Features

Posted on 15 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Reviews, Wii | 14 Comments

Game Info
System: Nintendo Wii
Genre: Beat em up
Players: 1-2
Release Date: March 10, 2009
Developer: Platinum Games
Publisher: Sega

Ever since its launch, the Nintendo Wii has served as the pinnacle of casual gaming for the modern industry. People who once overlooked video games were playing Wii Sports and working out with Wii Fit, and those who already played games were drawn in by the intuitive controls and party-style gameplay. For the more mature gamers, however, the novelty soon wore off and countless Wiis were found gathering dust in closets and on unused TV stands. While Nintendo continued to release and re-make more and more casual-style games, hardcore gamers abandoned Wii altogether, often selling their systems in order to purchase another. The lack of more mature and hardcore titles on the system has served to be one of its major catastrophes, and also its biggest pitfall. But of course, with a new year comes a new mentality, and game developer/publisher Sega has strayed into all but untouched snow with their stylized black and white beat em up, Madworld which has proven to be not only the Wiis first big blockbuster of the year, but also the most fun I have had playing video games in a long time.

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Posted on 15 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Reviews, Wii | 12 Comments

Game Info
System: Nintendo Wii
Genre: Social Simulation
Players: 1
Release Date: November 16, 2008
Publisher: Nintendo

In the gaming industry, there are many genres that fit an individual title. From shooters to RPG’s, each game has a category it can properly find itself in. Over the years, however, many games (while becoming increasingly more advanced in terms of hardware) have lost a very simple, yet very important aspect: Charm. “Animal Crossing: City Folk” has revitalized that aspect of gaming and has succeeded in bringing to the Wii the single most charming title that I have ever played. From the graphical animations to the terrible but cute one-liners, City Folk keeps things simple; and in this case that is a good thing.

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Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Features, Wii | 5 Comments

Let’s face it: 2008 was far from a perfect year for the Wii and left much to be desired. However, 2009 is on the horizon and it’s time to look forward to what next year has to offer. At the same time, we should remember the happenings of 2008 and years past so that the same mistakes will not be repeated. So, without further ado, here are four Wii wishes that, if they come true, could make 2009 one of the best years for the Wii.

Better third-party support

2009 will be an unquestionably standout year as far as Wii third-party titles go. The Conduit, MadWorld, House of the Dead: Overkill, Deadly Creatures, Sonic and the Black Knight, and Little King’s Story – just to name a few – look very promising and will be releasing in the early months of 2009. However, I can’t help but wish for more third-parties to step up for the Wii in 2009. Even with the amount of spectacular products that were released on the Wii in 2008, there were mounds of shovelware and downright uninspired games that were also being placed on store shelves. Some companies still seem to focus on the Xbox 360 and PS3, leaving Wii on the backburner. Though, now that the Wii has proven itself on the market and third-party games such as Boom Blox and Guitar Hero have performed fairly well, will companies take notice and change their ways?

Peripheral support

Wii MotionPlus could arguably end up as the most useful peripheral for the Wii. True 1:1 motion control will finally be possible and therefore, developers will be able to take advantage of the added accuracy when creating new games. Still, even with the benefits of MotionPlus, there are two other Wii accessories which should not be forgotten: The Wii Balance Board and the Wii Zapper. Nintendo initially backed these two products heavily but have since left them for third-parties to explore. Even with that in mind, there are only a few decent Balance Board and Wii Zapper compatible games. As much as Link’s Crossbow Training and Wii Fit are enjoyable, it would be nice to see Nintendo produce another title or two that take advantage of either of the add-ons. Nintendo, after all, has proven in the past that they can reach the best results with their own products more than any other company.

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Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Features, Wii | 1 Comment

As I promised last week, I have something original to present to you guys this week. Stay tuned for the next few weeks to see what else we have in store!

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Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, Features, Wii | 3 Comments

The future is anything but bleak as far as Nintendo gaming goes. Wii and DS owners can look forward to The Conduit, Punch-Out, Sin and Punishment 2, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, and a few dozen other titles over the next few months. After E3, however, the months ahead did not look so bright. Even though E3 was no longer the beast it used to be, and in spite of the fact that the summit has lost much of the glory and flare that it’s been known for, hardcore gamers had very high expectations in terms of Nintendo’s conference. Regrettably, the company’s entire event was, more or less, a big letdown. It wasn’t until this October, with two separate conferences in Japan and North America that Nintendo was redeemed in the eyes of their fans. The company had a complete turnaround and more than made up for their mistakes at E3. Below are just a few of the reasons that Nintendo’s October conferences, well, to put it bluntly, kicked the crap out of E3.

Game montages/trailers

Video montages/trailers of Wii and DS titles were pretty much absent from Nintendo’s E3 media briefing this year. It is unfortunate that the company largely ignored video content, as visual representation of games could have definitely complimented some of Nintendo’s scarce announcements by adding some actual substance to their media presentation. In Japan this month, new trailers of highly anticipated titles such as Monster Hunter 3 and Dragon Quest IX were shown (although in private), while montages of DS and Wii games were on hand as well – both of which included fresh footage of titles. Visual pizzazz is more than appreciated by gamers at conferences to help break up sales-talk monotony and to give fans something to drool over and analyze for a few months while they wait for new products. Please Nintendo: At your next E3 conference, show us game montages or trailers in order to temporarily satiate our gaming appetites.

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Posted on 16 years ago by Malinko in DS, Reviews | 4 Comments

A few days ago, Nintendo released Kirby Super Star Ultra for the Nintendo DS handheld console. When I had no clue what type of game it would be, I decided I would actually take the time to check it out. So, I started reading a lot of Nintendo websites, including Nintendo Everything and was surprised to see no review of the game! Of course, I know most Nintendo websites on the Internet are pretty much news reporting websites, some reviewing games that are supposed to be big, but really…what’s not so big about Kirby?! Okay, okay; sure, he’s a little pink puff ball, but IGN gave this SNES remake a 7.9. Only a 7.9?! Totally underrated.

Why? Well, I’ll tell you why. I’m actually a big classic Nintendo fan. Mario, Donkey Kong, Kirby; whoever the classic Nintendo character is, I’m totally a fan of it. I haven’t seen a good Kirby game in ages since the last N64 Kirby game. So, let me tell you, I was pretty excited that a Kirby game was released on the DS. Sure, there has been racing Kirby games and what not, but really, that’s not the real adventurous Kirby that I know and love!

So, after reading a couple reviews on the game and stopping by my local video game vendor, I totally realized that this game is an old school, retro game of a SNES Kirby game! Ever heard of Kirby Super Star?! It has 8 games in one! YES. YES, I SAID IT. EIGHT GAMES IN 1! Really. Really, really.

Now, I know a lot of Nintendo fans and video game fans and I totally never heard anyone talk about this classic game; and if you haven’t got the point that I’m surprised by this, then really, I don’t know what else to say besides say, “I am surprised!” AGAIN.

I remember playing Kirby Super Star on my Super Nintendo with my cousins when I was a kid. It’s seriously one of the best games for the Super Nintendo and I really, really enjoyed it. Sure, maybe not all the eight games that come within the overall game are awesome, but the majority of them are pretty fun and hard. I think half of the games within the game are just challenges and event type of games which test how fast you are and how smart you think. Though, the game modes that are adventurous are pretty amazing. If you’re a fan of Kirby64, The Crystal Shards, then you will def. love this 2D platformer.

The best part of both the SNES Kirby Super Super Star and the DS Kirby Super Star Ultra is the fact that Kirby has so many powers that you won’t know what to pick. Like I said, if you like Kirby64, then you remember the fun powers you could use to go through the game. Just imagine doubling, maybe even tripling the powers of that game, hell, I can even say go four times the powers and safely state that there’s that many powers! That was the best part of Kirby, he could go on and on with the amount of powers he had and none of them ever got old! The DS version Kirby Super Star Ultra is a remake which kept those many powers to help Kirby on his many adventures. Although, what kind of adventures can Nintendo possibly create for Kirby? Well, going after King DeDeDe and Meta Knight are def. the many unforgettable battles that I can think of. Especially all their baddies whom you battle throughout your adventure. I’m sure I can list all of them, but you know, that takes out the excitement of you wanting to play the game!

I know there are a lot of people who play any of the Super Smash Brothers games for whatever console they like, but Kirby really, really is underrated in those games. Especially with these new Kirby games which don’t even keeps the full potential of Kirby being a major game character in the Nintendo world! Though, I can say, if you love Kirby from how he is presented now, then you will seriously fall in love with the retro Kirby.

I can promise you among the many, many powers that Kirby has, there is also many games modes, game styles, and an overall amount of characters and stories which will keep you playing the game for hours and hours. It’s really a fun, great adventure. There’s also a load of secrets which you will be dying to find out throughout the game. Don’t worry; I’ll shhh so you can find out what they are!

So, what’s the difference between the SNES and the DS remake? Well, there’s not much. They upped the color of the game. The graphics are a lot better than what there were back in the day (duh!). If you like happy hardcore music, then you will rock out to just listening to the game as you play it. And really, whether it’s the SNES or DS Kirby, they both have awesome music. Sure, maybe not as good as Gusty Gardens from Super Mario Galaxy, but almost! The difficulty of the game isn’t too bad. It’s actually fairly simple, but it’s long and challenging at some parts. You really have to have good timing because Kirby is easily pushed around in the game. Though, don’t fear! You have a “helper” who will keep you in order. Oh, oh! I won’t give more information away on that so you can figure it out for yourself! I guess the best part is the fact that you can really make more out of the game with the amazing Kirby powers; like…just playing around with them and causing things to happen. But, as I said, the game isn’t too hard (even though it seemed really, really hard when I was younger). Now, there might not be a huge difference compared to the Mario remake for the DS, but it’s just a semi-ported game because I guess the original SNES version never became popular. Though, really…Nintendo wouldn’t release a DS version if they didn’t think it would be worth it. And really, it is worth it.

Really, I could go on and on for awhile, typing what I think of this classic game, but real Kirby fans will know and remember. It’s been a decade, maybe even longer since a lot of us have seen a REAL Kirby game and I promise, this game is def. not one to upset you. Please, please; try the game, look at screenshots and/or videos and experience how Kirby really is. You will fall in love with Kirby and I’m sure maybe Nintendo might notice once again how much potential Kirby has.

Go buy and try Kirby Super Star Ultra for the Nintendo DS! Experience the awesome, real puffy pink experience today!

I don’t know what to rate it, but I surely will rate that it won’t keep you bored and unhappy! It will satisfy your need and urge for a good Nintendo game.

More: DS, Kirby, Kirby Super Star Ultra

Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Features | 8 Comments

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Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, Features, GameCube, Wii | 1 Comment

To most, this year’s E3 was the most disappointing Nintendo conference over the past three years  – even more so than last year – due to Nintendo’s increasingly blatant focus on the casual audience. How exactly did Nintendo’s most recent press conference stack up to its previous two years though? Well, over the past three years, the total of games the company has decided to present – for both Wii and DS – have declined considerably. Believe it or not, this applies to third-parties as well. Overall, E3 2008 saw the biggest shift in Nintendo’s attention and also saw a big drop in titles. It will be very interesting to see how Nintendo approaches next year’s E3 if they continue on this pace – if there is another E3, that is. Below are a number of statistics that compare different categories for Nintendo’s three latest press conferences.

Total number of games discussed

E3 2006 – 43
E3 2007 – 28
E3 2008 – 11

Total number of Wii games discussed

E3 2006 – 29
E3 2007 – 19
E3 2008 – 7

Total number of DS games discussed

E3 2006 – 14
E3 2007 – 9
E3 2008 – 4

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Posted on 16 years ago by Program in Features, Wii | 0 comments

Since it was introduced, the Nintendo Wii system has been hailed as a revolution in video gaming because of its motion-activated controls that allow a player to participate physically. That’s all well and good when the motion is a tennis stroke. But what about when it’s a sawing motion, one used to separate a limb from a body, and the scene on the screen shows all the gory details? The game to attract scrutiny “Manhunt 2”, from Rockstar Games, the company behind the controversial Grand Theft Auto series, but it is already creating a stir. In the game, the player assumes the role of an escaped mental patient who goes on a killing spree. In the United States the game has received the most restrictive rating possible, ‘Adult Only’, from the nation’s Entertainment Software Rating Board . An AO rating, which is rare and typically applied to games with mature content, means nobody under 18 can buy the game. Critic’s argue that the combination of Manhunt 2 (the game noted for its “sustained and cumulative casual sadism”), with the Wii the game controller that’s so engrossingly interactive that it led to a multitude of video game incidents, provides far too much reality for the the young audience of video gamers, the under 18 set.”You can use a saw blade and cut upward into a foe’s groin and buttocks, motioning forward and backward with the Wii remote as you go.”

“The more realistic and involving the game gets, and the greater the similarity between the action in the game and real life action, the stronger the negative effects would be,” says Joanne Cantor, a Wisconsin research psychologist who has spent 30 years studying the effects of media violence on children. “No, your son may not turn into a criminal. But exposure will take a toll on his life somewhere, probably in interpersonal relationships. These are subtle effects. They take time to surface. A teen isn’t going to notice them.”

David Finkelhor , co director of the Family Research Lab at the University of New Hampshire, says no game alone is going to drag a child into criminal activity. “It’s when you have other potentiating factors — family problems, mental health issues, extreme stress, dangerous neighborhoods,” he says. “Playing these games with or without the Wii enhancement is not going to take the typical teenage boy and make a killer out of him.” In fact, he says, in the 10 or 12 years in which violent video games have proliferated, the juvenile crime rate has gone down, as have school homicides.

“No question Manhunt goes beyond the pale in terms of violence. I’m sure this one will be worse,” he says. “But that Wii interactivity adds an extra kicker to what happens in the brain is purely speculative. The Wii technology isn’t as bad as some folks say or as good as Nintendo wants you to believe.” Dennis McCauley, editor of gamepolitics.com says.

Just to be clear, however, the AO version will never see the light of day. Turns out, Sony and Nintendo won’t allow AO games on their systems.
(The Entertainment Software Rating Board gives the company 30 days from the time of the AO rating to resubmit for a lesser rating.)

“The Nintendo company is knowingly exposing our children to disturbing acts of foppishness right in our living rooms,” said Roberts of PAW. “Even more frightening, the motion-sensing technology teaches them that the only way to resolve conflicts is to flail their arms in acts of fruity aggression.”

Assuming the children are safe, is virtually disemboweling someone with the full body interaction provided by the Wii different than pressing a few buttons in other video game systems such as PS2? Of course, it is acceptable under the Constitution. What we’re pondering here is an image problem.

In the end, Nintendo and Rockstar’s parent company may end up having no choice but to meet somewhere in the middle.

Posted on 16 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Features, Wii | 3 Comments

Super Mario Galaxy, Twilight Princess, and….Zack & Wiki?!

Notes:

– 3D glasses necessary to view in 3D (Red/blue recommended)
– Give your eyes a minute to adjust to the 3D – I promise, it works!
– Some images work better in 3D than others
– Original images were not taken by myself
– In the future, I may try to investigate a way to make the images 3D without the need of 3D glasses.
– Tip: Try to divert your eyes back and forth briefly from the 3D image to something not 3D, such as your desktop wallpaper