Maestro! Green Groove (DSiWare)

Developer: Neko Entertainment
Release date: June 28, 2010
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone

Check out my video review of this fun, bouncy title!

A huge thanks to Neko Entertainment for the opportunity to take this for a spin.

The songs available in the “P.O.D Track Pack” are:

• “Southtown” by P.O.D.
• “Youth of The Nation” by P.O.D.
• “Boom” by P.O.D.

Although I do enjoy P.O.D, I’m short on money again this week, so no songs for me.

Sin and Punishment: Star Successor (Wii)

Developer: Treasure
Release date: June 27, 2010
ESRB Rating: T for Teen

This is one of a few games that is very, very aptly titled; if I could summarize it in one word, and I can, it would be “punishing”. If you pick up Sin & Punishment: Star Successor, you had better be looking for a serious challenge, because even on the “normal” difficulty this game is relentless. If you are looking for a challenge, however, this is about as good of a choice as any, as this game features some highly engaging, energetic, and entertaining gameplay that can get you hooked if you’re not careful.

This game apparently takes cues from the NES days in the storytelling department, in that there’s not a whole lot of it. You’re thrown right into the plot without a whole lot of exposition to help you out; the male Isa is trying to protect the female Kachi, because a huge army is trying to kill her because she’s apparently some sort of demon thing. There’s a bit more to this story than meets the eye, but not much, as the only major twist is something you could see coming without any trouble. You’re not even really given a proper ending; once you defeat the final boss, the game just ends without any sort of resolution. In reality I wasn’t expecting much, but still, receiving so little takes you by surprise a little bit. You don’t even find out what happens to the protagonists, though you can probably take your best guess.

But again, story is just a way of dressing up the gameplay, so let’s get down to it. Star Successor is an incredibly hectic game; you are always going to be either shooting, slicing, dodging, or a combination of the three. There are always enemies on screen, usually somewhere between a dozen and a hundred at a time, and their constant fire means that the entire world is a danger to you at all times. Like a Touhou shooter, you’ll have to pay close attention to the screen at all times just to avoid getting horribly injured, but at the exact same time you need to be taking out enemies by aiming your gun or slicing at close enemies with your sword. Neither one of these things ever lets up, either; I ended up dodging nearly 24/7 while constantly holding down the trigger to fire my gun.

When you’re not shooting at everything forever, or dodging enemy fire that occupies half the screen, you’ll be taking down some seriously powerful bosses. These guys often features enormous attacks that you need to dodge at just the right time, or else you’ll take a ton of damage; otherwise, they’re folling up half the screen with laser fire or explosions, like any other part of the game. More than any other part of the game, these bosses feel like pure trial and error, where you need to die several times before you finally figure out how to precisely dodge this or that attack, and when to counter, etc.

The problem with trial and error, however, is that you only have one life before your game over, wherein your score is reset back to zero. Your best scores are uploaded to the worldwide leaderboard at the end of each level, and at the end of the game, but I so often died at the end boss of a level that my scores were pretty pitiful when they were uploaded. It just feels like one more aspect of how this game is punishing; when you die, and your score resets, it feels like the game is reminding you how much you suck. At the least, the high score challenge gives you a reason to revisit the game’s levels, to try for a better score, and maybe to get through without dying, ridiculous though the notion might be.

The game is rather well designed, and none of the difficulty feels like it can be attributed to bugs, poor controls, or anything like that; it’s a good, old-fashioned, Ninja Gaiden-style hard. There are several times where the game just feels unfair, especially during the last boss, and more than once I ended up throwing my controller into the nearby couch; sometimes, it does take the fun out of the game. For the most part, though, the game is a lot of fun to play even when you’re getting yourself killed over and over. It’s relatively short, only a few hours long, but you can come back to the levels and try for a higher score, which you probably will.

It can’t be said enough: if you don’t want a game that’s highly punishing and relentless, requiring fast reflexes and constant vigilance, then you should stay far away from this title. If you’re up for a challenge, though, then this game can be highly addicting, and highly rewarding when you find yourself getting good enough to really handle it. There are a few shortcomings in departments like story and length, but the gameplay is solid and engaging, and you’ll have a fun time with this when all is said and done, assuming it doesn’t tear you apart before you complete it.

Barry White from the Game Guys on News10 Sacramento once again joins us along with one of our editors on NintendoGal.com, Jake Bellissimo for a first time appearance.

The running time of this podcast runs a bit over 1 hour.

Download the podcast here (right-click choose save as) if you don’t wish to stream it.

For the fourth time so far, Harmonix is giving Rock Band players an injection of country music, from today’s most popular country artists, including Sugarland and Lady Antebellum. All tracks cost 200 Nintendo Points and are downloaded in-game.

Dierks Bentley “What Was I Thinkin’”
Eric Church “Hell on the Heart”
Jamey Johnson “Women”
Josh Turner “Would You Go With Me”*
Keith Urban “Days Go By”*
Lady Antebellum “Lookin’ For a Good Time”
Laura Bell Bundy “Rebound”
Reba McEntire “Fancy”*
Sugarland “It Happens”*

*Also available in LEGO Rock Band.

I’m not a huge country fan, but if something is fun to play then I’m all for it. Clearly a lot of country players are playing Rock Band, or they wouldn’t be making a fourth DLC pack of it.

DSiWare: Cosmos X2, 500 Nintendo Points

The planet is under attack by aliens, and only you and your Cosmos X2 can save the day. Choose two weapons and use them appropriately to repel the invaders; whichever one you’re not using gets charged up as you defeat enemies, while the other is damaged as you take damage. Make your way through six levels on one of three difficulty settings, with bonus modes for added challenges.

DSiWare: myNotebook: Pearl, 500 Nintendo Points

It’s another notebook, with another color.

DSiWare: Music On: Leaning Piano, 200 Nintendo Points

This title brings fifteen classical tunes to the table, helping you learn to play each by rating your performance every day. Watch the score on the top screen and play the appropriate keys on the bottom.

WiiWare: Tales of Elastic Boy – Mission 1, 600 Nintendo Points

This adventure title puts you in the shoes of Elastic Boy, with his stretchy elastic arms. Defeat enemies and solve puzzles as you make your way through the lands, punching and rolling and jumping your way to victory. Play alone or with friends.

Why are we getting so many notebooks? Couldn’t they make one with a color change option?

Mouth now agape, I click the image and check out what comes in this Collectors Edition. Listed on the website, as follows:

• Special Packaging
• Disney Epic Mickey Software (the game)
• 5″ Collectible Vinyl Figure
• Special Edition DVD with behind the scenes footage and other marketing materials and videos
• Wii Remote faceplate and Wii console skin

That all sounds pretty neat. Especially the figure and the DVD. The downside? This fifty dollar game will now run you $69.99. That’s twenty dollars more than the standard edition. You’ll have to make a decision; whether all of that is worth the twenty dollars more or if you would rather just get the game, and only the game, for fifty dollars. Disney Epic Mickey launches November 1st. I’ll leave you with one last image, this one is of the merchandise.

It all looks well worth it to me. I especially want that figurine and the Wii remote cover. I’ll be purchasing the Collector’s Edition for sure.

I remember back in 2004, when the upcoming DS was the most exciting thing in gaming at the moment, and in my life (yes, I was a weird child). Not only was it a new console to toy around with and play, it had so many new features, and in my 4^th grade mind, that screamed “revolution!” The dual screens, the touch screen, and the ability to play past GBA games on it all sparked my interest with ease. Ever since its release, the Nintendo DS has influenced the gaming industry to stand out, as the unique features it brings to the table are no exception. Due to the fairly recent announcement of the 3DS, I’ve decided to take some time to recognize the DS for all of the innovation it has sparked in the gaming industry, and also how it made Nintendo more successful than they were GBA-era.

One of the ways the DS captures the essence of handheld gaming are the controls. Granted, there is no joystick like its competitors (PSP, I’m looking at you), but that doesn’t slow down the handheld’s ability at all. One of the great things about the DS is its flexibility in control schemes, giving the gamer options on how they would go about playing it (granted, this depends on the game, but most developers quickly learned to incorporate these options early on). The innovative touch controls (paired with the Wii’s motion controls) influenced the industry to explore the unexplored, and it later had Microsoft and Sony pushing out their own versions of the control revolution during the past two E3’s.

The DS also opened doors for Nintendo’s Wi-Fi network, which was launched about a month after the release of the DS for their latest game Mario Kart DS. The network proved to be hugely successful, and gave Nintendo some well-deserved recognition. Another feature that stood out about the DS is its redesigned cartridges, which were made easier to carry, and fit in easily. However, with all of the successes that the DS brought, there were some issues, and these mostly lie in the design of the hardware. One of the main problems was that the hinges connecting the top part of the handheld to the bottom couldn’t hold their own, and broke easily (particularly the top left). Almost everyone I saw with a DS at the time had theirs broken due to a clumsy step-brother dropping it or something of the like. I never thought it would happen to me, but one day as we were pulling out to go on a long road trip, it slipped out of my hands and onto the floor, and the hinge was broken. Also, the design of the system was heavily-built, and was a bit big to fit in your pocket like the GBA.

Nintendo decided to answer these problems with a redesign for the console, and did a good job doing so. The DS Lite was then released with no problems following it. Nintendo has since made significant updates to the handheld, with the release of the DSi, bringing a different system menu, and introducing photo-taking, and two new cameras which opened up new doors for the system. However, Nintendo apparently did not like the appeal of it, and followed with the release of the DSi XL not too long after the original to appeal to a larger audience (e.g. the elderly and individuals with large hands). Fast-forward to this year’s E3 Expo, and Nintendo announced the latest iteration of the system, which involves the hype train of 3D technology, entitled the 3DS. The new system doesn’t partake in the traditional 3D glasses, which is a whole new innovation in the area of 3D entertainment (which has slowly been on a rise since Avatar’s release). Whether coincidence or not, Nintendo’s plans to have a handheld in 3D seem to have had their influence on the rest of the industry, with Sony releasing PS3 games to play on a 3D TV in the future. The future of the 3DS is unpredictable at this point, but I’m going to give it a shot anyways. The 3DS will bring new ideas to the table, and open up a new portal for gaming. However, I think that it will take the path of the Virtual Boy in the sense that it will simply fall out of fashion (while the VB just wasn’t fit for it’s audience, but you get my point). Incorporating the 3D effect into the handheld without glasses is no easy feat, and certainly surprised me this year.

With all of the innovation and success the DS has brought Nintendo and gaming, it’s guaranteed to be headed in an even brighter direction.

Earlier today, Harmonix issued a press release officially confirming the 83-song setlist they “leaked” in a video last week. The press release also confirmed some unknown information, namely which songs would be available on the DS version of Rock Band 3, which will play more like Rock Band Unplugged for PSP. The game will be released on October 26, 2010 with the following songs:

The B-52′s “Rock Lobster”
The Cure “Just Like Heaven”
Doobie Brothers “China Grove”
The Doors “Break On Through (To the Other Side)”
Faith No More “Midlife Crisis”
Foreigner “Cold As Ice”
Ida Maria “Oh My God”
INXS “Need You Tonight”
Jane’s Addiction “Been Caught Stealing”
The Jimi Hendrix Experience “Crosstown Traffic”
Joan Jett “I Love Rock and Roll”
Metric “Combat Baby”
Night Ranger “Sister Christian”
Ozzy Osbourne “Crazy Train”
Paramore “Misery Business”
Phoenix “Lasso”
Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Rilo Kiley “Portions for Foxes”
Roxette “The Look”
Smash Mouth “Walking On the Sun”
Tokio Hotel “Humanoid”
The Vines “Get Free”
Whitesnake “Here I Go Again”
The White Stripes “The Hardest Button to Button”
Yes “Roundabout”

There are a couple of unfortunate omissions here, like “I Can See For Miles”, but this is still a fairly solid setlist. I may rent this game and give it a try, along with the full console version.

This week’s DLC is only for the players properly prepared, so be warned: this week is a Megadeth 3-pack. Why am I hyping this up so much? Well, it’s only because that Megadeth are one of the bands with the most difficult charts in rhythm games (on all instruments), and have some quality metal in all of their albums, whether it’s the intriguing lyrics that Mustaine sings over his amazing solos (for instance, the intro to Holy Wars), or the brilliant unison and eerie atmosphere that the rest of the band brings. The songs this week are featured from their albums “Rust In Peace” and “Countdown To Extinction”, and you can bet the charts will be challenging and fun. As usual, each individual song will cost you 200 Wii Points, with the entire “Megadeth Track Pack” costing you 550 Wii Points.

The songs available in the “Megadeth Track Pack” are:

• “Symphony of Destruction”
• “Hangar 18″
• “Peace Sells”

Megadeth is a score this week, and anyone who likes thrash metal and fun charts should check this pack out.