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E308: DS Fanboy hands-on with Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
What can I say about Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia? You've played this game plenty of times before. Sure, there are some slight changes here and there, but, ultimately, this is pretty much the same as every other DS Castlevania title released. Don't take that as a bad thing, though.%Gallery-22992%
E308: Hey, disgruntled Nintendo fans -- remember Wario Land?
Though it didn't get so much as a syllable in the Nintendo presser earlier today, Wario Land: Shake It remains very much in our thoughts. It's not slipped Nintendo's mind either, for the company belched out fresh screens and character art for its 2D platformer earlier today. In a nutshell, it's basically more of what we've already seen -- quite gorgeous hand-drawn 2D art that continues to look like the cat's galoshes.Nintendo forgetting the hardcore? This gallery says otherwise.%Gallery-26293%[Via press release]
Twist and shake with Wario Land: Shake It!
The importance of shaking in Wario Land: Shake It! is apparent from the moment you read the title, but there are also moves available to Wario that involve twisting. Spencer of Siliconera spent some time studying videos from Shake It!'s official Japanese site, and listed down the different types of shake and twist that feature in Wario's adventure.He quickly discovered that many moves in the game are context-sensitive. So, shaking the Remote up and down repeatedly allows our dungareed hero to swing from bars, as well as shake the treasure from bags or enemies. Twisting the Wiimote is also multi-functional, and will let players steer minecarts, fire themselves from a cannon at a certain angle, or aim at where they'd like to chuck enemies. A respectable range of moves, all performed with two simple motions -- neat!%Gallery-26293%
New screens and video for Wario Land: Shake It!
Do we even need to say it? Wario Land: Shake It! looks so good. From the wonderful look of Wario (his animations look so clean and smooth), down to the big colorful environments and the fact that it's Wario Land. You have to be as pumped as us, for sure. If you haven't checked out the other videos available, we suggest you do so now.If the trailer above doesn't give you your fix, then hit up Dengeki for a bunch of new screens.%Gallery-26293%Source - Screens at DengekiSource - Trailer
Wii Fanboy Poll: Castlevania coulda, woulda, shoulda?
The official announcement of Castlevania Judgment has given us all kinds of mixed emotions. Change can be a good thing, but whatever happened to, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it?" We've pointed out before that only a minority of fighting games are actually good, as much as we love the genre. Then there's this whole 3D business that might cause some worry. On the other hand, though, we have promises of Wi-Fi battles, DS-Wii connectivity, and the neat idea of laying the smackdown with some of our favorite 'Vania characters. What do you wish we were getting with Castlevania Wii? Something familiar, something new, or maybe just something new that's not a fighter? Cast your vote after the break.
VC Monday Madness video wrap-up 6/30/08
With only one title available for download this week, we were quick to dive in and check it out. You can see some gameplay clips above and head past the break for the text and image show that we usually tuck past there.
Wario Land: Shake It! says the box
Nintendo's resident psychopath Wario finally has a face for the shelves outside Japan, and it's a bit of a love-hate boxart. It's classic Wario stomping (well, shaking) his enemies all over the place and acting like a total badass. On the other hand, it seems a little ... brutal. Ostentatious even? This blogger loves any chance to use big words he doesn't even understand, so a debate over the quality of this box is more than welcome.Wario Land: Shake It! has taken clearer form just recently, as we all bask in its beautfulness. It might be the title to return the series to its original pedigree of excellence, and the release date isn't too far away. The no holds barred violence on the case shouldn't discourage parents from buying this one for their tots, because a nice little E for Everyone is sitting right there from the ESRB. They are always right.%Gallery-26293%
Metal Slug 7 in 2008 for Europe?
According to French gaming site Wiiz, our brothers and sisters across the pond might be getting Metal Slug 7 later this year. Should this go down, we imagine you'll be just as intoxicated by the action on your DS as we will be when the title hits U.S. shores. Considering that Wiiz doesn't source anyone for this "news," however, we're going to keep this one filed under the Rumors section. %Gallery-16835%[Via Go Nintendo]
Echochrome: The PSP's philosophical answer to Brain Age
For most of our younger readers, school's no longer in session in observation of the midsummer months -- though we're certain that our studious readers won't allow their minds become dull as rusty butter knives during their valuable vacation time. That's why we turn your attention to a fascinating article written by PS3 Fanboy's newest columnist, Ph.D candidate and gaming enthusiast Kylie Prymus, who examines the effect that the Escher-esque Echochrome can have on our perception of our own three-dimensional world. Prymus posits that Echochrome's unique, manipulatable 2D perspective is not only jarring when compared to the robust 3D engines we've become accustomed to seeing in most games, but it also points out the "frailty of our own perceptual apparatus", which is fundamentally two-dimensional. Those who still possess unblown minds might want to give the article a read -- if only to give you some Hawking-quality discussion material with which to impress your gaming cohorts.
Echochrome - the new Brain Age?
Kylie Prymus is the first columnist for PS Fanboy. A Ph.D candidate in philosophy, Kylie specializes in the sociology of technology. Through this new weekly column, Kylie will explore the impact of PlayStation on thought and culture.Any gamer who has spent a significant amount of uninterrupted time staring through a 2D screen into a 3D game world understands the strange perceptual shift that takes place when returning to the truly 3-dimensional space of the real world. There is a disorienting effect, a sense of unreality, in coming back to a place where perspective changes are achieved not by the subtle movements of an analog stick, but by actually shifting the head which houses your ocular apparatus. I first experienced this 10 years ago after a marathon session of The Ocarina of Time, giving my not-yet-21 self a taste of the post-college-party vertigo to come. A similar effect can be achieved by long stretches of reading, focusing on a purely 2D plane for hours and then trying to adjust to the vividness of reality. Games also have a deeper effect on our perception of the world, one which far too much press has declared detrimental to gamers and society at large. Our actions in the game world can and do affect our real-world thoughts. Who can claim not to have had at least a small desire to put the pedal to the floor after playing Gran Turismo, especially when one of the licensed songs comes on the radio? How often do you think about the alternate routes through the grocery store a Portal gun would make possible? Beyond being whimsical fantasies divulged only in conversation with individuals at or above yourself on the gamer-nerd scale, some games can actually change the way you think in a positive direction. The intellect enhancing possibility of games has been exploited most successfully by Nintendo with their DS selling Brain Age series (despite a recent Wired article claiming it has no such benefit). Echochrome may well be Sony's answer to the Dendrite Stimulation genre. There's just one problem: what exactly does it make you smarter at?
Wario Land: Scan It
Is it just us being overly hopeful, or is 2D gaming on home consoles beginning to experience a mini-renaissance? The Virtual Console is pumping old-school 2D goodness down our pipes on a weekly basis, Capcom is making a new 8-bit style Mega Man for WiiWare, and Nintendo is bringing back Mario's mustache-twirling alter-ego for a fully 2D platformer, Wario Land: Shake It (we'll quietly sweep the latest Castlevania rumors under the carpet if that's okay with you).Instead of using the NES-style graphics seen in Mega Man 9, Wario Land: Shake It will feature gorgeous, hand-drawn visuals. These were shown off in the latest edition of Nintendo Dream, and Jeux France has the full, super-large scans. Go forth, and coo at their beauty.%Gallery-26293%
Wario Land, Mario Super Sluggers dated for U.S.
Click to enlarge. Nintendo just sent news that Wario Land: Shake It would be hitting North America this September 29th, three days after Europe (as this is Nintendo's own game, we trust that this information is accurate). Little new information about the gameplay was ensconced in the details we received -- we already know that we'll be using the Wii Remote side-on, and that shaking the controller helps Wario take out enemies, empty bags of treasure, or trigger earthquakes -- but we did get a new, much larger screenshot. We advise clicking the above image to take in all the detail.In less-important-but-still-great news, Mario Super Sluggers will be touching down in the States a month before Wario Land arrives, on August 25th. There's plenty of time to save for both, then!%Gallery-24326%[Via press release]
VC Monday Madness video wrap-up 6/23/08
This week sees the Virtual Console receiving not one, but two games. Well, we've had enough time to play them and have produced the video you see above. Check it out then head on past the break for the rest.
Igarashi: 2D gaming goes from 'will never die!' to 'somewhat alive'
Is 2D gaming headed for life support status? Last year Castlevania main man Koji Igarashi was vehement in his declaration that 2D games would never die. In fact, he felt so strongly about it that he had to use a PowerPoint slide to illustrate just how he felt about the issue. All the time and effort that went into making that graphic signifies a serious lust for all things 2D.Well, a lot can change in a year. In a recent interview with Gamasutra, Iga said, "I'm glad that 2D is still somewhat alive. It's been fun." That almost sounds like a death knell. Say it ain't so, you whip-carrying developer! His argument last year was that it's much cheaper to develop 2D games when you don't have to render things in 3D, but that seems to be the equivalent of saying it's cheaper to ride a horse because it's not as expensive as a car. People want to go quite a bit faster than the horse will allow, and likewise with their games. Still, we're praying 2D gaming hasn't started to cough up blood just yet. Keep hope alive![Via DS Fanboy]
Sealed Game Boy games will make you break your piggy bank
Hey, you. Yeah, you reading this right now. Do you want River City Ransom EX sealed for $17? If you're ready to say anything but "yes," we kindly ask that you close your browser window, call your mother and apologize for being such a disappointment. If for some reason you're not keen on the game and still manage to have a working brain (or, you know, you already own it), there's plenty of other Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games on offer. It's a nice mixture of great first-party and third-party titles, if we may say so. You know, in case you wanted to bulk up your GBA collection.[Via Gamesniped]
StillAliveDS update adds in-game level editor
While Nintendo is busy hampering the momentum of homebrew developers on the Wii, it's business as usual for the scene with the Nintendo DS. Programmer T4ils has put out a v1.1 update for StillAliveDS, his popular 2D remake of Valve's first-person action/puzzler, Portal.In addition to general improvements and bug fixes, the indie game now features an in-game level editor! The video above demonstrates how easy it is to lay out and test your own stage. After you've saved your map, you can even upload it to the online Custom Game Directory from your DS!It's strange to see a homebrew title implementing such a relatively advanced feature (for the DS) that only a few commercial games support -- Picross DS, Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, N+, Steal Princess, and Bangai-O (sort of). If you have the tools necessary for loading homebrew games on your DS, you should be playing this!%Gallery-24064%
Metal Slug 7 site updates with new screens
The official site for upcoming SNK title, Metal Slug 7, has updated with some new goodies for fans. For those of you who want to know more about the cast of the game, there's an updated character profile page. Also, you'll find a boatload of screens showing off gameplay, the rankings screens and "Combat School," which looks like training missions.You can find all of the new screens in our gallery below, so head on in and check out the eye candy.%Gallery-16835%[Via Go Nintendo]
Fresh screens appear for Bleach: Dark Souls
Click to enter gallery When it was confirmed that the sequel to Bleach: The Blade of Fate would be arriving stateside, we were ecstatic because, as you all know, the DS needs more good fighting games. And, aside from Jump Ultimate Stars, this is to be the best. For those of you still waiting to get your hands on Bleach: Dark Souls (we realize a great deal of you imported it because you show up at Game Night), check out our gallery below. We just updated it with a bunch of new images from the game. Hopefully, it'll help you with that wait.%Gallery-17918%
Wonderland Online interview
PC News has posted an interview with Wonderland Online's product manager, Edwin Huang. While it's fairly short, it does present the game as a fun, casual MMO -- if there is such a thing -- with an intriguing crafting element. From the interview: "Players can make various items including: furniture, food, weapons and even vehicles ... And also if you want to take a round-the-world tour in your own private plane, simply use the manufacturing system to make one for yourself."The piece also discusses the kid-friendliness of the title, the turn-based combat system, and the art style, among other topics. The screenshots are lush and friendly, and make the most of a top-down, isometric viewpoint. Wonderland Online is in closed beta; we'll have more on this game later.
Prepare for Dofus 2.0!
Ankama Games has announced the development of Dofus 2.0, an upgrade to their popular 2D MMO. Far from letting their first game go to seed in favor of the upcoming Wakfu, Ankama has rewritten the Flash-based game in Action Script 3, promising faster, better responsiveness to player commands.Additionally, over 2,000 animations and 10,000 maps are being entirely redrawn, leading to what will feel like a revitalization of the same-old, same-old haunts you've known for so long. We can't wait to see what it will all look like once the dust has settled, with a beta planned for September.[Thanks, Sergio!]
