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Joystiq impressions: Personal Trainer: Cooking
Out already in Europe and Japan, Personal Trainer: Cooking launches in North America on November 24. Like other upcoming Personal Trainer titles (Math! Walking!), Cooking is more tutor than game. After sampling its recipes, we developed a taste for the concept. The cookbook of 245 dishes gives step-by-step instructions, meeting chefs with a range of skill levels.%Gallery-33746%
Wii's World of Goo-d multiplayer
One week from today, WiiWare wil find itself in a sticky situation of – based on our hands-on time – the best possible kind. 2D Boy's World of Goo hits splorts onto Wii on October 13, and it, er you, won't be alone (in playing it).Neither were we when we gave its multiplayer mode a spin, blop, and splat with three other Wiimote-wielders at Nintendo's Fall Media Summit. The game was just as charming and sticky as ever, only now we were glomming gooey creatures onto one another to reach each level's exit drain as a team. It's not a hugely different play experience as a group ... it's just, well, more fun (and frantic) that way.World of Goo had us at ... whatever the goo would say in place of "Hello." Check out our single-player hands-on coverage and new screens while you wait for it to ooze into your Wii.%Gallery-33789%
Joystiq impressions: Age of Empires: Mythologies
Age of Empires: Mythologies follows the style of the DS Age of Kings, turning the PC real-time strategy into a portable, turn-based title. We checked out the game a the Nintendo Media Summit and found a lot of depth in the transition. While you'll only choose from Greek, Norse, or Egyptian armies, there's still ample Age of Empires inside.%Gallery-33769%
Joystiq impressions: Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party
The Rabbids are back. We liked the original, thought they dozed on the sequel, and hope the combination of randomness and fun returns for TV Party. More than 50 mini-games are shipping with the new Wii game, most of which will be playable with four people. About 30 percent of the games will be able to use the Balance Board, although the fad device won't be required. We played three mini-games at the Nintendo Media Summit and are hopeful that this will be the best version yet. We'll know for sure after the November 11 release.%Gallery-33764%
Joystiq impressions: Tecmo Bowl Kickoff (DS)
Game companies must find old IP profitable, with yet another retro remake on the way in Tecmo Bowl Kickoff. This DS diversion plunges into the nostalgia glands within our hypothalamus; we fondly associate the NES original with grade-school sleep-overs. Maybe there's a direct connection between our memories and Visa card after all.And on that level, Tecmo Bowl wins. It's hokey, clunky, and fun. We think gamers who missed the NES or SNES versions won't enjoy it nearly as much as their John Maddens. But the Tecmo Bowl simplicity can even be elegant. You're limited to just a few runs and passes. There's no play clock. Team names and players are fictitious. Cut-scene interludes show the biggest graphical effects, with on-field play just clear enough to make out what's happening.%Gallery-33768%
Joystiq impressions: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Released in Japan on August 7, the DS remake of the original Famicom strategy title, Fire Emblem, is coming stateside in 2009. A largely localized version was on-hand at Nintendo's Fall Media Summit – and turned out to be one of the most-played games of the event. What we found was expected: pure and simple strategy-RPG combat. We were most intrigued by things that we couldn't try out, namely the Wi-Fi play – a first for the series – and the online shop. Nevertheless, we ventured through the game's prologue and found an appreciation for the characterization and development of individual units. %Gallery-33780%
Joystiq hands-on: Boingz (WiiWare)
The unlikely pairing of Real Networks (you know, the RealPlayer folks) and Ninja Bee (you, uh, might know – they've done Outpost Kaloki X, Band of Bugs, and the upcoming A Kingdom for Keflings for XBLA), Boingz is a spring-physics-based puzzle-platformer for WiiWare reminiscent of a slower-paced Lemmings.In this case, the Boingz – stretchy, sleepy creatures – need to be directly maneuvered to various exits in the level, rather than just mindlessly marching forward. In addition to using the Wiimote to "pinch" their heads and snap them skyward at various angles, we were able to pin them to the environment in order to create bridges, or to rocks so that we might pick up sparkly underwater treasure.%Gallery-33802%
Joystiq hands-on: Tetris Party (WiiWare)
We've soaked up Tetris on countless platforms. There's a balance to strike between versions that retain enough of the core game to be authentically Tetris, and adding new puzzle elements. Tetris Party for WiiWare nails this demand, providing about a dozen game modes, many of which, are all-new. Call it "yet another Tetris?" Maybe. But this is a Tetris on which we'll gladly spend 1,200 Wii points with its release sometime this month.Nintendo claims there are 18 modes, 10 of which are new, but we only agree technically; the company counts some modes twice as single- and multi-player games. (Most modes support up to four players on one system, and a few work with up to six online.) We tore into as many as we could before overloading like a kid on a Halloween sugar-high. Here's how they stand up.%Gallery-33744%
Joystiq impressions: Cave Story (WiiWare)
click to enlarge We played Cave Story at the Nintendo Media Summit, and other than controlling the game with the Wii Remote – old-school sideways, natch' – it's nearly the same as the free PC and Mac game. The retro look and gameplay make this seem like an overlooked garage-sale find, for good or bad. (Usually good.)%Gallery-33743%
Video and screens: Mario and Luigi (and Bowser make) 3
Another of the games shown in video-only form at Nintendo's recent North American media summit, Mario and Luigi 3 (or Mario and Luigi RPG 3, depending on who you ask) is the latest chapter in Intelligent Systems' superb action-RPG series, and the second on DS. This outing adds Bowser as a playable character, and, from what we saw (and you can see in the above video), Mario's long-time nemesis brings some nasty power-moves to the party. It also looks like players will control him solo, rather than throwing him into a three-character combat system. That's okay with us; as long as IS keeps coming up with cool gameplay mechanics using both Mario bros. and crafting a zany story to compliment them, we're there.%Gallery-33781%
Wii Music 'games' within the 'game' detailed
On Friday we had our final hands-on session with Wii Music before its October 20 release. Our feelings about it remain more or less unchanged from our time with it at E3. It's not a "gamer's game;" it's not even really a game in the traditional sense. Its novel mechanics will be best appreciated by young children or groups of non-gamers. Nintendo itself has said as much.Still, we wanted to finally see the "games" of Wii Music – the three modes where players are actually scored. The first is conducting with the Wiimote as a baton, which was demo'd by Nintendo back at the system's unveiling. The gist of this game is staying true to the tempo of the original work. How close you maintain the flow determines your score. There's also a choir bell game for up to four players, which involves "ringing" your two bells as ones matching their colors scroll past. Finally, there's the most simple of the games, which tests you ability to hear different pitches. There are 10 "levels," where you are asked to place the Mii that's producing a specific tone onto a platform – match and win.Simple stuff indeed.%Gallery-33788%
Joystiq impressions: Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop
click to enlarge Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop thins components from the 360 original into a Wii port. And that's not always a bad thing. As much as we liked the original, we were frustrated by losing track of side missions and the unforgiving save system. The Wii remake addresses both issues, running players through a condensed, linear story with more frequent save- and restore-points. And Wii controls often feel good, especially for pointing and shooting, although we're still uncertain about some of the motion additions, such as shaking off zombies.But after playing at the Nintendo Media Summit, we're apprehensive about what's being lost. There's no photojournalism, many weapons have been cut, and we're just not sure if the Wii can push enough zombies-per-second to create the ambling masses of the first. The Wii version seems suited to gamers who never tried the original; it'll hold up better without any direct comparison to the 360 game. %Gallery-33760%
Joystiq impressions: Animal Crossing: City Folk
Animal Crossing is a one-hit-wonder. You might like it and play it forever, hate it and avoid it completely, or think it was catchy and then just get tired of the tune. Animal Crossing: City Folk does little to change our perception. This is Animal Crossing, again; go fishing, pull weeds, repeat. Some love it, some hate it, and some just want something new. From what we saw at the Nintendo Media Summit, the city is just another place to go. Instead of Tom Nook's shop in your own town, you can buy from an upscale store. Instead of waiting for the fortune teller to visit, you can see her in the city. A few minor additions include a city-based auction house and theater where you see shows. The rest of the updates seem equally subtle. You can play with your Mii face. Up to four players can meet in one of their towns or the city. Gamer can talk over the WiiSpeak microphone (sold separately). You can type messages by plugging in any USB HID keyboard. Otherwise, it's Animal Crossing again. %Gallery-33749%
Joystiq hands-on: Call of Duty: World at War (Wii)
click to enlarge var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Hands_on_with_Call_of_Duty_World_at_War_for_Wii_WWWii'; Was it mere coincidence that Activision's latest Wii FPS was situated right next to The Conduit at Nintendo's SF media event? You know, as if to say, "You want first-person shooters? Wii has you covered." Surely not. One thing's for certain: The situation certainly made it easier for us to transition from one game to the other in order to gauge how different developers are putting motion-control to use in the genre.In the case of Treyarch, its Wii team has obviously played plenty of Metroid Prime 3; Call of Duty: World at War is pratically a play-alike (without the Morph Ball, grapple beam, and ... er, all that other sci-fi stuff). We were pleasantly surprised to find that the game is also similar to another FPS ... Call of Duty: World at War – the "HD" version.%Gallery-33779%
Sega re-working MadWorld controls, game still looks awesome
Excitement quickly turned to disappointment when we realized that Sega and Platinum Games' super-stylized Wii action title, MadWorld, was up-and-running on two kiosks at Nintendo's Fall Media Summit ... but wasn't actually playable by the media. Instead, Sega reps informed us that the game is currently undergoing some fundamental changes to its control scheme and that, well, they basically didn't want us to play it in its current state.It sure looked bloody fun (emphasis, of course, on the "bloody"). We watched those around us slowly back away as we giggled with child-like glee at the on-screen ultra-violence (hey, we'd had a very bad morning in traffic). Someone urged Sega's testers to show off the most over-the-top move they could think of, so we were treated to a gameplay sequence wherein an enemy was restrained with a tire, skewered through the head with a stopsign post, then cleaved in twain by the main character's chainsaw.We also got a peek at the chainsaw in action while riding a motorcycle down the side of a building and along a highway at innapropriate speeds. A sequence which, again, made us even more steamed that we couldn't grab the controls and try it ourselves. Not mad enough to run anyone through with a signpost, mind you, but most definitely irked.
Knockout Sin and Punishment 2, Punch-Out!! screens and video
Since the games were announced last week, all we've had to go on for Nintendo's unexpected, one-two "core" game punch of Sin and Punishment 2 and the new Punch-Out!! for Wii has been second-hand media. Now that the embargo on our Nintendo Fall Media Summit coverage has (finally) lifted, we can offer up these official, pristine screens and gameplay footage.We've already covered the basics on both games – now it's your chance to sit back, crank up the volume, and get every bit as excited as we were when Nintendo rolled these teasers and passed out anything-but-blurry screens. Of course, there are no firm release dates yet for either game, but they're coming, and that's exciting enough ... for the time being. (Click through after the break for silky-smooth Sin and Punishment 2 footage.)%Gallery-33783%%Gallery-33784%
Joystiq hands-on: The Conduit
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Hands_on_with_The_Conduit_at_Nintendo_Fall_Media_Summit_08'; In terms of playable software at Nintendo's Fall Media Summit, none received as much attention from attendees as High Voltage Software's The Conduit – and for good reason. The game already had some buzz behind it going into the event, but our anticipation for it reached new heights upon watching a developer walkthough of the latest build.The Media Summit version of The Conduit showcased a never-before-seen Cold War bunker level, and High Voltage's staff was eager to show off tech like depth of field, normal mapping, newly implemented high-res textures, and a number of other things that had us saying, "This looks really good for a Wii game ... but how does it play?" The answer to that question can be found after the break.%Gallery-33787%
