Best Wii Games

Posted by jda5000 | May 30th, 2010

A brief aside: The scaly antagonist from the Harry Potter series would be a whole lot less intimidating if everyone just shortened his name to Mort, wouldn’t he? That’s not a name that inspires much fear, even when prefaced with “The Nefarious Dark Lord of All-Wizardkind.”

Check out the video above to see a brief vignette of clips from the fourth and final school year featured in Lego Harry Potter, which covers the events of Goblet of Fire. You know, the one with the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and Mad-Eye Moody, and all the thinly veiled lessons about the frightening changes puberty can visit upon teenagers. Yeah, that one.

Lego Harry Potter trailer shows the return of ‘Mort originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 27 May 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source:Lego Harry Potter trailer shows the return of 'Mort

Tags: wii games nintendo

Read Users' Comments (0)

Posted by jda5000 | May 30th, 2010

Everyone expects a Mario game to be good — and it’s even easier to expect quality when the new game is a direct follow-up to a game as universally adored as Super Mario Galaxy.

However, even given the high expectations, the reception Super Mario Galaxy 2’s getting is startling. There are, as of right now, eight scores equivalent to 100 percent on the game’s Metacritic page, a range befitting the title our own Randy Nelson called “the best Mario game ever.” We’ve only quoted one of the 100-percenters below, in the interest of variety.

• Edge (10): “This is a game that refuses to bore you, that can take you to the 60-star mark before asking you to do the same thing twice. It reuses assets, but almost never recycles ideas; you’ll never see another title so thrifty, or so gratuitous.”
• Game Informer (93/100): “Sure, it’s not the total reinvention of the genre we’ve come to expect from a new Mario title, but as a platformer fan I’m happy to get more Mario to tide me over. This game is a testament to the enduring appeal of the genre, as well as Nintendo’s ability to create fresh new gameplay out of a decades-old formula.”
• Game|Life (9/10): “Super Mario Galaxy 2 is thus simultaneously more and less than its predecessor. It expands and elaborates on the gameplay in unpredictable ways, but the last one felt like a bigger, more complete adventure. That said, better core gameplay with less window dressing is infinitely preferable to the reverse.”

Metareview: Super Mario Galaxy 2 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 21 May 2010 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source:Metareview: Super Mario Galaxy 2

Tags: wii games nintendo

Read Users' Comments (0)

Posted by jda5000 | May 30th, 2010

Dookieheads (that’s what Green Day fans are colloquially referred to, right?) who downloaded the two-track Green Day: Rock Band demo from Xbox Live Marketplace today (gold subscribers only) found a little bonus waiting for them when they exited the demo: The teaser image posted above. Alongside the series’ four iconic instrument logos is a whole new symbol, which seems to indicate that keyboards (or perhaps … keytars?) will be added to Rock Band 3.

You can check out the demo, which includes the songs “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and “Welcome to Paradise,” to see the teaser firsthand, and to start imagining all the wonderful implications a Rock Band keyboard might have.

[Thanks, Neil]

Xbox.com: Add Green Day: Rock Band demo to your Xbox 360 download queue

Keyboards teased for Rock Band 3 in Green Day demo originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 25 May 2010 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source:Keyboards teased for Rock Band 3 in Green Day demo

Tags: wii games nintendo

Read Users' Comments (0)

Posted by jda5000 | May 30th, 2010

A recent Federal Communications Commission filing made by Nintendo has been the source of no small amount of speculation over the past few days. The seemingly innocuous entry on the FCC’s site was submitted to get the Nintendo DS Wi-Fi card approved for U.S. distribution — however, the image submitted alongside the filing (which has since been removed) is believed by some to give a few hints about the internal composition of the Nintendo 3DS.

Digital Foundry has a great breakdown of the image, which appears to exhibit the motherboard of a DS test kit or development kit. The tech site points out that one of the screens adheres to the 4:3 aspect ratio of current DS models, while one screen appears to be substantially wider. If this is a stripped-down version of the 3DS, this could indicate that only one of its two screens uses 3D display technology.

Also worth noting is the “CTR” designation the hardware is given in the FCC listing. As Digital Foundry points out, each model of the DS has had a three-letter codename for internal use: The DSi was called “TWL,” the DSi XL was called “UTL,” and so on. CTR is a whole new callsign, which may indicate that this is a whole new piece of hardware. We’ve contacted Nintendo to see if we can get a comment on the filing — at the very least, we should learn the accuracy of this speculation during Nintendo’s E3 press conference on June 15.

Rumor: Image of 3DS motherboard submitted to FCC leaked originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 May 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source:Rumor: Image of 3DS motherboard submitted to FCC leaked

Tags: nds ds games nintendo

Read Users' Comments (0)

Posted by jda5000 | May 30th, 2010

This week in North America, Art Style: Light Trax was released on WiiWare. In Europe, the other new Art Style game has been released. It appears alongside one of the most beloved Kirby games ever!

DSiWare in Europe this week is … eclectic, featuring, among other things, a picross game about animal pictures, and a national anthem karaoke game. The Nintendo page says that “All eyes are on South Africa, all EARS are on you – in the karaoke game of the year!” Which is odd, considering the lack of the South African national anthem in this game.

• Kirby’s Fun Pak (SNES, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
• Lead the Meerkats (WiiWare, 1 player, 1,000 Wii Points)
• Art Style: Penta Tentacles (WiiWare, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)
• Voodoo Dice (WiiWare, 1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points)
• Hero of Sparta (DSiWare, 1 player, 800 DSi Points)
• Animal Color Cross (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)
• Bloons (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)
• Just Sing! National Anthems (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)
  

European Nintendo downloads: Kirby’s Fun Pak, Art Style: Penta Tentacles originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Fri, 28 May 2010 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source:European Nintendo downloads: Kirby's Fun Pak, Art Style: Penta Tentacles

Tags: nds ds games nintendo

Read Users' Comments (0)

Posted by jda5000 | May 28th, 2010

The latest Pokemon spinoff game, Poképark Wii: Pikachu’s Adventure, is being localized for Europe, according to a press release from Nintendo. As you might have surmised from the title, the game stars Pikachu and takes place in a Pokémon theme park.

As Pikachu attempts to collect the shards of the “Sky Prism” that protects the park, he and new Pokémon friends take part in the park’s various attractions. Yes, Pikachu’s idea of “helping” is to have fun on all the park’s rides. Pikachu is kind of a hedonist. The attractions include Poke-themed activities like Rhyperior’s Bumper Burn, Bulbasaur’s Daring Dash, Salamence’s Air Ace, Venusaur’s Vine Swing, and Gyarados’ Aqua Dash.

Poképark Wii will be released in Europe on July 9. We don’t want to ruin the surprise, but if we had to guess, we’d say this game will be announced in North America at some kind of large industry event being held soon.

Pokepark Wii: Pikachu’s Adventure opening in Europe this July originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 27 May 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Tags: wii games nintendo

Read Users' Comments (0)

Posted by jda5000 | May 28th, 2010

According to a list of Achievements unearthed by Xbox 360 Achievements, it looks like the upcoming Earthworm Jim HD will feature some form of multiplayer. There are two Achievements for multiplayer, one awarded for being “‘No. 1′ in each Xbox Live multiplayer level” and another for completing all multiplayer levels. It’s hard to imagine how multiplayer would work, though GamerBytes offers up the possibility of speed run competitions or a multiplyaer variant of the snot bungee mini-game.

We’d also suggest that the space races between levels could work as well. Also, given the title of the second Achievement is “World Partnership,” the multiplayer could be cooperative in nature.

Earthworm Jim HD to feature multiplayer (somehow) originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 27 May 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Tags: wii games nintendo

Read Users' Comments (0)

Posted by jda5000 | May 28th, 2010

Bit.Trip Runner is profoundly difficult, as anyone who has played a previous Bit.Trip game would guess. It’s probably one of the hardest games I’ve ever played, and in a way that most developers don’t dare to make their games. Basically, if you already have high blood pressure or a short fuse, you should stay far away from Bit.Trip Runner. And if you don’t, you should wear the Wii wrist strap while playing. Not because it uses motion controls, but because you’ll occasionally get the impulse to throw something.

If that doesn’t scare you off — if you welcome the challenge, or are a patient person in general, perhaps with access to the occasional cup of soothing tea — then you’d do well to try out Gaijin Games’ rhythmic, nostalgic version of the side-scrolling platformer.

Continue reading Review: Bit.Trip Runner

Review: Bit.Trip Runner originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 25 May 2010 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Tags: wii games nintendo

Read Users' Comments (0)

Posted by jda5000 | May 28th, 2010

Square Enix had a good fiscal year (ended March 31, 2010), but its games division had a very good year. Final Fantasy XIII sold over five million units globally during the period, with the Japan-only release of Dragon Quest IX coming in second with 4.26 million units. Thanks to the company’s acquisition of Eidos last year, the company could count on some Batman: Arkham Asylum cash, with the pointy-eared detective’s critically acclaimed title selling 3.24 million units — it’s a shame Square won’t get a piece of the sequel.

Squenix’s games division had sales of ¥109.9 billion ($1.18 billion) in the last fiscal year, up an impressive 128 percent over last year. With the Dark Knight out of the picture, Square Enix will have to depend on its other western franchises, including Kane & Lynch, Deus Ex and the games of Ms. Croft.

Source [PDF link] — Results Briefing Session for the Fiscal Year ended March 31, 2010

Continue reading Final Fantasy XIII, Dragon Quest IX, Batman sales lead Square Enix fiscal year

Final Fantasy XIII, Dragon Quest IX, Batman sales lead Square Enix fiscal year originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 18 May 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Tags: nds ds games nintendo

Read Users' Comments (0)

Posted by jda5000 | May 28th, 2010

SouthPeak’s infringement-skirting Battle vs. Chess has apparently been pushed back from its initial May launch window, according to a press release. And the fact that May’s almost over and the game’s not out yet. However, the game is now set to launch this Fall, and will be released for 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP and PC. So, like, everything except the iPhone and the Lynx.

According to the presser, the game will include an “Action Mode,” where pieces won’t automatically kill one another in scripted animations, but will rather place players in a “beat-’em-up style encounter.” Somewhere, Garry Kasparov is openly weeping.

Battle vs. Chess coming this Fall to just about every platform originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 27 May 2010 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Tags: nds ds games nintendo

Read Users' Comments (0)