July 2007 Archives

There has been disappointing news in regards to the yet unnamed Mario Kart game for the wii and the release date of the game. Nintendo intend on keeping the game back from a feasible Christmas release until the New Year when they feel the December line-up of games have had their spotlight.

A spokesperson for Nintendo has said: "For the holidays we have a huge line-up of Wii games already, including Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Super Mario Galaxy, Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles and Pokémon Battle Revolution. Fans will not be hurting for great games to play."

Easier on the wallet in other words.

Nintendo should be pleased this morning, at least more so than usual. According to MSN UK Tech & Gadgets, their unlikely plumbing hero (or as King Koopa used to call him, 'faucet freak') Mario has been chosen by more than 4000 people in a new survey to discover who the world's greatest gaming icon is.

Lara Croft came in second with just over 1000 votes at 24 per cent. Other famous stars include Sonic the Hedgehog, Pacman and Link from the Legend of Zelda series.

With sterling platform games to his name and a host of spin off titles, some of which became famous in their own right (Super Mario Kart), Mario and his little brother Luigi certainly deserve the badge of honour, as a generation of gamers remember growing up with him.

But who would you choose, if they'd asked you to vote? Leave us a comment and let us know. Maybe it's someone no one else has even thought of ...

This week has seen parts of the UK battered with lots of rain and flooding; both flash and prolonged. Many are stranded without running water (ironic but true) and power, or houses in rest centres. So, what's our recommendation to pass the time?

Go to stay with some friends or relatives who have a Wii, and turn your Virtual Console on, because it's fight night, baby! Street Fighter II Turbo is back again, so let the hadokens roll!

Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting was originally released for the SNES way back in 1993, boasting faster game play than SF II as well as new & upgraded moves. It arguably has some of the most lovely music ever to be heard on the SNES, as well.

800 Wii Points is well worth this classic beat em up, in our view. But if fighting ain't your thing? Bring on the sci fi chick, in Metroid!

1987 saw Metroid blast onto the NES, assuming the role of Samus Aran, a space bounty hunter. You must save the universe from the spread of Metroids, using Samus' trademark Morph Ball ability. 500 Wii Points later, and Mother Brain can be toast - thanks to you!

Rockstar Games has announced that Bully: Scholarship Edition is coming to the Wii this Winter.

Surrounded in controversy on release, the Bully game previously was seen on the PS2 but was scrapped from the Xbox, with a special edition available stateside only, also on PS2. If you haven't heard of Bully, try Canis Canem Edit (latin for 'Dog eat Dog'). It's all the same game; parent groups were up in arms about it, assuming that it was a game about bullying being cool and being a bully to win.

Rockstar aren't exactly touted for their family approach to gaming (GTA, anyone?) and needless to say, it is always surprising to discover a Rockstar title winging it's way towards the Wii. But this is a good thing; it helps to bust up the image in the minds of many that Nintendo only make family consoles and allow family games. They may focus on that audience somewhat, but there's still very much a place for the traditional gamer. If you liked Bully on PS2, more content is promised in this new edition. We'll have more info on the Wii Bully as we get it.

Game adaptations of films are a funny thing. We all learned long ago, the painful way, to avoid new movie tie-ins (Or is that cash-ins?) like the plague. Older movie adaptations have bucked that trend recently, particularly games of The Godfather and Rocky, by actually being quite good, perhaps because they come closer to being labours of love than the rush jobs of the latest Pixar movie-game.

Where does Scarface fall into this, and how does the port cope with the Wii's controller setup? Scarface: The World Is Yours turns the genre's conventions upside down by using the film as a platform for a stand alone game. It poses the question - what if Tony Montana wasn't shot a billion times at the end of the film, but escaped? Your task here is to rebuild your empire again and take on Sosa (the cockroach), a nice spin on the standard linear level format of movie games interspersed with film clips.

But hang on a second - is this an open ended game where you have to drive around, shooting, dealing drugs and rising to the top and confronting rival gangs? Where could I have played that before? Scarface's major problem is its indebtedness, but also inadequacy next to the Grand Theft Auto series, particularly Vice City, which itself 'pastiched' Scarface and 80's opulence so brilliantly.

Needless to say, missions involve you running errands for people (Dump the crates before the cops arrive, etc); deal drugs and generally break the law in a shooty, fun sort of way. The twist is Tony's ability to blow his lid when he gets really, really mad. Whenever you commit an atrocity - get close enough to someone and you can decapitate them execution style - or drive on the wrong side of the road like the cool kids do. You also get Balls; when your 'Balls-meter' (I coined that one) fills up from all the murdering and taunting, you explode in a Blind Rage, becoming invulnerable and slaying everyone around you in a hail of bullets, a touch that brings it out from GTA's shadow a tad.

All good and well, but the Wii controller doesn't add much to the PS2 experience. The Wiimote aiming system works well when all of your enemies are facing you, but lets you down when you need to turn quickly. Granted; you can turn 180 degrees with the D-Pad, but even this can be tricky in the middle of a fire fight using the B trigger, leaving you longing for the days of two analogue joysticks. And fist fighting is poor: every fight can be won by closing your eyes and waving the remote for thirty seconds.

But the major gripe with the game is true of all platforms: the game is both too difficult and too easy at the same time. A challenge isn't an enjoyable one when it's just killing hordes of enemies with appalling AI. An awful lot of missions revolve around going to a new place and shooting it up, for one reason or another. At one point in each new mission or new territory you take over though, you'll walk into an area filled with enemies and end up riddled with as many bullets as Tony actually did at the end of the film. No problem; you know where they are now, so next time you wait outside the door and pick them off one by one as they run out to get you. The satisfaction of the gun fighting elements drops rapidly once you realise this.

That's not to say the game doesn't have its nice touches. The "exotics" you collect; ludicrous symbols of status and penis size to enhance your reputation on the street are a brilliant addition, as collecting them serves a purpose, unlike in so many other games (Remember the toy capsules in Shen Mue?) . "Do they got tigers?” Montana asks, and do they how if you got the dough. Make no mistake, pet tigers are cool. Damn cool.

And few games have quite as much swearing. Quotable swearing. There's a lot of that. Play it for any length of time and you'll be cursing repeatedly at family members or ordering someone to do the dishes because "the only thing in this world that gives orders is balls." No; swearing isn't cool, what I'm getting at here is that the voice acting and oodles of dialogue are great. There's no Pacino, but a great impression of him, as well as a star studded cast including James Woods (Also in GTA San Andreas, funny that), members of Cypress Hill and even Ricky Gervais.

But what I can't forgive is that the game for the most part looks worse than Vice City, which is more than five years old by my reckoning. Scarface's Miami is smaller, completely flat and the roads curve in straight sections in a way they didn't even in Outrun. Cars, buildings and trees materialise so close in front of Tony that his licence should be revoked and his eyes tested. Wii generation games really ought to be making use of the console's capabilities.

In fact, had Vice City been ported onto the Gamecube, I'd tell you to buy that and play it on your Wii instead. That's not to say Scarface is a bad game; far from it, but the virtual crime world is still very much Rockstar's. Chico.

Writer: Ben Sillis

Nintendo show off thier balance board hardware in front of a keen crowd at E3.

More from Ultimate Duck Hunting.

Detn8 Games has released a video of Ultimate Duck Hunting for the Wii which we'll be featuring shortly in the videos section. Set for release in August 2007, Ultimate Duck Hunting is a realistic hunting simulation that features both shooting and retrieving wild ducks, along with help from faithful doggy friends. Graphically, it falls under the 'realistic' banner with selectable camo fatigues, different hunters and a totally non cartoony display of forrests, hills and lakes - all filled with fowl awaiting their watery end!

When you think about it, this is a hunting game on the Wii. Hmm ... the more you think about it, the more odd it is. The UK has recently banned hunting with dogs, and it's generally seen as a bloodsport by most city folk. Yet here we are, in army gear and wades, handing out some pump action shotgun feed to mallards in their droves.

NES Duck Hunt this ain't. But whether it's a geeky hunting sim or a meaty FPS to get your adult gaming teeth into, remains to be seen. In the meantime, check out the video as soon as we slap it up there.

What a month it's been! In the last 30 days we've seen a rush of stars coming out all over again on the Virtual Console, including Nintendo old skools such as Mario, Kirby and Megaman, along with their unlikely ally of the recent era; Sonic. Others such as Ecco have also shown a fin or two, making it a great time to put up some Wii points and break out the classic pads. Unless your control sticks are going yellow, like some of ours are. In which case, Ebay time!

Paper Mario (N64 2001) blends Mario's platform exploits with a quest and interesting characters. On a mission to free the Star Spirits from Bowser, Mario finds himself as thin as a piece of paper, making the link between 2D and 3D like never before. Paper Mario is out now for 1000 Wii Points.

In Mega Man (1989 NES), players must assume the role of Mega Man and fight their way through six stages, defeating bosses as they go in a desperate effort to save the city from evil Dr Wily and his robot army! Players must defeat enemies by shooting at them and navigate complex obstacles using their agility and speed. Once they have defeated bosses in all the stages players must defeat the final bosses, utilising the power-ups earned through previous victories! Megaman is out now for 500 Wii Points.

Kirby’s Dream Course (1995 SNES) appeared a week later. Gone are the peaceful greens that golf fans normally know; in their place are devious obstacles, traps and enemies. Kirby assumes the role of the ball, soaring through the air and rolling across the courses. Players must use our pink hero and his special powers to smash enemies out of the way around 64 colourful courses before sinking himself to complete each hole. Kirby’s Dream Course is available now for 800 Wii Points.

Finally, Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992 Mega Drive/Genesis) charges onto Virtual Console. Join our speedy blue friend on an adventure to locate all the missing Chaos Emeralds before Dr.Eggman (AKA Dr.Robotnik) and thwart his evil plan to create a Death Egg warship. Featuring the first appearance of Sonic’s trusty sidekick Tails, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is out now for 800 Wii Points.

Oh Nintendo. They've gone mad at E3 this year, bringing more big (and new) guns to the table and well and truely aiming their cannons at the everyday new or non gamer; which is a market that owns far more money than the traditional gaming market, by the way. New money could wipe out the former competition, and this is how they plan to do it:

The zapper is back! At least a white shell is, anyway. Housing the nunchuk and Wii remote, the Zapper add-on will sell with Nintendo-developed software demonstrating the zapper's abilities, which is yet to be announced. Think what Wii Play did for the Wii remote, and you're probably on the right track. Ninty hope this will make the Wii the first port of call for first person shooters and other targetting games.

The 'not-quite-named-yet' Balance Board is set to come packaged with Wii Fitness (we'll be telling you all about that shortly) on the shelf and basically is a pressure sensitive aerobic step that goes on the floor. This can act as a dance mat (we've seen footage of players stepping on and off it time to dance music) as well as a point for measuring if you're following certain, set training moves to get fit to. We're hoping Nintendo will develop some sort of snowboarding title for the Balance Board, but frankly EA would probably do a better job of that, so bring it awn, EA!

There's also a Nintendo wheel coming out to house the Wii remote, but such a device already exists so we're still waiting for more news on what if anything, is going to change with this newer mould.

So now, it appears you can measure your fitness fears on the Wii. The everyday concerns of Jane Doe may well have been met in the form of a small white box. Only time will tell, but if it's true?

Nintendo have done very, very well. While everyone else is thinking 'techo', 'HD/BluRay' and 'frag' they are thinking 'everybody', 'fun' and 'health'. It's an exciting time to watch and see what happens, that's for sure.

With E3 in full swing, the info is literally pouring out of the games world and into our laps. And today? We get this ...

Launching in 2007, the new (and free) 'Check Mii Out' channel builds on Wii owners creating caricatures of themselves, their friends and celebrities. The two main components of the channel are an area where users can post Miis they have created to let others vote on their artistic abilities, and a competition element that lets users test their skills to create the most accurate likeness of individuals or other themes. The Check Mii Out Channel will appear alongside the Everybody Votes and Weather channels, etc. on your main Wii menu screen.

Perhaps Nintendo have noticed that certain sites are doing wuite well off the back of users posting their Miis and Mii creating ideas (such as Star Wars Miis, etc.)? It never hurts to give the people what they want, and if it is for free as they say, then fair play to them. For that's exactly what it'll be.

Of course, it won't do their general ratings any harm, either. After all, give people a place to express themselves, and they inevitably will do so. Just ask any blogger.

The Wii is preparing to get even more physical as details of a new device for the feet are announced.

One of the revelations of the current E3 conference was Nintendo announcement of a Wii Balance Board that, according to the Wall Street Journal will allow gamers to do virtual skateboarding and snowboarding.

The new device may be part of the Wii-Fit exercise game that news outlet SPOnG claims will feature up to 40 exercise ‘games’ that will include yoga, aerobics and much more.

The Balance Board is rumoured to resemble a ‘step’ often used in step aerobics but a little more technical, obviously; it can even compare Body Mass Indexes, wow, that sounds like a right party starter.

More news on the all-new Balance Board as we have it…

Gaming giant EA have announced the complete soundtrack for their Boogie game on the Wii, releasing August 31st 2007 in Europe & the UK. Boogie is a title exclusive to the Wii, so you can't play it anywhere else. Oooh!

The game features more than 35 songs including Celebration, Dancing Machine, Groove Is In The Heart, and We Are Family. The game ships with a packed-in karaoke microphone peripheral and includes new versions of tracks made popular by the hit bands listed below.

Pretty much in the same pidgeon hole as Guitar Hero, then. It will be interesting to see if the game majors on singing or dancing ... or somehow, both. Originally it was said that Boogie would only involve you controlling a dancing and singing game character, but it would certainly seem that now you're able to sing.

Keep your eyes open for further news on this potential Singstar challenger ...

(Check out the preview section for the FULL song list!)

The successful DS title Trauma Center is set to expand its wares to the Wii later this summer in the all new Trauma Center: New Blood.

Doctor Derek Styles returns alongside new character Dr Nozomi Weaver and it’s up to them to battle against an outbreak of a genetically created disease known as GUILT.

New Blood is promising some great new features on the menu including Online play, co-operative tasks, new characters and all new storylines and tools to shake your Wiimote at. Who would have thought playing Doctors and Nurses would be so much fun.

Trauma Center is scheduled for an August 10th release retailing at £34.99.

Song List for Boogie:

ABC - The Jackson 5
Baila Me - Gypsy Kings
Boogie Oogie Oogie - Taste Of Honey
Brick House - The Commodores
Canned Heat - Jamiroquai
Celebration - Kool & The Gang
Dancing in the Street - Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
Dancing Machine - Jackson 5
Don't Cha - Pussycat Dolls / Busta Rhymes
Fergalicious - Fergi
Get Right - Jennifer Lope
Get The Party Started - Pink
Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
Groove Is In The Heart - Dee-Lite
I Want You Back - The Jackson 5
I’m A Slave 4 U - Britney Spears
It's Raining Men - The Weather Girls
Karma Chameleon - Culture Club
Kung Fu Fighting - Carl Douglas
Le Freak - Chic
Let's Get It Started - Black Eyed Peas
Love Rollercoaster - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Love Shack - The B-52's
Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of…) - Lou Bega
Milkshake - Kelis
One More Time - Daft Punk
One Way Or Another - Blondie
Oops I Did It Again - Britney Spears
Pop Muzik - M
S.O.S. - Rihanna
Stars - Simply Red
That's The Way (I Like It) - KC And The Sunshine
Tu Y Yo - Thalia
U Can't Touch This M.C. - Hammer
Virtual Insanity - Jamiroquai
Walking On Sunshine - Katrina & The Waves
We Are Family - Sister Sledge
Y.M.C.A. - The Village People

The topic of Manhunt 2 arises again this week as confusion has arisen whether the game is actually being released on July 13th in the UK or not.

Adverts for the game have appeared in the printed press featuring TBC labelled over the certificate design.

There has been some speculation that the previous press regarding the game not being allowed a release is possibly a publicity stunt so that punters will want the game even more!

We at Denofwii would like to hear your views in the comments section of this blog. Would you want Manhunt? Should it be released for Wii, or just on the other formats?

It seems Sony are holding out on announcing any price cuts for their wallet-drubbing Playstation 3 console, which costs around £400 in the UK. The PS3 is expected to make losses for Sony well into next year and therefore, despite the Wii outselling the PS3 2 to 1 in the UK and reportedly 5 or 6 to 1 in Japan, there will be no price cut.

Sony are gambling everything on the Blu-ray format, the challenger to HD DVD. So far it is reported that both are making a slow start in the industry, but despite Blu ray being supported by Hollywood much more than HD DVD, Blu ray has not lifted Sony hopes yet. Playstation 3 launching has caused an increase in Blu ray movie sales, but progress is very slow.

Microsoft have their own problems at the moment, admitting to the sale of faulty Xbox 360 units which will cost them a fourtune in extended warrenty arrangements for the error message.

In comparison, Nintendo are making money hand over fist, seeing their Wii out sell the competition with authority, as well as the continued awesome success of the DS, which has been their breadwinner for some time and currently sells in DS Lite form.

Will you buy a PS3 to get a Blu ray DVD machine? Are you happy with your Wii? The debate rages on across the gaming community, with 2007 set to be a crucial year to decide who heads into this generation of the console wars with a firmly established platform.

Do you care about games piracy? Ever bought a knock off game for a few quid just because it was at the market and everyone else was buying it? Does that make you a criminal?

ELPSA say yes it does. Oh, it does. They've welcomed comments from Conservative Party Leader David Cameron in which he recognised the scale and impact of copyright theft, its effect on business and the need for a more robust Intellectual Property (IP) framework.

The debate rages on almost every video gaming forum the web has to offer as to whether or not there is ever a justified case for video game piracy or indeed if it's a glorified method of sticking it to the man. An age old past time that could hardly be described as a modern form of rebellion ... I see a few silver heads nodding.

But how will piracy effect Nintendo's Wii? Traditionally the big N have steered clear of the mainstream piracy threat by using cartridge based mediums that are much harder to work with for scallywags. This time around though, not only are they 'doing the disc thing' but they're doing it full size, opening up the doorway for much more work to be done on the Wii unit. By creating regional gaming zones, some are saying they have encouraged region chipping and modded Wii units. Some Chinese Wii units are reportedly modified to play US or Japanese games, with games themselves being sold for as little as $1.30.

However, the overriding news isn't that piracy seems to be effecting the Wii right now, or that it's ever likely to. With organisations such as ELPSA and recognised figures like Cameron on their side, chances are that the seas will continues to grow increasingly choppy for pirates who fancy themselves a haul of pieces 'a silicon.

Nintendo have cause for celebration this week after it was revealed that the Wii has outsold the Playstation 3 six to one in Japan.

According to Japanese publisher Enterbrain, 270, 974 Wiis were sold last month while only 41,628 PS3s made it off the shelves.

The amount of Wiis sold to date in Japan since last December totals 2.76million…a number that the Playstation 3 will have some trouble catching up with.

However, Playstation staff feel confident that their new and improved console will match the success of the PS1 and 2 and are hopeful sales will improve after the launch of new games including ‘Gran Turismo’ and ‘Kill Zone 2’.

Phil Harrison head of Playstation’s worldwide studios said to Game Informer: "You only have to go back to the games that launched PlayStation 1 and Playstation 2.

"If you took those few dozen titles and analysed them, you would never have imagined that either of those formats would have on to sell over 100m units each."

What do you think; can the PS3 outsell the Wii?

Check out this sword swinging, rip roaring footage from the upcoming Dragonblade Wii.