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Pokémaniac builds automatic shiny finder for 3DS, deserves all the rare candies
One of the aspects of Nintendo's Pokemon series that keeps players hooked is the occasional appearance of shiny creatures, or ultra-rare Pokemon that have a different color than usual. The odds of running into a shiny wild Pokemon in Pokemon X and Y are reportedly 1 in 8,192 battles, though crafty players have taken to special "chaining" and "chain fishing" tactics to speed up the process of finding one of the rare, elusive beasts. YouTuber dekuNukem took that a step further by creating a mod for the 3DS game that detects and alerts players when a shiny Pokemon has been encountered in Pokemon X and Y during a chain fishing sequence with the game's fishing rod item. The mod connects to the 3DS' button logic to control the console, reading the audio signal for the correct moment to virtually press the A button and initiate the battle. Then, a sensor placed on the system's bottom screen determines the length of time the screen is dark, as a shiny Pokemon has a longer introduction in a battle. If a regular Pokemon appears in battle, the system tells the game to run away and start the cycle over again. The modder says the system took less than 300 lines of code in addition to a little soldering.
SOE introducing brand new forums later this month
If you're a regular on the SOE forums, you may have noticed some changes as the individual game boards have been transitioning over to the new system. But on Tuesday, March 26th, the entirety of the SOE forums will be switched over to let you enjoy the new look, shiny new tools, and improved stability. The most important thing to note about this upgrade is that it's an entirely different forum, so you'll need to re-register your handle. SOE assures us that users can reclaim their longstanding forum names during the first two weeks in the event that someone else grabs it first.
Take a gander at DDO's Update 17 screens
Players will be experiencing the new and improved Gianthold when Dungeons and Dragons Online releases Update 17 this month. Turbine's launched a new page dedicated to the update, and that page contains many, many pretty pictures that convey story and wonder in a digitized format. Check out 10 of these new screenshots in the gallery below, and while you're at it, why not read up on our recent tour of Update 17? %Gallery-178070%
Sinclair ZX Spectrum turns 30, gets immortalized as a Google Doodle
Today's Google UK doodle celebrates both St. Georges Day and the little home computer that became a British phenomenon, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. To be competitive with the rival Commodore 64, the 16KB of RAM-packing machine retailed for just £130 ($210 in today's money), punched well above its own weight and was often the first computer bought by techno-phobic families. Designed to be as programmer-friendly as possible, the founders of Shiny, Rare and Blitz Games studios all cut their teeth on the computer that introduced the world to Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy and Dizzy. It lasted a full decade in production, selling five million units before Amstrad purchased the money-losing unit and closed it down. Despite its demise, it's still got a loyal following from a generation of fans, something we doubt can be said about the Amstrad machines that replaced it.
Why I Play: EverQuest II
Because. Remember back when this answer was lobbed at you as the definitive answer (often by moms tired of incessant "why"s or as a precursor to "I said so!")? But since I am not your mom -- and more importantly, the boss isn't about to pay me for a one word article -- let me elaborate, though, I warn you, you may regret it; once I get going I may not be able to stop! Seriously, they had to restrain me from taking over Why I Play. Obviously I broke free mwuahahahaha! Simply put, I love EverQuest II. I log into it daily. Sometimes I don't leave for more hours than I am willing to admit. I can hum the guild hall music from memory. I have a list of things I want to do so long I can't possibly get it all done. All this after taking a multi-year break. Yes folks, I left the game for a long time -- a move I am still kicking myself for. But certain features pulled me back, and let me just say, I am so glad I came back. So why do I play EQII? Where to begin...
Gresso flaunts $30,000 white iPhone 4, holds more ice than a skating rink
Sure, you probably waited longer than you should have to get the elusive white iPhone 4. But, you know what's better than a boring regular model? One with diamonds, crystals and pearls... of course! Known for its ridiculous custom mobile devices, Gresso may force you to refinance your house and hock a kidney to afford its latest creation, the Lady Blanche. A solid diamond-coated mineral glass backing, three independent Swiss clocks and pearl dials replace the usual body on this iced-out iPhone. If the $30k diamond model is a bit out of your price range, the much more affordable Swarovski crystal version will only set you back 7,000 bones. Release details are unclear at this point, but when they drop you better act fast -- only 150 of these gems will be available. Heck, if you have that kind of cash lying around, just get the salesman to throw in one of these for your iPad, too.
Icarus preps Fallen Earth soundtrack release
Once upon a time, we spent an afternoon ripping audio files out of the recesses of our Fallen Earth directory. This wasn't fun, or especially productive, but the end result was a collection of MP3 snippets strung together on a playlist labeled FE Soundtrack. The whole hackneyed effort served as a stop-gap measure for getting our daily dose of wasteland ambiance while waiting patiently on an official solution. Happily, this half-arsed attempt is about to become obsolete, as Icarus Studios is gearing up to release their Firefly-esque soundtrack to fans all over the Grand Canyon province. The 20-track album will be available via the Fallen Earth website next week, and can be purchased for $13.99 US (or $.99 per individual track). Shiny.
The Daily Grind: Do you get game wanderlust?
We gamers are a fickle bunch. Perhaps you're a veteran player of Guild Wars and have always loved the game, even when you knew the sequel was coming. But you saw the recent Ranger reveal, and when you logged in you were suddenly struck by an overwhelming urge to play Guild Wars 2 immediately, not this crappy old game that you hate and is terrible. It's not that you're actually dissatisfied with the game, but the promises of new shiny things have left you feeling an urge to pick up and go somewhere new. The allure of something new and good can be a powerful intoxicant, and it can bring people into strange new locations. Do you find yourself wanting to head off into a new game despite there being nothing wrong with your current main game? Are you tempted to try out newer titles on a regular basis, even if you know you'll end up going back? Or do you convince yourself not to go anywhere when you'll just turn around in the end?
Earthworm Jim HD trailer wriggles out
So there's a trailer out for Earthworm Jim HD. Don't worry, it looks just fine. Gameloft was even kind enough to toss in some footage of the game's new co-op levels. Heck, we even get to see some entirely new single-player levels, replete with jet-packing grandmas and ... keyboard cat. That's all well and good, but what is up with Jim's voice? Maybe it's just the difference between old, muffled 16-bit samples and the modern sound clarity we enjoy today, but something seems off. Like "someone just grabbed the janitor and told him to say 'groovy' into a microphone" off. Come on, Gameloft. Surely someone over there has Tommy Tallarico's number*. *Or Dan Castellaneta's.
Earthworm Jim available on DSiWare in Europe next week
Next Friday, Gameloft's DSiWare port of Earthworm Jim will be available on DSiWare in Europe for 500 points. Nintendo of America hasn't made any announcements about a release date, but this opens the slim possibility that we could see it in North America next week as well! It's not exactly Earthworm Jim as we remember: Nintendo of Europe's info page for the game reveals that, in addition to what looks like a faithful port of the Super NES game, the DSiWare version has " facial-expression-based challenges" that require you to make a particular face at the DSi's camera. Hopefully every single challenge will require a "simultaneously frustrated and delighted" expression, because that's the face we all make unconsciously while playing Earthworm Jim.
VC in Brief: Blaster Master (NES), Earthworm Jim 2 (Sega Genesis)
We've got a duo of high-profile titles to check out here on VC in Brief this week. Come for the shooting stuff, stay for the Pig Chutes. Blaster Master (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) Earthworm Jim 2 (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) Every week, we like to check out what's new on the Virtual Console. We offer these videos as a sort of taste to help you decide whether or not you would want the game in question. We also toss in our own two cents because we're pushy jerks like that.
Earthworm Jim now launching cows on iPhone
Gameloft's iPhone remake of Shiny's classic Earthworm Jim has found its way to the App Store, at a price of $4.99. It's a great game, but trying the iPhone version means you're willing to punish yourself by attempting the already-difficult run-and-gun without the benefit of a D-pad or buttons. We're going to have nightmares if we think too long about playing the submarine level that way.In addition to the download-anywhere convenience and painful controller substitution, the iPhone/iPod Touch release lets you play your own iPod music as you play. That should be a welcome addition to one intentionally annoying level.After the break, see gameplay footage captured by Touch Arcade.Earthworm Jim ($4.99) [Via AppShopper]
Earthworm Jim on iPhone looks familiar
We recently found out that when Gameloft announced intentions to make a new Earthworm Jim game, the company really meant it intended to remake the first one. And while the next-gen version has some cleaned-up graphics, the iPhone release, as seen in the new trailer (after the break) might as well be a port. If you ignore the total lack of buttons, it might as well be the Genesis or SNES game. And speaking of buttons, have fun playing that submarine level on a touchscreen.If the graphical improvements aren't more obvious in the WiiWare release, then the only real difference between the game on Virtual Console and WiiWare will be one extra level and difficulty selection. Awkward!
MobileMe login page sports a new look
After a brief overnight outage, the MobileMe services are back this morning -- and sporting a new look on the login page. Aside from the recently revealed file sharing feature, we don't know of any other changes behind the scenes, but putting on a fresh coat of polish never hurts.If you're seeing changes on the inside of MobileMe please pass them along. Update: Richard spotted the release page for today's changes -- improvements to calendar performance, address book behavior and more.Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
VC Monday Madness: Earthworm Jim
Earthworm Jim (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)Wii Fanboy says: download it! Who doesn't love Earthworm Jim, this week's Virtual Console release? People without souls and taste, that's who! It's a great mix of platforming and action segments, wonderful minigames, and tense boss fights that come together and form one amazing product. an earthworm in a robotic suit? Can't beat that! Each week, we here at Wii Fanboy like to check out the latest Virtual Console releases in our VC Monday Madness feature, in the hopes that you can make the most sound decision possible regarding purchasing retro titles from the Wii Shop Channel. If you're looking for more retro goodness, check out Virtually Overlooked, which talks about games that should be on the Virtual Console.
VC Friday: Thursday edition [Update 1]
And the Nintendo of Europe site leaks another morsel of info! Not long ago, news of Nintendo selling music appeared in our RSS feed weeks early, only to lead to a dead link after it was hastily pulled by Nintendo. And now another slippage has occurred, with Nintendo accidentally revealing (what we suspect are the contents of) tomorrow's PAL Virtual Console update: Earthworm Jim and Shining Force II.Once again, the news appears in our RSS feed (as seen here) while the story itself has been yanked from Ninty's site. All being well then, tomorrow's VC update for Europe and Australia should read something like this: Earthworm Jim -- Mega Drive -- 800 Wii Points Shining Force II: The Ancient Seal -- Mega Drive -- 800 Wii Points These aren't set in stone yet, so we'll label this as a rumor, but it looks likely. Also: "Hurray!" for both of these.Update: And it's confirmed: those are your titles for this week, PAL people! [Thanks, Lanceh!]
Revolutionary: Most Deceptive Kontraction
In the year 1997, with Sylvester Stallone's Demolition Man still fairly fresh on our minds, developer Shiny took the opportunity to name one of their games after an abbreviated phrase that was mentioned several times in that film. Under the assumption that MDK stood for "Murder, Death, Kill" and the fact that you run around as a guy whose head is a sniper rifle, the Playstation generation couldn't wait to get their hands on it. As it turned out, the game was not the gruesome murder simulator many people expected, but a humorously quirky action title like most of the prior games Shiny was known for. In the sequel, the main character from the first game, Kurt Hectic, would share the duty of saving the earth with Doctor Fluke Hawkins and the four-armed, gun-toting, cigar-chomping robotic dog, Max, the other members of the game's titular trio. It's the crazy sort of stuff that keeps gaming fresh, and with its recently-announced comeback in the making, I can think of no better place for the franchise to make a killing than on the Wii.
Making/Money: MUDflation IG vs. IRL
We have tackled the subject of mudflation tangentially a few times of late. It seems to have suddenly become the economic buzzword of MMOs. We have all experienced it. We have come to expect, if not accept, it as part of the games we love to play. And though Wikipedia, in its infinite wisdom, has dubbed it an in-game only phenomenon, I posit a different approach to looking at this occurrence. Mudflation is an immediate devaluation of previously owned items due to the gain or release of newly available items. This is not unlike technological advance in that the release of the latest new toy makes all others somewhat obsolete. The differences here are the perceived need for the item, the amount of devaluation, and the time frame in which this occurs.
Earthworm Jim 4 announced by an overenthusiastic Interplay, no platform yet
The announcement of Earthworm Jim 1 and 2 for the Virtual Console was just a warning shot: Interplay is prepared to overexpose the hell out of Shiny's old character, starting with a new game! For Earthworm Jim 4, Interplay has brought back Doug TenNapel, creator and original character voice of EWJ, as a creative consultant. No details of the game, including which platforms it is planned for, have been released, but Wii seems likely given the aforementioned VC announcement.Interplay is getting all the mileage out of Jim they can -- they've also announced both a new cartoon series and a feature film based on Jim. For his part, TenNapel is happy to be reunited with the character, and happy with Interplay's treatment: he states in his forum that "Interplay is being really cool ... they're hungry, so they want to see Jim fly again. That's a different strategy than just sitting on a dead license and try to milk more re-hashes that continue to weaken the brand."
Earthworm Jim begins long crawl back to relevance
Earthworm Jim is sort of an anomaly. It's been 13 years since he last starred in a good game, but people still call out for his return. If Kid Icarus had been a good game, he'd be the Pit of the annelid world. Now, after breaking our hearts with the 2007 cancellation of his PSP game, it seems that Jim is finally poised to make his return. Interplay has announced a new deal with original creator Douglas TenNapel to revive Jim. So far, plans reportedly include "an animated series and feature film to expand the well known brand" and, most importantly, Earthworm Jim 4 for unspecified consoles (which we sort of knew about already). As much as we'd like to be excited, after being strung along on Jim's hook for more than a decade, "cautiously optimistic" is the best we can muster.[Via X3F]
