By Holly Green, posted in Wii - Sep 6th, 2010, 6:52pm CDT
In the main lobby of Seattle’s Convention Center during this past weekend’s PAX 2010, a familiar figured appeared on the entrance floor, emerging bit by bit over the course of the three day event. As you can see, the image was quite large, and at my less than impressive height, hard to photograph, but I got the full image from above, at the artist’s suggestion, on the final day. Check it out, along with our gallery of progress shots, below.
Feels like just yesterday we were getting ready for the beginning of pool season when the unofficial start of summer kicked off with Memorial Day here in the U.S. of A. Now a few months later, we draw the summer festivities to a close with Labor Day (which really should be called “No Labor Day,” right?) a day reserved for lounging, slouching, and grilling meat.
Nintendo is conveniently celebrating this special Monday with a handful of titles for WiiWare, Virtual Console and DSiWare. For WiiWare comes Fenimore Fillmore “The Westerner,” a game that will bring you back to the days of the wild west, a fond time in America’s history. For Virtual Console comes Samurai Showdown III, where your samurai of choice will slash and defeat enemies along your journey to take down Zankuro Minazuki (not really U.S. related but that’s fine). For DSiWare this week comes Simply Mahjong, My Exotic Farm and Music On: Acoustic Guitar. Okay clearly there is no Labor Day theme for these titles, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth downloading!
For more information about this week’s releases, continuing the reading the official press release below the break.
Looks like DJ Hero 2 will be getting some street cred. Founder of Wu-Tang Clan RZA is joining ranks with Tiesto, DeadMau5, and DJ Qbert to fill out the already-impressive DJ Hero 2 roster. Like the other announced DJ powerhouses, he’ll be lending both his image and his music to the game, appearing behind the booth while you virtually mix and play. But unlike the others, he’s mixed two exclusive tracks for the soundtrack: LL Cool J’s “I Can’t Live Without My Radio” with Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five’s “The Message”, and Damian Marley’s “Welcome To Jamrock” mixed with Walter Murphy’s “A Fifth of Beethoven.” Says the man himself:
“I’m very excited to be involved with DJ Hero 2. As both a DJ and gamer from an early age, the game combines two of my passions. I loved working with the team and am excited for the fans to hear the two brand-new mixes I put together just for this game. Bong bong!”
He said “Bong bong!” Now I know it’s real. Check out his debut trailer above, and the screenshots below.
I’ve spent a good portion of PAX thus far with face in a camera so I thought I’d show you some of my handiwork. Never a crowd to miss a chance to cosplay, Seattle fans so far have brought a great variety of costumes to the event. Of course, I just had to post this group as our header, as their dedication as a team was awesome. Below you’ll find costumes from day one and two, from Travis Touchdown, to the Vault Dweller, to Phoenix Wright. Stay tuned for more PAX news tomorrow!
This guy was so cool, the video just begged to be recorded. Once again, my Nikon Coolpix had to suffice, as the video crew was an entire hall away. Luckily I still managed to capture all the action, though I do recommend you turn down the sound. Unless you really wanted to hear my exhausted sigh around 1:16 at the steady stream of PAX attendees walking into my shot, ha.
Kung Fu Live, the controller-free PS3 title that utilizes FreeMotion Technology and the PS Eye to place the player within the game, debuts October 2010.
From Creat Studios and Sony Online Entertainment comes a new unique gaming experience next week to the PlayStation Store. Introducing TerRover, featuring 40 stages of 2D puzzle fun. Navigate your roaming buggy through trecherous terrain, on a mission to find a new planet for him and his friends to live on. Is your heart melting?
From icy hills in Congelata to industrial surfaces of Mechanica, you’re going to have some challenges ahead. And if you feel like you just conquered the unconquerable, TerRover offers YouTube upload support to show your friend what you just did.
Check out the game’s launch trailer above, and look out for TerRover on the PS Store this Tuesday, September 7th.
I’ll try to make this quick. With the launch of Sony’s motion control counter attack looming on the horizon, the question on everyone’s mind seems to be whether or not they should pick up a set on launch day, soon after, or ever. After a quality session with Sony today at PAX, I can confidently say I now know where I stand on the issue. Right smack dab in the middle.
First off, the technology does almost exactly what it promises to do. After E3 I was a little unsure of the precision of the device because of troubles plaguing most of the units on the show floor. Today, however, in the comfort of a small room without all the interference, it worked very well. We started off playing a few rounds of Sports Champions (the obligatory sports mini game fun fest that absolutely must launch with a motion controller). We played rounds of disk golf, gladiator arena, ping pong, and (my favorite) volleyball. The gameplay consists of exactly what you would expect, similar affair to what can be found in Wii Sports Resort and similar game collections, but that isn’t what is important. The controller only failed me once in any of the games, which is pretty good as far as motion controls go. Small twists were recognized, spin on the ping pong ball was always picked up, setting a volleyball felt so so right, and I finished off my friend Matt with a crushing overhand blow to the cranium.
The software, on the other hand, leaves a little bit to be desired. Seeing Killzone 3 in action with the move controller showed promise, and with other big titles like Socom coming down the pipe, there is some serious potential for the future. For now? I’m less convinced. Everything worked well (and was quite entertaining) but it just doesn’t have the depth that would inspire me to purchase it right away. So I’m giving it a wait-on-it stamp. The technology works, it just needs some time to mature.
After rumors, conjecture, theories and utter disappointment, fans of the shooter Duke Nukem have been through the mill in regards to the series’ future. At PAX today however, Gearbox Software and 2K Games brought smiled to the faces of fans of the franchise, with the announcement that the thought-to-be-dead title Duke Nukem Forever is coming next year to PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.
The game has had quite the hellacious development process. Originally announced in 1997 — yeah seriously, 1997 — the game endured imploding hit after hit, with game engine changes, legal battles, financial cutbacks and studio downsizing. While long awaited, today’s announcement of the 3D Realms property returning to consoles is still hard to believe.
“We’re in the polishing phase now,” said Randy Pitchford, Gearbox president. “This is a game where we can not make a promise we can not fulfill. We need to get past the shock and awe, and then we can go to all the retailers and first parties and work out a launch plan.”
Not since his yarn-made reveal at E3 has the former pink fluff ball starred in a North American trailer for his upcoming Wii debut in Kirby’s Epic Yarn. With PAX in full swing, Nintendo has a new Kirby trailer to show off, and it’s glorious.
If you haven’t been keeping up, or if you just want to see more yarn Kirby in action, then I implore you to check out the trailer above. Epic gameplay footage awaits!
Nintendo doesn’t release a lot of first-party WiiWare titles, so we know to pay attention when they get one together to show off. Fluidity follows a mass of water through a complex topsy-turvy world. While controlling the puddle of water — which can transform into ice or cloud — you’ll have navigate the lil’ sucker through a maze of puzzles, all chapters within a book called “Aquaticus.”
Showing off an impressive physics engine, Nintendo thinks the game will offer a complex, brain bending puzzle experience.
You know those perfectly picked wholesome looking families Nintendo casts for their Wii software advertisements? Well now you could be a part of them! Nintendo is opening a new contest to find the stars of an upcoming Wii Party commercial.
Between now through September 10th, Wii-enthusiasts can go to the Wii Party website and answer a few questions about your favorite foods, your special talents and a photo of yourself playing Wii. That’s all you have to do to be in the running for the new ad, which will likely feature a family in a living room setting, sans coffee table, smiling while playing Wii Party.
Think you have what it takes? Enter below! Wii Party will release on October 3rd.
As Rock Band 3 and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock will dominate most of your time in the music rhythm game genre this fall, a third title hopes to convert some of you colored button mashing devotees. Seven45 is releasing Power Gig: Rise of the SixString this October, arriving with a 6-stringed guitar controller that will add a sense of realism to the game — you can also use the wireless guitar with a real amp! Seven45 is hoping their new guitar controller will be a big part of the game’s draw. The other part? Setlist of course.
Today Seven45 has released the entire setlist for the game comprised of Ozzy Osbourne, No Doubt and Smashing Pumpkins. The company boasts that 80% of the tracklist are songs never before released for a music rhythm game. And with exclusive partnership deals with Eric Clapton, Kid Rock and the Dave Matthews Band, they just may have the magic equation to become a solid third entity in the band genre. And if you need to know what to do with your old plastic guitar peripherals, check out the video about for some inspiration.
Like most Gaijin Games creations, you’re going to have to watch the trailer a couple times to understand what the hell you’re looking at. As with their Bit.Trip series, the company creates rhythm based games that offer a compelling, fresh experience unlike anything you’ve ever seen or played.
Gaijin’s Wii version of Lilt Line, originally developed by Different Cloth for iPhone, lets players control a line down an ever-changing path towards the finish line. With music blasting, and your path narrowing, you’ll have to focus if you want to succeed. Controls will presumably use the motion functionality of the Wii Remote to allow users to tilt the line in the direction of choice.
The game features 15 levels, and offers an impressive selection of tunes from dubstep superstars, 16-bit. Check out the game’s trailer above, and look out for Lilt Line on WiiWare soon.
Blame the core gamers? Says5th Cell Creative Director Jeremiah Slaczka:
“We haven’t gotten any emails from casual users that are like, ‘Hey, I don’t like the controls.’ It’s the hardcore users that are like, ‘I play Mario all of the time, and I’m a hardcore gamer, and I’m used to these kinds of controls, and what’s what I want. Maxwell’s actually an AI. So it wasn’t just like throw the D-pad controls in. You’d have to overwrite all of the code that we’d built up for him. So in the second one, we basically did that. This isn’t a platforming game. This is a puzzle game. Unfortunately, it has a platforming-type feel to it. So we said for the second one, that’s fine, we’ll address it, we’ll give you both. And we actually fixed up the stylus controls, too, so Maxwell doesn’t run away as you tap — when you let go he stops. So we made it way better.”
I can see what he’s saying, but I’m going to disagree with him just a little bit. It’s not that core gamers expected better controls, and casual gamers were content. Core gamers are merely more likely to track down the makers of a game and berate them mercilessly until they get what they want. I think most gamers, casual or core, have played Super Mario Brothers and felt a level of familiarity with Scribblenaut’s platform-like setup. By chalking it up to core gamer preference, they risk overlooking the reality that the controls were conflicting no matter what your skill or interest level in other games. Picking up or dropping items often got mixed up with selecting Maxwell and trying to move him forward, which got frustrating. He acted downright suicidal at times.
Ah well, at the end of the day, the controls are now switchable and easily tailored to whatever gameplay suits your best, so moot point, right?
By Holly Green, posted in Wii - Sep 3rd, 2010, 10:00am CDT
As I’m watching this I’m thinking “This is so the long lost bastard cousin of Yoshi’s Story“, almost the sequel we never got. Only, dare I say, better. The Japanese trailer, above, marks the announcement of the release date for Kirby’s Epic Yarn in Japan. Our friends to the east will be able to rope it in October 14, just slightly edging out the North American release date of October 17.
