– Peter Ong thinks his team may have gone too far with the difficulty in Henry Hatsworth
– Much gentler learning curve for Monster Tale
– Long-term strategic elements for Chomp
– Chomp starts off the game as a hatchling
– As a hatchling, Chomp can’t do much except float around the screen and attack a few foes
– Chomp gets experience points that unlock new abilities, stat-boosting traits, and alternate evolutions as he intervenes on the top screen
– Direct Chomp’s priorities with evolutions
– Can make Chomp more aggressive, more defensive, or more skilled at long-term combat with evolutions
– Each evolution form provides different abilities
– If you stick with a form long enough to master its abilities, you can equip them to Chomp’s other evolutions
– Some abilities change Chomp’s AI behavior
– Most evolutions are special moves that Ellie can use in combat by equipping them to a button combination
– Chomp can also interact with objects Ellie drops from the top screen
– Examples of object interaction: Kicking soccer balls at foes, bombarding the battlefield with a toy catapult
– Game has cute touches, like when Chomp puts on reading glasses when Ellie drops a book

This information comes from Peter Ong, DreamRift/Monster Tale developer…

“We feel very privileged to have the opportunity to express our appreciation for the best 2D games by exploring new ways to evolve their foundation, especially in an era in which those principles may be forgotten or ignored.”

“I believe that people want to be challenged, but that a game should communicate clearly, ramp up difficulty smoothly, and provide what the player needs to succeed as long as the player contributes to their own fair effort.”

“As Chomp grows and his abilities become more formidable, he becomes more and more crucial to protecting Ellie. These aspects of their relationship allow us to tell a story with some unexpectedly emotional moments.”

“I’ve become quite attached to Ellie and Chomp, and I feel quite the obligation to do them justice with the game that they deserve.”

Nintendo Download (8/27, Europe)

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News, Wii | 0 comments

WiiWare

And Yet It Moves – 1,000 points
Tales of Elastic Boy Mission 1 – 600 points

Nintendo DSiWare

Where’s Wally? Travel Pack 1 – 500 points
myNotebook: Carbon – 500 points
myNotebook: Pearl – 500 points

Nintendo Power VC/WiiWare/DSiWare ratings

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News, Wii | 0 comments

Recommended

24/7 Solitaire (DSiWare)
Heavy Fire: Special Operations (WiiWare)
Pearl Harbor Trilogy: 1941 – Red Sun Rsing (WiiWare)
Pop Island – Paperfield (DSiWare)
Quickpack Farmer (DSiWare)
Steamworld Tower Defense (DSiWare)
Soul of Darkness (DSiWare)
Toribash (WiiWare)

Hmmm…

Aquaspace (WiiWare)
Crazy Sudoku (DSiWare)
Cruise Party (WiiWare)
Crystal Monsters (DSiWare)
Face Pilot (DSiWare)
Furry Legends (WiiWare)
Happy Birthday Mart (DSiWare)
Hospital Havoc (DSiWare)
Hoopworld (WiiWare)
Petz Hamsterz Family (DSiWare)
Primrose (DSiWare)
Puffins: Let’s Race! (DSiWare)

Grumble Grumble

101 Shark Pets (DSiWare)
Absolute Brickbuster (DSiWare)
Balloon Pop Festival (WiiWare)
Hello Flowerz (DSiWare)
Petz Kittens (DSiWare)

Thanks to Mike for the tip!

Nintendo Invades Penny Arcade Expo with Metroid, Kirby, Donkey Kong, DRAGON QUEST IX and New WiiWare Game

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News, Wii | 0 comments

The upcoming Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) in Seattle will give consumers their first-ever chance to play upcoming Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ games. Visitors to Nintendo’s booth (#352) will be able to get their hands on games such as Donkey Kong Country™ Returns, Kirby’s Epic Yarn™, GoldenEye 007 from Activision Publishing, Inc. and NBA JAM from EA SPORTS™. Fluidity, a new game for Nintendo’s WiiWare™ downloadable game service, will also make its debut at PAX.
Nintendo’s Fluidity combines an amazing physics engine that realistically models flowing water with innovative puzzle game play. Using the three forms of water – liquid, ice and cloud – players will solve challenging puzzles across multiple chapters of an illustrated magical book called Aquaticus. The game offers detailed tutorials that introduce basic game mechanics, but the complexity quickly ramps up as special powers are acquired and enemies are introduced, testing players’ reflexes and ingenuity.

505 Games and Paramount Digital Entertainment release Grease: The Game for Nintendo DS and Wii

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News, Wii | 0 comments

Grease Lightnin’ Hits Store Shelves Just in Time for the End of Summer Lovin’ and the Start of the School Year at Rydell High
Milton Keynes, UK – 26, August 2010 – Global videogame publisher 505 Games and Paramount Digital Entertainment today announced that Grease: The Game will be available for the Nintendo DSTM and WiiTM from tomorrow, Friday 27 August. Based on the original high school musical that first hit cinemas in 1978, Grease: The Game will ignite Grease fever by giving fans hours of jump-jiving gameplay.
“505 Games is always looking for new ways to engage players with original interactive experiences and our relationship with Paramount Digital Entertainment has allowed us to do just that,” said Ian Howe (MD, 505 Games) “Contributing to the current Grease revival has been a such a rewarding experience for all of us that we are truly excited to welcome a whole new generation of fans with Grease: The Game. With its compelling gameplay, iconic song list and charming graphics, ‘Grease’ is going to entertain enthusiasts of all ages.”

Nintendo Power review scores

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News, Wii | 2 Comments

Metroid: Other M (Wii) – 8.5
Ivy the Kiwi? (Wii) – 7.5
Ivy The Kiwi? (DS) – 7.0
NHL Slapshot (Wii) – 6.0
Guilty Party (Wii) – 7.0
Gunblade NY & LA Machineguns Arcade Hits Pack (Wii) – 5.5

Thanks to Mike for the tip!

Nintendo Power ranks the Metroid games

Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, GameCube, General Nintendo, News, Wii | 12 Comments

1. Super Metroid
2. Metroid Prime
3. Zero Mission
4. Metroid Prime 3
5. Metroid Fusion
6. Metroid
7. Metroid Prime 2
8. Metroid 2
9. Metroid Prime Hunters

Now that you’ve seen Nintendo Power’s list, how would you guys rank the Metroid games? Or just tell us your favorite title in the series!

Thanks to Mike for the tip!