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NintendoWare Weekly: Bit Boy!! brings the bits
This week's biggest release is undoubtedly Bplus' Bit Boy!!, an odd title that pays homage to the various bits that make up gaming's past. Bit Boy!! runs the gamut from gaming's humble beginnings during the 4-bit era, all the way up to the last generation's 128-bit capabilities. The goal is to rescue Bit Boy Kubi's pals, who've been imprisoned across the various worlds.
Bplus explains how to play Bit Boy
We're thrilled about the generation-traveling concept of Bplus's Bit Boy -- much more than we have been about any previous Bplus game, to be honest -- but we don't really know that much about it. Nintendo Life spoke to Bernd Geiblinger, art director at Bplus, and got a rundown of the maze game. "As Bit Boy!! is a very old-school, arcade-style action game," Geiblinger said, "your main aim is to get the ultimate high score by rescuing friends, eating fruit and defeating monsters that roam the levels." As the technological level progresses, the protagonist Kubi increases in complexity as well, gaining access to special attacks and a jump move that allows him to "jump onto objects to hide himself from enemies."Geiblinger also discusses some extra modes, as well as the chiptune-based sound design.
Bplus brings faux-retro to WiiWare in Bit Boy
Bplus, developer of Plattchen - Twist 'n Paint, Niki -Rock 'n Ball, and the upcoming Vektor Tank, announced a new game that doesn't look so new. In fact, it looks delightfully old! Bit Boy!! follows a character called "Kubi" on an adventure that spans console generations, starting at 2600-style "4-bit" and progressively increasing in graphical complexity toward a modern 128-bit look. No real details about the gameplay have been given, other than that it uses either d-pad controls or a virtual Wiimote joystick, and that it features co-op play. But the concept alone has our attention!
Bplus mines proto-3D nostalgia for Vektor Tank
Bplus, developer of Plattchen and Niki - Rock 'n' Ball, both for WiiWare, has just announced its next game, which is weird in a different way from the last two: Vektor Tank, a tank combat game that channels the spirit of the early '90s into one delightfully awkward-looking game.Judging by this teaser video, Vektor Tank has it all: big ugly polygons, endless, flat expanses, and robots. According to Bplus, it's "a totally original genre-mix featuring action-packed shooting gameplay, exciting tactical tank combats in a destructible environment and of course lots of explosions."The Wii (not WiiWare) game features two-player co-op and one-to-four-player battles. Bplus is currently looking for a publisher, which means there's no release date yet.
Niki - Rock 'n' Ball rolls onto WiiWare next week
Bplus' Niki - Rock 'n' Ball will hit the North American WiiWare service on January 26, according to the press release that just rolled across our desks. Niki, you may recall, is the second game from Austrian outfit Bplus, who released Plättchen -- Twist 'n' Paint back in September.The critical reception for Plättchen wasn't too hot, but the one Niki review we've seen to date is actually pretty positive! (B)Plus, the game is half the price of its predecessor!%Gallery-39466%[Via press release]
VC Friday: Gooey goodness
Save the best 'til last, as ... somebody ... probably once said, and that's exactly what Nintendo has done for the PAL WiiWare service. On the last "WiiWare Friday" of 2008, World of Goo leads a pack of four games. It is quite possibly the most wizard WiiWare release of 2008, and if you wish to know why, head here. Then go and buy it, and make 2D Boy the million bucks they so richly deserve.That's not to say you have to ignore the rest. Art Style: Orbient is an excellent little puzzler, Niki - Rock'n' Ball is an unknown quantity until somebody braver than us downloads it, and Sudoku Challenge! -- okay, you probably should ignore Sudoku Challenge!. World of Goo -- WiiWare -- 1500 Wii Points Sudoku Challenge! -- WiiWare -- 500 Wii Points Niki - Rock 'n' Ball -- WiiWare -- 500 Wii Points Art Style: Orbient -- WiiWare -- 600 Wii Points Build a gooey bridge past the jump for footage of all four.%Gallery-16000%
Niki - Rock 'n' Ball possibly on PAL WiiWare this week
All right, we watched this trailer, and we're still pretty cloudy on the details. Apparently Plättchen had a story -- and it ties into the story of Bplus's next game, Niki - Rock 'n' Ball. Developer Bplus is, rather surprisingly, expecting to launch Niki this week, according to the Nintendo Channel, although Bplus just says "soon". Taking a lesson from Plättchen's reception, they're pricing Niki at 500 Wii Points.The new trailer is part of the newly-opened Niki website, in which you can see control diagrams of the game's motion-based and "retro" sideways-Wiimote control schemes, learn about the various low-poly creatures inhabiting the world, and, perhaps most importantly, read Niki's story in legible text instead of teensy subtitles.%Gallery-39466%[Via press release]
Plattchen developer announces another weirdly-named WiiWare game
Bplus was the very first company to announce a WiiWare game, Plättchen -- Twist 'n' Paint. It came out over a year later ... and didn't turn out to be worth waiting, or paying 1,000 Wii Points for (much less the 1,500 Bplus charged in Europe).Bplus apparently wasn't discouraged by the poor critical reception. They're back with another WiiWare game with a similarly inscrutable title. Niki -- Rock 'n' Ball is a very retro-style single-screen platformer in which the character controls a rolling ball that can transform into a rock. Each level contains ZeLeLi pearls that the player must pick up, while defeating enemies, in order to open the exit.Bplus has yet to announce a price for Niki. Hopefully they've learned from the Plättchen experience.[Via WiiWare World]
VC Friday: Explosive [Update 1]
Clicky clicky for more images We believe the technical term for this is "a no-brainer." Bomberman Blast -- WiiWare -- 1,000 Wii Points Plättchen Twist 'n' Paint -- WiiWare -- 1,500 Wii Points Midnight Pool -- WiiWare -- 800 Wii Points Sorry, Plättchen Twist 'n' Paint, but if you're going to turn up at this party with absolutely no footage to show us and a price tag of 1,500 Wii Points, then you'll be spending the rest of the night alone -- we prefer our thrills cheap. And although we wouldn't usually be so dismissive, Midnight Pool, is it okay with you if we spend the evening just whispering sweet nothings in the ear of Bomberman Blast? It is? Great, punch bowl's over there, go nuts with Plättchen.[Update: Plättchen footage has just entered the building -- hit the break!]%Gallery-18349%
New WiiWare revealed in Gravitronix
Medaverse has anounced that it is bringing an original title to Nintendo's WiiWare service in Gravitronix. It's supposed to support up to eight different players, but aside from that, all we know is that it is an action game involving the shapes in the logo up above, where players must assault enemy territories.So, for those of you counting at home, this makes the second game headed to WiiWare, joining Austrian developer Bplus' PLÄTTCHEN twist 'n' paint.[Via Joystiq]
Plattchen developer inadvertently opens floodgates
In an interview with Cubed3, PLÄTTCHEN twist 'n' paint art director Bernd Geiblinger denied online play for the downloadable title, saying that "An online multiplayer mode would certainly be cool, but currently our focus completely lies on making the game as good as possible." He then went on to utter the statement that will probably result in thousands of emails to Bplus: "Would you really want an online multiplayer mode? Would it be your reason to buy the game? If you like, you may start a poll about this and then we will discuss that again." We've learned that for any game that could possibly have online, there are plenty of folks out there who will demand it. Please, delete that draft you just started. Despite what Geiblinger said, they probably know that you want the game to be online.Speaking of possibilities, does the fact that Bplus chooses not to include online play mean that it's an option for Wii Ware games? While you're pondering, be sure to check out the awesome PLÄTTCHEN wallpapers, from which we took the post image. They're certainly ... at a much higher resolution than the Wii can display![Via GoNintendo]
First Wii Ware game announced: Plttchen Twist 'n' Paint
Austrian developer Bplus announced today it has the official "ok" from Nintendo to release a game on the upcoming Wii Ware download service. Plättchen Twist 'n' Paint, a "puzzle shooter", has been designed specifically for the Wii and its motion-sensitive waggle wand. No release date or other details were mentioned, of course, but don't be surprised if Min-E3 brings a few juicy Wii Ware tidbits our way.Then again, knowing Nintendo and its love of secrecy, don't be surprised if it doesn't, either.[Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]
Wii Ware's first: Plattchen Twist 'n' Paint
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo_wii/First_original_downloadable_title_revealed_for_the_Wii'; The Wii Ware gold rush seems to have started. Austrian developer Bplus announced that they have the official okay from Nintendo to release a game on the download service. The game, Plattchen Twist 'n' Paint, is a "puzzle shooter ... which has been designed specifically for Wii and its innovative new controller." No idea when it'll come out, of course, since that would inadvertently tip Nintendo's hand about the real Wii Ware release timeline. Assume a release date between "2007 holiday season!" and "When monkeys fly out of my butt."Bplus was smart to make this announcement now when it'll get the most attention. We get the feeling that there will be a massive influx of Wii Ware announcements in a few days.[Via 4cr]
