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NintendoWare Weekly: Castlevania ReBirth, Pilotwings, Oregon Trail
Nintendo's been on quite the roll recently, providing plenty of content in its weekly offerings -- and today is no different. There are ten new titles to check out, including high-profile downloads such as Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, Oregon Trail and -- finally! -- Pilotwings on the Virtual Console. Head past the break to check out the full list.
Rabbids also Going Home to DS and DSi
Today, Ubisoft revealed the DS and DSi iteration of its upcoming Wii action-adventure, Rabbids Go Home. Like the Wii version, the handheld release follows the story of a bunch of Rabbids building a tower of junk to the moon. However, unlike the Wii version's action-based gameplay, Rabbids Go Home on DS is a "puzzle-adventure" -- which, as it turns out, means basically The Incredible Machine with Rabbids in it.The Rabbids use items found in each level to make a path from the start point to a toilet, while keeping as much junk as possible and avoiding Verminator enemies. The game features 150 physics-based puzzles, as well as a level editor that allows players to make and share their own creations. DSi owners will be able to "take pictures and customize them with funny Rabbid animations."Rabbids Go Home on DS will be available Holiday 2009.
Rabbids ready to 'smash up' with TMNT
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash Up doesn't just remind of another famous Nintendo franchise with the word Smash in the cover, now it's got the same style of cameos going on. The Tanooki took note of two different Rabbids that will make an appearance in the melee brawler.The first Rabbid appears to be a standard insanitus bunnykin, while the other is a Sam Fisher Rabbid. The characters surely have their own fighting styles and special moves. Check out the video after the break.
Nintendo Power scan seems to confirm 'Rabbids Go Home'
After raving for nearly three years, who can blame Ubisoft's spastic rabbids for wanting something more substantial? That something, as it turns out, is likely a new action adventure game for the Wii, familiarly titled Rabbids Go Home. Apparently revealed in May's Nintendo Power, the game reportedly sets a pair of the player-controlled bunny-things on a quest to return home -- and by home we mean the Moon -- by building a giant tower out of junk. GoNintendo has a single scan, as well as a handful of details, though following three releases and more minigames than we care to count, we half expect the trip into space be just another excuse to party.
GC 2008: Ubisoft screenshot roundup
Ubisoft has released beaucoup d'images as part of the media overflow we call Leipzig Games Convention 2008. Below and after the break, check out new galleries of screenshots for Raving Rabbids TV Party, Prince of Persia, EndWar, HAWX, Far Cry 2 and more. It's just like Ubidays, only with no Beyond Good & Evil in sight. Oh, mon Dieu!%Gallery-30166%
Rabbid fact #76 -- Bunnies look good in Spore
While Joystiq was spending a week trying to create cool and clever things with the Spore Creature Creator, other folks were up to some interesting projects as well. Take, for instance, this rabbid made by YouTuber judhudson.Sure, the little guy might look even more demented than your standard, already-crazying-looking rabbid, but it shares a pretty good resemblance. Between his appearance, the dancing, and the dubbed in screaming, he has "rabbid" written all over him.Apparently, people are making all kinds of neat things with Spore. Have you ran into any particularly good character remakes in your travels?[Via GoNintendo]
Rabbids crash Euro 2008
The Rabbids are funny. It's especially funny when they get into situations where freaky white blob animals aren't the norm. Like, a soccer game. This latest teaser for Raving Rabbids TV Party shows one particular Rabbid getting in a bit of trouble after crashing the field at Euro 2008.Kudos goes out to Ubisoft for putting together great little teaser films like this. Video game advertising can sometime get a little stale, and originality ensures gamers continue hitting that play button. The Rabbids can tease better than pretty much anyone else.%Gallery-23883%
Ubisoft forum moderator explains forthcoming shovelware
It was only a few months ago that Ubisoft's Yves Guillemot was promising us all "Nintendo-like quality" games. Since then, the company has announced Raving Rabbids TV Party, Babies Party, Shaun White Snowboarding, and much, much less. It's a line-up that has generated only ripples of laughter on the internetz, rather than tremors of fear in Kyoto.The snickering is not limited to NeoGAF. Ubisoft's own forums have come under attack from those who are disillusioned by the company's planned Wii output, so much so that UK Forum Manager "Raide" recently had to ride to Ubi's defense. The gist of his argument seems to be: because the best-selling games on the Wii aren't necessarily the best games, it's actually okay for Ubisoft to release stuff that, well, doesn't have "Nintendo-like quality.""If you look at the most successful Wii games, they are not amazing new AAA games, they are predominantly family-orientated games/alternative games," explained Raide, adding that Ubisoft is pursuing the casual dollar because "parents who are buying a console for their children do not really care about Prince of Persia, Rainbow Six or Far Cry on the box."On one level, Raide's logic is fairly sound; after all, games targeted at the casual sector do sell well (particularly in the UK and Europe), and it's understandable that Ubisoft has shareholders to keep happy. But promising higher quality Wii games and singularly failing to deliver on that pledge? That's just weak. Hit the "Source" link below for Raide's full defense.%Gallery-23883%%Gallery-23972%[Via Kotaku]
Rabbids to return to DS, may even get noticed
Despite the fact that the first two games appeared on the DS, the Rayman Raving Rabbids series has always been more closely associated with the Wii, either because the original was a Wii launch game, or because the DS iterations are pretty mediocre.Now, the involvement of the Balance Board is threatening to relegate the DS edition of Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party to an even more insignificant footnote, but we hope the DS game stands on its own. The Rabbids are liked by pretty much everybody we know, and deserve a worthy handheld game. Protip though, Ubisoft: it's probably best to avoid this kind of publicity.[Via press release]
Another Week in Europe
Grand Theft Auto IV continues to show up the competition across Europe this week, with either the PS3 or Xbox 360 edition claiming top spot everywhere. Wii pair Wii Fit and Game Night favorite Mario Kart Wii are close behind in most places (because we're optimists, we're now going to consider third as the new first), though yours truly would love to know where anybody is finding Mario Kart in the UK -- I hit the high street to find a copy for a friend a few days back, with zero success.Further down the charts, Boom Blox made (what could almost be described as) an impact in its second week on sale, soaring from outside the Top 40 to 19th in the UK, while Super Mario Galaxy and Guitar Hero III rejoined the top ten in Holland and Sweden respectively. No Irish charts this week, we're afraid, but here's a hunch we had: Grand Theft Auto IV probably sold a lot.
The rabbids show us how to use the Balance Board
Love 'em or hate 'em, Ubisoft's rabbids are quite the characters. From this little teaser video that the company sent to IGN, it's also not hard to believe that the bunny-like critters will soon be back on the Wii for Rayman Raving Rabbids 3. Whether the unconfirmed (but likely) game will use the Balance Board, or whether the rabbids are just spoofing Wii Fit remains to be seen.We'd guess that there's a high possibility for inclusion of the Balance Board in the next RRR iteration. Since the rabbid titles are generally full of minigames, the Balance Board will add a lot more possibilities in that regard. As IGN points out, Reggie also said that there were ten games using the board currently in development.We're sure it won't be very long before all is revealed, though, so stay tuned.[Via NeoGAF]
Bunny girls sell Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 in Japan
Humor has played a big role in Ubisoft's marketing of Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, but sex? Erm ... not so much. It's a different story in Japan, however. There, models dressed in midriff-baring outfits and bunny ears are recruited to sell the game to the public in shopping malls.Tottering on their high heels, they watch over a (admittedly very impressive) kiosk dedicated to Ubi's game, complete with Wii demo units, and tons of awesome Rabbids merchandise, including postcards, hats, and some too-cool-for-words Rabbids tote bags that WE MUST OWN.Plunge(r) past the break for more snaps.
Seizure brought on by DS game leads to banning crusade
After a boy in the UK fell into an epileptic fit from playing Rayman Raving Rabbids on the DS, his mother, Gaye Herford, protested to Parliament that there should be more vigorous safety testing for video games. Should her campaign be successful, any games that could potentially cause seizures will be banned in the UK and game developers will have to adhere to stricter safety standards. Currently, thirty-five Members of Parliament stand behind the proposal. Ubisoft (the makers of Rabbids) responded by saying that the company already pre-screened Rabbids DS for the potential to cause epileptic fits, and the testing showed that the game was unlikely to do so. Managing director of Ubisoft UK Robert Cooper added, however, that the company has made the decision to now test all in-house games prior to release. [Via Pocket Gamer]
Spooftastic Raving Rabbids art
Some would argue that Far Cry Vengeance was beyond help, though we maintain to this day that the Ubiport would have been vastly improved with added Rabbids. Clearly, some swashbuckling young designer at Ubisoft shares our thoughts on this crucial issue.The image above is one of nine spoofs to appear recently on the game's official site, all of which feature Rabbids invading a variety of Ubi's more well-known games. Sadly, none of them come in wallpaper size, which is precisely what these would be ideal for. Oh well.Hop past the break for images of "Bunny Steel," "Bunnies' Creed," and "Rainbow Six Bunnies."
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 intro invades our hearts
We're not sure what it is about those crazy rabbids, but even when they're bludgeoning people with their plungers, we can't help but love them. It shouldn't come as a surprise, then, that the above video makes us all kinds of giddy inside. Supposedly this is the first part of the game's introduction, but we suppose we'll just have to wait and see. So for now, just watch, enjoy, and then rave like rabbids.[Via GoNintendo]
LGC07: Rabbids attempt to invade Leipzig ... again
The Rabbid site brings us another gem of quick humor as the Rabbids attempt to get into the Leipzig Games Convention. Ubisoft already has the Rayman: Raving Rabbids sequel all locked and loaded for later this year. If the Rabbids continue to bring Ubisoft even more financial success, we hope that they spin-off into their own demonic-bunny platformer game and ditch Rayman -- or, at least, get top billing in the next title. If you missed the Rabbids attempt to break into the conference last year, you can find that after the break. Be sure to check out the Rabbid website for more clips and pics of the crazy Rabbids as they fumble their way to world domination and attempt to assimilate into our planet.[Via Game|Life]
Joystiq impressions: Rayman: Raving Rabids 2
The original Rayman: Raving Rabbids combined a great sense of style with a somewhat hit-or-miss selection of mini-games. The sequel expands on the original with more mini-games, more screaming, deformed rabbids, and fixes for some of the more annoying problems with the original.For starters, most of the mini-games this time around will include a simultaneous multiplayer option, meaning less standing around waiting to play at your next Rabbids party. What's more, players will no longer have to break an arbitrary high score to unlock each game -- one playthrough in the campaign mode is enough to make any minigame fully selectable. Campaign mode games can also be played with friends, meaning there's no need to ever play solo. The character customization options from the original have been greatly expanded -- you can now play dress up with the rabbids, arraying them in a range of unlockable hats, shirts and accessories. Read on for impressions of the five mini-games shown off at the show.%Gallery-5072%
Wii Warm Up: NMS excitement
Fresh from the Nintendo Media Summit, we've quite a few impressions of games coming out in the immediate future. Among them: Mario Party 8 Super Mario Strikers: Charged Big Brain Academy Pokemon Battle Revolution The Bigs Boogie My Word Coach Rayman: Raving Rabbids 2 We're most jazzed for Strikers, especially after reading such effulgent impressions from Penny Arcade. But which game shown at NMS excited you the most? If you were stuck on an island and could only have one game ... you know, assuming you had a Wii and a couple Wiimotes, and a nice TV ... maybe some nunchuks, oh, and the sensor bar, and I guess you'd need a standard 120 W outlet somewhere in the sand ... and a decent supply of food and water, or you wouldn't spend your time playing the Wii ... you know what, never mind.
More Rabbid stuff
First came the pictures, now come the words. Rayman: Raving Rabbids 2 has released more information in three days than Nintendo has, ever, on some of their games announced years ago. They could learn a thing or two.First up are some hands-on impressions of the title, courtesy of IGN. The game almost essentially ditches the concept of playing as Rayman (he's in disguise as a rabbid) so that the game can focus on the carrot-loving crazies. More minigames have had competitive modes added (very few had this option in the original), and the game will allow you to customize your rabbid with a whole slew of ridiculous accessories. Awesome.We also thought it would be worth mentioning that this time, Raving Rabbids 2 is completely exclusive to Nintendo platforms, the Wii and the DS. The whole insane minigame thing loses 68.3% of its appeal without the Wiimote anyway, so this makes perfect sense.BAHHHHHHHH!
Today's multiplying videos: Rabbids gameplay
The second Rayman Raving Rabbids is in production, and GameTrailers has posted a series of in-game clips from Ubisoft's gaming event. The Rabbids trailer and these clips seem to downplay Rayman even more than the first game. (Here's hoping the shipping version has little to do with the appendage-free mascot. Let Rayman thrive in the platformers; he doesn't add much to these mini-game buffets.)See gameplay clips of bunnies spitting carrots, playing baseball, rodeo riding, and serving food after the break.
