Archive for the ‘Wii’ Category

Introduction Necessary

Sunday, May 3rd, 2009

Hello out there to all you fellow gamers, I’m KalbooseThe180, and I would like to say that I take gaming with the utmost seriousness. So in that I deem to give all of you my complex thoughts and immense logic behind what I believe gaming to be. I am very excited at being able to discuss gaming down to the very core, so let us begin…

First off I will say that I’m predominantly a 360 fan though that does not exclude me from enjoying other systems. As for the systems that I own I have an Xbox360, Xbox, PS2, Wii, numerous PCs, and a retro GameBoy. It is a great honor to be requested by Kuefler to discuss and elaborate on the world of gaming, so that’s really all that you need to know and once again I look forward to write for Kuefler and this Blog.

To give you something to chew on for the meantime I recently had money burning a hole in my pocket so I decided to pick up two new games. Now I will start by telling you that I highly respect games that try something new, different, or have an interesting way of playing them(I like First Person Shooters as much as the next gamer, but it’s done a lot.). So one of these games happened to be Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia (I am always skeptical about anything that has numerous titles that tie together). Now I’ll admit that I was somewhat skeptical about them making a new PoP game, mainly due to how the trilogy ended with PoP: The Two Thrones. So after purchasing it and cracking the case open and popping the game in I was relieved to find that it was in fact a reboot of the series, and may I say a very good one at that.

I can say for certain that those of you who enjoyed the pervious titles on the PS2 and Xbox will be happy to find that the series still has its appeal and basic construct of gameplay (Acrobatics and acrobatic fighting). But the reason that PoP is one of the shining examples of the kind of games I like is because for one the game is cell shaded, which adds a unique characteristic to the environment and to be honest I hardly noticed the cell shading after playing through it, the game also used the separation of regular gameplay and combat so you knew when you where fighting and when you where just playing (Unlike in the other PoP games where enemies where free roaming.). Another aspect that surprised me was the open world and pick-your-own-path within the game. Which I believe that the industry is moving closer and closer to games that are open and choice oriented. Also another interesting thing I noticed about PoP was the Achievements (Xbox360) could be obtained in a flowing constant manner, there were a few that you had to work for, but personally apart from Fable II’s achievement system I think that PoP has some of most obtainable achievements just through regular gameplay each around 10 to 20 points. Finally the best for last about PoP was that you could never die in the game, though you still received penalties for ‘almost dying’ but still the concept that in game you can never ‘die’ is another thing that I believe developers should be looking at and they have been. The aspect of gaming ‘death’ has plagued us all as gamers, I for one enjoyed the fact that I would never die in game, though there where penalties for failing.

And that was just a taste of what is to come, I hope you enjoyed this small insight into my opinion of gaming and I assure you that I will do my best to provide you with accurate information regarding anything that I discuss. So I say good luck to you all, and good gaming!

Catch-up

Friday, December 26th, 2008

Well, let us begin the catch-ups so be can go to business as usual as soon as possible. First off, on a personal note, the Mario carving sold, but the Yoshi chainsaw carving sold is still up for grabs. In late November, I also got an Xbox 360, bundled with Kung Fu Panda and Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures. I also recent bought Call of Duty: World at War.

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Nintendo announced the release of the DSi. The new system is 12 percent thinner than the DS lite and the GBA slot is now gone. The new system will have an external 3 megapixel camera, as well as a front-facing camera, an SD slot, internal storage, and a DSi Shop(like the Wii Shop channel for the DS). The system was released in Japan on November 1, 2008, and will be released in North America in Spring of 2009.

Rather than Wii points, the DS and Wii will now have Nintendo Points. Once you buy the new points, you will have to chose whether you will use all the points for the DS shop system of the Wii Shop system; you will not be able to split the points between the new systems. The DSi will be somewhat, if not completely region locked.

Now on to homebrew, many new updates to thwart home brewers where released, but the home brewers found work arounds. The Wii Homebrew Channel turned 1.0. The DSi render all the old hombrew cards useless, but it appears that one new card, called Acekard 2i, will work on it.

Some big games that where released during Game Influence down time include: Call of Duty: World at War, Animal Crossing: City Folk(with the Wii Speak peripheral), de Blob, Wario Land: Shake It!, Guitar Hero World Tour, Chrono Trigger, Spore, Resistance 2, Fallout 3, the re-franchised Prince of Persia, and Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. A personal favorite, Wrath of the Lich King, was released in November, My girlfriend gave me this for my birthday, if you think about it, it’s quite ironic.

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Not much in terms of digital releases, although Mega Man 9 was released for the Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3World of Goo was also released as a Wii Ware title.

Some big games that where announced or gained a greater popularity with a future release during Game Influence’s down time include: No More Heroes 2, Resident Evil 5, Sin & Punishment 2, Sega’s The Conduit, Killzone 2, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, and games from the Wii remake program. The Wii remake program will release games from the Game Cube to the Wii, with updated controls. Games in the Wii remake program include Metroid Prime 1, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Pikmin, Mario Tennis, Chibi Robo, and Pikmin 2.

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Recently, Nintendo finally provided American with a service that Europe and Japan have had for quite some time, Club Nintendo. Club Nintendo launched December 15. Before the service’s launch, Nintendo confirmed that Club Nintendo allowed users to earn Coins for registering Nintendo products and completing surveys, redeem Coins for limited edition Rewards, earn a set amount of Coins each year to gain Gold and Platinum status, create a Family Account and invite members of your family to join, and register your newly purchased Wii console or Nintendo DS on Club Nintendo and extend your warranty.

Well, I’m sure I missed a lot of news, If I remember anything I missed, I’ll try to bring it up laiter.

Comments Fixed and after Catch-ups Business will Resume

Wednesday, December 24th, 2008

All right, the comment system on Game influence is fixed. The comment system, the fact that I’ve been busy with my new girlfriend, the fact that I’ve been busy posting on my new forum (Nintendo Destination), the fact that posting on a forum is easer to do then blog post, and the fact that I’ve been busy with school have been the reasons I haven’t been posting recently. So after I do some catch-up post on Game Influence, the site should be back to business as usual.

Wii GameCube Memory Card Solution

Wednesday, September 10th, 2008

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When the Wii came out people where complaining about the fact that the Wii has no internal storage method for GameCube games. And a few years later, no solution has yet to be implemented. My question is “why?”

I hate the look of the Wii when I leave the GameCube. Why is there not been a sleeker solution? I was thinking that something as simple as a hollow box to cover it. But some other solutions could include a box one centimeter tall that actually has storage built-in.

Another possible solution is a small game cube memory card that could fit in the console with the white cover closed, like you wouldn’t even know it was there until you lifted the cover. I mean it wouldn’t be able to store as much as the 16X cards, but it would be a sleek solution.

So people with the resources for mass production, get on that!

Sega E3 2008 Summary

Monday, July 28th, 2008

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Sega announced Sonic and the Black Knight, a Wii exclusive game that would be released. The game will make use of both the Wii Remote and Nunchuk rather than the horizontal Wii Remote used in the wii-exclusive Sonic and the Secret Rings. The game will switch between between 2D and 3D perspectives and the game will take sonic to a medieval world where sonics is is armed him with a sword to aid in his effort to save the day.

Kotaku Reports that Sega might join Nintendo yet again to make a Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games type of venture. With the first three Mario and Sonic crossover games printing all sorts of money for SEGA and Nintendo, you’d think another one might be all but set in stone in the future. Simon Jeffery, president at SEGA of America, said in an interview with Brian Crecente they “would be delighted to do another game with Mario and Sonic.”

Sonic will appear in the Samba-inspired rhythm music game that was made popular in arcades and on the Dreamcast, Sambe De Amigo.

Nintendo E3 2008 Summary

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008

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So what happened with Nintendo, during this years E3? During the E3 Conference, Nintendo showed off Wii Sports: Beach Resort which would utilize the new one-to-one motion controller add-on and will be released this spring at a retail price of $49.99. The game take place at a tropical beach, hence the game’s title. Three of the mini-games included in the new package include, Frisbee throwing, Jet-skiing, and Sword dueling. The game will support up to 4 players, just as Wii Sports did.

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Nintendo also showed some footage of Animal Crossing: City Folk, seen below with some images. The pictures paint a very familiar picture of the past games, not only in characters, activities, and places, but, unfortunately also graphics, the quality of the games still look much like the GameCube version. Hopefully Nintendo will make up for it in variation and quantity.

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The Video also describes a new accessory that plugs into the Wii’s USB port, called Wii Speak. Yes, that’s right; Nintendo is finally going into home console voice chat, but instead of offering headsets, Nintendo is offering one microphone for all players. The accessory sits on top of your television. I think this is going to cause problems down the road though. I for one, blast the audio coming from games through my surround sound, and I’m thinking that the microphone will pick up all that sound, unlike traditional video game headsets that focus their reception on sound radiating from places close to the microphone.

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Nintendo released some pictures and information on Wario Land Shake It. It’s not what I wanted. I wanted Nintendo to release a New Super Mario Bros style of game. But this may be a step in the right direction.

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KEY INFORMATION
Wario?, Nintendo’s greedy, uncouth and rude anti-hero, returns to his roots. The Wario Land series is where Wario first appeared, and it’s back in all its side-scrolling, platform-jumping glory.

* With the Wii Remote? controller turned sideways, veterans and newcomers alike can run, jump and smash their way through hectic side-scrolling stages. By shaking the Wii Remote, you can shake down your enemies, free coins from treasure bags and even cause earthquakes.
* Each stage is a masterfully crafted side-scrolling obstacle course of puzzles, enemies and assorted hazards. Every stage holds numerous secrets and treasures to discover (and steal). And each stage has multiple “missions” to keep you coming back again and again to unlock everything, collect more coins or just improve your best time.
* Wario returns to form, with all the jumping, power-dashing and butt-stomping we’ve come to expect. This is surly Wario at his finest.

Game storyline:Wario receives an antique globe and telescope that allow him to travel to the once-idyllic Shake Dimension, now conquered by the tyrannical pirate, the Shake King. With the assistance of his longtime rival, Captain Syrup, he must rescue the Merfles, denizens of the Shake Dimension imprisoned by the Shake King. Only by defeating the bosses of all five continents of this strange world can Wario find and confront the Shake King, rescue Queen Merelda, queen of the Merfles, and, most importantly, claim the Bottomless Coin Sack, a never-ending supply of gold.

How to progress through the game:Each stage has Wario navigating an obstacle course of dangers and traps to find an imprisoned Merfle. Once he frees the little fellow, the countdown begins and he must find his way back to the starting gate before time runs out. Wario must also defeat a boss in each continent, and then buy a map of the next
continent from Captain Syrup. Once all five continents’ bosses have been defeated, Wario takes on the Shake King himself.

Characters:Wario, our “hero.” Captain Syrup, a female pirate (and rival from previous games) who aids Wario on his quest. The Merfles, helpless natives of the Shake Dimension, and their queen, Queen Merelda. The Shake King, leader of a ruthless pirate band who has conquered the Shake Dimension.

Special powers/weapons/moves/features:Wario can jump and dash, as per previous Wario Landgames. New to this game is the ability to shake the Wii Remote for various effects. By default, a shake of the Wii Remote makes Wario punch the ground, causing a small earthquake and dazing enemies. Wario can then pick up dazed enemies and, with another shake of the Wii Remote, shake them for rejuvenating garlic and occasionally gold. Enemies can also be thrown, and you aim by tilting the Wii Remote.

Wario also takes control of three different vehicles during the course of the game, all of which are piloted in part by tilting the Wii Remote. The controls are standard for a Wii Remote held sideways (D-pad, buttons), but with an important twist: most of Wario’s special moves are accomplished by shaking or tilting the Wii Remote. This allows great versatility but without forcing the player to remember complicated button combinations.

According to Kotaku, Shigeru Miyamoto gave official confirmation at the Nintendo Developer Roundtable that Pikmin 3 will come to the Wii, simply stating “we’re making Pikmin.” IGN also reports that a new Zelda game is in the works, and that another Mario game might be in development. According to IGN Wii, Nintendo apparently apologized for is lack of big news.

If there is any perception that Nintendo is ignoring the core gamers, it’s a misunderstanding and we really want to get rid of that misunderstanding by any means… We are sorry about [the E3] media briefings, specifically for those who were expecting to see Nintendo show something about Super Mario or Legend of Zelda. However, the fact of the matter is the so-called ‘big titles’ need a long, long development period. … We really didn’t think this year’s E3 media briefing was the time to do so.

Yoshi and Mario Chainsaw Carvings

Saturday, July 19th, 2008

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I almost forgot to post this. When I say that I’m too busy with work to post on Game Influence, that means that I’m either lying or that means that I’m carving. I made a Yoshi and a Mario. I carved the Yoshi before the Mario. The carvings are stained, not painted. So you can see the grain and the color wont chip off like it would if it was covered with paint. I finish carving each character within 5-6 hours, and the staining process took about an hour each. I’ve only put two coats of sealer (Spar Urethane made by Minwax) on the two carvings. I would put another coat on it before I sell them; ask me, by the way, if your interested in buying one of them.

I’m might make a huge Mario carving, but outside of that, I don’t have any ideas on what video game charicters I should carve next. What character do you think should be my next video game carving?

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Edit: Call 1 (586) 212-2999 if your interested.

Wii MotionPlus

Saturday, July 19th, 2008

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I’m kind of at a loss for words on this one. During E3, Nintendo announced that they would be releasing an accessory that would more swiftly and more correctly reflect motions in three dimensional space. The new accessory is called Wii MotionPlus, and will attach to the end of the Wii Remote. The new Wii remote is supposed to make true 1:1 possible, which I thought was already possible.

Mega Man 9

Monday, June 30th, 2008

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The latest issue of has confirmed that Mega Man 9 will be released as a downloadable game for the Wii’s Wii Ware service. The game is only confirmed for the Wii, and has yet to be confirmed for the Xbox Live Arcade or the PlayStation Network.

So what’s the story? Well Mega Man must prove the innocence of Dr. Light is accuses by Dr. Wily as being responsible for the rampaging robots.

Mega Man 9, will be the first game in the Mega Man franchise to feature a female Robot master, with the roster including: Magma Man, Galaxy Man, Jewel Man, Concrete Man, Hornet Man, Plug Man, Tornado Man, and Splash Woman. Defeating each of these robot masters will give the player a special power up relating to the respective robot master.

The game will be based on the classic Mega Man games every where from story line, to control style, and to graphics. I’ll give you guys more information as soon as possible.

Kombo

Donkey Kong for the Wii?

Monday, June 23rd, 2008

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Donkey Kong, along with other Nintendo franchises (Kirby, and maybe Yoshi), hasn’t seen a “true” release in a long time. In recent years Donkey Kong’s home console games have been limited to drumming games. Portable games have been limited to simple games where the only thing that Donkey Kong can do is swing from 2d vine to another 2d vine or limited to merely being a victim of the Mini-Marios.

During the SNES era, Rare, the company now owned by Microsoft, made 3 Donkey Kong games, Donkey Kong County, Donkey Kong Country 2 – Diddy’s Kong Quest, and Donkey Kong Country – Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble. These three games were some of the best games made for the Super Nintendo.

During the N64 era, Rare’s Donkey Kong 64, was the first game to use the N64’s expansion. The game was the first game to show off what the expansion pack could do and it was the first game to truly bring Donkey Kong into the third dimension.

Kirby’s last big game for a console, Kirby’s Air Raid, was also a big diversion from the main franchise. Now Nintendo, you have to remember that if you bring a franchise away from the main series, you have to bring it back. Donkey Kong and Kirby haven’t seen a “true to the franchise” game for a home console since the Nintendo 64 era, although the Kirby experience has continued on Nintendo’s portable consoles.

Does Nintendo not release these games, because of the painful memory of their lost company, Rare, who made these games? I don’t think that’s the case, because Microsoft (the owner or Rare) has supported Nintendo’s portable console. If for some reason Nintendo doesn’t want to pursue a 3D Donkey Kong game for the Wii, I would still love to see a 3d Donkey Kong game, so I would love to see Rare do what they did for Diddy Kong Racing DS and release Donkey Kong 64 on the Nintendo DS.

So, I think it’s time to bring back a 3d Donkey Kong for Nintendo’s latest console, the Wii. Why, because there is no reason Nintendo shouldn’t make another 3d Game for the lovable Nintendo character. I’d say the game should be cell shaded, when I think of Donkey Kong, I think of him as a cartoon, even more so that Mario or Zelda. But, either way, Donkey Kong on the Wii would be an enjoyable graphical experience, because outside of Brawl we’ve never seen a highly defined Donkey Kong franchise character or DK environment. When Super Mario galaxy came out, and people saw Bowser’s hair waving in the air, they had one of those “WOW!” moments. I think having Donkey Kong on the Wii would offer something similar, because no one has seen a Donkey Kong that was using the Wii’s graphical abilities. I for one would love to see DK in a lush environment, with hair that looks like hair and not a series of monkey shaped polygons, with buildings that don’t pop up when come close to then and disappear when walking away from them and Icons where you can see the edges of the pixels.

What would be the story? Well they would just what they do with all Nintendo Franchises, by repeating themselves, like Mario saving the princess, Link saving Zelda, and Donkey Kong finding the Golden Banana’s for some reason.

Outside of bring the game back to its roots, I think DK fans would enjoy a Vine swinging game, similar to what NiGHTS 2 had to offer in its flying dynamic, but in a more flat environment, and with more vertical path’s. If that would stand as a game itself, I would love to see it added as a feature to a 3d Donkey Kong game for the Wii.

Either way, if Nintendo keeps releasing these gimmicky games feature these icons with out releasing titles true to their respective franchises these franchises will loose their identity.

First Pay And Play Game?

Saturday, May 10th, 2008

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Notice anything special in the picture? The unmistakable new orange Pay And Play Logo is found in the corner of the Samba de Amigo boxart. Samba de Amigo is a party game that focuses on music. Hopefully the Pay and Play charge will be to pay for new music, and not for just for playing online.

Samba de Amigo is the only game I have yet to see with the little Pay and Play logo on the cover, so it may be the first Wii game to ship as a game that charges for online service. Game Stop list the game as shipping on “8/19/2008″, so will have to wait to see what the content is that requires the Pay and Play service.

Game Stop

Sonic Unleashed

Thursday, April 3rd, 2008

First off, sorry about the lack of updates, I’ve been busy with working on Nintendo Destination and school. Well a while back some photo’s and a video was apparently leaked about a new Sonic game called Sonic Unleashed. We finally got confirmation that this game would indeed be heading to the PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, and the Wii.

Sonic and the Secret Rings was the first step towards bringing sonic back to it’s roots. Sonic Unleashed will offer classic Sonic the Hedgehog game play with new flashy 3D graphics.

The the “leaked” video has been removed from YouTube. Below is a few of the “leaked” and not “leaked” images of Sonic Unleashed, followed by the recently released press release.

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SONIC IS UNLEASHED! SEGA’s newest Sonic title is set to combine amazing next gen capabilities with classic Sonic 2D gameplay!

LONDON & SAN FRANCISCO (April 3, 2008) – SEGA®of America and SEGA of Europe Ltd., today announced that everyone’s favourite hedgehog will be breaking new ground yet maintaining his roots, in the upcoming title, Sonic Unleashed™. Developed by renowned studio Sonic Team, the latest installment in the multi-million selling franchise, will take players on an unforgettable high-speed journey around the globe in a way never before experienced in the world of Sonic. The game is set for release later this year and will be available for the Xbox 360™ videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo and PLAYSTATION®2.

Sonic Unleashed is built on a powerful new “Hedgehog Engine”, which introduces seamless 3D to classic 2D camera transitions, whilst delivering a rich and expansive world with multiple paths to choose from. Under development for three years, the Hedgehog Engine produces a visually rich next generation look and feel with elements of classic Sonic gameplay mechanics. The Hedgehog engine will help re-define the gameplay experience for Sonic fans and newcomers to the franchise alike.

“By combining rich and vibrant scenery with dynamic viewpoints Sonic Unleashedwill provide an immersive 3D experience whilst keeping alive the 2D gameplay elements and fantastic worlds that Sonic fans know and love” commented Gary Knight, European Marketing Director for SEGA Europe. “In addition to this classic Sonic gaming experience, when darkness sets in Sonic Unleashed players will be able to experience a completely new way to play as Sonic… making this his most exciting adventure yet!”

Having been broken apart by the evil Dr Eggman, it’s down to Sonic to put the pieces of the world back together again by retrieving the power of the chaos emeralds. In doing so, Sonic will find himself in a race against time and faced with an unusual situation that will challenge him in ways never before seen. By completing a wide variety of action-packed stages, spanning the seven broken continents of the world, gamers will need to unleash Sonic’s amazing abilities to save the world, and himself!

The opportunity to engage in Sonic in different ways during the day and night time levels brings a completely original way of playing to the Sonic franchise, in addition to running at high speeds in classic Sonic style, combat fighting will become possible. Super quick Sonic’s speed skills will be highlighted by four new modes, whilst the all new combat, movement and functional abilities will offer depth and variety to the game. As the sun sets in Sonic Unleashed, a different type of adventure will awaken in Sonic’s newest quest….

Sonic Unleashed is scheduled for release worldwide in late 2008.

Press Release

Manhunt 2 Will Finally Final See the UK

Sunday, March 16th, 2008

Manhunt 2 will finally be released in the UK, that’s right no more appeals
or bans.The BBFC took Video Appeals Committee ruling, but were finally shot down. The game will receive a 18 certificate for release.

But for those of you in the UK thinking that you might want to pick up the game, I strongly suggest that you don’t, the game is censored to the point were it lost it’s identity. with out the gory stress releasing murder scenes, it’s just a heart racing Splinter Cell clone.

BBC News