Your movements with the Wiimote are replicated by the on-screen reticule. This works really well with pixel-perfect accuracy. The game ramps up in difficulty every few minutes, as targets move faster. First you’ll simply be shooting balloons but towards the end, the action gets hectic as you try your best to stop spaceships abducting your Miis. Every now and then a duck will fly pass quickly which you can shoot for extra points. The game is very bright and colourful, but easy on the eyes. You can hear the gunshot from the Wiimote speaker and it even changes sound when shoot something different which is a nice touch. Like all the games in Wii Play, its best played in multiplayer. The game is pretty fun; however a few more bonus ducks and more than two players in multiplayer would’ve been nice.
Find Mii
In this game you have to find a particular Mii or Miis described to you before you start. These can be something simple like find the Mii you’re using or something a little more complex like find 3 odd Miis. At any time during the game, you can hold down B to see your objective again. You have a time limit for the entire game, which is split into rounds, and when it runs out its game over. However, each successful round adds more time to your clock. It gets a lot more difficult later on which actually adds to the fun. As you progress through the rounds you’ll be taken through a number of different environments, including a tennis match, a swimming pool and even outer space. These environments all look fairly nice and the inclusion of your own Miis can make this game hilarious. The game isn’t really worth playing on your on, but the search for Miis gets very fun and furious in multiplayer.
Table Tennis
Stage 3 is good ol’ table tennis. Unlike Wii Sports Tennis, in table tennis you only control where you hit, not how you hit. You might think this is a flaw, but trust me you’ll be happy all you have to do is move left and right once the fast action starts. If you’re brave enough you can also move your paddle forward quickly to put more speed on the ball. In one player you have to make a 100 hit rally and when facing off against a friend, you’re playing for points. I prefer the latter as the competitiveness adds to the entertainment. The environment is pretty simple, with Miis watching on the sidelines. If you’ve ever played a flash 3D pong on the net you’ll probably know what to expect, but this is actually a bit more fun.
Pose Mii
In pose Mii you have to fit your Mii into Mii-pose, shaped silhouettes in bubbles. It starts off pretty easy, but as time goes on you have to change your Mii’s pose to fit into different silhouettes. The angle of the silhouettes will differ from bubble to bubble. This means players will have to twist the control to fit into the silhouettes. Even with all of this, you also have to make sure the bubbles don’t hit the bottom of the screen, because if it happens 3 times it’s game over. To aid you, there are rainbow coloured silhouettes which freeze time for a few seconds, allowing you to get as many bubbles as possible. In multiplayer this also puts a bubble around your opponent’s Mii, meaning they can’t get any bubbles for awhile. As you go through the levels the background changes to various random pictures. For example, one picture is a close up of a bird… strange isn’t it? This is one of the best games to play in multiplayer, since the race for bubbles is absolutely frantic. However it’s still pretty challenging in one player.
Laser Hockey
Stage 5 is basically a game of air-hockey up to 8 points. The thing that makes this game fun is the physics, which are noticeably good. As the ball bounces from side to side and off your paddle, the puck can pick up a lot of speed. The neon glow of the hockey table (hence ‘laser’ hockey) looks very stylish and still maintains the simple look of the Wii Play package. When ever you win or lose a point, you hear a small tune in your Wiimote. It does take awhile to get used to though. You’ll often find yourself trying to hit the puck as hard as possible, only to find you miss it. The game is fun in both single and multiplayer thanks to the adequate CPU AI.
Billiards
Billiards is a pretty true to life recreation of the game. A pointer on-screen controlled by the Wiimote allows you to choose where you want to hit the cue ball (for spin). You then hold down B and pull back with the Wiimote, until an arrow lets know when to push forward and releasing B simultaneously. It’s a pretty standard affair, but if you play billiards in real life, you’re probably going to want to stick to that. The physics are a bit wonky as well. I hit the ball against the side of the table at an angle, expecting to get a bounce shot, however the ball came straight back at me. Nonetheless it is still an okay game.
Fishing
Fishing is a real crowd pleaser out of the Wii Play collection. To catch a fish all you do is jerk the Wiimote up when you feel a rumble. However, the pond you fish in is populated with a lot of small fish which give you minus points if you catch them. Every other fish is fine to catch though and on the top of the screen a bonus fish will be shown. If you catch the bonus fish while its picture is still showing, you’ll get double the points. The rumble creates a nice whirring effect which immerses you in the game. It sports a nice crayon-esque effect which looks excellent and colourful. The reason this game is so great is because its hands-down, the best multiplayer game in the collection. Fish often latch on to both players’ rods, meaning whoever has the fastest reaction wins. This creates a seriously fun and competitive game.
Charge!
Charge! is a racing game where you control a cow, hitting scarecrows and jumping hurdles on the way to the finish line. To control your cow all you do is simply hold the control on its side, like a NES controller and tilt forward to accelerate, back to slow down and left and right to steer in each direction respectively. You can also make your cow jump by quickly snapping the control up. The game looks very simple with rounded edges and colourful scenery. Everything looks like it has been hand stitched, which is a nice touch. The game is fun once you get a hang of the controls, but is just a bit too slow to have some real fun. Playing multiplayer is better, as you and your opponent fight for scarecrows and knock each other off the track. Winning isn’t about who gets the farthest, but who gets the most points. This is solid game, which is a real indicator to how racing games can benefit from the Wiimote.
Tanks!
In Tanks! You control a tank and you have to destroy other tanks. To move around you use the d-pad or the nunchuck. You aim with the Wiimote and either shoot shells or lay mines behind you. The game starts very simple, however the difficulty increases later on when you have to take out tanks that shoot fast rockets or tanks that excel in mine dropping. In multiplayer the winner is the person who takes out the most CPU tanks. The battles take place on a table and the tanks leave tracks behind them. The levels are smartly designed to make for a better challenge and more strategic play. The game is fun and it’s also a good challenge, especially if you’re trying to beat old high scores.
All in all Wii Play has a great variety of different game types (more so than Wii Sports). However, there is a problem with it that becomes apparent after about half hour – 1 hour of play time. The game’s depth is almost non-existent. Each game just scratches the surface of its ideas. There’s no doubt each game is fun… for about 5 or 10 minutes. You’ll generally play 2 or 3 rounds of a game and then move on until all of a sudden you’ve played every game. The game does make for a good distraction every now and then for when you don’t want to start up your Zelda file or when you have a couple of friends over. Beating high scores also gets pretty boring after awhile.
You’ve got to remember though; you get what you pay for. The game comes with a free Wiimote or costs £5 with a control whatever way you look at it. Considering you get nine, although short, games in one, its great value for money. So if you need/want an extra control, this is a definite buy, but I wouldn’t suggest buying Wii Play solely for Wii Play.
Gameplay: 7/10 – The game is fun but the nine games are too simple for their own good.
Graphics: 6/10 – The game is intended to look simplistic and it works well and gets the job done.
Sound: 6/10 – Very simplistic with a couple of nice touches here and there.
Content: 8/10 – You get nine mini-games for £5 and a control. Seems like a pretty good deal to me. It could benefit from some four player action, and a bit more depth.
Replay Value: 5/10 - Almost non-existent. It gets old quick; multiplayer just about saves it from complete doom
Total: 6.7 – Its great value for money and a good glimpse of what you can do with the Wiimote as well. Its fun for awhile, but there’s not enough depth to hold on to any player’s attention. However, if you need an extra control, you should definitely buy it.
- Chris Gaisie
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Monday, September 24, 2007
No More Heroes Hands-on
Suda 51's latest Wii project's one cool action title.
by Craig Harris
September 21, 2007 - The last time game designer Suda 51 (real name Suda Goichi) made a splash in the videogame scene was when he and Capcom released Killer 7 for the GameCube. If you were one of the eight people who owned the game, congrats! You played a title that was more style than substance, but it still made a significant impact in the realm of videogaming. Same thing with his team's follow-up on the Nintendo DS, Contact. But after playing his latest project, No More Heroes on the Wii, we're pretty sure that his and his team's vision will appeal to a lot more people this time.
Marvelous Entertainment had No More Heroes on display at its booth at the Tokyo Game Show this week where we had the opportunity to play through a specially constructed demo version of the game. The short experience definitely made us sad when it ended, and left us wanting more after sitting on the "Thanks for playing" screen.
The demo version of No More Heroes introduced us to the game's cel-shaded visual style as well as it's rather straightforward action structure. Move your character with the Nunchuk's analog stick, punch with the A button, and kick with the B button. You can target enemies and objects with the Z trigger. The character lead (as well as many enemies) wields what looks to be a cross between a Star Wars lightsaber and a fluorescent light tube, used as a weapon to wallop the bad guys. It needs to be charged up every so often, by hitting the 1 button on the Wii remote and shaking it like one of those flashlights that never run out.
In this demo, you simply wander around outside and in warehouses, fighting waves of thugs by punching and kicking. Every so often you'll activate a special move that requires a motion from the Wii remote or Nunchuk to pull off - this is indicated by an old-school style pixilated arrow in the direction you need to motion. The game keeps tabs on combo strings and rewards accordingly.
Halfway through the demo the lead character receives a call on his phone - the in-game voice-over appeared to be spoken in English, but the phone call could be heard in Japanese if you put the Wii Remote up to your ear and listened to the speaker. After this, it was another session of butt-kicking, and then a boss battle against a very Power Ranger-like badguy who zapped energy in special attacks that needed to be avoided with side-steps using control motions and D-pad press combinations. The demo ended either after a death or once the boss was defeated.
The game runs at a smooth clip but definitely had its fair share of "still in development" framerate glitches. We love the style, including the pixel dust explosions of the enemies after they shatter from existence. It proves you don't need gushing blood to have satisfaction of taking out the bad guys.
We're definitely looking forward to the game's US release from UbiSoft.
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Wii Amigo incoming
Wii Amigo incoming
Monday September 24, 01:58 PM 
Samba de Amigo is definitely on its way to Wii – that’s according to Nintendo’s official mouthpiece, Nintendo Power too. This is awesome news, people!
You won’t want to look at another rhythm-action game once you’ve played this brilliant piece of software. As a quick summary for those of you not in the know, Samba de Amigo basically involves players shaking a pair of maraca controllers in time to a selection of OTT tunes while a grinning monkey and a procession of other bizarre carnival animals get their funk on. Timing and maraca positioning are crucial and this used to be handled by matching on-screen prompts and holding the maracas as required - high up, low down, to the side etc. That gameplay mechanic looks likely to be used again here – and it really wasn’t broke so no need to fix it – however the Wii Remote and Nunchuk will now stand in for the Maracas.
We’re not yet sure whether that means there’ll be some kind of shaker-style atachment to snap onto your Wii accessories – after all playing with real maracas was half the fun. We’re also not sure about the Remote/Nunchuk interface either, since one needs to be plugged into the other and the original game often required the maracas to be held apart at arms length.
But better any kind of Samba de Amigo than none at all, we reckon, and this one promises to feature many of the songs that made the original such a blast. Gearbox (Brothers in Arms) are handling the development, apparently, which bodes rather well. It’s due out at some unspecified time next year, so much more soon.
Copyright © 2006 Unlikely Hero Limited
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Sunday, September 23, 2007
Paper Mario rustles up a bug
Paper Mario rustles up a bug
Thursday September 20, 03:12 PM
By Nintendo’s own guilty admission English, Spanish and German gamers who bought Super Paper Mario last weekend may be in for a nasty surprise.
It’s due to a bug that arises in level 2-2 which causes the screen to freeze and, no doubt, anguished gamers to gnaw the buttons off their Remotes. Nintendo is sure that many gamers won’t even notice the problem. However they’ve issued the following guidelines in the event that they do. Pay attention at the back:
At the start of Chapter 2-2 you will come across a character called Mimi. She will tell you to go to the farthest room on the first floor to meet a character called Merlee. Enter that room and press the green switch. A trap will be triggered and a spiked ceiling will descend upon Mario. Before the ceiling reaches him, flip into 3D and jump on it to find a key.
If you pick up the key you won’t run into any problems. Use it to open the locked door to Mimi’s right. However, if you talk to Mimi without picking up the key the game will freeze. You will then have to turn off your Wii Console and start again from your last save point.
Got all that? The bug won’t damage the game disc or your Wii, and if you’re happy to follow the above guidelines the game plays out exactly as normal. However, if you handed over the best part of 40 squids in the mistaken belief you were buying a perfect and full-functioning piece of software entertainment Nintendo is planning some kind of replacement program. See the Super Paper Mario pages on Nintendo-europe.com for more information.
Sloppy, very sloppy!
Copyright © 2006 Unlikely Hero Limited
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Super Paper Mario
Flippin' the M with my Wii.
By Matt Schaldach
Reference : http://www.deeko.com/nintendo_wii/reviewdetail.asp?id=847
25.April.2007
Author's note:
>>Do you promise to waffle between Bowser and Mario until you die?
I may be opening up a can of flaming worms, but I must admit something: I don't like Mario RPGs. Hell, any RPGs for that matter. Before this turns into some defensive diatribe about the subject, allow me to clarify my previous statement. I don't like turn-based combat. That's it. I like every other aspect of the genre, except maybe the constant power leveling....but that's really it...and maybe that the cinematics and/or storyline are usually much better than the game itself, but I swear that's it. Before everyone starts clicking away on their computers trying to tell me there are other RPG games that incorporate other combative styles, I'm already aware of that. I'm only speaking of the games with turn-based combat, and more specifically the Mario games. Ok, is everybody caught up now?
I played the earlier titles in the "series", but of course the turn-based combat ruined it for me. Maybe it's a sickness; a fear if you will, to turn-based action. Whatever it is, I just cannot get passed the boredom of it all. Where's the fun in watching your character attack an enemy creature? The flipside to my alleged little handicap is that I love the paper universe. Speaking of, when can I see a paper Yoshi game? Tossing a thin flat egg at an enemy and watch as it explodes into tiny bits of paper? Good times.
Granted, this argument may be worse than a staff meeting at Dunder Mifflin, but hey, it's my opinion so pfffft! So, obviously I was a bit skeptical even after seeing the video footage of Super Paper Mario. After playing the game I realized that all my previous opinions about the game could be fed one by one into my mental shredder. While still retaining an rpg feel to it,Super Paper Mario is light years ahead of its Gamecube brethren. The entire game plays like New Super Mario Bros. does, but then adds so much more to the landscape, that a comparison is no longer applicable. The game is big. It's crazy, sprawling big. There is so much to do, that you'll definitely get your money's worth.
23D baby, yeah!
Our story begins with a book. The Dark Prognosticus, to be precise. Within its pages is a prophecy written of the inevitable evil to come. Setting said prophecy in motion is accomplished by simply reading the text therein. Who would do such a thing? Enter stage left the heartless, third-person referring Count Bleck. Apparently Bleck has some serious grudge holding skills for it is he that sets the wheels in motion which begins with the marriage of the two who - by order of Typical Prophecy Law #4267 - are the only two who can defeat the prophecy as written in the Dark Prognosticus' counterpart: The Light Prognosticus, on sale now at Flipside Periodicals. Who are the two heroes in question? It's none other than Bowser and Princess Peach. Wait a second, it's not Mario?
After hearing about the princess being kidnapped (how many times now?), Mario and Luigi hot foot it straight to Bower's digs to thwart what they think is a Bowser driven ceremony. This is where everything goes to koopa shit. Count Bleck suddenly appears and drops the 411 on the little plumber that could, and as Mario is trying to digest this new information, Bleck (with Peach and now Bowser and Luigi as well) spirits away to another dimensional plane, leaving Mario once again holding the bag. Mario awakens to see a crystalline butterfly floating before him. Tippi the Pixl, as he's known to his friends, educates Mario about the events that have transpired.
Tippi: "Hey Mario, wake up! Bleck is going to use the Dark Prognosticus and put an end to the world as we know it."
Mario: "So what are you again, and did Bowser actually marry the princess?"
Tippi: I'm a Pixl. I'm part of an old race of powerful sprites, and forget about the marriage for second. You must stop Bleck before he unleashes the Void."
Mario: "How could she marry him? I mean is it the bad boy thing? I can be a bad boy, seriously. You should see the way I make Luigi my bitch."
Tippi: "Um...ok. Can we get back to the real problem? Bleck, the Void, the world blinking out?"
Mario: "It's just that...I gave her so much. I was always there for her and at the first chance she has, she runs off with that spike-backed showboater."
Tippi: "Will you shut up and listen to me! Bleck, the being that instigated the marriage you're so hell bent on brooding over, is the one to blame. If you don't obtain all the Pure Hearts to offset the large nasty pulsating Chaos Heart, then he will destroy the universe and everyone in it and who married who will be the least of your problems."
A few sobering slaps later, Mario runs off to show how much of a bad boy he can actually be.
Your journey begins in the town of Flipside. This can be considered your hub with all Chapters (worlds) spiking out from the Flipside. This is where the RPG elements come into play. You'll wander through town talking to townsfolk, purchasing upgradable items in the store or uncovering mini-games and secrets. Did I mention the game is big? There are places within town that you can only access after playing through a hefty chuck of the game itself, so there's always something to come back to. And once you obtain your flipping abilities, even more secrets are revealed, but as always I'm getting ahead of myself.
Once within the confines of a Chapter (which is broken up into four areas with a boss at the end of each) you're playing within an area I like to call 23D. At first glance the landscape is a straight 2D platformer. It's the standard move your character from one side of the screen to the other while jumping on enemies, breaking blocks and bounding over chasms. Now you have the ability to "flip" the screen sideways, turning the entire scenario into a 3D playfield which usually leads to a secret or twenty. It really has to be seen to be appreciated. The ability to flip from 2D to 3D at any given time opens up the game considerably and brings the landscape to life like no other Mario game has before. Oh sure, it's really not the 3D of the N64 version of Mario, but the way it's done in this game only adds to the overall appeal. Can't find that secret green pipe? Flip. Are you missing a particular Catch Card? Flip. You see what I'm getting at? When in doubt, flip. Keep in mind, your flipping ability is monitored by a meter so make sure you don't run out of flipping power at the most inopportune moment.
I'm not going to break down controls of the game (remember kids, game manuals are your friends) save for the fact that the Wii remote is used just like an old SNES controller. But it can also be used as a pointer of sorts. When you're stuck, just access Tippi the Pixl and point the Wii remote at the screen. This action highlights something interesting for you to take notice of. Combat is no longer turn-based (with the exception of a few boss battles) and is just like a good old 2D Mario platformer, but with a twist. Defeating enemies isn't just for squashing anymore, but builds up your experience points. Points can also be linked into one single attack. For example, if you see a line of koopas waiting to be stomped on, your best option would be to jump on the first one and while in midair land on the second, and so on until all have fallen to your sidewalk stomp without you even touching terra firma. To add insult to (their) injury, you can also shake the controller while in the air between attacks. Doing so makes your character perform midair tricks which ultimately raises your point total even higher. It takes some getting used to doing this, but it's quite simple once it's mastered. The only real problem is doing the same damage while in 3D. The camera angle while flipped makes it slightly more challenging to line up your stomp, which makes stringing points together not as easy as it is in 2D.
Now you have come to the point of this piece where everything falls apart. I've had the hardest time conveying to people what this game actually entails. Sure at first glance it's nothing but a 2D platformer with a 3D spin on it, but it's much more than that after you've logged a few hours of play time. Super Paper Mario brought back a nostalgic feeling as well as a fresh take on the RPG/platformer that came before it. But how do I tackle everything this game has to offer without giving away to many surprises? The characters, side quests, minigames, graphics, humorous storyline and character names all must be talked about but for fear of this review turning into a Wikipedia themed entry, or worse a Lame spotty tell-all borefest, I'll try to keep my points of interest listec to a bare minimum.
Characters and Such
Being able to play as Mario, Bowser, Peach etc. has to be mentioned. Aside from each character having abilities of their own, playing with each one gives the player a feeling of newness as you progress through the game. And then there are the Pixls who aid you in your quest. These additional characters can be utilized at any time once discovered, and each has its own special ability. Take Thoreau, who can give you the power to toss enemies or Dottie, who shrinks out hero down to miniscule proportions. Over 10 Pixls await your commands and believe me when I say you will be using each and every one of them.
Graphics
From the perfectly pixilated Chapter Three to Chapter Eight's vector-based landscape, the visuals in Super Paper Mario will never disappoint you. This is quite possibly the most colorful Mario adventure to date. Each world is teeming with color and the graphics are bursting with old school style mixed with new jack whimsy. The same can be said for each character and/or enemy you encounter. The overall animation is really the driving force behind the game itself. But it's the little nuances that add that something extra. For example, in an instance where you're stringing together some combo points on an unsuspecting group of goombas, a border made up of Shy Guys, Koopas and Toads is instantly filled with them cheering you on. Sweet. 
...and the crowd goes wild!
Everything Else
I think I may have mentioned the game is big. Eight standard worlds with four areas each is pretty big, but that's not even the half of it. Now, add in all the secret areas, minigame arcade, the Flipside Pit of 100 Trials, stores which carry much needed items, catch cards, kitchens that allow you to cook up a special concoction that releases abilities when consumed, hell even the town of Flipside itself. Oh, and did I mention Flipside has its own...er um, flipside? Yes, it's called Flopside and is a mirrored version of Flipside, or is it? Needless to say, you'll have your hands full if you want to explore and complete everything this game has to offer. The old school humor can be seen throughout, but the entire game is humerous, not just the nostalgic references. In one instance, Squirps (a Pixl) has got to really, really use the facilities. As you arrive at a Pixl friendly outhouse, you discover it's still occupied. This leads to a search for some "paper" lest the current outhouse resident never emerges, which would be messy, to say the least for our dear Squirps. Perhaps he should have been named Squirts. You can't go wrong with poopy jokes.
This game is top notch no matter how you flip it. It has the perfect balance of RPG elements and precise platform control. The visuals are amazing. The story is funny and smart. The control is not decisively Wii based, but it incorporates enough of the new remote's functionality while sidestepping the novelty pit many games before it have fallen into. The music and sound is right up my 8-bit littered alley. The boss battles are very amusing. My only complaint there is that the story is text driven so there is some down time while scrolling through paragraph after paragraph. Kind of like this review, eh? I'm sure I missed some aspect of the game that may think should be included, but to talk about it all would turn this into a novella, and it would be boring. Well, even more boring.
Like I said, it's-a big!
The Deeko Minute
This game embiggens me.
Wonderful graphics.
Flipping your environment is worth the price of admission.
Players: 1
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Other Recommendations
New Super Mario Bros.
Yoshi's Island DS
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MLB Power Pros
MLB Power Pros First Look
One part arcade sports game, one part RPG, and one part stat-heavy baseball strategy game, 2K Sports' MLB Power Pros Baseball is nothing if not intriguing, and extremely Japanese. Based on Konami's long-running, incredibly popular baseball game from Japan, Power Pros is now set to debut on American shores next month. As we discovered during some hands-on time with the game today, Power Pros is utterly unlike any baseball game you'll likely have played before.
Though you'll spend a lot of your time dealing with off-the-field issues in success mode, you will have time to actually play baseball--typically just playing your own player's at-bats until you are eventually elected team captain, after which you'll have full control of your team for the final two innings of every game on the schedule. The game's fate card system, which gives you a randomly generated set of response cards to use when choices come up in success mode's story, helps ensure that each play-through is unique.
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Saturday, September 22, 2007
Mario Strikers Charged Football
Mario Strikers Charged Football
Written by Greg Lyle
For me, Mario Smash Football on the Gamecube was always very hit and miss. It had some aspects of fun, but there was a real lack of depth and challenge compared to the more realistic soccer games like FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer. When I first saw the screens for Mario Strikers Charged Football on Wii, I can hardly say I was impressed. It looked very similar, if not exactly the same as its predecessor and I immediately shrugged it off as a lacklustre attempt of milking that unused cash-cow, the gamecube. However what Nintendo has delivered is not a shoddy port of the gamecube game or even a sloppy expansion of it, but instead one of the most fun and engrossing titles currently available for the Wii.
Like previous exciting Wii games, Warioware and Wii Sports most of Mario Smash's fun comes from its simplicity but please dont let that fool you. Mario Strikers is most definitely not as shallow as those two.
The game is based as a sort of Mushroom Kingdom world cup with all of the main characters of the Mario world playing soccer matches against one another with assorted b-characters making up the rest of the squad. The player is free to choose what Mario star they want as captain from
Donkey Kong to Daisy and Mario to Bowser they are all here and all have distinct strengths and weaknesses. You then get to chose the rest of your team picking a mixture of characters including Boos, Hammer Bros. and even Dry Bones.
With Smash Football, Nintendo seem to have found the perfect design for a really fun soccer game and with Wii they have found the perfect platform. The use of the Wii remote and Nunchuk is brilliant, with the Nunchuks analogue stick controlling player movement and the remotes b-trigger controlling shots. The A button passes and a tackle is a simple waggle of the remote. Although the 'waggle' feature has been overused by some developers its use in Strikers seems valid and doesnt seem tacked on. The controls are simple but there are many unique features to set the gameplay apart. The Smash shots require you to hold the b-trigger until your lead character gains an indicator above their head which you then control via quick taps of the b-trigger, this chooses how many shots you have and how accurate they are. With this attack you can score upto 6 goals in one attempt! However its not as easy as it sounds because as soon as you shoot control turns to the opposition who, if its a player-controller team will have a chance of saving these shots by pointing at the sensor bar and pressing a everytime a ball appears. These seemingly match changing moments can dissapear in an instant and play resumes straight away.
There are also various items and power-ups that players can grab and use to their advantage such as mushrooms, shells, hammers and all other Mario related objects. Its not just the opposition players who are against you many of the stadiums have enviromental factors that can electrocute you, crush you or simply blow your character right out of the park.
The game features a training mode, an exhibition match option, 20+ challenge matches (where you are faced with a deficit and have to battle your way through it), 4 different trophies to obtain by playing through leagues and an online multiplayer mode. This is one of the features that really sets Mario Strikers Charged Football, as it is the first Nintendo Wi-Fi connection game to be released in Europe. And there is simply only one way of describing the online matches; fun. But really, really fun. Like so fun its better than being in Disneyland. On your birthday.
4 people can compete in online 2 vs. 2 matches that are short, sharp and very entertaining. Although the friend code situation is very annoying if you are used to the faster than light, X-Box Live service. The randomly generated matches are a great way of having online fun with anyone. One of the major downfalls of the online service however is that the games are completely region locked meaning if you live in europe you can only play with people in europe and if you live in Japan then only Japan etc.
Another unfortunate downside is the very rapid change is difficulty. Although the game starts relatively easy, with scores rising into double figures very often, the game suddenly shoots off into an almost impossible direction and you will be pulling out your hair trying to complete the latter challenges.
Overall Mario Strikers Charged Football has been a great success. Firstly showing that Nintendo can provide quality online gaming and secondly showing that, if developers are to take notice, Wii controls can be implemented to many genres with just a bit of thought and care. Anyway im getting back online to find Ian Wright...
Gameplay; Simply Superb, a great showcase for Wii's ability to be fun as well as lengthy. It really does play well. 90
Graphics; Crisp in all the right places with the perfect amount of Mario style but the stadiums and crowds can seem a little bit jaggy. 74
Innovation; Absolutely brilliant, another genre the Wii has drastically changed with its innovative control scheme. The game itself shows a lot of innovation too, in being a soccer game that can have all the inspiration and fun of a platform game. 87
Sound; Perfectly added crowd chants mixed with comedy item sound effects. The only annoying thing is the Smash Shot theme tune, that gets very repetitive. 88
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Month of Metroid
Month of Metroid
Written by Tsukasi
When I woke up this morning, I turned to my Wii and saw the blue LED in it's distinctive glow. Half asleep I sat watching in awe, thinking what update has Nintendo dropped on us today?
Shortly after turning on my Wii, I checked my messages. One from Nintendo said a new Metroid "Preview" was made available to download in the Wii Shop Channel. Here I entered upon the grand scheme that was laid out before us. The main update in the Wii Shop Channel was labelled "Month of Metroid." Intruiged I read the short article. It revealed that Metroid for the NES would be made available on August 13th for 500 points, and a week later Super Metroid from the SNES would debut on August 20th for 800 points. Then it told me to download a new channel from the Wii Ware, and I did.
Behold the Metroid Channel in all its glory! One trailer comprised of cinematics and intense battle scenes. My hype for Metroid Prime 3 started to rise. The next video showcased Samus battling the infamous Space Pirates ontop of a bridge, in the familiar setting we saw at E3 a year ago.
Two other videos were there, but are unavailable until August 13th.
The Metroid Channel takes up 70 blocks and does not acually store trailers onto your console. You do connect to the internet and stream them through your console. Unfortunately for those of you living elsewere in the world, this update is only available in Canada and the United States.
Here is a video provided to those living outside of North America. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5TDS31AcMc
Expect a full Metroid Prime 3 review once I get my grubby hands on it August 27th and once I've had a nice playthrough of the game.
Stay tuned and enjoy!
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Three more from beyond the grave for VC
Does anyone else think that Nintendo’s ‘Hanabi Festival’-themed spin on the Virtual Console releases this month is nothing more than a sly marketing ploy to make us think we’re taking part in something that’s culturally significant in some way? After all, without the Hanabi tag we’d just be looking at another bunch of ropey old games wouldn’t we? And that’s pretty much what we’ve got today too, but distinctly Ninja-flavoured.
Copyright © 2006 Unlikely Hero Limited
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Nintendo Wii Finally Finds Way Into Health ClubsWritten by Andrew Little
Nintendo Wii Finally Finds Way Into Health ClubsWritten by Andrew Little
A health club in Canada is offering a new kind of workout. Bored with treadmills or cycling classes, well how about the Wii Workout Station!
The people are using the movement-sensitive controller to punch, run and jump to a greater health with Wii.
A Spokesman for Nintendo Canada said its the first gym in the world to "test drive" this new idea of Nintendo Wii Healthy.
"We're always trying to break down paradigms and keep things fresh. It's used here to break up the monotony of traditional workouts," Nathan Mellalieu, the owner of Studio 55, the gym of the first Nintendo Wii Workout Station, told Reuters.
The Nintendo Wii is set up in a 400 Sq. foot room with a large screen T.V. According to the club's owner, one session of any Wii sports game, besides golf, burns anywhere between 75 and 125 calories depending on the size of person playing.
Nintendo, seeing the health benefits with Wii, have recently announced a new accessory used for other beneficial activities for the body. Its called Wii Fit and its scheduled for release early next year.
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New Wii Fit Details and Pictures
New Wii Fit Details and Pictures
Here are some of the new screenshots:
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