An Ode to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection – Saying goodbye to DS and Wii’s online (part 2)
Posted on 9 years ago by Jarop(@gamrah) in DS, Features, Wii | 3 Comments
Today we’ll be continuing our look at the Nintendo Wi-Fi lineage with a focus on Wii titles. The Wii’s online infrastructure surprised us time and time again with what it could (and couldn’t) do, with experiences ranging from the cohesive and fleshed out Mario Kart online to a slideshow crawl through Super Smash Bros. Brawl matches. With the rise of homebrew, we saw some interesting mods to popular games, some of which also found their way into the online scene (like Project M and CTGP). Here’s a look at some of the more popular and interesting titles that used the service and what we’ll miss most about them:
[Review] Squids Odyssey (Wii U eShop)
Posted on 9 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in 3DS, 3DS eShop, Features, Reviews | 2 Comments
System: Nintendo Wii U
Release Date: May 22nd, 2014 (NA/EU)
Developer: The Game Bakers
Author: Austin
Almost three thousand years ago, a shy fellow (I don’t know if he was shy) named Homer lived in Greece, and he wrote two really famous epic poems: The first– The Illiad— is thought to be the oldest surviving piece of western literature ever. The second– The Odyssey— is just as famous, and this week, nearly three millennia after its initial writing, The Game Bakers have created a work directly inspired by the work of Homer for the Wii U eShop. It’s called Squids Odyssey.
Most of what is written in the paragraph above isn’t true. Squids Odyssey does exist, but it’s not a game based around Homer’s Odyssey— no, it’s a creative and unique turn-based strategy game set far beneath the surface of the ocean that’s unfortunately marred by a lack of technical polish and attention. Still, it may be worth your time; read on for details.
More: 3DS, eshop, highlight, review, Squids Odyssey
[Feature] An Ode to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection – Saying goodbye to DS and Wii’s online (part 1)
Posted on 9 years ago by Jarop(@gamrah) in DS, Features, Wii | 3 Comments
On May 20th, GameSpy ceased all maintenance for multiplayer services that they previously hosted, marking the end of online support for Wii and DS titles and the end of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection (WFC) era. Since its launch in November 2005, the little blue circle on the boxes of our beloved franchises have signified the ability to participate in matchmaking online and experience Nintendo’s first real take at online gaming. From Friend Codes to Nintendo branded Wi-Fi dongles, let’s take a look back at some of the best WFC had to offer in all its WEP encrypted, Wii Speak glory.
More: highlight, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, top
[Weekly Screenshot] Art of Balance Wii U #6 – Shin’en’s First Time Online
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Screenshots, Weekly Screenshot, Wii U eShop | 6 Comments
Keeping things light this week, Shin’en’s Manfred Linzer returns to NintendoEverything with a nice summary of the game’s lobby system and how implementing online for Art of Balance on Wii U was tough because it was the team’s first time ever doing an online game. Aside from what he told us, we can glean that the game will keep track of your win/lose record, as well as display your country of origin when matchmaking. The rest remains mysterious… for now.
Read on past the break for Manfred’s own words about what you see above, and the development of the game’s online mode:
More: Art of Balance, highlight, Shin'en, top
[Review] Kirby Triple Deluxe (3DS)
Posted on 9 years ago by Spencer(@spencerstevens) in 3DS, Features, Reviews | 8 Comments
System: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: May 2nd, 2014 (NA), May 16th, 2014 (EU)
Developer: HAL Laboratory
Publisher: Nintendo
Author: Spencer
Everyone’s favorite pink puff has finally returned in his first adventure on the Nintendo 3DS, Kirby: Triple Deluxe.
Out of the box, Triple Deluxe consists of three gameplay modes: Story Mode, Kirby Fighters, and Dedede’s Drum Dash. The Story Mode is straightforward: Dreamland is in danger, and it’s up to Kirby to save the day. This time, a mysterious new villain has uprooted Kirby’s home with massive magical vines and sent everything sky-high! Players navigate Kirby through many levels in seven worlds as he makes his ascent to the top of the menacing entanglement.
More: 3DS, highlight, Kirby Triple Deluxe, review
Here’s a Podcast – Episode 93!
Posted on 9 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Podcast | 7 Comments
ON THIS EPISODE: We’ve got some new Nintendo-platform games to talk about this week! First off, though, Laura tells us about the actually-not-terrible DLC for Disney Magical World and the crew discusses the online play of Mario Kart Wii and why sometimes no-communication can be cool. Then, Jack gives us his impressions of the new Wii U eShop game Scram Kitty and His Buddy on Rails, and Austin walks us through the first hour or so of Moon Chronicles on 3DS.
PLUS: Nintendo creates every Mario Kart game from scratch, and lately they’ve taken it upon themselves to really put a ton of work into very minor details. Is this strategy good for them, or would it be more beneficial for them (or for us as gamers!) if they put out titles more quickly with less of these details/polish?
AND: A bit of listener mail wraps up the show, as always. Some questions about Nintendo merging consoles and portables for their next system(s), as well as talking about what old Nintendo franchises should be revived. (hint: bring back Project H.A.M.M.E.R.)
This Week’s Podcast Crew: Austin, Jack, and Laura
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[Weekly Screenshot] Art of Balance Wii U #5 – Challenge Mode in an Abandoned House…?
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Screenshots, Weekly Screenshot, Wii U eShop | 3 Comments
Hey everybody, we hope your day is going well/went well/etc! Manfred Linzer from Shin’en has given us another exclusive screenshot from their upcoing Wii U puzzle game Art of Balance, and within it we’re getting a look at the game’s “Challenge Mode” as well as the setting, which– for some reason– is an abandoned house. The real question is who used to live in it before people started playing block games in the attic…?
I guess that’s not for us to say! Here’s Manfred’s description of the screenshot:
More: Art of Balance, highlight, Shin'en, top
[Developer Musings] Deadlines, Social Lives, and Satisfaction – RCMADIAX, Eden Industries, Frozenbyte talk about the stress of making games
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Developer Musings, General Nintendo | 1 Comment
We’ve brought in three more developers for the next entry in our new feature series, “Developer Musings”. This week, we have a few words from RCMADIAX, Eden Industries, and Frozenbyte as they share some thoughts about the stress of making games. Head past the break for their comments.
Unsure as to what Developer Musings is about? Check out our first entry here for an explanation.
Here’s a Podcast – Episode 92!
Posted on 9 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Features, Podcast | 12 Comments
ON THIS EPISODE: We talk all about the games we played this week, including more Mario Kart from Austin (this week? Double Dash!), some Mario 3D World and WarioWare from Jack, and not too much from Laura! We also get into a brief discussion about how Nintendo is still a little behind in many regards when it comes to their online gaming feature-set, and what we’d like to see improve.
PLUS: Our mid-segement this week hits upon Nintendo’s fairly bare-bones release calendar for Wii U as well as the token discussion of this week’s Tomodachi Life controversy. We think it’s dumb to not have same-sex marriage in the game, but a few interesting points come up that actually go against the hubbub.
AND: Listener mail has us talking about our favorite game ever (well… not Laura’s!), as well as a bit of Smash Bros and Mario Kart discussion. Plus a few other things. And lots of mis-pronouncing of words and phrases. Oh boy.
This Week’s Podcast Crew: Austin, Jack, and Laura
Download this episode (click this link)
Subscribe via iTunes by clicking this thing!
Subscribe with Google by clicking this thing!
Subscribe with Yahoo something-or-other by clicking this thing!
[Weekly Screenshot] Art of Balance Wii U #4 – Multiplayer Info
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Screenshots, Weekly Screenshot, Wii U eShop | 1 Comment
Have you guys ever heard of Art of Balance on Wii U? I have, because for 3 weeks we’ve been showing off exclusive screenshots of the game, complete with discussion and inside-info from the game’s developer Shin’en! The feature returns with a look at something we haven’t seen before: The game’s newly added multiplayer modes. Manfred Linzer from Shin’en describes it best below, so check out what he has to say and enjoy the warm rays of sunlight in the above screenshot.
Hello there! Time for another screenshot from Art of Balance (AoB), our upcoming Wii U game. Today we will show you an image from one of the many multiplayer game modes.
Everyone loves playing against a friend via split-screen, and AoB allows you to play locally or online using split-screen. The best part: it’s not only one on one but you can play with up to five people locally or up to eight people online. The players get arranged into two teams that try to solve the puzzles in parallel.
Although the single-player mode is great fun, we had the biggest laughs and enjoyment when playing the game in split-screen mode with a few friends. You simply play for hours and hours…
