– split of 3d to 3d side-scrolling action is about 50/50
– hub areas for story return once again
– Wii version is not using the same engine as PS3/360, but the team is working hard to duplicate the look as closely as possible
– mix of speed and platforming
– Wii version is different in stage design and controls
– coding and stages for Wii version is being handled by Dimps, who was responsible for Sonic Rush/Sonic Rush Adventure
– Tomoya Ohtani from Sonic Rush will be the sound director
If the Sonic Rush team’s prior work is any indication, I truly think this can be one of the stand-out Sonic games in the franchise.
The Conduit
– FPS, pushes technology, not war-time shooter
– D.C. under attack by aliens
– All seeing eye: Walk up to doorways, pull out item – interact with lock to find hidden passageways, monsters
– Matt & Bozon have seen footage, won’t talk about it yet. Video in next few weeks
– High Voltage still working on making the game look better
Gyrostar
– Space-shooter, good music, effects
– Only $7, supposed to launch with WiiWare
– Looks like an Xbox Live Arcade game, also looks better in a higher resolution
Animales de la Muerte
– IGN team excited for it
– Nintendo not regulating content for WiiWare, but no games with AO games
– Hope to show a game like WiiWare soon
– More High Voltage games in future
Prince of Persia
– No Wii version, not much news on the game
– Hope it’s more of a traditional PoP game
I’ll consider writing up a summary of this issue’s Nintendo Power, but for now, the review scores are as follows…
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon : Explorers of Time/Darkness (DS) : 7.5
Drone Tactics (DS) – 7.0
Summon Night: Twin Age (DS) – 7.5
Super Dodgeball Brawlers (DS) – 6.5
Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles (DS) – 5.0
Top Spin 3 (DS) – 6.0
Top Spin 3 (Wii) – 7.0
Iron Man (DS) – 5.0
Iron Man (Wii) – 5.5
Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy (Wii) – 8.5
Boom Blox (Wii) – 8.0
We Ski (Wii) – 6.0
I’m very proud to see that Blast Works and Boom Blox received stellar scores. I hope, however, that gamers will actually buy these titles and prove to third parties they can be successful on the Wii.
Much like the Blue Shell, the POW Block is sure to cause a lot of grief in Mario Kart Wii. Fortunately, someone has discovered a few helpful tidbits to avoid the item.
Famicom / NES (400 Wii Points)
Antarctic Adventure – Konami
Donkey Kong – Nintendo
Kirby’s Adventure – HAL Laboratory
Super Mario Bros. – Nintendo
Super Famicom / SNES (600 Wii Points)
Gradius III – Konami
Super Mario World – Nintendo
Super Metroid – Nintendo
Cybernator – Hudson
Contra III: The Alien Wars – Nintendo
Nintendo 64 (800 Wii Points)
Mario Kart 64 – Nintendo
Not a bad line-up to start with if you ask me. The Mario games alone can keep a person busy for a long time to come.
– 1/10 Wii owners bought Wii Fit in first 2 days
– 6th best-selling game of all time, fastest selling Wii title
– £16.3m in sales
– 1/2 of Wii software during the week was comprised of Wii Fit software
SAN FRANCISCO –April 28, 2008 – Today Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, announced that a new Prince of Persia is scheduled to release Holiday 2008 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and PC. This new Prince of Persia marks the debut of the critically acclaimed franchise on next-generation consoles. Developed by Ubisoft’s award winning Montreal studio that brought you Assassin’s Creed(TM) and the same all-star team that created the previously acclaimed Prince of Persia® Sands of Time trilogy, Prince of Persia is opening a new chapter in the Prince of Persia universe, featuring a new breed of gameplay. The game is poised to rejuvenate the action-adventure genre in addition to introducing a brand-new illustrative art style.
Ubisoft will also release a Prince of Persia game specifically designed for the Nintendo DS(TM) system, featuring an entirely new storyline and new characters. More details to be unveiled in the future.
About the Prince of Persia Franchise
Since Prince of Persia® Sands of Time’s launch in 2003, Prince of Persia has won over 30 awards worldwide, including the highly coveted Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2003’s Console Platform Best Action/Adventure Game of the Year for Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time(TM). To date, the Prince of Persia franchise has sold approximately 10,3 million units worldwide.
NES – Double Dragon
There’s one new game for the Virtual Console? this week – and it’s a double. Double Dragon? is a true action-fighting classic. This side-scroller brought the arcade original into the home and laid the groundwork for numerous sequels. It’ll get your nostalgia engine fired up. Now go put the hurt on some bad guys and save Marian.
Nintendo adds new games to the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii? owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points? to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:
Double Dragon (NES?, 1-2 players, Rated Everyone 10+ ? Mild Violence, 500 Wii Points): Double Dragon begins with Billy Lee’s girlfriend, Marian, being kidnapped by a group called the Black Warriors. They demand to know the secrets of Billy’s martial-arts style in exchange for his girlfriend. However, Billy won’t stand for these underhanded tactics and decides to rescue her himself. Help him fight through city streets, buildings, jungles, temples and various other locations in a quest to find his girl. He’ll gain experience by using different fighting techniques to obtain more hearts, which will unlock more powerful techniques to use against his enemies. Keep an eye out for crates, boulders, whips, bats, knives and even dynamite along the way, as Billy can also use them to annihilate opponents. Armed with his mysterious and powerful martial arts, help Billy pummel his way through an array of goons, gang members and other Black Warrior scum to free Marian from their clutches.
For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.
Source: Nintendo Press Room
New Wii Wheel Brings Motion Controls to Nintendo’s Racing Franchise
REDMOND, Wash., April 28, 2008 – Since the invention of the automobile, kids have pantomimed driving with pretend steering wheels. Since the dawn of the video game age, people of all ages playing racing games have twisted and turned their controllers to steer their vehicles, even though it had no effect on the action on the screen. Now, Mario Kart® Wii makes these fantasies a reality and brings a new level of immersion and interaction to video games.
The raucous driving game, which launched Sunday, comes packaged with the Wii Wheel™ steering wheel accessory that houses the Wii Remote™ controller and lets players steer just as though they were driving a real car. The accessory has been specifically designed and engineered so that even someone who has never played a video game before can pick up the Wii Wheel and start racing instantly.
“Just like Wii Sports, Mario Kart Wii will have everyone in the household playing together, laughing and having fun,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “With the Wii Wheel and ability to race with Mii caricatures, Mario Kart Wii literally puts players directly into the game.”
