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New video of Wii's Avatar in action
GameVideos is hosting a "debut" video of gameplay footage of the upcoming Wii game Avatar from THQ. While it's certainly no high-quality video, it does give you a good look at what we can expect from the Wii and this particular title. The bad part, though, is that there is no sound with it. It's also a shame we can't see how the game is being performed with the Wiimote. Are the various sword slashes done with actual movement or just a press of a button? We're sure all of us would have liked to see that. Nevertheless, here's one of the few rare glimpses at a Wii game currently in development.
Wii black! ... and some THQ games
So, how 'bout that super sweet black Wii? White is nice and all, but you know what they say about -- actually, there's really nowhere that joke can go except to court, so we're just going to say hurray for choice! The clean, mean white Wii we've seen over the past months is sleek and beautiful, but it's nice to get some flipside images. How will we ever decide come release date?Oh, right, the rest of the story ... these images come courtesy of IGN, where their staffers got a chance to sit down with THQ for a Wii marathon with some of their launch games. Because our big daddy blog Joystiq knows what we really want (black Wii wins over Spongebob, y'all), they've compiled the best pictures for your drooling viewing pleasure. That's doubly nice, since the black Wii pics are now MIA at IGN. The IGN feature also includes some hands-on impressions of THQ's Wii-lease games: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Cars, the latest Spongebob title, and Barnyard, the game that offers us the chance at Wii darts we so crave. [Thanks, Marc!]
THQ on the Wiimote
It's expected that we'll be waving the Wiimote around on Nintendo's own games, but some have expressed concerns that third party developers may not be making full use of the unique new controller, especially when it comes to cross-platform titles. Fear not, fanboys and fangirls -- Siliconera took some time to investigate THQ and their upcoming games with regard to how they'll work with the Wii controls. The pieces focuses on three games: Cars, SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Though these titles are each coming out on other systems as well as Wii, THQ has worked to ensure that the control scheme takes advantage of the Wiimote. How? Slashing melee attacks in Avatar, using the Wiimote as a steering wheel in Cars, and for SpongeBob, the controller serves as an aircraft control stick in one of the mini-games. Siliconera has the full story. Things are looking up when it comes to Wii ports. [Thanks to the folks at Siliconera!]
James Cameron's next flick shot in 3D HD to get you back into theaters
James Cameron seems to understand that the movie theater isn't offering much beyond what a home theater can these days, so he's trying to bring something new to the table. His new film Avatar, due in theaters in 2008, will be the first full length feature film to use a 3D high definition camera he's been working on for several years now. Our friend Mike at HD For Indies sat in on a panel with Cameron and his partner, cinematographer Vince Pace earlier this year where they discussed some of the specifics of the technology. It will be interesting to see if this new tech can get us out of our home theaters and into the movie theater to watch a love story between an alien and a hybrid human/alien set against a backdrop of racial discord. Sounds like a Blu-ray vs. HD DVD allegory.[Via digg]
Playing "Ugly" Avatars
As someone who, admittedly, plays a level 60 Gnome (with pink hair and everything), I understand where people are coming from when they talk about the importance of the appearance of your in-game avatar. But if having a "pretty" avatar is so important, how do you explain all of the Horde players out there? Or even the numerous unattractive Alliance options? Kotaku ponders the question, while the source article on Guardian Gamesblog seems to assume that there are no ugly avatars. What about you - is your avatar beautiful or hideous, and why?
Apple releases .Mac-exclusive iChat icon sets
Sure, they aren't the exclusive Dashboard widgets we've heard so much about, but Apple has released 11 sets of iChat icons for .Mac members. Included are the familiar chat bubbles (pictured at right), Japanese stamps, sticky notes, status indicators and illustrations. According to Apple, they're only going to be made available until June 1st. The complete collection of 218 icons can be downloaded as a single 640kb image. So grab them if you can, and spiff up your copy of iChat.
