It may not seem like there has been a huge jump in the overall average compared to last year, but now the system is right around where the quality of PS3/360 games stand. Titles such as MadWorld, House of the Dead: Overkill, Punch-Out!!, and even Wii Sports Resort have contributed to the increase in review scores. And 2009 isn’t over yet – We still have Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, and New Super Mario Bros. Wii to look forward to, which will boost this year’s number even further.

Source 1, Source 2

Square Enix announced today that the official FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: THE CRYSTAL BEARERS Fan Site Kit (FSK) is now available for download at http://www.thecrystalbearers.com/.

The FSK (10 MB) includes all the materials bloggers and webmasters will need to create a compelling Crystal Chronicles-themed Web site, including artwork, characters, icons, monsters, screenshots and logos. FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: THE CRYSTAL BEARERS, the highly anticipated action-adventure game, will be available this winter, exclusively for Nintendo Wii.

About FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: THE CRYSTAL BEARERS
FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: THE CRYSTAL BEARERS provides a fresh take on the FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES series as it combines the storytelling depth, expansive world and graphical quality of FINAL FANTASY with motion-driven, real-time action gameplay. In this world, realistic gameplay and fantastical art direction are brought together for a truly unique experience for Wii users around the globe.

Read More

The developers of the Metroid Prime series have revealed an interesting nugget of information about the Metroid Prime series in a recent developer’s voice interview. Believe it or not, Retro Studios wasn’t thinking about making three Prime titles when creating the first game. Rather, it was something that was planned later on.

“Trilogy was not planned as a trilogy from the beginning.” – Mike Wikan, Senior Game Designer

“When we finished the first game us and Retro, were really happy. And that was the first time we thought about making a trilogy.” – Kensuke Tanabe, Producer

This was probably the case due to the amount of doubt the first Prime title faced before release. There was much skepticism that Metroid Prime could handle a successful transition from 2D to 3D in a first-person view. That obviously wasn’t the case, however, and Retro Studios went on to make two more games – Both of which were received very well by fans.

Remember when Nintendo said earlier this year that specific games would be released for the DSi? Well, apparently that’s going to happen sooner than we first thought. Sources have told Kotaku that DSi-only titles will begin to hit stores this fall.

However, unlike DS/DS Lite products, DSi games will arrive in their own packaging with completely white coloring (including the card itself). DSi titles will also carry a sticker to warn consumers that they will not work with the original DS/Lite. For now, it’s not clear if developers will be able to utilize some of the added upgrades over Nintendo’s previous handhelds for DSi games and at this time, Nintendo has yet to respond to any of the speculation.

Source

WiiWare

Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 2 – 315 blocks
3-2-1, Rattle Battle! – 196 blocks

VC

Phantasy Star – 26 blocks

DSiWare

Puzzle League Express – 43 blocks

As was posted a few days ago, Nintendo Power is teasing a “major” DSi title, which will be unveiled in the November issue. There hasn’t been much to go on, but now it appears that a new Shantae game may be the secret. Over at their Twitter, Way Forward posted, “Nintendo Power teasing a MAJOR DSiWare release in the next issue? AND it will make many gamers “very, very happy”? Hmmm.”

This still doesn’t prove anything of course. Right now, it still hasn’t been confirmed that the Twitter mentioned is the official account for the company. However, gamers know that WayForward has been teasing a new Shantae game over the past few months and DSiWare would make a perfect home for the series.

Source 1, Source 2

Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (DS) – 9.5
NHL 2K10 (Wii) – 8.0
Cursed Mountain (Wii) – 7.0
Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii) – 8.0
Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga (Wii) – 4.0
Fossil Fighters (DS) – 8.0
Bleach: The 3rd Phantom (DS) – 4.0
Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (DS) – 8.0
The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road (DS) – 6.5
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (Wii) – 5.0
Spectrobes: Origins (Wii) – 5.5
IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey (DS) – 4.0

ACTIVISION PUBLISHING ANNOUNCES RAPALA®: WE FISHTM, THE FIRST FISHING GAME DEVELOPED SPECIFICALLY FOR WiiTM

A Whole New Species of Fishing Game!

SANTA MONICA, CA – August 31, 2009 – Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) has announced a brand new entry in its Rapala fishing franchise, Rapala®: We Fish™ for Wii™. Slated for release on September 29, Rapala: We Fish is the first fishing title developed specifically for Wii™, featuring over-the-top fun and action-packed fishing. The game is packaged with the Rapala fishing rod and reel peripheral, letting players cast it, crank it and set the hook!

“We’ve partnered with Rapala to develop a new type of fishing game that focuses on arcade style family fun for the Wii™,” said David Oxford, Activision Publishing. “Combining responsive controls with an action-packed, humorous direction, we have created a fishing game that’s unlike anything out there.”

Read More