Posted by Andrea Campton in General News, Miscellaneous | Comments Off
E3 Agendas
For all those curious about what companies we’ll be covering, I thought I’d provide a list directly from the itinerary for the three of us who will be going.
Andrea (Nintendo Gal)
MONDAY
EA Press Conference 2PM – 3PM
Ubisoft Press Conference 5PM – 6PM
TUESDAY
Nintendo Press Conference 9AM – 10AM
2K Games
Hudson
TETRIS Press Conference (Alexey Pajitnov speaking)
NYKO Technologies
PDP
WEDNESDAY
Natsume, Inc
Hudson Pt 2
Nintendo of America
KONAMI Press Conference
Majesco Entertainment
THURSDAY
Gameloft
Disney Interactive Studios
D3 Publisher
Legacy
TOMY Corporation
Ubisoft Entertainment
Jim (The Sound Defense)
TUESDAY
Nintendo Press Conference 9AM – 10AM
Crave Entertainment
XSEED Games
Konami
Zoo Games
WEDNESDAY
Vogster Entertainment
Harmonix/MTV
Ignition Entertainment
Electronic Arts
SouthPeak Games
THURSDAY
Atlus U.S.A.
Capcom
Telltale Games
THQ
Mark (SockNinja)
TUESDAY
Nintendo Press Conference 9AM – 10AM
Graffiti Entertainment
Vir2L
Eidos Interactive
SEGA
WEDNESDAY
Warner Bros. Interactive/Codemasters
City Interactive
THURSDAY
High Voltage Software
Namco Bandai Games America
LucasArts
UNSCHEDULED
KOEI Corporation
Square Enix, Inc
Tecmo
Activision
Be sure to check out the live coverage of the press events listed above which include:
EA
Ubisoft
Nintendo
Tetris
Konami
Posted by Josh Beebe in Nintendo DS, Reviews | Comments Off
Review: Metal Slug 7 (DS)
The Metal Slug series has always been deemed as impossibly hard. Having never played a game in the series before I had no idea of the difficulty. I thought perhaps it was blown way out of proportion, that no game could be as hard as people have claimed in this day and age. It seems though as games further in visuals their story and difficulty seem to suffer, but Metal Slug 7 doesn’t waver from the difficulty the series has a reputation for. I haven’t been challenged this much since Contra III on Super Nintendo. If you’re a fan of the series, you’ll know what to expect in terms of difficulty. I can’t make a direct comparison due to lack of experience, but even on easy or normal you’ll feel as if you’re playing through the hardest mode possible.
Getting into the game, you’re presented with the main menu which will give you five different options: Main Mission, Rankings, Combat School, POW List and the Options menu. Rankings do nothing more than just show your ranks and high scores. POW List is merely a list of all the POWs you’ve rescued (that is, if you can rescue them). Options include your standard array of options: BGM volume, SFX Options., control changing, etc. Where you’ll spend all of your time is in Main Mission since that’s where you’ll be playing the game. Combat school is a place to train. The only thing is, in order to train and obtain all the training mission, you have to beat the levels in the main game to unlock more. The training is a list of missions to accomplish that have specific goals. They can range from simply running through a level as fast as possible, to having to collect all the coins you see. They’re really quite hard and should keep a perfectionist—or someone extremely bored—busy for a while.
There are seven main missions in total, each with a boss at the end. The game runs like a typical arcade game. You have your three lives along with your set of continues. A timer and score fill out the rest. When you get a game over you can even insert your initials which are saved. After you pick the difficulty—easy, normal or hard—you can then choose one of six characters. Each one has their own unique play style of sorts. Some start with a better weapon, some have half ammo, one even is allowed to take two hits instead of just one. You’ll find which one you prefer to play as you do so. Each time you have to use a continue you have the option of changing the character you’re using. The levels are for the most part, boring. They’re linear and quite unimaginative. Level four has a bit of a platforming element to it which is a positive. It should have had more of it throughout the entirety of the game however.
The controls are responsive and work well. You have the ability to map the controls how you want them so you’ll find something that works for you. This is an action game with near nonstop action, so incorporating touch screen functionality wasn’t important but they added it in anyway. They should have left it out though, it’s rather pointless. The touchscreen only allows you to see the map and scroll through the map for that section. It’s not as useful as it sounds since it doesn’t show you anything, not where the POWs are until you’ve rescued them, nor where the enemies are. What the point of it is I don’t know, but it was useless during my time with the game.
Music and sound effects in MS7 are clear and clean. You’ll hear the grunts and moans of the enemies and yourself dying. Gunfire and explosions bring the essence of the game to life and it helps suck you into the war zone. The music is rather repeating and boring though. You may end up turning the BGM down to zero and playing your own music.
There are not many cons I can find with the game with the exception that there should have been multiplayer, local or online. Also there are a few times where the action will get so hectic that the frame rate drops noticeably, but picks right back up to normal speed. Perhaps if they made the levels not as linear and added more real story elements, then this might be a more solid package. I wasn’t even sure why I was killing all the enemies, but this made it feel more like an arcade game than anything else.
With Metal Slug 7 you’re in for a challenge. It’s a game that could keep you busy for a while with all the training and impossibly hard levels. The arcade feel allows for quick pick up and play action which is good for a bus ride or a break at work. Responsive controls and clean sound helped the game a bit. They’re not needed but more story elements and multiplayer would have been a nice feature, otherwise this is decent.
Read MorePosted by Michael Phillips in Nintendo DS, Reviews | 1 Comment
Review: Peggle Dual Shot (DS)
The music is a bit repetitive, but for the most part matches the level you’re playing in. When you pass a level you get a rousing Ode to Joy. Hopefully you’ll get the highest 100,000 point catcher. Oh and if you clear all pegs, all catchers become 100,000 points.
Posted by Jim Avery in Miscellaneous, Reviews | 1 Comment
Review: Nintendo DSi (Second Opinion)
Reviewing the DSi is a bit of a tricky endeavor, because there are several kinds of audiences to consider. Some will be wondering if the DSi is worth upgrading to over their current DS, while others are thinking of picking up their first dual-screen handheld. Some folks may be intrigued by the sound- and camera-related functions included, though other players are just interested in the gaming side of the device. Read on to see my point-by-point review of the DSi, and hopefully your questions will be answered.
The device has received a slight redesign, mostly minor tweaks, but welcome ones nonetheless. The screens are a tiny bit larger than the DS Lite’s, receiving a 17% increase in size. The shape of the system has changed a tiny bit, as well; it’s a bit longer, a bit thinner, and about the same weight. Truthfully, though, any size changes are so small and negligible that they don’t matter at all, when all is said and done. What is more useful is the placement of the power button next to the lower screen, as well as a non-sliding volume button; both of these prevent accidental complications while the device is in your pocket.
Several of the DSi advertisements I’ve seen thus far have focused on two things in particular: Nintendo DSi Sound and Nintendo DSi Camera. Call me uncreative if you like, but I personally am having trouble seeing people getting a lot of use out of these functions because they just don’t seem extensive enough. The DSi Sound function lets you record and manipulate sounds to your liking (you can modify the speed, pitch, or make yourself sound like a robot), but completely lost, as far as I can tell, is the ability to splice sounds together into something more useful. It seems more like a fun toy than a tool, and those usually fail to keep my interest for any length of time. It can play music off a SD card, though, if you’ve converted it to an acceptable format, making for a pretty useful AAC player.
The DSi Camera is a bit better, but has room for improvement. Each camera is a paltry 0.3 megapixels, inferior to cameras found in most cell phones; nonetheless, it is a camera and can take acceptably good pictures if you’re on the go. The photo editing "lenses" such as the distortion or graffiti lenses, offer rather simple yet entertaining ways to mess with the photos you take; you can draw on them, stretch them, give them a kaleidoscope effect, or even alter the color of specific parts of a picture, offering what I think is more usefulness than the DSi Sound. My major problem with the camera is that the face recognition feature is extremely touchy; time and time again the DSi has informed me that I do not, in fact, have a face at all. Its definition of an "adequate light source" seems to be a 5000-watt flourescent lightbulb.
Let’s be honest, though: you’re not going to buy a DSi so you can take pictures of your family vacation. The DSi is still a Nintendo DS, and the DS is still a fantastic handheld. If you haven’t picked one up yet, the DSi is a good place to start if you can swing the $169.99 price tag; there are dozens of great games available for the handheld, and as far as the actual playing of games goes, the DSi is more accessible than its predecessor, with improved options and other features.
It’s a little-known fact that the Nintendo Wii does not actually have an operating system; this makes updates to the firmware trickier, and it makes patching games completely impossible. From what I can tell (and you should probably take this with a few grains of salt), the DSi does use some sort of operating system, which provides it with some benefits. If you decide to use PictoChat, use DS Download Play, or check out the options, you no longer need to reset the DS in order to do something else. You can also do a soft reset of the system by tapping the power button. You’re also provided with a longer stylus, and another brightness setting; the DSi can actually go darker than the DS Lite can, though I personally find this setting a bit too dark.
There are two truly useful additions to the DSi that stand out, and that make the DSi a worthy upgrade over the DS Lite. The first is the Nintendo DSi Shop, where you can purchase and download DSiWare games and other functions. We’ve already seen some pretty neat stuff show up, such as Real Soccer 2009 or Master of Illusion Express titles, as well as more functional things like Photo Clock. There’s still hope for a Virtual Console of sorts to appear on the DSi, offering NES or perhaps even Game Boy Color games for download, though Nintendo has announced no plans for this. Additionally, if you get onto the DSi Shop before October 5 of this year, you’ll get $10 to spend, which may offset the price of the DSi for you.
From the DSi Shop, you can download the other major point of interest, namely the DSi Browser. I never played with the original DS Browser, but this one has two major advantages, namely, it’s a lot faster and a lot cheaper. Most pages that can be viewed will load sufficiently in under ten seconds, allowing you to browse around even if the page isn’t quite complete. Not all pages are viewable, as the device doesn’t have a whole lot of memory and doesn’t support Flash, but it’ll let you check out your e-mail or other fun sites on the go. I found it to be sufficiently useful in situations where I couldn’t bring a laptop around.
Overall, the DSi, being a DS, is an excellent device; the question is, if you already have a DS or a DS Lite, is it worth paying the money to upgrade? At its current price, I’m inclined to say no; downloadable games are good, as is internet access, but if you’ve already shelled out $130 for a DS Lite, you’ll be paying at least another $70 to move on up, and it’s not quite that good for me. If you’re just starting out, though, the extra $40 is a bit less of animpact on your wallet; right now I’d say to spring for the DSi if you have the money, though waiting for a price drop isn’t terrible either. If quality DSiWare continues to show up, then the DSi’s advantage is only going to grow more and more.
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Posted by Jim Avery in General News, Nintendo Wii | Comments Off
Rock Band DLC Update: 5/26/09
A massive update awaits Wii Rock Band 2 owners today, a mix of this week’s 360 and PS3 update and a large collection of back catalog tracks. Ministry, the Zombies and the Cranberries make up the new stuff, while the old stuff includes songs such as Bad Religion’s "Sorrow", Dream Theater’s "Constant Motion", and "Still Alive" from the PC game Portal. All tracks are downloaded in-game and cost 200 Wii Points, with the exception of "Still Alive", which is going for the low low price of free.
Ministry "Cuz U R Next"
Ministry "LiesLiesLies"
Ministry "The Great Satan"
The Zombies "She’s Not There"
The Zombies "Tell Her No"
The Cranberries "Linger"
Airbourne "Runnin’ Wild"
Bad Religion "Sorrow"
Bang Camaro "Rock Rebellion"
David Bowie "Heroes" *
David Bowie "Queen Bitch" *
Count Zero "Shake"
The Cult "She Sells Sanctuary"
DevilDriver "Clouds Over California"
Dream Theater "Constant Motion"
Freezepop "Sprode"
GLaDOS "Still Alive"
Hinder "Use Me"
Killswitch Engage "My Curse"
Machine Head "Aesthetics of Hate"
The Monkees "Last Train to Clarksville" *
The Police "Can’t Stand Losing You"
The Police "Roxanne"
The Police "Synchronicity II"
Sweet "Action" *
* Indicates a cover track.
"Sorrow" is one of the best songs I’ve ever heard in my life, and is definitely worth the $2. Still Alive is also worth it at its asking price.
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Posted by Jim Avery in General News | Comments Off
Nintendo Download: 5/25/09
DSiWare: American Popstar: Road to Celebrity, 800 Nintendo Points
This game uses the DSi’s features as you make your way up from high school talent show to superstar. While you work your way up the ladder through guitar, drums, singing or dancing, you’ll also have to deal with the social adventure aspect of the game. You can also take pictures of yourself for use in game.
DSiWare: Photo Clock, 200 Nintendo Points
Like the Animal Crossing: Clock, this DSiWare product gives you the functions of a standard clock, made customizable with your photos and recorded sounds.
WiiWare: Bubble Bobble Plus, 600 Wii Points
The classic Bubble Bobble is receiving a remake, and an upgrade. This downloadable title lets you play through all 100 levels of the original bubble-blowing platformer, or 100 more brand-new levels in Arrange Mode. After you’ve solved all the puzzles and defeated the true final boss, you can take on players from around the world, or download new content.
WiiWare: Adventure Island: the Beginning, 800 Wii Points
This continuation of the classic series has you traveling through platforming stages, as well as completing mini-games, in order to get through. Collect Golden Melons to obtain new skills, which will allow you to access more parts of Adventure Island.
Genesis: Clay Fighter, 800 Wii Points
A meteor has struck the circus, and its radiation morphs all the circus’s employees into clay-like fighting monsters. Play as characters like Bad Mr. Frosty or Ickybod Clay in this famous 2D fighting game.
Clay Fighter is always a favorite amongst people I know who had a Genesis. Why, though, do we need another clock?
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Posted by Andrea Campton in General News, Nintendo Wii | Comments Off
Metroid Prime Three Pack To Hit Wii
Nintendo on Friday announced Metroid Prime Trilogy will be headed to the Wii here in the US. Although Metroid Prime 3 already had Wii controls, the previous installments did not have this feature, but will now. The set will also feature a new unlockables system which will allow players to get access to music and artwork by finishing certain objectives through all three games.
The compilation will be put on one disc and priced at a modest $49.99. Barring any delays, Nintendo has announced the game will be released August 24th.
Read MorePosted by Andrea Campton in Miscellaneous | 1 Comment
E3, Booth Babes, and the Cheapening of Women
This is an opinion piece by me, Andrea Campton and although I do own this site, this doesn’t necessarily reflect how everyone here feels.
Comments made by the Entertainment Software Association has seemingly paved the way for booth babes at the Electronic Entertainment Expo or E3. Specifically Dan Hewitt, spokesperson for the ESA stated that specific guidelines must be met, "Material, including live models, conduct that is sexually explicit and/or sexually provocative, including but not limited to nudity, partial nudity and bathing suit bottoms, are prohibited on the Show floor, all common areas, and at any access points to the Show." One has to wonder if they’ll enforce this much at all considering the organization is attempting to keep its members happy. Booth babesc for those who aren’t in the knowc are generally females who are paid to scantily dress up in whatever attire the company provides them in hopes of luring young males to their kiosks for better coverage of their product(s). Although there have been males who have preformed this job in the past, this role generally is for female applicants.
In the past two years, E3 scaled down the event to only a few thousand unlike previous years which had seen up to 70,000 attendees according to the ESA. This downsizing lead to smaller booths by all companies and no tantalizing female bits to draw the eyes away from the focus of games. Companies complained about this downsizing, however, since they weren’t getting the coverage they had hoped for. This year, the ESA decided to change the scope of E3 once more. Their aim is to bring back the spectacle complete with booth babes that may get the desired result.
This is detrimental to females in gaming because it simply makes eye candy out of those who would become booth babes at what is supposed to be the centerpiece of the industry. It’s a step back from the classy direction games have started to head toward and back down the slope for gaming as a whole.
How will games ever be taken seriously if we as a gender are actively participating and supporting what these ladies do? Can you honestly say you would look at someone dressed in less material than a ShamWow as you would a movie actress dressed up for the Oscars in the same regard? Of course you wouldn’t because one has tact, the other has little to none. In some cases, depending on the actress however, this could be debated. Regardless, the majority of famous celebrity actresses choose to not wear attire that might be found on a hooker or in a strip club just for a few minutes of attention. They get this through their work and so should the games industry.
Let’s also mention the fact that many of the ladies they hire don’t know the product they’re even trying to market. It wouldn’t be so bad if they at least understood the talking points, but most of the time they can only give you the name of the game and maybe what system it’s on. For all intents and purposes they’re paid to be clueless bags of flesh that look appealing.
The industry needs to stand back up and instead of grabbing attention by using the quick and easy method of using sex to sell their product, let it speak for itself. There’s no shame in that and eventually those who haven’t come around, will. Nintendo is turning the mass market onto games without using the female body as a lure. They’ve proven it can be done and have done so at these events without this from what I’ve seen. So where’s the rest of the industry?
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Posted by Jim Avery in General News, Nintendo DS | Comments Off
Ignition Releases Nostalgia Screens
Ignition Entertainment has revealed a collection of screenshots for their upcoming DS RPG, Nostalgia (formerly titled Wind of Nostalgia). This collection of stills include screens of battles, airships, and gorillas, and shows off the game’s graphical style as well. Take a look at these screens here.
No release date is currently given for Nostalgia aside from being released this summer. The game is likely to be shown off at E3, though, so expect some impressions from me after I check out Ignition Entertainment’s offerings in a couple of weeks.
Where are all the airships? I came for the airships!
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Posted by Andrea Campton in General News, Miscellaneous | Comments Off
Pre-E3 NintendoGal Podcast
Posted by Andrea Campton in Miscellaneous | Comments Off
NintendoGal Podcast #7
This week we’re without Misa so it’s just Mike, Kiwi, Mark, and myself. The hot topic this week is E3 and what we expect from the various companies including Nintendo of course!
*WARNING* We had a few words slip out that may be inappropriate for younger listeners! Listener discretion is advised! *WARNING*
The runtime for this episode is 63:38.
Or stream it right on this page:
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Posted by Jim Avery in General News, Nintendo Wii | Comments Off
Rock Band DLC Update: 5/19/09
The Wii’s Rock Band Music Store is getting a massive update of 25 songs today, both new and old. Ten tracks from bands such as The Distillers, Franz Ferdinand and Prong make up the new part of the update, while 15 more songs from the back catalog are coming as well, featuring artists such as Coheed & Cambria, Buzzcocks, and a large amount of music from the Grateful Dead. All tracks cost 200 Wii Points and are bought in-game.
Franz Ferdinand "Take Me Out"
Franz Ferdinand "Do You Want To"
Franz Ferdinand "Lucid Dreams"
Alien Ant Farm "Smooth Criminal"
The Allman Brothers Band "Blue Sky"
The Allman Brothers Band "Midnight Rider"
The Distillers "Drain the Blood"
Luscious Jackson "Naked Eye"
Prong "Idealistic Types"
Prong "The Banishment"
The Knack "My Sharona"*
Coheed & Cambria "Ten Speed (Of God’s Blood & Burial)"*
The B-52s "Roam"
Buzzcocks "Ever Fallen in Love"*
The Runaways "Cherry Bomb"*
T-Rex "Bang a Gong"*
Grateful Dead "Casey Jones"
Grateful Dead "China Cat Sunflower"
Grateful Dead "Franklin’s Tower"
Grateful Dead "I Need A Miracle"
Grateful Dead "Sugar Magnolia"
Grateful Dead "Truckin’"
At the Gates "Blinded by Fear"
Evile "Thraser"
The Haunted "D.O.A."
*Signifies a cover track, not by the original artist.
The Distillers is a great punk band, I may have to check that out. Otherwise, it seems we’re getting some mainstays, including some highly difficult music from Evile.
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Posted by Andrea Campton in General News, Miscellaneous | Comments Off
Our E3 Coverage
The official floor plans have been released, so what does that mean for us? Well besides something to stare at for the next two weeks, not much. This year promises to be different from the last two years and is seemingly shaping up to be bigger.
Yes, that’s an Office Space poster.
I’ve received my badge and have heard from the others that they have theirs as well, but who will be filling our readers in this year? Well TheSoundDefense and I will be returning to dishing out our thoughts, but we also have fellow podcaster Mark Surber to help us out.
Currently I’m in the process of filling all our time with as many appointments as I can muster. Many more companies are set to show off their wares this time around, so keep an eye out during June 1-5th and beyond for thoughts, photos, and possibly videos.
While we’re down there we’ll also be recording a special E3 2009 edition podcast for those who care to listen to us on the go or whenever.
In the meantime, check out the floor plans to stave off your boredom until the time comes and don’t forget to check us out on June 2nd when we cover the Nintendo Media Briefing live!
West Hall
South Hall
2nd Level
**Please be aware these are HUGE images that were converted from PDF format**
Read MorePosted by Andrea Campton in Miscellaneous | Comments Off
NintendoGal Daily Vid #3
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Nintendo Download: 5/18/09
DSiWare: Art Style: PiCTOBiTS, 500 Nintendo Points
A simple DSi puzzler hits DSiWare this week. Large blocks are falling from the top of the screen, and you’ll have to pick up and relocate small square bits at the bottom in order to clear the screen. The more you clear, the more coins you earn to unlock music or other stages.
WiiWare: Crystal Defenders R2, 800 Wii Points
The follow-up to Crystal Defenders R1 retains the same tower defense gameplay as the original, bringing in new maps with multiple entrances and exits. New jobs have arrived as well, along with Power Crystals to enhance your troops.
WiiWare: Silver Star Chess, 500 Wii Points
This chess game offers a variety of options in the one-player mode to review and improve your play; you can save mid-game, restart an ended match from any point, or take back your last move. You can also play against a human opponent.
Nintendo 64: The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, 1,000 Wii Points
In this highly famous Nintendo 64 title, Link has only three days to save the land of Termina from being destroyed by a rogue moon. Featuring excellent Legend of Zelda gameplay, along with a variety of interesting NPCs with their own schedules, this is a must-own.
I’ve been waiting for Majora’s Mask to arrive on the VC so I can download it and play through it again. Otherwise, good to see more Art Style games.
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Posted by Jim Avery in General News, Nintendo Wii | Comments Off
Telltale Turns Five
Telltale Games, who you’ll remember for the Strong Bad games as well as the newer incarnations of Sam & Max, is celebrating their fifth birthday this month; adding to the celebrations is the fact that over one million episodes of their various series have been downloaded. As part of the celebrations, Telltale is launching a "Spread the Word" campaign that rewards people with Telltale money for "bringing new customers into the Telltale community"; click here to sign up for their newsletter and get involved, and maybe score a free game or two.
It’s good to have a company like Telltale around; had we left the whole episodic gaming thing to other companies to set examples, we’d still be waiting on episode 2 of Sam & Max.
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Posted by Jim Avery in General News | Comments Off
April 2009 NPD Group US Sales Numbers
Hardware
NDS – 1,040,000
Wii – 340,000
360 – 175,000
PS2 – 172,000
PS3 – 127,000
PSP – 116,000
Software
1. Wii Wii Fit – 471,000
2. NDS Pokémon Platinum – 433,000
3. Wii Mario Kart Wii – 210,000
4. Wii Wii Play – 170,000
5. 360 The Godfather II – 155,000
6. 360 Resident Evil 5* – 122,000
7. NDS New Super Mario Bros. – 119,000
8. NDS Mario Kart DS – 112,000
9. 360 Guitar Hero: Aerosmith* – 110,000
10. PS3 The Godfather II – 91,000
*Includes all versions of that game for that system, except for versions bundled with consoles.
^The numbers on the right represent units sold.
Wow, the DSi is certainly taking off. Nintendo’s new handheld upgrade has sold more than all the other systems put together and then some. Those sales were probably bolstered by Pokémon Platinum, however. Wii seems to have slumped a little bit, though the three mainstay Wii games have not. Without many major new releases, too, we see the return of DS mainstays New Super Mario Bros. and Mario Kart DS. I think having five major titles like that is pretty effective recession-proofing. Lastly, well done to Aerosmith for garnering more sales; seems there was a price drop I was unaware of.
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Posted by Andrea Campton in General News, Nintendo DS | Comments Off
Latest Roogoo Attack DS Vid
SouthPeak Games has released a new video of Roogoo Attack! for the Nintendo DS today that abuses a few video transitional effects. The video does contain gameplay if you’re interested in that, just be mindful if you get motion sick like I do.
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Posted by Michael Phillips in Nintendo DS, Reviews | Comments Off
Review: Tokyo Beat Down (DS)
It’s the return of the side scroller battler. For those of you who enjoyed TMNT:
Atlus brings to your DS and now DSi the lives of the Yaesu Station police force. Called the "Beast Cops", these men and women keep Tokyo safe from all forms of nastiness, using whatever is needed to get the job done, even if it mean using more force than needed. You begin the game playing Lewis Cannon. (Yeah read all you want into that name…it’s rightly given) Lewis is a DS-ified combo of your favorite movie cop stereotypes, delivering wonderfully clichéd quips, and hands on justice.
Look like he has a date…With Justice!
The game touts 2 other main characters, Captain Takeshi Bando and Patrol Officer Rika Hyodo, with the usual fist and kicks, along with environmental objects just as pipes and sticks. Since you’re a cop though, you get RUBBER BULLET guns! (Yes Atlus says there is such thing as a rubber bullet machine gun, rubber bullet shotgun, and the ever popular rubber bullet rocket launcher) Food, ammo, and energy drinks, can be found by bashing the classic "oil drums", and the occasional box and phone booth. As you progress through the game you can advance your "Beat Down" skills by looking for old guy guru’s found in different areas that are not the plot advancing locations.
I have the powaaaah!
Atlus does deliver on the button smashing madness, and uses a 3D visual element that plays quite well on the DS, creating very vivid environments and so-so characters; I have a slight suspicion that it might look a little better on the slightly bigger DSi screens. You also get to play as more than just one character as you progress in the game. If you’re a fan of the genre, you’ll enjoy then cliché and "Balls to the Wall" characters and story. It also is nice that each of the characters has there own unique fighting style.
However the storyline is bit long in some parts. While the controls are crisp, certain actions like shooting your gun and blocking are not instant response and many times unresponsive. If your trying to do a massive baddie take out move, you may get beat down your self while trying to upholster your gun. Also while you’d get some "Cheap Moves" form enemies in coin-op games. It not as bad as some of the ones the baddies use in here. My two biggest examples? Molotov Cocktails to the face from off-screen characters and 3 man enemies power slide attacks that begin off-screen. The audio is the usual beat ’em up fare with grunts, yells, and musical fanfare when you complete a mission, but nothing truly groundbreaking.
Hey There Sexy Cop Girl..Why No VS?
The biggest letdown of this game, for me, is the lack of multi-cart fighting. Part of the original fun of the coin-op side rollers was getting your buddies to help you lay waste to the waves of baddies in your way. Where would Final Fight’s Brody be with out his buddy "Guy"? This game doesn’t even have a vs. feature.
For a 5 to 6 hour long game, I’ll admit it’s fun to play, but will get repetitive really quickly, unless you are a die-hard beat-em-up veteran.
Read MorePosted by Jim Avery in General News, Nintendo Wii | Comments Off
Rock Band DLC Update: 5/12/09
Wii owners this week are being treated to a massive DLC update. The nine tracks heading to the 360 and PS3 this week are available today for downloading, including music from Social Distortion, Steely Dan, and Disturbed. Additionally, 16 back catalog tracks, including tunes from Duran Duran, Silversun Pickups, and Siouxsie & the Banshees, are being added to the Wii Music Store. All tracks are 200 Wii Points and are downloaded in-game.
Social Distortion "Bad Luck"
Social Distortion "Ring of Fire"
Social Distortion "Story of My Life"
Steely Dan "Black Friday"
Steely Dan "My Old School"
Disturbed "Stricken"
Disturbed "Stupify"
Elvis Costello "Radio Radio"
The Replacements "Kids Don’t Follow"
Siouxsie & The Banshees "Hong Kong Garden"
Siouxsie & The Banshees "Kiss Them For Me"
Siouxsie & The Banshees "The Killing Jar"
Locksley "All Over Again"
Locksley "Don’t Make Me Wait"
Locksley "She Does"
Silversun Pickups "Melatonin"
Silversun Pickups "Well Thought Out Twinkles"
Duran Duran "Girls On Film"
Duran Duran "Rio"
Buckcherry "Rescue Me"
Mötley Crüe "Face Down in the Dirt"
Psychedelic Furs "Pretty in Pink"
Sixx:A.M. "Life is Beautiful"
The Pretenders "Brass in Pocket"
The Janitors "Get Your Rock On"
Today also saw the announcement of a new Track Pack – Rock Band Country Track Pack, for the numerous country music fans that populate the Rock Band fanbase. The pack will include 21 tracks from popular country artists, 13 of which have been revealed so far:
Alan Jackson "Good Time"
Brooks & Dunn "Hillbilly Deluxe"
Dierks Bentley "Free & Easy (Down the Road I Go)"
Dixie Chicks "Sin Wagon"
Drive-By Truckers "3 Dimes Down"
Jason Aldean "She’s Country"
Kenny Chesney "She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy"
Kenny Rogers "The Gambler"
Lucinda Williams "Can’t Let Go"
Martina McBride "This One’s For the Girls"
Rascal Flatts "Me and My Gang"
Shania Twain "Any Man of Mine"
Steve Earle "Satellite Radio"
Several of the tracks will remain exclusive for a time before becoming DLC. The track pack is slated for release on July 21, 2009 with a MSRP of $29.99.
This is what makes Rock Band so appealing; its use of track packs and DLC allows it to put out music that everyone enjoys, but not everyone has to play all of it. This week’s update puts us at 254 total downloadable Wii tracks, with several of them from Guitar Hero, I notice.
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Posted by Jim Avery in General News | Comments Off
Nintendo Download: 5/11/09
DSiWare: Real Soccer 2009, 800 Nintendo Points
This downloadable title is another version of the game that was released earlier this year for the DS. Use the touch screen to control your players, or use the DSi Camera to make graphics for a team flag, a custom ball, or to put yourself in the game on the face of a player. This title boasts 198 teams and realistic opponent AI.
WiiWare: Family Pirate Party, 500 Wii Points
The family of several other games by Aksys now stars in a pirate-themed board game. You and up to three other players will play on the game board, rolling dice, sailing, and gathering treasure; the gameplay may be switched up by random events, but no mini-games, it seems.
Genesis: Galaxy Force II, 800 Wii Points
This space shooter, as the screenshot indicates, tries out a three-dimensional perspective a la Star Fox. Fly through five levels with varying environments, destroying enemies along the way until you reach the tunnel to the enemy stronghold.
Real Soccer 2009 is not the type of game I expected to show up on DSiWare, but I’m glad it did. If we can populate the download services with more games like that DSiWare could be a real winner. WiiWare could use some more of those as well.
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Posted by Jim Avery in General News, Nintendo DS | Comments Off
Heart Of Gold, Soul Of Silver
Nintendo of Japan announced today that they would be remaking the Game Boy Color games Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver. The two new titles, Pokémon Heart Gold and Pokémon Soul Silver, will be arriving on the DS in Japan in fall 2009. No other information was given, though Japanese logos were provided for the two games.
No release information was given for North America, though a localization seems very likely. Bear in mind the names are likely to change.
I ended up skipping directly from Red to Pearl, bypassing this generation. Lots of people seem to call the second generation of Pokémon the best, though, so this is probably something I’ll look into.
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Posted by Jim Avery in General News, Nintendo Wii | Comments Off
Atari Reveals Ghostbusters Release Info
North America will be receiving a large Ghostbusters overdose this summer, according to an Atari press release. Ghostbusters: The Video Game will see release for Wii, Nintendo DS, and numerous other systems on June 16, 2009. Featuring a narrative penned by original writers Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd, the game will reunite the original ghost-busting, trap-opening, stream-crossing team as voice actors. The press release did not mention any release plans for Nintendo consoles in Europe, noting instead an exclusive deal with Sony to bring the PAL version of the game to its three platforms on June 19, 25 years after the film’s original release. To see more about the game, head to the official website.
This European exclusive bit is fairly frustrating, I think. On another note, whenever I see news about this game, the theme song for the movie forces its way into my head.
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Posted by Jim Avery in General News, Nintendo Wii | Comments Off
Rock Band DLC Update: 5/5/09
Getting back on schedule after last week’s release of Nothing’s Shocking, Wii owners are receiving the second most recent helping of DLC, in addition to several tracks from the back catalog. This week’s offering of music from REO Speedwagon, Hautewerk, and re-recordings from Styx join up with tracks from System of a Down, The Clash, Devo, The Ramones, and All That Remains. Each song is available for 200 Wii Points and is downloaded in-game.
REO Speedwagon “Ridin’ the Storm Out"
REO Speedwagon “Roll with the Changes"
REO Speedwagon “Take It on the Run"
Styx “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)"
Styx “Renegade"
Styx “Too Much Time On My Hands"
Styx/REO Speedwagon “Can’t Stop Rockin’"
Hautewerk “Alone in My Head"
Hautewerk “I Know Where You Came From"
Hautewerk “Stop Start Again"
The Clash “Complete Control"
Devo “Girl U Want"
The Ramones "Teenage Lobotomy"
All That Remains "Chiron"
All That Remains "This Calling"
All That Remains "Two Weeks"
System of a Down "B.Y.O.B."
System of a Down "Toxicity"
I know that this back catalog offering includes several tracks popular with the more dedicated Rock Band crowd. "This Calling" is a nightmare for drummers.
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Posted by Jim Avery in General News | Comments Off
Nintendo Download: 5/4/09
DSiWare: Animal Crossing Calculator, 200 Nintendo Points
This inexpensive piece of DSiWare lends your DSi some rather simple calculator functions. The functions pictured above are pretty much all you get, with the addition of a useful Unit Converter tool. You can also listen to the answers spoken out in Animalese, and certain characters may appear when certain numbers show up.
DSiWare: Animal Crossing Clock, 200 Nintendo Points
On the heels of Calculator comes Clock, which provides you with the time. You can set up to three alarms, with the alarm sounds set to a custom Town Tune, or anything you may have created in DSi Sound; as the time passes, the screen will change from day to night, and various Animal Crossing characters will pass by.
WiiWare: Penguin & Friends – Hey! That’s My Fish!, 800 Wii Points
This title pegs itself as an "Interactive Board Game". You and up to three other players will navigate your penguin across the ice floe, trying to get to the hexagons that have more fish, and trying to impede your competitors so they can’t do the same.
Commodore 64: Tower Toppler, 500 Wii Points
In this 1987 platformer, a series of mysterious towers are being constructed on the ocean floor, most likely for nefarious purposes. It’s your job to cross the ocean floor in search of these towers, then scale and destroy every one.
I can’t help but think of Animal Crossing Clock as the DSi equivalent of Ping Pals. The DSi has clock and alarm functions built in already…
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