Pokemon Gold/Silver remakes? Yes, please!

Another short article. Was planning on doing this earlier but didn't have the time. Oh, and just thought I should mention, there's going to be a few changes around here at World 1-1, some minor, others major. Look out for those.

Pokemon Gold and Silver are no doubt my favorite of the core Pokemon RPG's. So when I heard the rumors of a G/S remake on the DS, I was all for it. Supposedly in Japan there's a popular TV show called Pokemon Sunday, and last Sunday's episode said there'd be big news in the next episode. Two confetti balls, one gold, the other silver, hung above the stage during the show pointing to a Gold and Silver remake announcement.

These supposedly "leaked" boxarts found at vgboxart.com may be closer to reality than you think

I really hope that's what this is. Gold and Silver were damn good games and my favorite Pokemon games. You have to give credit where credit's due, since Red and Blue were great games that started the franchise. But we got FireRed and LeafGreen, now it's time for a DS Gold/Silver remake. The classic duo were the perfect Pokemon sequel. They added tons of new features such as a day/night system, 100 new Pokemon, an actually interesting and dynamic story (at least for a Pokemon game), and a Pokeball growing scenario with strategic "seeds" and new creative Pokeball types.

The remakes would be a great idea in my eyes. Update the graphics, include features of Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, such as online play and touch screen support, change up minor things in the original, and add new areas to explore. LeafGreen/FireRed were good fun just playing through the original games with updated visuals and battle systems, but it was equally fun to explore the new Sevii islands with Pokemon from later games and a new side quest. Only time will tell if Gold and Silver really are being remade. But I really hope the games get remade, and I'm willing to bet they will sometime in the not too distant future.

EDIT: It seems the rumors are true: Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver were announced today. This is fantastic news, as I've explained in this post. My main wishes are that they beef up the Kanto portions of the game, as in the original G/S/C they were pretty half assed. And I also hope they add some new areas to explore (Orange Islands anyone?) This has now become one of my most anticipated games, even with the little we know.

Six shooters + samurai swords = kickass

Another short article. I think I may start posting a lot more of these with a larger feature or review here and there, rather than empty, post-less weeks.

Just today we got the first details of Red Steel 2. The original was a fairly huge game in terms of hype, as it took advantage both of the Wii's major innovations: IR pointer controls and motion controls. Unfortunately it failed to live up to these standards with clunky controls and overall unenjoyable gameplay. While it (mostly) bombed with critics, it went on to sell over a million copies. But now that the Wii's been out for over two years... enter Red Steel 2!

Katana-wielding cowboys and a cel-shaded art style? Count me in!

While we haven't gained much information about it from the two preview pictures of the next issue of Nintendo Power, there's been enough to have me fairly excited. For one, the pictures show a dude with a cowboy hat, a revolver, and a samurai sword. Wild-west meets oriental east is a combination not seen in a lot of things, whether it's movies, video games, or anything else. It's a very unique concept that is appealing much like ninjas vs. pirates.

The issue also reconfirms MotionPlus, which fits perfect with this game and its precision based sword combat. Also you may notice the cel-shaded art style seen on the cover; whether this is just concept art and not in game graphics is yet to be seen, but I hope these are the actual graphics, for it has the potential of looking very great stylistically!

All in all, I hope that the added benefits of Wii MotionPlus and not having to be rushed out for a launch title, Red Steel 2 can end up being a great game and everything its prequel should have been. But I also hope that Ubisoft doesn't hurry to get it out as one of the first Wii MotionPlus titles, dooming it like they did with the first. I'm remaining optimistic at this point, but only time will tell how the game really turns out.

So many games, so little money

Extremely short article this time around. Don't worry though, I have several larger post ideas that hopefully can all be made into reality.

I've become to realize something over the past few days: there are a lot of great Wii games coming out. Maybe a couple aren't up the the caliber of "hardcore" as MadWorld and The House of the Dead: Overkill, but there are some quality games releasing in the coming months.

Socking King Hippo in the stomach, just one of many great experiences to be had this May!

I haven't even picked up the surprisingly awesome looking Excitebots: Trick Racing. Then there's Punch-Out!!, the Boom Blox sequel, and Klonoa coming out this May. That's not even mentioning New Play Control! versions of Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat (due out in May as well) and Pikmin 2 (no solid release date for North America, but it'll most likely be here sooner than later since Europe's already gotten it). Some of the listed Wii games may not be everyone's cup of tea, but there's no denying May is hope to quality releases. But even in the months following May we'll see the releases of huge titles like The Conduit and Wii Sports Resort, not to mention Little King's Story.

That's a total of nine games I'm really looking forward to. And that's nine reasons I'm very happy to be a Wii owner. But what I'm not happy about is having to spend money on all nine of these games! With this school year nearing it's end (it can't come soon enough!) I'll have to start looking for a summer job to pay for all these. Because I certainly don't want to miss out on some great Wii fun. How about you? Are you loving the support the Wii's getting? Is your wallet hurting as well?