Serebii

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

King’s Quest
Sierra was a videogame giant in it’s time and it pushed out eight games in this series from 1984 to 1998. This is a classic title and King’s Quest IV would make a perfect DS game.

The 7th Guest
Published by Virgin Games in 1992, this horror-based adventure game was groundbreaking for its time, using live action video clips for much of its gameplay. It features static room to room movement with a puzzle-based system of play. In the end this game is a classic and many would love to see it brought back.

More Myst?
There are 5 core games in the Myst series with many re-releases over the years. The second in the series is called Riven. Will we be seeing it on the DS in the not-too-distant future?

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.

        

        

        

        

        

        

        

        

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

So you may be asking your self, How the Hell could you play Guitar Hero on your Nintendo DS? Well the key is the newly announced peripheral seen below. After 20 prototype “guitars” were created and tested the peripheral version you see below proved to be the most practical. The peripheral is inserted into the Game Boy expansion port in the bottom of the DS. The peripheral only contains four frets, as opposed to the standard five frets found in the other games in the franchise. Players also their hand through the Guitar Grip’s strap so they don’t drop the system when they’re rocking out, and it puts the DS in the vertical position. The picking however feels more like a “the real thing”. you actual the touch screen and a stylus pick (which is stored in the peripheral) to emulate plucking the strings.

The Nintendo DS’s internal Microphone is also expected to come into play. No official release date has been given, but you can expect the game to be released in the summer of 2008. The game will feature over 20 licensed songs, several two-player modes, and Guitar Hero’s “Star Power”. Below is a commercial for the upcoming game.

IGN

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

WII-KLY UPDATE: TWO NEW CLASSIC GAMES ADDED TO WII SHOP CHANNEL

March 10, 2008

Got enough challenge in your daily routine? Chances are that basic everyday tasks - getting to work or school on time, walking the dog, taking out the trash - aren’t enough to keep you firing on all cylinders. Luckily, Virtual Console™ is close at hand to help you test your mettle in fresh and unusual ways. Whether you’re rescuing a kidnapped pal or mastering a set of mind-bending grid puzzles, this week’s new arrivals, imported from Japan, offer a refreshing break from the late-winter blahs.

Nintendo adds new games to the Wii™ Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:

DoReMi Fantasy: Milon’s DokiDoki Adventure (Super NES®, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone – Alcohol Reference and Comic Mischief, 900 Wii Points): This is an action game where an energetic boy named Milon sets off on a great adventure in a cute fairy-tale world. Piccolo is a village in the country of Fantasia. One day, they hear from the fairy Alis that songs and music have disappeared from the forest. Suddenly, the wizard Amon appears, grabs Alis and vanishes with her. The brave Milon must now go on a journey to rescue his kidnapped friend, with his bubble shooter as his only weapon. Along the way, he’ll need to retrieve five legendary instruments and stars by defeating Amon’s minions. Get ready to enjoy the fun and comical action of this charming game.

Puyo Puyo 2: Tsuu (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 900 Wii Points): The object of this head-to-head puzzle game is to clear your grid of falling patterns called puyos by forming chains of four or more same-colored puyos in a straight line or one of several geometric patterns. What makes this a challenging two-player contest is the fact that when you clear a chain of puyos from your grid, it drops a random piece of filler onto your opponent’s grid. The more puyos you clear, the more you fill your opponent’s grid, and if you can clutter up his grid enough to fill it to the top, you’ve won the game. An intriguing backstory makes this an amusing experience for one or two players.

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.

Press Release

You Chance to win Virtual Console will end at midnight tonight. I’m giving away 3 Virtual Console games. Just a reminder all that’s required to enter, is that you take a quick survey(about 17 easy questions). There will be three people who will win a Virtual Console of their choice. The winners will be contacted tomorrow. Don’t miss your chance. Go to freevc.rlk89.com to enter.

Game Influence is looking for writers to help to keep the site up to date with gaming news and events. I recently added Rami to the team, but for Game Influence to become the site that I envisioned it to one day be, more writers are needed. A writer must be able to write at a collage level, and be able to produce at least one post every week. A writer must have some Paint/Photoshop skills, and a writer must have a small understanding of HTML.

If you are at all interested in writing for Game Influence, please either contact me at my e-mail (WritersApplication@GameInfluence.com), or preferably, contact me using AIM, my screen name is NEORLK89.

WII-KLY UPDATE: ONE NEW CLASSIC GAME ADDED TO WII SHOP CHANNEL

March 3, 2008

March is roaring in like a lion on the Virtual Console™. This might be a good time to look back at the massive catalog of classic games and ask yourself if you’ve played them all. Well, have you? You know there are some unplayed gems in there that your friends keep raving about, like this week’s release, Super Turrican. Not to mention the games you haven’t played since you were 10. Go ahead and fire them up – you’ll feel like a kid again. Just think of the Virtual Console as your own personal fountain of youth.

Nintendo adds new games to the Wii™ Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new game is:

Super Turrican: (Super NES®, 1 player, Rated E 10+ for Everyone 10 and Older – Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points): You are Bren McGuire, on a United Planets Freedom Forces mission to save the peaceful planet Katakis from the Machine, source of all that is cruel and evil in the universe. The only weapon on your side is the state-of-the-art Turrican Assault Suit. Equipped with multiple weapons, including the incredible Freeze-Beam that temporarily immobilizes almost any enemy, the Turrican Assault Suit gives one man the power of an entire army. Use the myriad weapons and powers at your disposal to fight through 12 increasingly insane levels, free the innocent residents of the planet Katakis and crush the oppressive Machine.

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.

Press Release

WII-KLY UPDATE: TWO NEW CLASSIC GAMES ADDED TO WII SHOP CHANNEL
Feb. 25, 2008

This week’s additions take players on a psychedelic trip down memory lane. Kirby® is back and armed with a bunch of new talents, including the option to combine abilities. Curious to find out what mixing the Burn and Cutter powers gives Kirby? We won’t spoil that for you here. If the colorful landscapes in the pink sphere’s world are too much for you and you’re looking for straight firepower instead, then try plunging your soul into the mind of a twisted demon. We’ll just see how you fare against wave after wave of bizarre enemy creatures in that kind of environment.

Nintendo adds new games to the Wii™ Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:

Kirby 64™: The Crystal Shards: (Nintendo 64®, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points): Kirby’s first 3-D adventure is also his Nintendo 64 debut, and it finds the always-versatile hero battling a new enemy called Dark Matter. Dark Matter is after a distant land’s powerful crystal, but a young fairy named Ribbon attempts to save it by escaping with the gem to Dream Land. Now the crystal has been broken, and it’s scattered around the world. Take control of Kirby and help him journey across six worlds, battling a wide variety of enemies and challenging bosses, as he tries to collect all 100 pieces of the shattered crystal. Along the way, you’ll use Kirby’s trademark copying ability to use enemies’ strengths against them. Not only that, but try combining any two abilities to create a brand-new one that is usually stronger than the original. Throw in three exciting multiplayer minigames, and you’ve got a package of which even King Dedede would be proud. Fans of Kirby and action games with bright, colorful graphics should vacuum this one up.

Psychosis: (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 600 Wii Points): This is a side-scrolling shooter played in a world created from the mind of a twisted demon. Your soul has suddenly wandered into that evil world that exists in every person’s heart. The only way out is to blast your way past the grotesque creatures that block your path in five “causes” (stages). You must face the dangers of this psychedelic world by making full use of three shot types and the satellite option. With power-ups, you can change your shots to a wide-coverage beam, a satellite-generated laser and more. Each shot type can be powered up to three levels. You can also block enemy fire by rotating the satellites to a desired position. How you use these features will be the key to successfully escaping this strange and surreal world.

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.

Press Release

It appears that the Commodore 64 will be joining the ranks of the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo 64, Sega’s Mega Drive/Genesis, TurboGrafx-16, TurboGrafx-CD, SNK’s Neo Geo, MSX, and Sega Master System, and Game Gear as emulated consoles/systems available on the Wii.

One can only hope that not only games will be available, but the Commodore BASIC V2.0 will also be accessible. The Commodore BASIC V2.0 allowed you to enter code to create games, taking hours if not days to do. But I would assume, unlike other sites reporting on this, Nintendo would only allow the Commodore 64 Games System(a cartridge-based game console version of the Commodore 64 home computer). The Commodore 64 Games System didn’t have Basic, and rarely used a separately purchased keyboard.

Nintendo plans to charge 500 Points for the games, and has only been announced for the European Wii population. Hopefully we see a world wild release.

Euro Gamer
via NeoGAF
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Now either Nintendo is planning for support for MMORPGs (which would justify a Nintendo needing money to support the large servers required) or Nintendo is getting greedy. I will not be paying for Online Games on the Wii, unless they charge like 2 points a month. How about you?

Wired

Game Influence, along with Nintendo Destination, is sponsoring a drawing for three free Virtual Console Games. All that’s required to enter, is that you take a quick survey. There will be three people who will win a Virtual Console of their choice. So what are you waiting for? Go to freevc.rlk89.com to enter. Good luck to everyone!

In LostWinds, you control Toku and Enril. They call this “single player co-op”. Toku is a regular boy out to save the world of Mistralis, and Enril is the wind spirit. It is basically the gameplay, he is the wind that controls where Toku goes in the air and is the essence of the game.

You control Toku with the analog stick, and Enril with the Wii remote. This means that although it is a 1 player game, 2 player co-op looks to be inevitable. Your wind spirits will gain more and more power as the game goes on. The wind can either blast Toku or carry/swirl him in any direction.

LostWinds is set for release on May 12th. It will feature 21 different levels that offer great replay. It is one of those game where you will try to beat your score and time, which will be where the replay will come from. Also, it will be a game you will try many things with. No price has been announced yet, but from the effort that looks like is being put into the game, expect a $10 price tag.

IGN

With an Interview with Reggie Fils-Aime, Reggie announced that the WiiWare service will be available in the US on May 12, 2008. He also confirmed that Wii Fit will be launching on May 19th here in the US with the price that will be “less than $100″.

IGN

What would a game like Super Smash Bros. Brawl be like if it was released on one of Sony’s systems, having characters from Sony of the Playstation one, Playstation two, and the Playstation three, brawling to the death. Well IGN asked the question, and created an answer. Below is a list of characters that the IGN PlayStation Team created with their respective Sony Skill (which, I guess, is the Sony equivalent with the smash attack).

1. Kratos of God of War (Slice and Dice)
2. Sweet Tooth of Twisted Metal (Fender Bender)
3. Ratchet and Clank (RYNO V)
4. PaRappa the Rapper (Mic Meltdown)
5. Nariko of Heavenly Sword
6. Jak and Daxter Blinding Sword Light (Ottsel Smother)
7. Wander of Shadow of the Colossus (Weak Spot Stab)
8. Sly Cooper (Crooked Cane Neckbreaker)
9. Liquid’s Hand of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (Revolver Blast)
10. Patapons (Fever Fury)

What iconic Sony characters would you want to see duke it out with each other?

IGN

WII-KLY UPDATE: TWO NEW CLASSIC GAMES ADDED TO WII SHOP CHANNEL

Feb. 18, 2008

Some gamers get skeptical when Roman numerals populate the title of a game. But make no mistake - this week’s offerings are no mere sequels. They are some of the most highly regarded classic games around. So stock up on some Wii Points™ to battle the Dark Force or complete an action-packed trilogy.

Nintendo adds new games to the Wii™ Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:

Ninja Gaiden™ III: The Ancient Ship of Doom: (NES®, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone - Mild Violence, 500 Wii Points): Join master ninja Ryu Hayabusa, last member of the famous Dragon Clan, in the third and final chapter of the legendary Ninja Gaiden saga. Ryu is framed for FBI agent Irene Lew’s murder, and it’s up to him to clear his name. Defeating superior life-forms created out of “life energy” called BIO-NOIDs and avoiding enemy ambushes are among the many obstacles which Ryu faces in this unpredictable adventure of mystery, deceit and destruction. Noticeable changes to the game-play mechanics include Ryu’s ability to grab on to horizontal surfaces, his reduced falling speed and altered jumping maneuvers, and visible power-ups. Help Ryu defeat the forces of evil once more and discover the real culprit behind Irene’s death as one of the most loved trilogies in video-game history comes to a close.

Phantasy Star™ II: (Sega Genesis, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone - Mild Animated Violence, 800 Wii Points): Hailed as one of the greatest games of all time by fans and media alike, Phantasy Star II is an RPG that features an epic story line and turn-based battles. Play as Rolf, Nei, Rudo or several other characters as you navigate through the Algol star system battling the evil Dark Force. Build your characters, select the right weapons and armor, and take on the forces of evil through various missions as you find the right combination of characters to complete each objective. Experience the magic once again in this great sequel.

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.

Press Release

No worries, the game still keeps it’s beautiful style, and my does it look better than ever. The rumors are false, it is in 16:9 and 480p display, and has a dramatic improvement in the game. This isn’t the biggest improvement in the game, the controls have been improved dramatically! Moving Amaterasu feels very good with the Nunchuck, and the biggest improvement is the brush mechanics. Take PS2’s take on brushing, and add funner, faster, more innovative, and overall better. You waggle the Wii Remote for the attacks, and in order to chain them together you waggle the Wii Remote left and right. This is actually made harder with the Wii, as it is easier to push the button, but certainly not funner. You simply will not be able to figure out how you could stand the PS2 controls after playing the Wii version. The controls are as follows:

• Move Amaterasu- Nunchuck Analog Stick
• Bit, Dig, Bark- Z/C
• Jump- A [press twice for double-jump]
• Change Camera View- 1/2
• Skip Scene- +
• Dart Forward/Attack Enemies- Waggle Wii Remote [you can chain
• together attack by waggling left and right]
• Using the Brush- Press B, brush comes up, hold A and paint.
• Dodge- Flick Nunchuck the way you want to dodge.

Finally, the box art has been announced for the Wii version:

If you failed to pick up Okami for the PS2, make sure to pick up Okami Wii coming on March 25, 2008 here in the US, retailing at $40.

IGN