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European Nintendo downloads: Protothea finally arrives for some reason
We have a message to deliver to our European friends from the distant past: don't buy Protöthea. We had pretty much forgotten about this shooter, released soon after the North American launch of WiiWare, until Ubisoft inexplicably dusted it off for European release. There were much better shmups on the Wii a year ago, and there are only more now. Happily, there are also more arcade games now, like the wonderful Shinobi! Shinobi (Arcade, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points) PictureBook Games: Pop-Up Pursuit (WiiWare, 1-4 players, 800 Wii Points) Protöthea (WiiWare, 1 player, 1,000 Wii Points) A Little Bit of... Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training (DSiWare, 1 player, 800 DSi Points) Combat of Giants: Dragons - Bronze Edition (DSiWare, 1-4 players, 800 DSi Points) %Gallery-22560%
Wii Fanboy Review: Protothea
The Wii is the best system in history for scrolling shooters, thanks to the Virtual Console. While companies like Treasure and Cave have developed new subgenres of the shmup, the basics of classic shooting gameplay haven't changed much, and a good shooter is still as enjoyable now as it was when games like Gradius and Blazing Lazers were new. Chances are nobody but the most devoted shmuppers has mastered every available shooter on the system -- or even all of the really good ones. For most gamers, there are at least five excellent shooters available on the VC that are completely unfamiliar.The preponderance of excellent shooters means that there's really no reason for anyone to buy a mediocre one -- especially not when it costs more than every other shmup on the system. There is even less reason to buy Protöthea. If you're thinking about putting ten bucks into this, stop and go buy Blazing Lazers or Lords of Thunder instead.%Gallery-22560%
Balance Board video and more on Nintendo Channel
When a video detailing the technology inside the Balance Board hit the Japanese Nintendo Channel early this year, we envied the ability to see original behind-the-scenes content on the Wii. Now, a mere five months later, the video is available on the North American channel, dubbed into English. It's also available right here, in this very post!Other new videos include trailers for this week's WiiWare releases, video of Super Swing Golf Season 2 and SNK Arcade Classics, and a lot of DS content -- more "I Play for Me" videos featuring America Ferrera, and the excellent English Bangai-O Spirits trailer. Watch it if you haven't yet! The full list of videos follows the break.
WiiWare adds Toki Tori and Protthea
We thought about putting the kibosh on these WiiWare updates until we get the one game that we're ALL waiting for: Major League Eating. But it's Monday morning, so we've got a lot of internet to fill and we imagine you have an equal amount of free time. So here we are. Toki Tori (Two Tribes, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points): Well, it's WiiWare's fourth week, and we're finally getting our first remake of a Game Boy Color game (confidence get!). In this puzzle/platformer, you'll collect eggs using zany items across 70 levels. A second player can join in by "drawing hints while you are playing." We hope this picture of an oversized penis helps you, partner, because that's what you're getting. Protöthea (UbiSoft, 1 player, 1,000 Wii Points): Protöthea (as you can see here) is a top-down scrolling shooter from UbiSoft. In an effort to find more to say about it, the official Nintendo press release notes it "introduces new concepts to a beloved, classic game style while mixing genres and utilizing the full capabilities of the Wii console, from graphics to controls." What does that mean, exactly? We have no idea.
VC Monday Madness: WiiWare and Virtual Console play nice yet again
Just as expected, we're given some WiiWare love, as well as a Virtual Console download, this week. There's also Ubisoft's Protothea, which you know we've had our eye on. If WiiWare doesn't tickle your fancy, there's also a NEOGEO game up for grabs. So, who's going to download what?WiiWare games available for download: Protothea (Ubisoft, 1 player, 1,000 Wii Points) Toki Tori (Two Tribes, 1 - 2 players, 1,000 Wii Points) This week's Virtual Console game available for download: Ninja Combat (NEOGEO, 1 - 2 players, 900 Wii Points) %Gallery-22560%%Gallery-20255%
Protothea might not be terrible
Earlier this week, we shared with you videos from Ubisoft newly announced WiiWare title, Protöthea, and the game looked, at best, boring, at worst, awful. Seeing this trailer for the original 2005 PC game which the WiiWare release will be a remake of, however, has given us a new hope. This looks about a hojillion times more exciting than the clips IGN trotted out for us to preview!Further improving our opinion of Protöthea, the original PC game was Cartoon Network's Project Goldmaster winner at the 2005 Independent Games Festival, rewarding developer Digital Builders an opportunity to create a game based on a Cartoon Network license. Knowing all this, maybe the screenshots in the gallery we've included below will seem more interesting to you.Protöthea was supposed to launch with WiiWare, according to IGN, but we didn't see the title on the list posted earlier today, so who knows when the shmup will be thrown onto Nintendo's download service. While we wait around for someone to announce a release date, spend a moment to leave us a comment on whether or not this trailer has changed your opinion on the game. %Gallery-22560%[Via GoNintendo]
MehWare: Ubisoft reveals Protothea
Ubisoft has finally announced its first contribution to Nintendo's forthcoming WiiWare service, and it's a remake of 2005 PC shooter Protöthea. Supposedly, there are a lot of additions, but whatever Argentine developers Sabarasa (Mazes of Fate) and Digital Builders added, it hasn't made the game interesting.It's not just the laggard enemies and humdrum soundtrack that have us yawning -- even the heads-up display is enough to put SHMUP fans to sleep. But that's alright, as the last thing we needed was more must-buy WiiWare games.Protöthea is scheduled to debut with WiiWare's launch on May 12th alongside (more interesting) shooters Star Soldier R and Gyrostarr. Ubisoft will be asking 1,000 Wii Points for the game. Bring a pillow and blanky past the break for another Protöthea video and a list of new features for the remake.
