Poll #4 "What quality do you look for in games the most?" results

My fourth poll's over and done. Here's the results...

What quality do you look for in games the most? (32 total votes)

• Impressive/polished graphics - 3% (1 vote)
  
• Great music/soundtrack - 9% (3 votes)
  
• Compelling gameplay - 84% (27 votes)
• How long it'll last you - 3% (1 vote)
  

Once again, there was a clear winner, a cut above the rest. This time it was "Compelling gameplay", actually the least surprising so far. Most people prefer a fun game over a graphically powerful game. Despite the several votes for graphics, music, and replay value, gameplay is the number one thing most gamers look for.

The fifth poll is up currently. This time the topic is: "What Wii games are you looking forward to in 2009?" And don't forget, you can vote for more than one!

Nintendo Jack-o'-lanterns

Halloween time has come again. It's time for parties, scary movies, tricker-treating for the younger crown and TP'ing/egging houses for the older kids. It's a night for crazy costumes and spooky (yet cheesy) haunted houses. And most of all it's pumpkin carving time. I'm amazed every year by the sheer amount of great pumpkins I see across the web. Tonight, I've compiled a list of 13 Nintendo-themed Jack-o'-lanterns. Enjoy!

Please note I did not make any of these. I found these in various gaming sites and blogs across the internet.

13. Super Mushroom (Super Mario series)

12. ? Block (Super Mario series)

11. Wii logo

10. Triforce/Master Sword (The Legend of Zelda series)

9. Amaterasu (Okami)

8. Pikachu (Pokemon series)

7. Shy Guy (Super Mario series)

6. 8-bit Mega Man (Mega Man 1-6 and 9)

5. "Finish Him" (Mortal Combat series)

4. Link (The Legend of Zelda series)

3. Mario (Super Mario series)

2. Wario (Super Mario/Wario series)

1. Wii remote in hand

That's it for tonight. Hope you guys have a great Halloween, whatever it is you're doing.

If you have any Nintendo themed pumpkins you'd like to show me, email me at kylehogg@gmail.com or post a comment below...

World of Goo (WiiWare) review

Developer: 2D Boy
Publisher: N/A (Independent)
Date Released: October 13, 2008 (USA)
Players: 1-2
Genre: Puzzle
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

World of Goo is one of those games that's great for services like WiiWare, XBLA, and PSN. It was made by a two man team (later three, but mainly two people worked on it). It's a simple, compelling concept that can be priced lower than retail games for the sake of download. But is it all that great? I'll break it to you know, the answer is "YES!", but read on to find out exactly why...

Each level has you picking up various balls of goo, connecting them to each other, and constructing large structures. You must build these towers/bridges/etc. towards a pipe located somewhere in the level. The goal is to have a certain amount of goo left over to beat the level. It's a really cool idea that started as a simple physics simulation titled Tower of Goo (which is actually featured as a level somewhere in the game).


Besides the basic concept, there are quite a few things to mix of the gameplay so that each level feels fresh and new. Other than the basic, dark-gray goo that is used to build solid structures, there are a variety of goo types to use. For example there's the green goo which can be reused by detaching it whenever you need more. There are also goo that can stick to things, that can't be destroyed, that inflates into balloons, and that can be lit on fire (usually to ignite something).

Each level will have obstacles in the way and not to mention gravity. The physics in the game are pretty good and you'll find that you need to balance out towers and build supports on bridges to be successful. It may be frustrating at times, nothing really beats the thrill of your tower started to tip, only to have you even out the goo and save it. Other than gravity a variety of spikes, fire, and rotating gears will ensure the road to the finish is challenging.

You'll be amazed at how much fun the game is. And for good reason, each level will delight, amaze, and challenge you. Plus almost nothing is done twice, and if it is, there's still so much fun to be had. The level design is top-notch. You'll be building a simple tower up the the pipe way up at the top, hoping to god your tower doesn't tip in one level and in the next you'll be building a bridge over to the other side, attaching balloons along the way. Some of the stages are super-wacky and have you almost think abstract. The gameplay in World of Goo is some of the best fun I've had in a while.

The difficulty is pretty nice in the game. It's starts out fairly easy and with each level it gets a bit more challenging. The last three levels of the last world are super hard and I still haven't beaten them myself.


I can barely find anything wrong with World of Goo, it's just a great game. But there are several things I do need to mention. First off when playing with separate goo types, it's hard to pick a certain one. The only way to have done this easier would be to assign different goo balls to different buttons but it'd make the game more cluttered and complicated. Also with the green goos, which could be taken off of existing structures and reused, I found that sometimes when trying to pick an unused goo ball, I'd of pull one already solid and the structure would crumble. And finally, though it's more a matter of what isn't there than what is, where's the level editor? The PC version gets it, why not us WiiWare people? The game would be perfect for one and 2D Boy really missed that one.

The story of World of Goo really needs to be mentioned. It's wacky and creative. I won't ruin anything for you, but expect some little twists and turns involving the "goo balls" and their quest to find a greater meaning of their life. The signs that litter different levels from "the Sign Painter" are both humorous and philosophical, plus they expand the story a bit too.

World of Goo is a fairly long game; I clocked around seven to ten hours in the game. A notable feature is the ability to skip levels and come back to them later. A feature I used on occasion. The game is broken into four worlds and an epilogue. Each world has around ten or so levels in it (and four levels in the epilogue). In each level there is also a higher goal titled OCD that will bring back the hardcore fans. These require something like 40 goo balls or to complete the level in 10 moves.


Other than the basic game, there is a metagame called World of Goo Corporation. All the extra goo you collect goes here. With that goo you try to build the biggest tower. It's somewhat like a game that's also a leaderboard. Once you get high enough, clouds will appear. In them are stats of other players with towers similar in height to yours. The clouds tell you what country the people are from and how many goo balls they used to build their tower. It's a cool little distraction within the overall game.

World of Goo's style is exceptional. The crisp, colorful graphics are great. The almost Dr. Seuss style works very well with the game. The music is also notable. It's funky in some levels and serene and beautiful in the next. Definitely don't put your TV on Mute while playing this WiiWare game.

EDIT: As a reader mentioned to me, the style is more Tim Burton that Dr. Seuss, though there'sa bit of Seuss's style in there too. Thought I'd make that clear.

Overall Thoughts

World of Goo is one of the best games I've played this year and a great WiiWare title overall. With enough content and fun to be priced as a full retail (or slightly lower), World of Goo is a must-have. It tops downloadable favorites of mine in both style and presentation. Though it has very minor flaws, the $15 game is well worth the Wii Points.

10/10

Comments or questions? Drop an email to kylehogg@gmail.com or leave a comment below... Still can't decide whether or not to purchase it... (though as I've said, the answer is yes) check out 2D Boy's PC demo here.

Art Style: ORBIENT (WiiWare) review

Developer: skip Ltd.
Publisher: Nintendo
Date Released: September 29, 2008 (USA)
Players: 1
Genre: Puzzle
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

A little history lesson before we start. The bit Generations titles were released for the GBA in Japan to compliment the Touch! Generations titles on the Nitendo DS. The titles were meant to feel retro despite all being new game concepts. One such titles was Orbital, which has now been put on Nintendo's WiiWare service for download. Should it have stayed a portable, Japanese only game? Or is it worth the few bucks it's priced at?

The entire concept of ORBIENT is that you're this little tiny star. Your goal is to absorb other stars that are the same size as you to get bigger. You control a while star. Stars that can be absorbed by yours are blue. Once you absorb a blue star you become bigger, making previous blue stars now gray, and bigger (previously red) stars now blue and obtainable. The goal of each level is to grow your star big enough to get the goal star in your orbit. How do you do this? Let me explain. Probably the coolest aspect of Art Style: ORBIENT is gravity. Each star has it's own gravitational pull. Logically, the bigger stars have more gravitational pull. And if you enter the orbit of a larger, red star, after a short time, you'll begin orbiting it. Once you become big enough, you can be pull other, smaller stars into your orbit to become satellites. It's a really simple concept that is used ingeniously.


The controls of ORBIENT are about as simple as it gets. A is to activate gravity, pulling you towards stars. On the other hand, B is to use anti-gravity, pushing you away from the stars. No D-pad or analog stick involved. It may sound like too little, but you'll be surprised at how much control you do have over your little star. But later in the game it does get tricky. If you don't use just the right amount of gravity and anti-gravity, you'll find your self hopelessly flying towards a giant, red star taking away some of that precious life.

But it's not all fun and games. You start out with five lives. They can be taken away one at a time by colliding with larger stars. You get more lives by completing stages and obtaining satellites. Other than the basic big, red star, there are certain obstacles in the game that'll make it difficult to get that goal star. One of them, and probably the most impressive, is the black hole. These dangers have their own gravitational pull, pulling your star towards it all the time. But they also have their own anti-gravity to use too. But if you do happen to get sucked into the black hole, it's game over for you, as it takes away all your lives. Asteroids are the other hazard, and they're a bit harder to get around. Sometimes they're orbiting stars, other times they're locked in place. Asteroids have no gravity, so you'll have to use the pull of other stars to get around them.


The game is a really, really basic concept. I mean how deep can you get with only two buttons. But there really is a lot of fun to be had with this game. The game gets really difficult in the later levels. I threw my controller down more than once while playing. But another great thing to do, is just play the first few levels or so. Orbiting planets, growing in size, and gaining satellites of your own can be a very relaxing experience. That being said, don't expect to beat this game easily. It's a tough one.

There are only very minor things I saw wrong with Art Style: ORBIENT. The first of which is that I felt the game was a bit too simple and could have introduced a few new mechanics or hazards along the way. The other problem I had with the game was the ramping up of difficulty. The first five or so levels are pretty easy and you'll fly by them. But then the game gets very hard, very fast. I would've liked a little bit more easing up into those later stages, but oh well. The game sports some fine gameplay nonetheless.


As for the presentation side of things, ORBIENT is basic here too. The graphics are nothing to gawk over, but the calming look and strange, outer space backgrounds go with the game well. Music is pretty much nonexistent. What is there though actually amazes me. The sounds change over time. When you collect satellites, a little tune starts to play. When you've collected enough satellites, another, different tune plays. And when fall into the orbit of a large, red star some more musics plays. It's great and melds with the gameplay perfectly.

As for longevity, the game will last you a while, especially with the increasingly difficult levels. There are 50 levels in all, spanning over 6 galaxies. Each level can take anywhere form ten to fifteen minutes, without dying. But you'll probably spend a lot more time on those levels...

Overall Thoughts

Art Style: ORBIENT is a simple title that uses it's core concept, gravity, and really expands on it. It's a unique little game overall. The graphics may not break any records, but the strangely enjoyable music and lasting value will make this a definite must to most. Plus with the $6.00 price tag, I'd recommend ORBIENT to almost anyone.

Gameplay: 8.5/10 Using only two buttons, you must navigate your star through a level. It's super simple but super entertaining.

Graphics: 7/10 The plain visuals won't be eye candy. But at least they don't hurt your eyes. Plus, the backgrounds are nicely made.

Sound: 8/10 There isn't much to the music. But once you get going, you'll notice subtle changes when you do certain things. It's really neat and you need to experience it to know exactly what I'm talking about.

Lasting Value: 8.5/10 50 levels, spanning 6 galaxies. Difficulties range from super easy to incredible tough.

8/10

Comments or questions? Drop an email to kylehogg@gmail.com or leave a comment below...

Mega Man 9 (WiiWare) review

The long awaited... Mega Man 9 review!


Also For: Xbox 360 via XBLA, Playstation 3 via PSN,
Developer: Inti Creates
Publisher: Capcom
Date Released: WiiWare: September 22, 2008 (USA); PSN: September 25, 2008 (USA); XBLA: October 1, 2008 (USA)
Players: 1
Genre: Action/Platform
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Capcom's Mega Man franchise is one of the biggest in gaming history. With way more titles than you can count with with both your fingers and toes, you can be sure some of them are really good. As can you be certain that there are some bad ones too. Capcom has pushed out so many spin-offs and card battling games, Mega Man's name has become somewhat of a joke. Sure there's a good game here and there. Capcom's bent to change that view of the Blue Bomber. With 8-bit graphics, chiptune music, and extreme, retro difficulty, Mega Man 9 is definitely dedicated to the fans. But is it really that great by today's standards?

Mega Man 9 starts out with a colorful cut scene to explain the storyline. It actually features a bit more robust storyline than most of the original Mega Man games. Instead of the basic, "You've got to fight all eight of Dr. Wily's robots and then defeat him." It goes a little something like this: Dr. Wily surrenders, never to do evil again. But then suddenly, robots around the globe freak out and turn bad. Dr. Wily frames this on Dr. Light. So you, as Mega Man, must rid the world of another eight robots to clear Dr. Light's name. Simple, but works. There are several other cut scenes through out the game, making it a bid more story-centric (for a Mega Man titles that is).


How does it play? Exactly like you remember. It's your task to defeat every Robot Master. To do this you must survive through their stage and best them in a fight. You can tackle any Robot Master in any order. But the real strategy is to find a certain boss order to defeat them in, as each of their weapons will take down another boss with ease. After the eight Robot Masters, you go to Dr. Wily's castle to take him down there in four or so different levels.

True to the NES Mega Mans, Mega Man 9 is hard. You will die. A lot. Guaranteed. Each level has two check points, halfway through the stage and before the Robot Master at the end. Around ever turn are spikes, lava, enemies, and projectiles waiting to ambush you and take away that precious life of yours. But also true to the original Mega Mans is the trial and error strategy of progressions. It's very unlikely that you'll make it anywhere in the game without dying. To become a real master of it, you need to know exactly where every enemy spawns and where every hazard lay. To do this you're going to have died quite a bit.

This may seem like a chore to some. And the extreme difficulty may turn off others, the game is some of the best fun I've had in a while. Plus, being so challenging, the game's also very rewarding.


There are three main things Mega Man 9 does different from previous games. The first is the store, allowing you to buy E-Tanks and lives to easy up the game a bit. Plus you can buy other cool items like a book of hairstyles that will take Mega Man's helmet off and allow you to play the game like that. Not necessary but very cool. Another new addition is Time Trials, in which you speed run through various levels, competing for the high score. There are online leaderboards too.

The other major addition is downloadable content. As of writing, two downloads are available. One lets you play as Proto Man instead of Mega Man. He has a shield, can charge shots, and can slide. His games a bit more difficult, as you can't go to the store to purchase E-Tanks and such. The other download was a mode called Endless Stage. This is a really cool mode. It's basically a hundred or so little levels each connected by doors at the beginning and end. It's totally random as to which you'll encounter and it counts how far you make it until dying. This too has leaderboards. Of the DLC available now, both are worth the measly Wii Points they'll charge you.

The levels of Mega Man 9 are top-notch and you can tell a lot of time and effort was put into them. Every one is unique. From Splash Women's underwater lair to Tornado Man's aerial, platform jumping goodness, the stages are pretty well thought of. As usual, there are eight robot bosses and eight new, weapons to obtain. I really had mixed thoughts about the guns. Some of them were really cool and I used a lot. These include the Black Hole Bomb, which created mini black holes to suck in surround enemies, and the Plug Ball which would follow along floors and wall until it hit an enemy. But while those were pretty cool and useful, some of the others, (namely the Magma Bazooka, which would shoot three blasts at once) are unimaginative and not very necessary. Plus, the Jewel Satellite failed to impress me, seeing it's almost exactly like the Leaf Shield in Mega Man 2. Nonetheless, the stages, bosses, and weapons of Mega Man 9 are pretty damn awesome.


There's been somewhat of a controversy over the graphics of Mega Man 9. Their exactly like an 8-bit Mega Man and I thinks that's great. There are even options in the menu to turn on Legacy Mode, which will make it feel even more retro by adding slowdown and sprite flicker. By today's standards, the game's visuals are either extremely good or extremely bad. They're good in a stylistic way. Games like Wind Waker or Wario Land: Shake It succeed in the graphics department with beautiful cel-shaded or hand drawn art. But the game "fails" in power aspects. Nothing about the game is pushing the system and if you're looking for the next Crysis in terms of visuals, don't look here. But I feel the game really succeeds in what it wanted and that was making it look and feel like an 8-bit title. As for the music, I love the chiptune music. The stages include some very memorable tracks. The Mega Man games have been know for their awesome tunes, and Mega Man 9 doesn't break this trend.

As far as how long this game lasts you, it depends. If you fly through each level, the game will probably last an hour or so. But the extreme difficulty almost guarantees at least a five hours, if not more, of gameplay. Plus there are all the extra modes and DLC to play through too.

Overall Thoughts

Gameplay: 9.5/10 A truly challenging game. It's fun and goes back to those golden days of gaming. But expect to throw the controller down more than once.

Graphics: 5/10 You could argue that the graphics are stylistic and succeed in that aspect. But you could also argue that they're plain bad graphics. So I'll settle somewhere in between those two extremes.

Sound: 8.5/10 Some great, 8-bit music.

Lasting Value: 8/10 Not too long of a game, but with all the bells and whistles, it'll last you some time.

9/10

Comments or questions? Drop an email to kylehogg@gmail.com or leave a comment below...

Is World of Goo really better (or equal) to Super Mario Galaxy?

Recently on Metacritic, World of Goo received an average score of 98, making it the highest rated Wii game. Currently, it's at 97, making it equally rated with Super Mario Galaxy, and above AAA titles like Twilight Princess and Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition. So is World of Goo really the best Wii game? Is it really equal to Super Mario Galaxy? Short answer, no. For the long answer, read on...


First off, I'm believe Super Mario Galaxy is the best game on Wii. And I seriously doubt we'll see something like that again (at least in this generation). World of Goo is an excellent game, but it has its minor flaws. Super Mario Galaxy has its flaws too. But overall, Super Mario Galaxy is just so much more of an amazing experience. It's a lot longer and the gameplay is just much more fun in my opinion. I wouldn't even go and say that World of Goo is better than Twilight Princess, Resident Evil 4, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, or Metroid Prime 3. Those games are all must haves if you own a Wii. But I would say that World of Goo is the best WiiWare game available for download, topping great, smaller titles like Mega Man 9 and LostWinds. And to anyone reading this, you need to go and buy World of Goo. It'll set you back $15, but be glad it's not $50, because it's worth that much.


But there's another big reason, that Metacritic is wrong with saying it's topping all those great games: it only has six reviews. Metacritic is a good site to go by, as long as it has a lot of reviews, otherwise it'll usually lean to one extreme or the other. Don't believe me? Compare Super Mario Galaxy's Metacritic page to World of Goo's. SMG has 73 reviews, while WoG only has 6 reviews averaged. Once World of Goo has around 20 or so more, it would be safe to say the average is accurate.

But hey, why does it really matter in the end? Both games are excellent and worthy of your purchase (that is, if you have a Wii. If you don't, just go back to playing Steroid-abusing Space Marines: The Game or whatever you play on those other systems... just kidding). What do you think about my analysis? Have anything else to add? Leave me a comment below...

Games I've Been Playing Lately - October '08 Edition

It's weird. Every time I decide to do one of these articles I always have exactly four games I'm playing. If I would've wrote two days ago, I would've broken that trend, as I purchased my fourth game today.

Lately I've been playing a lot of WiiWare. 75% of the titles on this list are download from Nintendo's WiiWare service. The fourth game is a retail, Wii game. So lately I've been all about Wii, no retro games on the Virtual Console, and no Nintendo DS games.

Art Style: Orbient

System: Wii (via WiiWare)
I really dig this new, "Art Style" series. The concepts are simple, a load of fun, and only put you back $6 (but put you forward in so much quality, genuine fun!). Based an a Japan GBA game, Oribital, the Art Style: Orbient is actually pretty simple, but pretty damn hard too. You control a little planet, orbiting and absorbing stars until you can catch the goal star in your orbit. All this with only the A and B buttons. I've been playing this game alongside Mega Man 9 and I seriously don't know which I've gotten more pissed at. Neither in a bad way, just in a extreme kicking my butt way.

Mega Man 9

System: Wii (via WiiWare)

Mega Man 9 most definitely is the "true" sequel to Mega Man 1 & 2. Virtually everything is present from those games in hear, although menus have been updated and polished a bit more (as polished as an 8-bit game can get, of course). Of the two NES Mega Mans (1 and 2) I've played, I've never beaten either one of them. In both of them I've beat the six or eight Robot Masters and then preceded to Dr. Wily's castle where I got my butt kicked. Same thing goes for 9, as currently I'm on the second Dr. Wily stage, and damn it's hard. But the new DLC also gives me something else to mess around on in the game (Proto Man mode and Endless Stage, both which are excellent).

Wario Land: Shake It!

System: Wii
September sure was the month for platformers on the Wii. Wario Land, Mega Man, and de Blob were all released, satisfying that platforming fans. (Too bad I still need to pick up de Blob.) As for Wario Land, it's a lot of fun and I absolutely love the art style. The game's not to long, but I got stuck on a certain boss a couple of days ago and haven't had some free time to tackle that level again. But this weekend I'll finish the main game for sure.

World of Goo

System: Wii (via WiiWare)
Critics are calling World of Goo the best game on WiiWare. Period. And I'm not going to disagree with them. Even though I'm only on the first chapter (well through it, mind you that), I can already tell this game is a gem. The strategy and physics you have to abide by in so intense and plain fun.

That wraps up another episode of "Games I've Been Playing Lately" (dang, I need a catchier title...) What about you? What games have sucked you in as of late?

Poll #3 "Which consoles do you own this generation?" results

Poll number three is over and done with. Here's the results on that one:

Which consoles do you own this generation? (75 total votes)

• Wii only - 61% (46 votes)
  
• Xbox 360 only - 1% (1 vote)
  
• Playstation 3 only - 0% (0 votes)
• Wii and 360 - 17% (13 votes)
  
• Wii and PS3 - 6% (5 votes)
  
• 360 and PS3 - 0% (0 votes)
  
• Wii, 360, and PS3 - 10% (8 votes)
  
• None of them - 2% (2 votes)
  

"Wii only" smoked the competition with over 60% of the votes. Not to surprising to me as I only review Nintendo system games and most people usually come here via GoNintendo.com or some other small, Nintendo-related blog. In second place was "Wii and 360". I also expected this more or less, as it seems most multi-console owning people get the Wii for Nintendo-only titles and then stick with a 360 or PS3 for the majority of other titles not found on Wii, but appearing on both HD consoles.

I voted "Wii only" of course, but I'm definitely thinking of picking up either an Xbox 360 or a Playstation 3 to get all those other great games. I just need the money!

Once again, another poll is up. This time the question is: "What quality do you look for in games the most?"

And just in case anyone's wondering. I've got four reviews scheduled. This Thursday it's Mega Man 9, this Friday is Art Style: Orbient, next Monday is Resident Evil 4, and next Friday I'll have a review of Wario Land: Shake It! up. Look forward for that...

Top 9 - Features of the DSi

Why Top 9? Because I feel Top 5, Top 10, and even Top 100 lists are way to overused. What better way to break that trend than to compile a list of 9 things? Today's topic is the DSi. The DSi was recently announced at Nintendo's Fall Media Summit. And the internet is abuzz with facts and pictures of Nintendo's newest handheld. Though not a whole new handheld, it adds so much more than you'd expect from your typical redesign. Today, I've made a list of the top nine most prominent features of the new DS redesign, the DSi.

9. Miis
Though it may be minor, the fact that you'll now be able to have your Nintendo avatars on your DS is pretty cool. The first game/application that will utilize this is the Lifestyle Rhythm Calculator software in Japan, I don't know if that's coming here yet.

8. New games
New games are a given of course. But not only new games but new innovation in games. Think of what the camera can do in a game (discussed later). Even without new features, there were a few launch titles announced for the DSi. The biggest being Mario & Luigi RPG 3.

7. Onboard memory
The flash memory is probably going to be used mostly for the DSWare games (again discussed later), but it might also be utilized in some games, you never know.

6. Better speakers
...Mean better sound quality. 'Nuff said.

5. SD card slot
Probably will be used for saving data once the onboard memory is full. Also to send photos over to computer and Wii (wait a camera? what? ...discussed later).

4. Bigger screens
The DSi will have 3.25 inch screens versus the DS's 3 inch screens. It's supposed to have a little bit better resolution too.

3. The web browser
The original internet browser you could buy for the DS. I've never used it before and heard it kind of sucked. Plus it was discontinued in the U.S. But the new DSi has a built in web browser that uses the same internet browser, Opera, as the Wii's one. The Wii's Internet Channel works pretty good in my opinion (could use some tabs) so hopefully this will turn out good too.

2. DSWare/Apps store
Similar to WiiWare, DSWare will allow smaller games and more indie titles to reach the audiences. The prices range from free, 200, 400, and 800 points. A lot of the apps could be like the iPhone's (MySpace, weather, etc.), but I also hope Nintendo releases Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and GBA games for downloads, especially seeing that there's no GBA slot.

1. Build-in camera
The single biggest change of the DSi is the camera. Some sites claim its a 3 megapixel, while most others say it's a 0.3 megapixel. If it's the latter then that's not that high of quality. Even so, the possibilities the DSi opens up with a camera are pretty big. You'll be able to directly send the photos you snap over to your Wii's Photo Channel. There's also a built in editor on the DSi similar to the Wii's (in the Photo Channel).

All in all, the DSi brought quite a few changes. Though some may complain about the lack of GBA backward compatibility, the newer innovations, particularly the camera, DSWare, and the bigger screen and speakers, make it worth it.

The future of WiiWare

At the launch of Nintendo's WiiWare service, there were three games that shone out of the seven launch titles, LostWinds, Defend Your Castle, and FFCCMLaaK (Google it...). At that time, things seemed bright for WiiWare. But soon it went downhill from there as quite a few plain bad games were put out in the coming weeks (excluding a select few like Dr. Mario and Toki Tori). But now it seems we're finally getting some real quality in Nintendo's service with Mega Man 9 and the Strong Bad games as some good examples of this. Below I've detailed the games that we know of that you may want to keep an eye or two looking out for. Enjoy!

World of Goo

If you know about WiiWare and follow it, you should definitely know about World of Goo. It was announced when WiiWare was first shown off. The premise is a simple one, but as with most simple concepts it gets difficult. You place little balls of goo on top of each other trying to make a bridge or tower to the exit pipe. But you have to take into account gravity and certain goos and their statuses. From the videos and previews it looks like a really complex and compelling game.

Tetris Party

Every system deserves a Tetris game, even if most don't rival the original monochromatic outing on the GameBoy. But the WiiWare version is actually looking pretty outstanding. It has the normal Tetris modes, but it brings along so many more. There’s everything from multiplayer to online to crazy modes where you navigate a single piece down a hazard filled level. At $12, it costs more than an average WiiWare but with all the stuff cram-packed into this one, it looks more than worth it.

Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Episodes 3-5

I love the Homestarrunner.com cartoons. They’re hilarious and not the kind of funny where you have to make fart jokes and swear every other sentence. So you’d think a point-and-click WiiWare version of the game would be a must buy for me. But due to my lack of money at the moment, I haven’t picked either of the two episodes out now. I’m still going to get around to downloading these sometime or another, as should you if a fan of point-and-click adventures or Homestarrunner.

Cave Story

Cave Story started out as a freeware game that earned a thriving fanbase. It was praised for it’s deep gameplay and compelling Metroid-like scope and length (1UP.com). And now the developer Nicasis has teamed up with the original creator, Pixel, to bring it to WiiWare.

Boingz

Real Networks isn’t know for quality in games, so most gamers were more than a little skeptical when hearing about their latest game coming to WiiWare. But from several impressions I’ve read, the gameplay sounds unique and fun. A basic run down of the gameplay is you control some aliens. Instead of having a jump button though, you pull back one their antennae and fling there up or sideways.

That about rounds it up. Some others you may want to look into are Animales de la Muerte and the other Art Style game (seeing that Orbient was so awesome), but I’ll save those for another day. Until next time, over and out. Just don’t forget to comment...

NOTE: Never, ever use Microsoft Word to type out an article and then transfer it to Blogger, it FUCKS IT UP! Don't do it!

Impressions of Nintendo's Fall Media Summit

Nintendo's recent event has left a warm feeling in many Nintendo fan's hearts. After E3, so people claimed Nintendo was abandoning the hardcore. Though this certainly wasn't the case, it did seem that Nintendo was focusing more of their time and effort on more expanded audience games. A month or so ago, Nintendo announced they were having two press conferences, one in the United States, and the other in Japan. Though the info from the U.S. one was embargoed until Monday, a lot of news came out of the Japan one, and here are my impressions of the event. (For a recap of all the news that came out of this event, check out this page on NeoGAF.) Here's my impressions of all the news... Enjoy!

DSi


Definitely the biggest announcement at the show, the newly redesign of the DS sports a lot of new features. The most notable feature being the two cameras, one on the outside, the other on the inside. These open up a whole new realm of innovation for games. Plus it functions as a digital camera, so you'll be able to put them on your computer and on you Wii Photo Channel.

Some more additions, are the SD card slot, an Internet browser (probably a lot like the Wii's one, as it's powered by Opera), slightly larger screens, and an apps store, much like the iPhone's. I'm guessing Nintendo will also use this as a chance for classic Game Boy and GBA games to be downloaded and stored on the new flash drive. Nintendo also took out the GBA slot, which is kind of a mistake in my opinion, as how will Activision continue their Guitar Hero: On Tour series?

The DSi is supposed to be released later this year in Japan, sometime in Spring 2009 in Europe, and in Late 2009 in the US, which sucks for me, as an American, I'll have to wait a whole year. Nonetheless, this is a day one purchase for me. And I'm incredibly relieved I didn't pick up a DS Lite in the past few months.

New Games


The three, biggest announcements in games had to be Punch-Out!! Wii, Sin & Punishment 2 (Wii), and Mario & Luigi 3 (DS). Punch-Out!! looks to retain that classic arcade feel with overly exaggerated characters. Sin & Punishment 2 is the equal to the Japan-only N64 release that was supposed really good (it was later released on the Virtual Console, but I have yet to check it out). Thirdly is Mario & Luigi 3, which is supposed to be released as a launch title for the DSi. All three games look very excellent, even in the early stages of development.

"Play it on Wii" Titles

Nintendo plans on releasing a lot of their best core GameCube titles on the Wii later this year (in Japan at lesat) and through out next year. They're not ports, but remakes. Their probably going to be cheaper too. The seven games confirmed so far are: DK Jungle Beat, Pikmin, Pikmin 2, Chibi-Robo, Mario Power Tennis, Metroid Prime, and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. All of the games seem prime choices to implement Wii controls (especially the Pikmin's and Metroid Primes). I'll probably pick up most of these, since I never owned a GameCube (I know, I know, you can chew me out in the comments). I'm surprised Super Mario Sunshine and Wind Waker aren't in that list, but I'm sure we'll probably get those sooner or later. For a full information, check out the IGN article detailing each game...

Wii Storage Solution


The long awaited storage solution for the Wii is here. You'll be able to load and save directly off SD cards. It's not a hard drive as some were expecting but, hey, it'll make do. It seems strange that Nintendo took so long for just this, but at least it's here.

Missing...

Though the event had some pretty good news, there were several games missing from the conference. Disaster: Day of Crisis and Fatal Frame 4 are both like this. Both have been released in Japan, published by Nintendo. So you'd expect some kind of showing or at least a release date for the US. But none of this was found. Also notably missing was the rumored Kid Icarus. Whatever happened to Matt (from IGN)'s prediction of it showing at E3? I'm actually starting to doubt the existence of it.

And that round it up. What were your impressions of the Media Summit? Did I get something wrong or miss something big? Leave a comment below...

Round-up of Nintendo Media Summit news

Todays was day one of Nintendo's NA event and soon will be day two of their Japan event and you may be flooded with news from sites like GoNintendo, IGN, and various blogs across the web. It's a like a mini-E3! So I've rounded up some of what I felt was the most important info (mostly from GoNintendo). Enjoy!


Nintendo Media Summit (Japan) live blog - GoNintendo

Nintendo Media Summit (North America) live blog - GoNintendo

Nintendo DS game montage - GameTrailers

Nintendo Wii game montage - GameTrailers

October Nintendo Game Conference (Japan) News and Information - SuperPhillip Central

Trailers: Punch Out!!, Mario & Luigi RPG 3, The Conduit, Sin & Punishment 2, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - GoNintendo

Wii, DS North American Release Dates - GoNintendo

Nintendo’s Holiday 2008: Wii Speak Channel, Club Nintendo, More Surprises - GoNintendo

If anything else comes up throughout the night I'll edit it.