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Joystiq hands-on: Wii Wheel
I had low expectations for the Wii Wheel before playing a few rounds of Mario Kart at the Nintendo Media Summit. The circular chunk of plastic exceeded my expectations. And that's my advice in life: Expect little and be constantly pleased.I twisted the small wheel to turn my racer. Gentle movements steered me around the tracks, and the setup was most sensitive if I held it at a 90-degree angle, with the face pointing directly away from the TV. A button pad pushed the B trigger, giving me a bigger target to hop and turn. I reached the other buttons easily.But the control felt imprecise because it wasn't mounted to anything. I unintentionally dropped the wheel angle sometimes, making the system less sensitive. I don't know why someone would want to buy one of these, and I expect most gamers will stick with other control methods.
Joystiq hands-on: Pop (Wiiware)
WiiWare will include casual, simple, and hopefully cheap titles with its upcoming release outside of Japan. While some of the Wiiware efforts on display at the Nintendo Media Summit impressed and surprised me, I was more ambivalent about Pop.The simple game is just about pointing and clicking on bubbles that drift by. Click a bunch of like-colors in a row, and rack up a bonus score that's activated when you pop a different-colored bubble. Miss the bubbles completely, and the count-down timer jumps ahead, moving closer to the end of the game. The only other catch is that your potential points and time keep rising with bubble-popping combos, but they aren't added to the game until you break the run. Get too greedy, and you'll run out of time.%Gallery-20616%
Joystiq hands-on: Zenses: Ocean (DS)
The Game Factory showed off its upcoming DS puzzler, Zenses: Ocean, and the Nintendo Media Summit. This publisher has made a business out of licensed titles -- Bratz, Garfield, Build-A-Bear Workshop -- but is trying to break into original games with Zenses.Pitched as a relaxing, almost trance-inducing ride -- some bundles of the game will include earphones to play back its mellow soundtrack -- I found few of its six game modes that didn't feel repetitive. Especially at a $30 price, I hope that the game gets tweaked or the price drops before its October, 2008 release.
Joystiq impressions: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King (WiiWare)
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King turns RPG gamers into a coach, vicariously living out the glory of dungeon quests by sending in adventurers. I saw the game at the Nintendo Media Summit and didn't understand the appeal. Aren't the quests the best part of RPGs?If you think upgrades and management are RPG highlights, maybe you'll like My Life as a King. Your young character returns to an abandoned castle to reclaim his dynasty after his dad left in exile. Your job is to spruce up the place, adding new shops that attract and upgrade townsfolk. Some buildings just allow for more people to move in, while weapon shops, magic guilds, and other structures help advance your people.But with limited coffers, you'll have to send these citizens on quests to raid dungeons and return with more resources to keep building. Force a weak party into a dangerous situation, and they'll crawl back, beaten-down and loot-free. Send a well-equipped party into battle, and they'll bring back treasure.%Gallery-20614%
Joystiq hands-on: Major League Eating: The Game (WiiWare)
Major League Eating: The Game initially seemed to be a weak concept for a licensed title. Is eating actually a game? How do you turn one tenuous "sport" into a tenuous videogame?Mastiff has met that challenge by embellishing on competitive eating, spinning the contests into a fantasy world of power-ups, attacks, and other tested game elements. I'm still doubtful that I'll play Major League Eating: The Game after its release, but I think it'll appeal to other people, especially kids. Any title in which your 3D character loses after 3D vomiting has a built-in audience somewhere.%Gallery-20556%
Joystiq impressions: Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
A turn-based RPG, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood moves the speedy Sega characters into a role-playing world. After a big, "Huh?" I gave this DS-only game a shot at the Nintendo Media Summit. But especially with Bioware behind the project, I came away thinking it could be a fun game for kids and even adult RPG players. And forget Sonic; the deep game mechanics, dialogue options, and great-looking world could combine into a portable RPG favorite.%Gallery-20608%
Joystiq hands-on: Rock Band (Wii)
Rock Band is coming out on the Wii June 22, with the guitar-mic-drum-game bundle price of $179. You've played it on other systems. I played it on the Wii. My short impression: It's Rock Band on the Wii.Rock Band looks a little different on the Nintendo system. The controllers are all finished in white and mimic Nintendo's blue LED dots to mark the player order. Best of all, the guitar controllers are wireless ($60 alone). [Update: A couple comments have asked good questions about how the wireless gear connects. There's a USB hub and dongle with an RF transmitter. So the Wii Remotes aren't a factor except for the mic user.] And the white drums ($80 alone) and other hardware include behind-the-scenes revisions that weren't included in the original launch last fall. Harmonix mentioned that those changes, including a wider drum layout and sturdier parts, have been rolled out to the 360 and PS3 already.Rock Band Wii includes 63 songs, including a few "bonus" tracks that PS3 and 360 owners might have already downloaded, like "Roxanne". As already lamented, the Wii version doesn't offer online downloads or internet play, but game representatives indicated that those are important additions that they're pursuing. (Roughly $12-million worth of "important" and counting.) However, there are no specific plans to either add them to the Wii game or save them for a Rock Band 2.%Gallery-19082%
Joystiq hands-on: Space Invaders Extreme (DS/PSP)
My surprise of the week: Space Invaders Extreme. I played a few rounds at the Nintendo Media Summit since there was no line for the lonely kiosk. (Its PR handlers had even abandoned it, working double-duty at the Crystal Chronicles station across the room.) But as soon as I began tapping the buttons, I was hooked; this update borrows the basic idea of Space Invaders and remixes it into a wild, fast-paced shooter. Like the classic, enemy ships make formations above you, raining shots down the screen. Otherwise, nearly everything else has been squeezed, twisted, and stretched into a modern game. The transition deserves comparison to our lauded Pac-Man Championship Edition, but I haven't yet decided if its as elegant an update. Regardless, an update is an update, and Space Invaders Extreme betters nearly every other current shooter. %Gallery-20559%
Joystiq impressions: Wii Fit mini-games
Sure, Wii Fit is about health and lifestyle, but I'm looking forward to the games; I sampled some of the lesser-known modes at the recent Nintendo Media Summit. We've already played with the hula-hoop, soccer, ski-jump, and other basics, so I jumped straight to tightrope walking, floating in a bubble, and other later unlockables. But first, I warmed up with jogging. %Gallery-4815%
Joystiq hands-on: World of Goo (WiiWare)
Cute graphics and sounds: Check. Clever puzzle mechanic: Check. Irresistible gameplay: Check. World of Goo hits the required bullet points to be an indie game darling. And comfortable Wii Remote controls make it a perfect fit to be in Nintendo's WiiWare lineup.Players build simple structures by pointing and dragging living, bouncing goo balls. These spherical wonders extend a few arms to their closest neighbors, becoming rigid when the Remote button is released. Gamers have to figure out how to build bridges, towers, and other structures without toppling them over, all while trying to use as few balls as possible. In the end, they're trying to lead the remaining balls to a mysterious pipe that sucks them away at the end of the level.I tried the action-puzzler at the Nintendo Media Summit and am anticipating its release sometime this year. (Developer 2D Boy says its work will be complete in the Summer, and Nintendo will schedule the release after that.) World of Goo felt great and could be poised to be an indie game that crosses over into commercial success.%Gallery-20573%
Joystiq hands-on: LostWinds (WiiWare)
Briefly previewed at GDC, LostWinds is a stylish, creative take on platforming. The Nunchuk analog stick moves your small character over obstacles from a side-view. But the the character can't jump or climb very high; he needs the wind to push him up and over pits. The Wii Remote fills this role naturally. A pointer swipe and button push gusts the wind into the world, lifting the small character to higher plateaus. Even ambient background objects like trees and grasses sway with the breeze. Later puzzles require you to guide the wind into other objects, not just the small fellow. These techniques feel fresh and the visuals rival other Wii games. LostWinds was one of my favorite experiences from the Nintendo Media Summit. %Gallery-16523%
Joystiq hands-on: Samba de Amigo (Wii)
Samba de Amigo without maracas is like seeing an old friend you've missed for years; it's still the same person, but the subtle changes add up. The Wii's Fall, 2008 version of Samba De Amigo follows the idea of the first, with gamers shaking two controllers -- any two, as long as one is a Remote -- in time with music and on-screen commands. The game reads the angle of the controller, which generally simulates the low, medium, and high positions.But the Remote and Nunchuk just don't feel the same as the original maracas. Sega representatives mentioned that the company is still considering input device add-ons and alternatives; the game might even ship with a new maraca controller. (I wouldn't bet on it, but apparently, it's still a possibility.) Short of that, it might include some sort of rattling add-on, like the Wii Wheel of rhythm games.I flailed and shook to a few Samba tracks from the game's more-than-40 options. Sega is including many from the Japan-only Samba 2K release as well as classics and new tunes. Mentioned music and musicians include "La Bamba," "Take On Me," "Santana," and "The Gypsy Kings." While any music game plays better with your favorite songs, Samba has been less about the tracks and more about the maracas. I was entertained, but I missed that rattle.%Gallery-20558%
Joystiq impressions: Guitar Hero: On Tour (DS)
Activision and Nintendo briefly demonstrated Guitar Hero: On Tour at last week's Nintendo Media Summit. As previously announced, the portable rhythm game includes a four-fret controller that slips into the DS GBA slot. A stylus shaped like a guitar pick can be stored inside and pulled out for portable rocking. Guitar Hero: On Tour includes the same kind of career mode and single-song play as Guitar Hero III; many of the portable songs also overlap with other versions of the game. But 20 new tracks, a few control twists, and a new versus mode should make it more than Guitar Hero Lite. %Gallery-18848%
Head-tracking feature pulled from Boom Blox
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Head_tracking_feature_pulled_from_Boom_Blox'; At the Nintendo Media Summit, Boom Blox senior producer Amir Rahimi confirmed that the final version of the game will lack the head-tracking mode. We understand that it was always an Easter egg, requiring gamers to set up Wii Remotes as cameras, and hacking together their own IR LED glasses. But you didn't have to go to TED to see the promise, and we're disappointed to see it removed.EA wouldn't go on-record to say exactly why the mode was cut, only just confirming it again through public-relations channels. An email statement noted, "Head-tracking was something we considered including as an Easter egg in BOOM BLOX however, we did not end up including it in the final version of the game. ..."Perhaps EA feared that we'd hack together a candelabra helmet as an IR emitter. They should have; we totally would.
