With New York Fashion Week in full swing through Sept. 16, designers, consumers and media around the world have turned their eyes to the Big Apple to view the latest fashions hitting the runway. Quite unexpectedly, one item is emerging as the season’s most sought-after accessory: the classic stovepipe hat. Industry watchers are crediting this unique trend to Professor Layton, star of the new Professor Layton and the Unwound Future™ game for the Nintendo DS™ family of systems. Fans of the acclaimed hand-held game series already recognize the professor’s signature stovepipe hat as an emblem of scholarly chic and puzzle-solving fun. Since the third installment of the Professor Layton series launched across North America on Sept. 12 – right in the middle of New York’s fall fashion maelstrom – the stovepipe hat has seen a mighty surge in popularity, appearing everywhere from crowds to catwalks.
Although his status as a fashion trendsetter is just now hitting its peak, Professor Layton is recognized far and wide for his superior puzzle-solving skills. And no matter what they’re wearing, audiences are sure to enjoy the new puzzles in Professor Layton and the Unwound Future. Players must help to unravel a new mystery by solving a series of mind-bending riddles and challenging puzzles. When the professor and his apprentice, Luke, receive an ominous letter sent from 10 years in the future, they must travel through time to prevent the city of London from falling into chaos. Players will encounter more than 165 entertaining puzzles as they wind their way through the game’s captivating storyline.
For more information about Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, please visit http://www.professorlaytonds.com
Source: Nintendo PR
Ted Newman, creative director at n-Space, was first asked if Winter could be technically possible on the 3DS…
“Yes, absolutely. The 3DS is really powerful, just going beyond the 3D screen side of it — what it can do in terms of pushing polygons and using advanced texture shaders. It’s really no secret how strong of a system it is. Everything we did with the Wii demo of Winter would absolutely work on that system. And there’s a lot more you can do, especially with a game like that, a survival-horror game in 3D. I mean, I can think of 10 ideas off the top off my head right now.”
Newman later was asked if it would be difficult to transfer Geist to the 3DS…
“No, because there’s a lot of similarities between the systems [GameCube and 3DS] in terms of bringing one engine over to work on the 3DS. You know, if Nintendo was interested in getting a Geist game on 3DS, it’s certainly doable. As a fan of Geist and as someone who worked on it for three-and-a-half years, I’d love to see it. I love the whole mechanic, and I love that whole universe.”
Last but not least, Newman talked about the 3DS in general…
“Everything I saw at E3, I was completely impressed with. I really can’t think of anything that I thought was a shortcoming. I can understand people wanting dual analogs. I’m trying to think of how that would actually feel with the system — that plus the D-pad. But anyway, back to your question: I totally believe in [Nintendo’s] knowledge of hardware, and as the [3DS] evolves to the point where it’s ready to release, [Nintendo] is going to solve whatever problems it needs to solve. [3DS] is going to be incredible.”
Obviously, we’ve known for awhile that the 3DS will be a much stronger system than the DS. But lately we’ve been hearing some very positive opinions from developers that it truly is a very powerful handheld in general. I’ve never been focused on graphics or system specs too much, though I have to say I’m quite interested to see what kind of technology is behind the 3DS – at the moment, we only know a few details. Come September 29, I’m sure we’ll find out a lot more about the portable.
WiiWare
Adventure on Lost Island – Hidden Object Game – 86 blocks
DSiWare
Castle Conqueror – 92 blocks
myNotebook: Tan – 75 blocks
Crazy Pinball – 51 blocks
This video is very similar to the trailer Activision released some time ago, but some footage has been added such as new multiplayer levels.
Twenty-five years ago today, Nintendo’s original Super Mario Bros.™ video game made its debut in Japan and changed the world of video games forever. Since then, Mario™ has become one of the most renowned and beloved video game characters around the globe.
Mario is all but synonymous with Nintendo. It’s difficult to think of one without thinking of the other. Super Mario Bros. contains a magical blend of characters, graphics, challenges, music and action that still captivates players today. The original game sold 40.24 million units worldwide, and remains one of the best-known, best-loved video games in the world. It popularized the side-scrolling format and established elements of the Mushroom Kingdom that are still used in today’s Mario games. Super Mario Bros. frequently appears on lists of the best games of all time.
Wii details
– James Bond is in a tank going after an automobile in the St. Petersburg level
– This level has voiceovers from Daniel Craig
– At one point in the level, a bridge will blow up thanks to a helicopter and you won’t have your tank any longer
– Tank starts to smash everything in sight including cars and enemy trucks
– Helicopters will fire missiles at Bond as he goes through the level
– Get your tank back after destroying some enemies
– Tank controls on the Classic Controller: Go forward with left control stick, aim with right analog (with missiles and a submachine gun)
– In the jungle level, Bond escapes from a crashed plane
– Bond can sneak up on an enemy and smash his skull
– Only two organizations show up in a match online (no 2 vs. 2 vs. 2 vs. 2 battles)
– Experience points, kill streaks, leveling system online
– WiiSpeak/PDP HeadBanger Headset not supported
This information come from Wii producer Graham Hagmaier…
“One of the big keys [for developer Eurocom] in regard to game design is player choice. [The game] has multiple routes through areas, so you can take the stealthier route and kind of use close-quarter combat — such as takedowns. Or you can go in guns-a-blazing — American style, as I like to call it — and just firefight and take out enemies.”
“[Activision] thinks that Classic Controller Pro is a great new controller, and [Activision] is doing a Collector’s Edition with the gold controller. As such, the Classic Controller Pro is just one of those things it has been pushing to get people comfortable with that control scheme.”
“The smartphone can do multiple functions: it can hack computers, hack locks, and it also can do facial scanning. So you can use it in a crowd to find an objective… It also can be a communication device, obviously a phone, and you can hold the Wii Remote up to your ear to answer it.”
“[Developer Eurocom] has some new levels in there like Station and Nightclub, and then there are classics like Archive and Facility. [Eurocom] has a mix-and-match of both [old and new multiplayer maps]. With offline [multiplayer], you are going to have modifiers and different game modes, like Golden Gun, Team Conflict and Conflict. There are then 17 different modifiers — like Invisibility, Tag Mode, and Paintball — and then 50 different characters to choose from. Overall, you can really customize your gameplay, with more than 200 different types of gameplay. [Online and split-screen] are basically two different flavors of multiplayer, so you have a reason to play both. With online, it is up to 8 players and you are playing different modes, like Black Box and others. You can also play with four different factions. You have Zukovsky’s henchmen (basically, Russian mobsters); you have the Russian Army faction (Gen. Ourumov and Xenia Onatopp); you got Janus organization (like Alec Trevelyan); and then you finally have MI6 (heroes). So you play as one of the four different factions and then rank up similar to a more modern [gaming] approach, like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Thus, you can do different weapons and perks, as well as exclusive online content.”
“… [the producer] thinks [developer Eurocom’s] cap level is 56, so it is pretty high.”
“You have substations of little satellites that are all around the level, and you have to go and capture them. If you capture all of the substations, the GoldenEye beam fires on the enemy’s headquarters and takes it out.”
DS details
– Snow level: Use stealth to take down enemies
– Can blow up a snowmobile which will eliminate enemies gathering around the vehicle
– Choose between stylus or button controls
– Aim assist for button controls
– Over 70 awards online
– Mod system
This information comes from Ted Newman, creative director at n-Space…
“[GoldenEye 007 DS] is basically a companion title, so it follows the same story points and same plot beats as the Wii version. All of the levels, though, are built from scratch with the DS in mind — the gameplay, the weapon choices. There are going to be some similarities [to the Wii version], but [GoldenEye 007 DS] has its own entity.”
“I personally am such a fan of the stylus that I wasn’t sure how I would feel about [button controls]. But you really can do a good job [with buttons], just running through the levels and playing as you would with the stylus.”
“Basically, whenever you beat a single-player level, it opens up a time trial. Thus, you go back to try to beat a level in a certain time to gain experience, which you then use to spend on different cheats.”
“For example, [one modification] has all the players moving constantly and not able to stop. Another modification] has a bonus [for the player], like you’ll gain armor when you kill an enemy. These modifications really change up the modes that we have and just add that much more replay to the multiplayer experience.”
“I really do feel like this is what a James Bond game should be — it’s the right mix of action; it’s the right mix of stealth. The mantra [the development team] kept using throughout the project was that [the game] is the thinking man’s first-person shooter.”
Videos
Nintendo Week 9/13
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future Trailer 2
Adventure on Lost Island: Hidden Object Game Info Video
Castle Conquerer Info Video
Rock Band 3 Info video
Demos
Ivy the Kiwi? Demo
Dragon Ball: Origins 2
Battle of Giants: Mutant Insects
Deca Sports DS Cheerleading Demo
Deca Sports DS Ping Pong Demo
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth
Bakugan Battle Brawlers
James Patterson Women’s Murder Club: Games of Passion
