2008 July |

Sakurai: ‘Another Smash Bros? I’d have to give it some serious thought’

Posted by admin On July - 31 - 2008

Filed under: News

During a recent interview with ONM, Masahiro Sakurai talked about his latest game, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, among other things. What might be of most interest to us all is that he’s apparently willing to work on another Smash Bros. game.

“It’s interesting, because after every Smash Bros. game I’ve made, I’ve always felt at that time that I’ve left nothing out,” he says. “However, I also understand that there are millions of fans out there who love the series so if Mr Iwata came to me in a few years time and asked me to make another one, I’d have to give it some serious thought.” A few years? You’re kidding! We want another game now. And can we get less things cut out of the game this time around, please?

Gallery: Smash Bros. Brawl Snapshots

[Via Go Nintendo]

Virtually Overlooked: Irritating Stick

Posted by admin On July - 31 - 2008

Filed under: Virtually Overlooked

This is pretty out-there for a Virtual Console request, for plenty of reasons. Okay, so Irritating Stick is a PlayStation game, which is more likely to show up on the PS3 than the Wii. And okay, there’d be no point in doing it without Wiimote integration — more on that later — meaning it should be WiiWare or something rather than an emulated VC game. Also it’s kind of annoying (the name is accurate).

But none of that matters, because it’s a game called Irritating Stick, and that’s hilarious, and I want to talk about it. And if it would be good anywhere, it would be good on the Wii.

Irritating Stick was released on the PlayStation by Jaleco in 1999. It’s based on the Japanese game show (and the arcade machine) Dengeki Iraira Bou (Electric Irritating Stick). The goal is the same as in both of those: to guide a baton through a winding course made of parallel metal bars without touching the sides — or, to think about it in a more disgusting way, you examine the Operation guy’s intestines. The idea is that you’re given an electric shock when you contact the sides. Of course, there was no peripheral included with the game to issue electric shocks, so as a substitution, the controller rumbles when you fail.

Of course the game was intended to take advantage of the excitement surrounding the release of the new Dual Shock controller, which combined the analog sticks from Sony’s Dual Analog controller with two rumble motors. Irritating Stick was, in theory, a good showcase for the features of this controller, making use of both the extremely (extremely) fine movement capable with an analog stick and the alarming nature of the buzzing rumble motors.

But it’s an even better showcase for the Wiimote, isn’t it? In fact, the existence of the Wiimote makes the use of the Dual Shock — once the whole point of making the game — now seem like a laughable hack. The Wii Remote just happens to be an actual stick that senses movement and also rumbles. It’s a perfect match! Or it would be if Irritating Stick weren’t so … well, irritating. The graphics manage to be ugly even for a game that has nothing to display but two lines and a dot. The background is a tiled image of some lights or something. The sounds consist of some boring music and an announcer who cheerfully exclaims “Whoooa, what’s going on!” (not a question!) when you touch the side wall and explode.

This concept definitely has merit as a potential WiiWare game, even without the game-show trappings and the banal commentary, and under a different name (perhaps one which would encourage, rather than warn against, sales). But then it would just be a hard puzzle game. It wouldn’t be Irritating Stick.

Microsoft: ‘Miis didn’t influence Avatars. Honest. No, really.’

Posted by admin On July - 31 - 2008

Filed under: Interviews

What’s that you say? Microsoft’s new Avatars system for the Xbox 360 is just a rip-off of Nintendo’s Miis? Poppycock and slander! Microsoft man John Schappert has explained to MCV that Avatars are merely a natural development of Microsoft’s online strategy. Like, obviously.

“It’d be remiss to say that we don’t enjoy playing on the other systems and we have a lot of respect for the work that Miyamoto-san and Nintendo do,” remarked Schappert, warming up for a “but,” “but I think it’s a logical extension of our Gamercard, Gamertag and Achievements.” Commence reverse peristalsis!

Schappert’s denial is kind of predictable, as nobody will ever be able to absolutely prove just how much Miis influenced Avatars. With Schappert’s beloved Miyamoto admitting to being “quite flattered” by Avatars, we have a hunch about what Nintendo might think.

Oprah knows where the fun is at

Posted by admin On July - 31 - 2008

Filed under: News

Seriously, she does! Caught by TMZ at a Hawaiian Wal-Mart, the super-celeb was seen doing a little shopping. What did she pick up? The Wii, of course. It’s the only way to guarantee a good time. At least, we think so.

Hey, Oprah! If you’re looking for some games to go with that new Wii, we suggest you check this out.

Wii Fanboy presents: Game Night [update 2]

Posted by admin On July - 31 - 2008

Filed under: Game Night

Update: The staff has left the Game Night chat. If you’re still looking to get your game on, then we suggest you still give it a try. There is likely some folks still lingering around in there.

Welcome one and all to the return of Game Night. Sorry we had to call off the affair for the past couple weeks, but we’ve been pretty busy on our end. Not busy enough to get things back to the way they were, though! So, be sure to join us this evening for the awaited return of Game Night!

For the full details on what Game Night is all about, head past the break.

Welcome to Game Night, a fun activity where we (the staff) and you (the reader) get together and enjoy the multiplayer games available on the Nintendo Wii and DS. Every Thursday night at 7pm ET, we get together with you to enjoy multiplayer gaming on Nintendo platforms. We meet in a chat room (which you can access by clicking here) and, after exchanging a few friend codes, we get our game on. Sounds simple enough, right?

It is! All you need to do is look for this post to be at the top of the page around 7pm ET tonight, and there’ll be a big link in the post, informing you all that Game Night is a go. Click that link, then you’re in. Or, you can just click the chat room link above and hang out for awhile. We’ll be there around 7pm ET.

Thanks to everyone for participating and we hope to see you there tonight!

Wario gets his shake on in these latest trailers

Posted by admin On July - 31 - 2008

Filed under: Video

It’s no secret that we’re madly in love with Wario Land: Shake It! and its amazing gameplay. When one of us got to check the game out back at E3, we found it to be the title of our dreams. Seriously, there wasn’t a single bad thing we could say about the game. As of right now, we’re counting down the days until its August 25th release.

After you’ve watched the new trailer above, head past the break for some more.

Gallery: Wario Land: Shake It

Mysterious Captain Rainbow trailer

Posted by admin On July - 31 - 2008

Filed under: Imports, Video

The characters in the Captain Rainbow trailers are getting more and more obscure. As expected, this trailer is about Takamaru, the samurai protagonist of the Famicom Disk System-only Nazo no Murasame-jou (Mysterious Murasame Castle), a samurai-style Zelda-ish game. He is apparently too hyper, given to random nosebleeds caused by excitement. We’re starting to think that Captain Rainbow’s superpower is that he motivates people to work on their problems.

He’s introduced by the buxom, wild-haired Tracy, of whose origin we aren’t entirely sure. Is she Crazy Tracy from The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening? The hair color and clothing don’t match the sprite in Link’s Awakening DX, but the big earrings do, and her general appearance suggests “craziness.” She could also be Ness’s sister from Earthbound, maybe. “We’ll find out next week” seems like a very unsatisfying solution to this issue.

As usual, click over to YouTube to see the translation!

Impressions of Nintendo of Japan’s amazing summer lineup

Posted by admin On July - 31 - 2008

Filed under: News, Imports

While Americans are still busy complaining about Nintendo’s E3 presentation, Japan got a double dose of amazing Wii games right in the middle of the summer. And Rhythm Tengoku Gold on the DS, as if the lineup wasn’t mindblowing enough.

Wired’s Chris Kohler, who can apparently afford very fast shipping, has already put a few hours into the whole lineup, and wrote up detailed impressions of both Wario Land: Shake It! and Fatal Frame IV. Both are, basically, in line with their respective series, feeling like they’re supposed to and providing the same kinds of challenges, with the addition of sensible motion controls that work well. For example, the pointer in Fatal Frame IV controls the flashlight. As if to prove that it’s still Fatal Frame, Kohler says that it isn’t scary at first and that the characters move too slowly. Yep, that’s Fatal Frame.

Gallery: Wario Land: Shake It

Gallery: Fatal Frame 4

Source - Wario Land: Shake It! impressions
Source - Fatal Frame IV impressions

Sega tags USPTO with Jet Set Radio trademark

Posted by admin On July - 31 - 2008

Filed under: Rumors

Sega has already enjoyed a measure of success with two ports from its wonderful Dreamcast line-up, and now Jet Set Radio will join the likes of Shenmue on the “rumored” pile. A “Jet Grind Radio” trademark was filed over at the USPTO last week by Sega, while Kotaku heard whisperings at the ongoing Comic-Con 2008 festival that the trademark referred to a new Wii game.

Though we should emphasize the “whisperings” part of that last sentence, it’s difficult not to get massively over-excited by the idea of a Jet Set Radio on Wii. The original game, now a breathtaking eight years old, exuded style and flair from every pore, with to-die-for cel-shaded visuals and a soundtrack that is played on the Wii Fanboy stereo to this day. We’d take a trip back to Shibuya-cho and Professor K any day of the week, and we’ll do it with Wii MotionPlus compatibility, if you’re reading this, Sega.

[Via Game|Life]