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Deja Review: Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D
In our 2010 review of Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Wii, our own JC Fletcher admitted a terrible truth: He had used the Super Guide. Nintendo gave us the nefarious innovation a few years ago, ostensibly a tool to help less experienced players navigate the trickier parts of its games. Seasoned players recognized it for what it really was: A taunt, a gently whispering devil on your shoulder. Resisting the shiny, candy-like allure of the Super Guide is still a major component of Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, Monster Games' 3DS rendition of Retro Studios' Wii platformer. A new difficulty setting tries to soften the Wii version's sharp edges, but the brutal structure of its levels remains intact, and no amount of extra health is going to change that.%Gallery-184939%
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D to include easier mode, new content
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D will include an easier mode that will grant the chimp duo Donkey and Diddy Kong three hearts instead of two, as revealed in an update on Nintendo's UK site. The 3DS remake will also feature local co-op, though Nintendo didn't specify whether the multiplayer facets of the game were restricted to multi-cart play as opposed to download/single cart play.The game is slated to include content exclusive to the 3DS version, such as challenging "trophy levels" that are unlocked by collecting puzzle pieces in the platformer's original levels. Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D is due out May 24. %Gallery-184939%
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D being developed by Monster Games, not Retro Studios
It looks like Donkey Kong Country Returns developer Retro Studios isn't returning for the 3DS remake, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. According to the Australian Classification Board, the game is being developed by Monster Games, the studio behind 3DS launch title Pilotwings Resort.That leaves us with the question of what exactly Retro Studios is up to these days. Last year, Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto sparked interest in the possibility of Retro handling a new Zelda game, though he later said that the studio is "too busy for that sort of thing." Apparently, it's also too busy to port Donkey Kong Country Returns to 3DS. So, in the hope that we can just will it into existence, we're going to assume Retro is hard at work on Metroid Dread for the Wii U.
Pilotwings Resort review: Flight of fancy
Nintendo has traditionally used the Pilotwings series as a showpiece for new 3D technology. When the SNES came out, Pilotwings was there to demonstrate its Mode 7 scaling. Then the game was used to show off the N64's new Silicon Graphics-designed polygon processing power. Now the 3DS is out with ... you know, 3D, and Nintendo has returned to its high-flying series. No idea why there wasn't one on Virtual Boy, if you're thinking that. Pilotwings Resort is a very familiar implementation of the Pilotwings gameplay, offering little that's too different, and even removing some things from previous games. And for the most part, that's okay. Streamlining has its advantages in flight.
Monster Games is behind Pilotwings Resort on 3DS
We didn't expect to get news about Pilotwings Resort during a Donkey Kong Country Returns panel, but here it is. During Retro Studios' GDC postmortem, Nintendo producer Kensuke Tanabe cited two other American developers that Nintendo works with: Next Level Games, which made Punch-Out for Wii, and ExciteTruck/ExciteBots developer Monster Games -- which he said is working on Pilotwings Resort. Until now, it seems that this detail had been a secret (and Pilotwings creator Nintendo EAD had been assumed to be the Resort developer) -- or, at least, it just wasn't mentioned. Resort isn't the first Pilotwings game to be co-created with an American company: Nintendo EAD worked with Paradigm Simulations for the Nintendo 64 sequel.
Waging WAR: RvR packs, the "wait and see" edition
This week Waging WAR rides the double rainbow of gameplay customization via downloadable content and takes a cursory glance at the RvR packs being teased by the folks behind the development of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Let's follow along and see what Greg can unleash this time. It is difficult to talk about the future of WAR right now. Not because it doesn't have a future, but because the availability of information regarding it is not exactly easy to find. Actually, information on the future of WAR is all but non-existent, surrounded by controversy on all sides, and steeped in rumor, speculation, assumption and misinformation. The best I can put together is that we, as players, can look forward to some sort of set of three different "RvR Packs" allowing us to "customize" our gameplay experience moving forward. The packs have been called "Power," "Progression," and "Personality." What exactly each contains is a mystery, although the few talking points I was able to find regarding these RvR packs are speculatively disappointing at best. Although Carrie, Andy, and anyone else involved with the Mythic development team have said time and time again that they are not discussing moving toward the free-to-play business model, what they're proposing with these customization packs looks suspiciously like the item shop established by Turbine, implemented in Dungeons & Dragons Online and soon in Lord of the Rings Online as well. V.I.P. membership, anyone? Although concrete information is scarce and difficult to find, let's take a look at the most commonly referenced points of interest after the break.
European Nintendo downloads: Excitebike World Challenge, Final Fight 3
Excitebike World Rally, having just been released in Japan this week, is now available in Europe, ready to delight players with online, tilt-controlled classic motorcycle racing. Final Fight 3 is also out in Europe this week, with classic dude-punching. We're starting to wonder -- is the worldwide Virtual Console release of Final Fight 3 some kind of abstract promotion for Super Street Fighter IV, which features characters and locales that originated in the Final Fight series? Or is it the Wii's equivalent of Final Fight Double Impact? Final Fight 3 (Virtual Console: SNES, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points) "Aha! I Found It!" Hidden Object Game (WiiWare, 1-4 players, 500 Wii Points) Excitebike World Challenge (WiiWare, 1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points) Snakenoid (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)
Japanese Nintendo downloads: Excitebike, Reversal Shooting
Japanese gamers get to experience the joy of Excitebike with a different camera angle and online play today, with the release of Excitebike World Rally (as "Excitebike World Race"). It's a pretty faithful adaptation of the original, something that can't be said for Tecmo's Are? DS ga Sakasa Desu Kedo: Gyaku Shooting, a shooter with elements of its own Star Force, but played from the other side -- and with the DS upside down. Using the DS's touch screen, players control the enemies firing downward at what is usually the player ship. DS ga Sakasa Desu Kedo: Sakasa Drops takes the same approach and applies it to a falling-block puzzle game. Check out a trailer for Shooting after the break. Quarth (MSX, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points) Contra (MSX, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points) Excitebike World Race (WiiWare, 1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points) Are? DS ga Sakasa Desu Kedo: Gyaku Shooting (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points) Are? DS ga Sakasa Desu Kedo: Sakasa Drops (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points) Artist ni Narou! Minna no Nurikai Museum Hen (DSiWare, 1-2 players, 500 DSi Points) Hobonichi Rosenzu 2010 (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points) Renjuku Kanji: Shougaku Sannensei (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)
Best of the Rest: Randy's Picks of 2009
Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes If I had my way ... well, a lot of things would be different. When it came to video games, I'd make sure that everyone -- whether they own a Nintendo DS or not -- had a chance to play Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes. Now, I know, Might and Magic? Isn't that some long-dead RPG franchise that's probably best left in the ground? Well, yes -- but Clash of Heroes is about as far from any of the other games in the series as you can get. At its core, it's a puzzle game -- a combat puzzle game -- developed by Capybara, the same team behind PSN's wonderful Critter Crunch. Take that game's core mechanic, add a load of clever new ones and build a story-driven experience around it and you have one of the finest (not to mention most addicting) DS games ever.
NintendoWare Weekly: Excitebike World Rally, Electroplankton, Cybernoid, and more
It's a very exciting day for Nintendo downloads, thanks to one very thrilling two-wheeler. But Excitebike World Rally is far from the only offering this week. In fact, there are multiple games available for WiiWare, Virtual Console, and DSiWare, which seems like a rare feat for Nintendo of America. Head past the break to see if any of the other new games excite you.
Yes, Excitebike World Rally has some motion control
Wait! Come back! The motion controls sound okay! We know that you're already groaning about the potential ruin of an NES classic with unwarranted waggle, but according to 1UP's preview of Excitebike: World Rally, the limited Wiimote motion sensing added to the traditional Excitebike control scheme actually improves the game. You still move with the D-pad and accelerate with a button, but you can now tilt the Wiimote to lean your rider and "affect the pitch of your bike." "Jumping was always the trickiest part of Excitebike," 1UP's Jeremy Parish notes, "and the analog smoothness of the motion controls makes it intuitive -- it became second nature before the end of the first track." We're curious enough about this sensible-sounding innovation that we'll delay throwing our controllers down in disgust. For now.
This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Excitebiking to the World Rally
This week's most noteworthy item on the Nintendo Channel is undoubtedly the unveiling of Excitebike World Rally -- if you haven't had a chance to check out the brief trailer for November's WiiWare racer then, by all means, get with the clicking. If that doesn't tickle your fancy, then we suggest you check and make sure it's still breathing, because a new Excitebike is definitely a fancy tickler. Head past the break for this week's Nintendo Channel content.
Excitebike World Rally heats up WiiWare Nov. 9, includes online multiplayer
Turn on your Wii and check out the Nintendo Channel right now: on the weekly "Nintendo Week" program, the hosts revealed a new WiiWare version of Excitebike, called Excitebike World Rally, due out November 9. It looks like a 2.5D version of the original Excitebike redone in polygons, with the classic track editor. But this version has online multiplayer! Take that, Vs. Excitebike. There's also footage of Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth! It looks fantastic. That comes pretty early in the show. The Excitebike reveal comes only after a Frag Doll appearance and a Scooby-Doo style fast-motion chase sequence. And a zombie grunting his way through a description of Zombies Ate My Neighbors.
Punch-Out!! exclusive to one retailer in Australia, Excitebots excluded entirely
Demand for upcoming first-party Wii games doesn't seem to be high in Australia -- and if it is, it just means a lot of people are about to be disappointed. Nintendo Australia managing director Rose Lappin told Kotaku AU that Aussie gamers can expect Punch-Out!! in stores late August, but only if those stores are JB Hi-Fi locations."To be honest we didn't have a lot of requests for the game," Lappin said. "There's a few people ... there's a lot of noise but not a lot of sales, that sort of thing." JB Hi-Fi, Lappin suggested, was the only retailer that showed significant interest.But at least Punch-Out!! is getting some kind of release. Not so for Excitebots, which won't come out in Australia at all. Lappin told Kotaku AU that there just wasn't enough demand for the game from retailers or consumers.
Excitebots has slow sales start in April
Someone call Benjamin Jahveri, Excitebots is in rough shape. During the 10 days the racer was available in April, it managed to move just 13,000 copies, according to the NPD. To give some perspective, more mature Wii titles MadWorld and House of the Dead: Overkill were able to move 66,000 and 45,000 units respectively in their first 20 days.This is purely just our observation, but did the hype machine seem a little weak for Excitebots? We can't recall seeing much in the way of marketing for the game, but honestly ... we don't get out much.
Joystiq Review: Excitebots: Trick Racing
At first glimpse, Excitebots: Trick Racing is very different from its Wii launch title predecessor, Excite Truck. However, the more time you spend diggin into the races, the more the two games start blurring together. Aside from the gigantic, robotic animals you're racing as and the quirky, brief mini-games you'll partake in mid-race, these are pretty much the same games, with the same problems.Note: If you want to skip the text and watch a video review for the game, click here.%Gallery-48560%
ExciteBots uses real-time pie-in-the-face technology
ExciteBots: Trick Racing is certainly not a realistic "simulation" racing game. However, it's not a kart racer either. As this trailer demonstrates, its long, straightforward track designs and high speeds make it seem most similar to an F-Zero-like futuristic racing game. Except for the mid-race sandwich-making and giant clown face. Yes, in addition to the basic high-speed racing, the trailer gives us a look at the minigames involved. They're actually integrated into the race rather than separate events, and most of them are simply played by driving into them. And they are weird. We didn't realize how much we wanted to make a race car (which is also a mechanical insect) swing from a bar in the middle of a race, but it's a lot.
Here's the ExciteBox for ExciteBots: Trick Racing
Orange Lounge Radio found (what it identifies as) boxart and a retail game description for ExciteBots: Trick Racing, the apparent sequel to ExciteTruck, and ... well, we foresee some of our readers getting pretty angry -- like the people who expected Monster Games' next title to be an F-Zero update. While ExciteTruck may not have been the deepest racing simulation, Nintendo and developer Monster Games have gone even further in the kid-oriented/casual direction. How much further?ExciteBots is a party racing game starring animal-shaped robots, in which minigames pop up during races. "You won't believe your eyes when you find yourself shooting goals, throwing pies and even playing poker in the middle of racing robotic animals and insects around off-road tracks," the blurb says. If you were expecting something a bit more ... realistic, this is going to be DisappointBots for you. As for us, 6-player online racing combined with a party game? We're on board.GameStop reveals a few further details about the game's release: according to listings on the retailer's site, ExciteBots will be sold both in a $39.99 standalone edition and a $49.99 Wii Wheel bundle.
Excite Truck dev working on top-secret Wii title
Excite Truck wasn't the most well-received or widely-purchased launch title for the Wii, though there was something charming about sending gargantuan automobiles bounding across rough terrain. However, we haven't heard much from developer Monster Games since the title's 2006 release. A recent article in a Minnesota-based blog titled Locally Grown shed some light on the company's under the radar status -- they've apparently been working on a top-secret Wii title for the past two years.The title, which many speculate to be another racing game (as it appears to be the developer's bread-and-butter genre), is nearly complete. However, don't expect any information about the project to leak any time soon -- the article explains that the cautious development team is so protective of the new title that they dim their computer screens when the bottled water delivery person visits. It's a ritual they apparently developed after being forced to murder their first delivery person, who accidentally laid eyes on a single screenshot.
Mystery title from Monster Games kicks speculation into high gear
Looks like Monster Games -- the folks behind the Wii launch title Excite Truck -- are hard at work on a super secret new project for the console, and have been for a long time. How secret is it? So secret, apparently, that they have to turn down their monitors when unauthorized folks walk into the office. Sounds like anything but an Excite Truck follow-up, eh? There aren't many reasons to keep that a secret. So what could it be? Monster Games only seems to put out racing titles, so we're gonna bet there will be vehicles and high speeds, but that could cover a lot of ground. Some have guessed that it might be an all-new F-Zero, but frankly, we're holding out for something that's really new and not a revival. Not that we wouldn't enjoy a little F-Zero, but we like new things, too.[Via The Tanooki]
