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.
DJ HERO® 2 UNCRATES 105 OF THE HOTTEST HITS AND BIGGEST ANTHEMS GETTING EXCLUSIVE DJ HERO® REMIX TREATMENT FOR THE BEST SOUNDTRACK IN ENTERTAINMENT
Songs Being Mixed For the Game’s Soundtrack Spin to the Tune of over 1.5 Billion Online Video Views
”Name That Mix” Challenge Debuts on DJ Hero Facebook Page Today Testing Fans Knowledge of Music to Discover and Reveal the Game’s Mixes For the Chance To Win a Host of Great Prizes
Currently Available for Pre-Order at Retailers Nationwide, DJ Hero 2 to Hit Store Shelves on 22nd October in the UK
London, UK – 26th August, 2010 – When the party starts on 22nd October, budding beat chemists, singing sensations and all of their friends will experience over 100 of the biggest tracks from the hottest artists, remixed exclusively for DJ Hero® 2, including Eminem’s “Not Afraid,” Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” David Guetta’s “Memories” feat. Kid Cudi, Lil’ Wayne’s “Lollipop” feat. Static Major, and Dizzee Rascal & Armand Van Helden’s “Bonkers,” Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced today. Cranking up the soundtrack to “the most innovative and immersive music experience of 2009”*, the full list of 105 speaker-blaring tracks and club-shaking anthems that will be transformed into over 80 unique mixes for DJ Hero 2 reads like a who’s who of music industry giants.
With all the songs now revealed, DJ Hero 2 has launched the ”Name That Mix” challenge on the DJ Hero® Facebook page, testing fans knowledge of music to discover the game’s tightly held and eagerly anticipated mixes. Every week from now until 21st September, fans will be presented with a “mashup of mashups” video from which participants will need to decipher what songs were used to create each mix. Over 275 prizes are available weekly including trips to see DJ Hero 2 artists perform live and professional DJ equipment. To participate in the challenge or for more information, visit http://facebook.com/djhero.
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.”
This information comes from Associate Producer James Lodato…
“Everyones a hard sell because quality is number one for this title. Nintendo has been extremely helpful; it’s a title they are very fond of. They’ve worked on site, given us first party feedback and hardware and accessibility and really made themselves available to the project. I’m certain they’re very excited about it as well.”
You definitely get the feeling that GoldenEye 007 is pretty important to Nintendo, especially after hearing that Nintendo has provided first-part assistance. You may even remember that the game was supposed to be revealed at the company’s press conference, though the first trailer leaked out before the event and spoiled the surprise!
This information comes from issue 258 of Nintendo Power…
– Larry Adelman is the main character, protagonist
– Knives, cleavers, mops, guitars and more at his disposal
– Will probably have an “M” rating
– Action game
– Inspired by hack-and-slash arcade titles such as Golden Axe, Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, Bayonetta
– Entire game takes place on an airplane
– Larry is overweight, bald, not the most likeable guy
– Move Larry with the control stick
– Swing the Wiimote + nunchuck to attack with his left + right hands
– Create combos by chaining together motions
– Finishing moves
– One finishing move: Separating a vampire’s head from its shoulders
– Many combo possibilities
– Numerous finishers
– Dev. team wants a lighthearted atmosphere with stylized, cartoony visuals
– Pop culture references
– Devs. hoping to finish the game this summer
– It’s part one in a four part series
– Devs. want to hear feedback from fans, may include new features such as co-op
This information comes from Marcin Kawa of publisher/developer Bloober Team…
“He’s (Larry) a [jerk]; no doubt about that. If you ever met a guy who makes offensive jokes about you in front of your mates or tries to remind you of every stupid thing you’ve done in your life, then you know Larry. He also thinks that he’s a womanizer and the best cook in the world. Frankly speaking, I don’t remember the exact reasoning behind making him a food critic. We just had our ‘Larry the cook’ and everyone thought that was a cool character that can be fun to watch and control. I think that at some point, we were just sick and tired of ideal bishonens and wanted to have a character that is more believable and not that perfect.”
“When you’re making a game, you can either go the hyperrealistic route or, as we did, try to use graphics to show that you’re not that serious about this stuff. A photorealistic Last Flight would be way too serious to our tastes. We certainly didn’t want to make a game where you can explore human (or vampire) anatomy in every detail. When you look at our game you can say that our goal was to entertain you. We’re doing this in our own grotesque and twisted way, but it isn’t about scaring people to death. We wanted to have this unique comic feeling that downplays violence and makes you feel positive about it.”
“You’ll find that kind of stuff [pop-culture references] through the game when talking to other characters, or certain locations will (hopefully) remain you of some of your favorite movies or games, or ones that you genuinely…dislike.”
“There’s mainstream vampire stuff, and we wouldn’t feel good without making some jokes about that. I mean, they’re just asking for it.”
“Our goal was to make a game that the older part of Wii owners would like to play. Is it risky? Of course it is, but we gladly that risk. As you might have noticed, Last Flight isn’t a ‘serious action-adventure game’ with a troubled character on his quest to redemption. It’s a parody laughing at all those games…It’s a game that makes fun of all this nonsense found in other so-called serious games. You won’t find anything like that on WiiWare or other consoles.”
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!
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!
