Nintendo Week, Its Propagandarific!

Nintendo has recently revamed the Nintendo Channel on the Wii, one of the big changes is a new weekely show called “Nintendo Week.”  This 10 min show consits of its two hosts, Gary and Allison, promoting new games for the Wii and DS.  If it sounds like propaganda, its because it is.  And its campy too…really campy…I think that it is brainwashing me.

But overall, it provides a good format for the propaganda.  It’s campyness makes it funny, and its a great way to learn about new games.  And since it is only 10 mins, it does not have enough time to send me into a coma!  They announce some good games, but it always seems like they stick allison with some “dress up” game.  (and by always, I mean in the 2 episodes I have watched)  This week’s feature was all about Mario.  They had tons of gameplay footage of New Super Mario Brother’s Wii, and there even was a special guest appearance by Nintendo Legend Sigaru Miyamoto!

If you have a wii connected to the internet, this is definetly worth checking out.  Its an amusing little way to get your weekly dose of Nintendo Propaganda.  But if your wii won’t connect, your still not missing a lot.

Needlemouse: Looks like Sega is Listening to Me ;)

Well, it finally looks like sega decided to follow my advice.  Ok, I am sure I am not the only one who gave this advice to Sega, but I am glad that they have started to listen to reason.

Back in Febuary, I wrote an artilce entitled “Sonic Should go Megaman 9;” It was all about why sonic should go back to being a 2d platformer.  As I was writing that article, Sega was already working on making my dream a reality.  Last month, they announced it.  They call it “Project Needlemouse” and it shall be a 2d platformer.  According to Wikipedia, “”The game will be a two-dimensional side-scrolling platformer reminiscent of the original Sonic games, with an emphasis on speed.”

An exact release date has not been announced yet, but we know its is going to come out sometime in 2010.  Sega has yet to name any consoles, but I think we can assume that Wii is one of them.  My guess is that it will come out for all the consoles.

This seems to good to be true….seriously, whats the catch?  Lets hope that this time its for real and not another “Werehog” or something like that.

Below is a teaser trailer, courtesy of  Machinima:

Which is Better? 6th Generation Consoles

The sixth generation was a good one for me.  It had some great consoles, but which one do you think was the best?

Kirby Hats (aka Only the greatest sprites ever!)

Only the greatest thing ever

Imagine the main characters for pretty much every epic game ever…only with Kirby!  Yeah, thats pretty much what this amazingly epic sprite sheet is all about.  Click on it to make it larger.  (so you can enjoy the epic in more detail)

Thank you again for sending this to me steven.  (my brother)

And extra special thanks to whoever made this!  You rock!

So far with Spider-Man: Web of Shadows (DS)

So, I have been getting into the DS version of this game lately.  Its pretty cool.  The game world has kind of a maze layout…similar to Metroid.  (and castlevania…or so I’m told.)  Controlling DS Spidey is surprisingly fun, and I am continually amazed at how agile and acrobatic he is.  I mean, I know he is Spider-man, but expected the DS controls would have been more limiting.  Instead, I am throwing enemies into the air, punching them, then swinging away.  (and kicking a few of them in mid swing.)

Granted, it does have its problems.  For example, it sometimes feels like more of a button masher than a real game. Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,up,Y,Y,Y,Y,” describes a lot of the fights.  And when you lost a life, it makes you play a mini-game to restore your health.  Yeah, the minigame is a great idea in theory, but in practice it turns out to be very annoying.

But so far, I am really enjoying the game.  For a DS copy of a console game, its pretty sweet.

Kirby’s Midnight Snack

Found this kirby fan-fic on youtube, its halarious, hope you like it!

Marathon Free and for Windows

Most people have not heard of Bungie’s prequel to Halo.  In 1994, marathon was released for macintosh computers.  The next year, they released the sequel Marathon 2: Durandal, and the following year, Marathon Infinity.  Marathon is a great FPS, it still holds up fairly well today, even 15 years after its release.  The best part it, its free now.  You can download Marathon from bungie along with a program that makes it run with windows.

Marathon Trilogy Download on Bungie.org

Aleph One, the program that makes it run on windows

Marathon on windows for beginners – A great article explinging how to set up marathon on windows, also includes the manuals to these games.

I hope you enjoy the game, expect a full review when I beat it!

Metroid Prime (5/5)

I finnaly did it, I beat Metroid Prime…

Set after the original game for the NES, Metroid Prime has Samus Aron exploring the world of Tallon IV.  It is a world that has been struck by a disaster, a muteginic substance known as phazon is coruppting and poisinging the world.  The space pirates have set up a base of operations, hoping to exploit phazon for their own nefarious uses.

The atmostphere of this game is one of exploration.  There is alot of focus on exploring the enviroment, solving puzzels, and scanning things for information with your visor.   But, that is not to say there is not much fighing, to the contrary, pretty much every room you enter will have enimies, but they are never too hard, and you have plenty of health.  The real challange comes from the bosses, you will find an assortment of bosses and minibosses throughout this game, most of them are very very difficult.

The graphics for this game are quite possibly the best on the gamecube…better than most games on the wii.  From the snow covered peaks of Phendrana Drifts, to the molten lava relm of the Magmoor Caverns, to the rainforest setting of the Tallon overwold, the scenery is always amzing.  Adding to this is the soundtrack that sets the mood perfectly for each region.

The gameplay is different from most first person console games.  The left analog stick moves the character around (as always), but to aim you press the L button.  Now, this would be annoying if it were not for the lockon feature, which lets you circle strafe around your enimies.  The D-Pad swiches visors, ther is a scan visor, x-ray visor, heat vision visor, and regular visor.  (I think they called it combat visor in the game)  You also have a choice of 4 diffrent beam weapons and missiles.  Often times, certain enimies can only be defeated with a certain weapon.

The overall feel of this game is great, it has a pretty good story told mainly through messages you get by scanning certain plaques and computer terminals.  These are added to your log book, and honestly I did not even read most of them until after I beat the game, but they were interesting.

As far as extras go, they reward you with extended endings and art galleries based on how much exploration you do and how much you scan.  Also, you can play the original metroid game and play prime as fusion samus if you connect the game to Metroid Fusion.

While this game is awesome, I must point out that I have a few complaints.  First of all, the doors can be a little glitchy and not open right.  Also, I must point out to potiential players that there is a lot of backtracking involved.  I mean a LOT of backtracking.  Half of this game is backtracking, but it never gets too boring.

Overall, I would definetly reccomend you buy this game.  Get the Metroid Trilogy for the Wii.  If you can’t afford it, just buy Metroid Prime.  It is $6.99 at gamestop. Trust me, its more than worth it…

Battlefront Elite Squadron Gameplay Footage

I found these on youtube.  I still think its a little early to make a call…its not quite what I expected.  (and yes, I did know it was not going to be first person)  I am still looking foward to it, hopefully it will be awesome.  But to be safe, I am going to check plenty of reviews first before I make the purchase.  (Usually a good idea)

New Battlefront for the DS/PSP

Ok, I have acually known about this game for a long time….I thought I already posted about it, but apparently not…yeah, so they are making a new battlefront game for the DS and PSP.  The PSP version is going to be developed by Rebellion Developments, and the DS version shall be made by N-Space.  I don’t know much much about it yet…but I can tell you the release date is November 3rd, 2009.
The plot according to Wikipedia goes a little something like this:

Gamers assume the identity of X2, a clone trooper created from the DNA of a Jedi Master. Originally tasked with eliminating Jedi during Order 66, X2 decides to leave his blood-stained past behind and joins the Rebellion. X2 isn’t the only Force-sensitive clone, however. X1, his clone brother, chooses a much more sinister path, leading to a confrontation that could determine the fate of both the Empire and the Rebellion.

The gameplay is supposed to be like other games in the series, fight on foot, ground vehciles, and in space.  It acually sounds like they are trying to jam Battlefront 3 into the handheld consoles.  I, personally, am very excited for this game. If done right, I would be able to bring epic battles SW themed battles around with me.  (A dream come true)  If done wrong however, it would become the next ET.  (ok, prehaps thats a bit harsh….)

So to paraphrase palpatine, And you, young Battlefront… We will watch your development with great interest.