Posts Tagged ‘Wii’
Wii Motion Plus Not In The Conduit
Gamers and developers alike have been salivating over the potential of the Wii Motion Plus accessory for some time. The device adds greater motion sensing capability to the Wiimote which will hopefully bring the console closer to true 1:1 motion sensing. High Voltage Software are currently developing The Conduit, an FPS title designed to appeal to the hardcore gamers the Wii has been accused of ignoring.
Initially the developer had said that the game would support the Wii Motion Plus, but they’ve now announced that this won’t be the case anymore. There were no problems with development associated with it as they reported that “Nintendo provided us with early hardware and good developer support,” according to High Voltage software VP and chief creative officer Eric Nofsinger. After some tests they discovered that the accessory didn’t improve the gameplay. As you might expect since the title is an FPS, the game is entirely based on ranged combat, which the Wii demonstrated it could handle from its launch with the Resident Evil 4 port and Red Steel.
Majesco Bringing Classic Puzzle Game To Wii
While puzzle games aren’t quite as popular anymore they were a perfect fit for the lower processing power and graphical output of early consoles like the Nintendo Entertainment System. One of its most classic titles was A Boy and His Blob. The puzzle title followed the adventure of a young boy who meets a blobby alien that has the ability to shapeshift when fed different jelly beans. Each variety of candy corresponds to a different shape including trampolines, umbrellas and jacks. You as the player have the task of choosing the best item for each situation.
Majesco Entertainment has just announced that they will be bringing this classic title to the Wii. The storyline remains much the same with the boy helping the blob defeat the evil Emperor who has seized the throne of Blobonia. Though the game will be getting a graphical update the gameplay itself will remain much the same: the levels (of which there will be over forty) are still side scrolling and will require careful thought and judicious use of jelly beans to conquer. There will also be hidden treasures and bonus content to unlock along the way. New jelly beans will allow the blob to turn into handy devices like a cannon, shield and others. The game will be released this fall, twenty years after the original.
Rogue Trooper: Quartz Zone Coming To Wii
The Wii has had a difficult time with games aimed at the hardcore crowd. Many of the first games created for it were intended to utilize the gesture-based controls. Unfortunately the Wiimote isn’t yet capable of the true 1:1 controls that would make the sort of sword-swinging game many developers had in mind possible. After a deluge of shovelware minigame compilations hit the market we’re finally seeing some developers refocusing their ‘hardcore’ efforts on the Wii. For the most part they’re taking aim at the shooter market. Joining games like The Conduit and The House of the Dead: Overkill is Rogue Trooper: Quartz Zone Massacre.
It’s based on a UK scifi comic book series called 2000 AD whose premise sounds fairly standard: the player takes on the role of a genetically created super-soldier; the only survivor from a betrayed army who is now on a quest for revenge. Where the game’s true potential lies is in its gameplay. As you can imagine being only one soldier it’s not going to be easy to take on the hordes of enemies so there’s as much an emphasis on stealth, planning and strategy as accurate aiming. Your rifle, helmet and backpack are highly sophisticated and equipped with AI chips, containing the personalities of deceased comrades. You can utilize this gear to create diversions, lay mines or even deploy your rifle as an automated turret.
The game is set to release in Europe on the 27th of February, but no concrete release date exists for North America, simply a vague ‘Q1′.
Indiana Jones Wii Shots Dug Up
After some round and round on the rumor mill regarding whether or not LucasArts had cancelled the Indiana Jones game that was in the works they’ve released some information about the Wii and PSP versions of the game. Unsurprisingly it’s going to be a mix of action, platforming and puzzle gameplay styles, many of which will utilize the Wiimote’s gesture controls in the console version.
Combat will be both gun-based and melee, with players able to utilize their environment in order to defeat foes. Chases and escape scenes will sometimes be quick time events requiring different gestures to avoid certain doom. Other times you’ll be at the controls of a vehicle such as a bi-plane or at the reigns of a stampeding elephant. There’ll also be multiplayer options, with a co-op feature where two players go off on a completely new adventure, and several versus modes including a bi-plane battle and a brawl atop a tank.
Read the full listing of features after the break.
Celebrate An 80s Icon With New Wii Game
Though they began their relatively young lives as characters in a slightly more gritty, adult-focused graphic novel series the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were quickly adapted for children to great success. The original animated series ran for ten years and spawned a whole host of toys, comic books, films and other products. Ubisoft announced today that to coincide with the twenty fifth anniversary of the series they’re releasing a new TMNT game.
It’s being developed by GameArts who worked on the much-acclaimed Smash Bros. Brawl. The press release claims the game will be the first TMNT game to not be tied into a movie, comic book or TV show (despite the fact that anything about the foursome is, since they originated in a comic book). It’s going to be a four-player action title for the Wii. Some screenshots have also been released and they suggest the title might be TMNT: Smash Up. The game is set to launch in autumn of this year.
Six New Tracks Coming To Wii Rock Band
The only downside of playing Rock Band is that in order to unlock more songs you sometimes have to play through songs that you don’t know or like. With such a wide array of music from classic rock to punk and heavy metal songs it’s unlikely that anyone will truly enjoy all the songs. Luckily if you’re willing to pony up a bit more cash you can download whatever track packs or individual songs are to your liking.
Harmonix has announced six new tracks available for owners of the Wii version of the game which despite being only a handful of songs should have some appeal for most people. There are two Nine Inch Nails songs, “March of the Pigs” and “The collector”; two classic punk songs, The Clash’s “I Fought The Law” and “Rockaway Beach” by The Ramones. There are also two Jimmy Buffet songs that have been re-recorded for the game, “Margaritaville” and “Volcano”.
This is the first of many updates for Wii Rock Band owners, the back catalog of downloadable content already available for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game will be made available for Wii owners piece by piece. Each song in this pack will cost 200 Wii Points and although you’ll buy the songs through the in-game store you’ll have to purchase Wii Points beforehand.
Shoot Bad Guys with Your Wii Overkill Hand Canon
That Wii controller isn’t that good when it comes to shooting stuff right? I mean you can do plenty of things with it but you definitely need an improved version to really feel like you’re shooting those bad guys. So how about that Overkill Hand Cannon then? It comes bundled with The House of the Dead Overkill or it comes alone for $17. Now if we can only have it in a different color that would be just perfect. Bad guys won’t take you seriously if you’re shooting virtual bullets at them from your white gun.
via Amazon
Simpler Rock Band Versions Sell More
While the gameplay of rhythm games hasn’t changed from its basic format they keep things fresh by adding new songs and souping up the overall package. Rock Band took the social idea of Guitar Hero and made it even more social by adding multiple instruments and even the ability to play online with friends. You can even customize your characters and band as you play, going for whatever look or style you want to have.
Despite that the Wii and PS2 versions of the game lack online play, customization options and downloadable content they still managed to do quite well. According to data published by the NPD these hobbled versions of Rock Band sold more copies than either the full fledged versions or the sequel on the other consoles last year. Rock Band for Wii was the 29th best-selling game of the year with the PS2 version just behind at 31st. The two together sold over a million copies.
This doesn’t reflect any diminishing of the series’ popularity though as the original on Xbox 360 sold just under 800,000 units. Had the sequel, Rock Band 2, been released earlier in the year than September it probably would have had a serious chance of beating that million figure sales mark since it was only out for three months and sold 600,000 copies.
Wii Music A Hit
Despite lukewarm reviews and a general distaste for the title being expressed on forum boards across the internet Wii Music has performed quite well. According to the NPD the rhythm game sold 865,465 copies in North America alone last year. It wasn’t quite enough to break into the top ten for the year, but with a release date so late in the year it managed an impressive 35th overall.
Why would such a game be so successful in the face of existing franchises like Rock Band and Guitar Hero? Likely the holiday season had a lot to do with it, especially when you figure how often parents and grandparents buy their young relatives something that’s ’similar’ to what they wanted only cheaper. The price tag of Wii Music relative to buying a full Rock Band or Guitar Hero bundle is much lower. Wii Music also doesn’t have the (slight) disadvantage of having separate instrument controllers to store. Throw in the sheer popularity of the rhythm game genre and it’s not the biggest surprise that the title has sold well.
Google Launches YouTube Site Ready for Consoles
In case you own a Wii or a PlayStation 3 console you can use them now to go check out the latest YouTube videos. That’s right, Google has launched a new YouTube site, one that’s friendlier to consoles.
Just go to youtube.com/TV from your Opera or PS3 browser and you will get a layout that will let you browse and search through YouTube videos. The videos can be set to go to full screen and there are large buttons to help you control the vidoes.
If you want to use the extra TV version in your PC browser you will need the User Agent Switcher add-on which will tell YouTube that you are on a console, not a PC.
Sixense Shows Us Wii TrueMotion Gaming
Check out the video above for some weekend Wii action. Sixense showed everyone at CES 2009 the TrueMotion gaming controller. It’s a whole new Wii dimension so to speak. Future in the making, TrueMotion will get a better gaming experience. TrueMotion uses a base station which creates an electromagnetic field around the gamer. That will get you a more responsive, more precise experience. TrueMotion will be available later this year and it will cost $100.
via Technologizer
Nyko Reveals New Wii Accessories
However much peripheral manufacturer Nyko had to pay in legal fees settling their lawsuit with Nintendo over the Kama it seems that it wasn’t enough to derail any of their plans for the future. At the Consumer Electronics Show they’ve unveiled a few of the new accessories they’ll be releasing for the Wii this year.
Already announced is the Charge Station Quad, which allows you to charge all four of your wiimotes at once and it’s joined by two other chargers and a new controller. The Charge Station EX is the newest version of the classic wiimote charger. It allows you to charge two wiimotes at once, but it now features an LED battery level indicator on the front so you can tell just how charged the battery packs are. Next is the Kama Charge Kit. This allows you to charge both a wiimote and Nyko’s wireless nunchuck peripheral the Kama at the same time. It includes the charger station, a Kama controller and battery pack.
Lastly and most interestingly is the Wand, a controller replacement for the WIimote. The layout of the buttons is more or less the same, although following the Kama lawsuit Nyko was careful to ensure that the appearance is vastly different from the official wiimote. The biggest difference is that the Wand features ‘Trans-Port’ technology which allows for new sorts of accessories that the original Wiimote would be incapable of interacting with. Wiimote accessories can only allow mechanical manipulation of buttons, essentially any peripheral such as the zapper can only manipulate existing buttons by including some mechanism that physically presses them. The Wand will allow for controllers that interface electronically.
All three products are scheduled for an April 2009 release date, but only the Charge Station EX has been given a price, which is $34.99.
EA to Bring Kart Racing and Party Games to MySims
MySims is going to get two more games, MySims Party and MySims Racing. That’s wasn’t that unpredictable was it? EA will work on Wii and DS versions and some of us will be really anxious to play them. I think the kart racing game is pretty clear and, may I add, pretty cool. You get to customize your car and race against up to four players in multiplayer mode.
MySims Party on the other hand isn’t that obvious is it. It’s going to be a collection of 50 mini games ready for you MySim. And we hear that each MySim in the game has different stats so you’re going to pay extra attention to picking the perfect character to do the right job.
The games are going to arrive later this year so keep checking out EA’s announcements for the exact date and pricing details.
SanDisk Announced SD Card for the Wii
It shouldn’t be that surprising that everyone wants to be related with only the best gaming console sold last year. SanDisk for example has announced a new 2GB SD card made for the Wii and for those playing Rock Band on it. The card will cost just $13 and probably SanDisk will sell zillions starting this Spring. The SD will also be compatible with any other device that knows how to handle an SD card so go ahead and get one of Rock Band is your all time favorite game.
PS3 More Popular Than Wii… For One Thing…
No, this isn’t an article about the PS3 being a superior paperweight/doorstop/other household item necessitating a weighty object. I’m not here to hate on Sony’s console, especially since I own one. The battle for console supremacy has gone beyond having the best games. Now the quality of your add-ons, extra features and business partnerships matters.
Both the PS3 and the Wii offer a web browser as part of their functionality and this is where Sony is experiencing a small triumph. Both of their browsers support many popular sites such as Youtube but market research shows that the PS3 is being used more often to access the internet than the Wii. It’s a rather miniscule percentage difference, as the PS3 browser has four one hundredths of a percentage point of the total ‘internet market’ while the Wii browser only claims a single hundredth of a percentage point. This is probably attributed in some part to the fact that the Wii’s internet browser has to be purchased while the PS3’s browser is free of charge.