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Nintendo conference screen mega-roundup!
Click for full-sized image Nintendo announced a lot of games last night at their Japanese conference. Many of them, like Punch-Out!! here, were brand new. Some, like Supan Smasher and Cosmic Walker, we still don't know anything about. But we've got screenshots. So many screenshots. After the break, you'll find galleries of all the new games, along with new screens of some upcoming games we've known about for a while. Of special interest to us: the previously-announced Oboro Muramasa Youtouden, coming to the US as Muramasa: The Demon Blade, because it looks super hot, Karaoke Joysound Wii, which appears to have art by Parappa creator Rodney Alan Greenblat, and Takuto of Magic (Wand of Magic), which appears to be a followup to Taito's LostMagic on the DS. %Gallery-33381%
Metareview: Endless Ocean
Our blogger in the UK, Chris, provided us with a review of the title last month (thanks to the game releasing in his territory before ours, for a change) and spoke his mind concerning the undersea exploration within. After providing his honest opinion on the title, many here who were otherwise dead-set on picking this one up (this blogger included) then began to contemplate the other releases this week. Soon, its place among the "must-haves" for the week was in question, and we started thinking about picking up one or the other.What about you all, though? Have you picked up Endless Ocean and found the critics to be off their rockers? Is this game awesome and nobody but IGN knows it? Let's get to the reviews: IGN (80/100) says: "There are enough missions, from becoming a tour guide for other divers to photographing rare fish, to keep you busy for hours, but you might just prefer the pointless exploration to accomplishing set goals. Add in a two-player online mode and there's a lot to like about this scuba-diving simulation, even if some of its basic controls are wonky and its action-oriented scenarios limited. Did I mention it's only $29.99?" Game Informer (60/100) thinks: "Have you ever wanted to be as cool as Aquaman, except without any super powers? You could swim around, make friends with fish, and...well, that's about it. That is exactly what Endless Ocean delivers, giving players a chance to pet all sorts of underwater wildlife and watch them float by. The few other distractions, like taking pictures and filling an aquarium, provide only the barest incentive to keep going." Eurogamer (60/100) labels the game: "Endless Ocean is simple to the point of being quite dull, and certainly no masterpiece. But sometimes all a game needs to do is offer you something different, and it's an honest relief to play something that doesn't shout in your ear, set any time limits, or feature a single explosion; a game whose raison d'être is just beauty and peace. Playing this game is almost like taking a holiday from gaming. If you can live with that paradox - and if you can find it reasonably cheap - it's worth dipping a toe in these calm, blue waters." GamePro (25/100) magazine critiques: "Endless Ocean's underwater atmosphere is soothing and relaxing but it lacks a crucial element: fun." [Feb 2008, p.84] %Gallery-4734%
Wii Warm Up: No More Heroes vs Endless Ocean
Two great titles hit stores this week, one for hardcore gamers, taking you through the twisted and stylized world of Travis Touchdown, the other for those with more casual tastes, allowing you to explore the Manaurai Sea and its marine life. So, considering your limited budget, which of these two are you considering picking up, No More Heroes or Endless Ocean?Or are you planning to skip them both, buying Advance Wars: Days of Ruin instead? But then what if No More Heroes bombs, and US publishers refuse to bring Goichi Suda's games stateside in the future? Won't someone please think of Suda 51?!%Gallery-4734%%Gallery-4611%
Wii releases for the week of January 21st
Look, we know we've had our ups and downs. It's not been all roses in our relationship. We've had to go through a lot together and our bonds have grown because of that. But, we have one more thing we must ask of you: purchase No More Heroes. Look, we all know how tough a time the game had selling in Japan, so we're hoping it does better here in the United States. If you don't do it for us, then do it for poor Suda 51. We hear he's getting evicted from his apartment and moving back in with his mother.This week's releases are: No More Heroes Endless Ocean Kawasaki Jet Ski One Piece Unlimited Adventure %Gallery-4734%%Gallery-4611%
Wii Fanboy Review: Endless Ocean
Here's a very brief list of adjectives I would almost never use to describe video games: Genteel Laid-back Soothing Historically, a handful of titles have bucked this trend -- Electroplankton, PlayStation 3 curio flOw, Pilotwings and its sublime 64-bit follow-up (one of this writer's all-time favorites) -- but on the whole, the term "video game" conjures up images that are far from tranquil: gobby, cornrowed marines shooting the bejesus out of this week's alien threat, epic battles with scaly fantasy creatures, futuristic pod racing, urban gang warfare. You get the idea.Endless Ocean does things differently. Arika's scuba-diving sim is almost certainly the most relaxing, pedestrian game of 2007. And while that's certainly a welcome change from other video games, occasionally it can become a little too laid-back for its own good. Or, to be blunt, boring.%Gallery-4734%
New Endless Ocean shots make a splash as Euro release nears
If you live in Europe and don't yet know your Humphead wrasse from your Powder blue tang, then fear not, because Endless Ocean (it is known by another name) has the answers, and will be hitting stores in Euroland later this week. To celebrate that fact, developer Arika has treated us to a further 19 screens of its watery exploration game, all of which you can find below.Needless to say, we're looking forward to this one -- it's pretty unique for starters, and Famitsu doesn't dish out 35/40s for any old tat.** Most of the time.%Gallery-4734%
Nintendo still not overly fussed about Australia, apparently
As if further proof was needed that Nintendo regards Australia as the red-headed stepchild of the global games market, word reached our ears today that our friends down under will be missing out on a host of first-party and second-party Wii titles in 2007.Battalion Wars 2, Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, and Endless Ocean are the fallen, with all four now rudely shunted back to 2008. Not only that, but Aussies can join Europeans in waving goodbye to Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure this year, after Capcom announced it was pushing back the game's December 13 release to "early 2008."
Wii Warm Up: Ever PS2
We here at Wii Fanboy are pretty intrigued about Endless Ocean, because it looks like such a unique gaming experience-- underwater treasure-hunting mixed with adventure game elements. But, strictly speaking, it is not unique at all. It is, in fact, another entry in the Everblue series of diving adventures for the Playstation 2. Well-rounded and experienced gamers though we are, there is a big old hole in our gaming history in the shape of the Everblue games. This is especially embarrassing for us, as we are possibly alone in our fandom of Arika games like Technic Beat and even the Street Fighter EX series.We figure somebody out there has played one of the Everblue games. We'd love to know what you thought of the experience. Should we stop caring about Endless Ocean? Should we be getting Endless Ocean tattoos? Also, do you think this game is the sort of thing that waggle can genuinely improve?
E307: Forever Blue crossing the pond as Endless Ocean
Forever Blue, the ocean exploration game from Arika, has been announced for a US release, with the slightly different. but thematically identical, title of Endless Ocean. We've got a short, but very pretty gallery of screenshots, and a similarly bite-size trailer. The trailer's music is as relaxing as the game looks. Look at that screen up there. It just exudes serenity even when a sea creature is bearing down on the poor diver. %Gallery-4749%
'The big three' ARE coming in 2007 (to Japan)
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Nintendo confirmed that they do in fact plan to release Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3 Corruption, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl by the end of this year, as well as pretty much every Nintendo game announced for the Wii. This corroborates an IGN report to the same effect, and is also totally, totally rad. Here's the full list of Nintendo's planned 2007 releases. Donkey Kong Taru Jet Race is slated for June 28, and the rest are all "2007": Donkey Kong Taru Jet Race Wii Health Pack Disaster: Day of Crisis Mario Party 8 Project H.A.M.M.E.R. Wii Music Super Mario Galaxy Super Smash Bros. Brawl Battalion Wars II Forever Blue Mario Strikers Charged Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games Keep checking with us for news of the inevitable delays of about half of these. Seriously, that's a lot of first-party Nintendo games for just half a year or so. Aw, we just made ourselves sad with our own skepticism. Still, if half of this stuff does get released in Japan this year, it'll be great news and do a pretty good job of ending any drought that may or may not be happening.Update: fixed some italics and formatting.
Wii Warm Up: Continuing the desert island theme ...
Yesterday, we posed a question regarding which of this year's so-called "Big Three" you would pick, if you had to pick (and we know it's tough!). Today, we're gonna do something similar ... but instead of using the biggest games of the year, we're going to look at the more creative side of things. We looked over the list of upcoming titles and want to know this: of Disaster: Day of Crisis, Forever Blue, or Project H.A.M.M.E.R., which one interests you the most? Again, this is an all-or-nothing, no halfsies sorta thing -- you have to choose just one. So which one do you pick?
A (quick) peek at Forever Blue
It's been a while since we've seen anything about Forever Blue, the undersea diving game scheduled for later this year, and developer Arika still seems to be keeping things under wraps. One lone screenshot has surfaced, however. We can add this to the slowly developing collection. By this fall, we may know a little more than we do now!Check out the screen after the jump. All we can say so far is: it's a good thing we're fond of blue.
Forever Blue strikes a chord with divers [update 1]
It's rare that we get tipped off about a title by a scuba diving site, but it looks like there's a first time for everything after all. Forever Blue, a diving game set for the end of 2007 (for now, at least), was first announced during the Japanese Nintendo event last month, but there was so much going on that we hope you'll forgive us for losing it in the shuffle. Developer Arika has some experience in the creation of underwater environments, as they were responsible for the PS2's Ever Blue and Ever Blue 2. A shift to the Wii for a game like this just makes sense. And you won't be swimming solitary in the deep, either; WiFi support is planned, so you can explore with your friends.It's interesting to note that a diving site not only picked up the story, but presented it with such enthusiasm, while at the same time having to explain the Wii to their nongamer audience. Though this is certainly not the first game of its type -- see above -- the immersion of the Wiimote makes it a unique and exciting title, and one that we have high hopes for.[Update 1: Somehow, the link to the original story disappeared ... fixed!]
