With summer just around the corner, this Monday finds an especially hot mix of downloadable game offerings for the WiiWare™ and Nintendo DSiWare™ services, as well as for the Virtual Console™. Nintendo DSi™ users can become world-famous pop stars or use a new photo application to view their pictures in interesting new ways. Wii™ owners can transform into bubble-bursting dragons or hunt for melons on a mysterious island. And be sure to check out this week’s Virtual Console debut, which features clay figures and stop-action animation to create a comedic twist to the street fighting genre.
Nintendo DSiWare
American Popstar: Road to Celebrity (Gameloft, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone – Comic Mischief, 800 Nintendo DSi Points™): This is your enthralling and interactive success story as a young hopeful in the music milieu. The adventure begins when you get the chance to audition at your Hollywood high school. But the road to celebrity isn’t an easy one: Your secret crush is also auditioning, and so is your evil rival. This unique mix of music-themed gaming and social adventure will let you show your talents to the world, take your best photo with the Nintendo DSi system’s built-in camera and meet lots of people who may help you build your career. You’re about to become the greatest pop star in the world. Talk, share activities and be friendly or unfriendly with numerous characters. Customize your character’s name and appearance, and develop skills and personality through your actions. Four musical mini-games include Guitar, Singing, Drums and Dance. Record your voice, take your own photos and sign autographs.
Nintendo’s E3 2008 conference was…Well…Terrible, but that’s nothing more than a horrific memory at this point. There are greener pastures ahead with promises that this year will be shifted towards a more serious focus on software. Nintendo has made some rather audacious comments about their upcoming E3 conference, including that titles shown will help the Wii to surpass the sales of the PlayStation 2. Just which games might the company unveil at E3? We take a look at the most likely candidates below.
Super Mario Galaxy 2/New Mario Adventure
At last year’s E3, Satoru Iwata revealed that both the Mario and Zelda teams were working hard on new projects. One would think that, because the Mario group is busy, a new game featuring the famous plumber is on the way. Super Mario Galaxy proved that gravity is an innovative and downright fun concept to mess around with, so the only question is if Nintendo will build off of Super Mario Galaxy or start fresh. Keep in mind, however, that the next Mario game will be announced only if its progress is far along enough to show to the public. Since Galaxy released in 2007, Nintendo may not be ready to showcase its next Mario title. In actuality, Zelda Wii may be more of a realistic game to expose, considering that it has probably has been in the works for a longer period of time.
Best Buy
Carnival Games: Mini Golf (Wii) – $29.99
My Fitness Coach (Wii) – $19.99
Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout (Wii) – $19.99
My Weight Loss Coach (DS) – $19.99
Target
Guitar Hero Metallica (Wii) – $37
Mario Party 8 (Wii) – $37
Walt Disney Pictures Presents Hannah Montana The Movie (Wii) – $37
As the days until E3 officially begin wind down, Capcom continues to leave a few hints about their secret E3 game. Thus far, the company has left a number of teases for gamers to speculate about: It’s something fans have been waiting for, it’s from a classic Capcom IP, and it’s not a remake. Oh, and it’s not Devil May Cry 5 either. Capcom is again being asked questions about the game on their twitter account and handed out two more hints. First, it’s not a fighting game. Rather, it was answered that it is an action game. That rules out all of the Capcom’s fighting IPs such as Marvel vs. Capcom. The other hint that was released is that Capcom Japan is developing the title. So this title is an in-house developed game unlike titles like Spyborgs.
There has been some confusion as to whether or not the Wii MotionPlus accessory can be removed from the notorious plastic condom which the peripheral will ship in. A recent Iwata Asks interview seemed to suggest that it would not be possible. However, that’s not actually the case. IGN got their hands on MotionPlus early and posted a video demonstrating that the add-on can in fact be taken out of the covering. It does take a little bit of work, but at least this proves once and for all that MotionPlus can be used without the glove.
Army Rescue (Wii) – E
GI JOE: The Rise of Cobra (Wii) – T
Go Play City Sports (Wii) – E
Mighty Flip Champs! (DSi) – E
Cave Story (Wii) – E10+
Doctor Fizzwhizzle’s Animal Rescue (Wii) – E
Family Slot Car Racing (Wii) – E
Domino Rally (Wii) – E
Sim Earth (Wii) – E
The Legendary Starfy (DS) – E
Sexy Poker (Wii) – M
Sky Pirates of Neo Terra (DS) – E
Rockin’ Pretty (DS) – E
Small update: Summary of the review below.
The first review of The Conduit is officially in. Numerous pictures of the upcoming issue of Nintendo Power prove that this score is the real deal.
Though the game received far from a perfect score, the magazine has given the game the ultimate accolade by stating that The Conduit is “the best pure first-person shooter on Wii.” However, there are a number of valid criticisms. Specifically, Nintendo Power cites unimpressive AI, a weak weapon selection, and a predictable story. On the other hand, NP discussed the control system and online support in a very positive manner.
Summary
– 8.0
– Great adventure, but doesn’t measure up to “big guns” of the genre.
– Predictable story.
– Unimpressive AI.
– Little innovation aside from the controls…
-…yet their quality, which owes a lot to their customizability, mostly overshadow these issues.
– Locales look great for the most part though the level of details can be inconsistent.
– Finely tuned level design based more around covering yourself and surviving than “run ‘n gun”.
– Lack of destructible environments is a disappointment.
– Great, satisfying to use weapons selection.
– ASE is cool, but under-utilized.
– Impressively smooth online experience.
– Cliffhanger ending hinting at a sequel
Thanks to Jake for the news tip!
