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Revolutionary: Pure Excitement
In the summer of 2006, inside the Los Angeles Convention Center, there was a historically long line to get into the Nintendo's E3 booth and lay eyes and hands on the yet-unreleased Wii and its wares. After finally getting into the booth, attendees were faced with the choice of which long line they'd want to wait in next to play a game. When I got inside the booth and surveyed the selection, my first pick was Excite Truck. Once I'd finally gotten my hands on the controller and made a few laps around the track, I knew this would be a day one purchase for me. Even after scoping out the upcoming stuff for Xbox 360 and PS3, I was convinced that Excite Truck embodied the true essence of the "next generation." New gameplay dynamics met vast dynamically changing terrain that stretched beyond what we had grown accustomed to. So when Disney Interactive showed their new ATV racer, Pure, with vertiginous jumps, wild tricks, and expansive vistas, I thought I was looking at the spiritual successor to one of my favorite Wii launch titles, but a Wii version was not in the cards. At least we have a PC version to hack together a GlovePIE script for and give it the Excite Truck treatment.
Excite Truck dev working on top-secret Wii title
Excite Truck wasn't the most well-received or widely-purchased launch title for the Wii, though there was something charming about sending gargantuan automobiles bounding across rough terrain. However, we haven't heard much from developer Monster Games since the title's 2006 release. A recent article in a Minnesota-based blog titled Locally Grown shed some light on the company's under the radar status -- they've apparently been working on a top-secret Wii title for the past two years.The title, which many speculate to be another racing game (as it appears to be the developer's bread-and-butter genre), is nearly complete. However, don't expect any information about the project to leak any time soon -- the article explains that the cautious development team is so protective of the new title that they dim their computer screens when the bottled water delivery person visits. It's a ritual they apparently developed after being forced to murder their first delivery person, who accidentally laid eyes on a single screenshot.
Wii's first force feedback wheel looks great, seems pointless
Yes, pointless.As much as we love our Wii, it's not exactly creaking under the weight of great racing titles. There's Game Night favorite Mario Kart Wii, which is really fun, but that already comes with its own wheel, which works surprisingly well. And after that, we have (in order of GameRankings.com score) Excite Truck, MX vs. ATV Untamed, Speed Racer, and Cars, followed by fourteen other depressing drives.None of which is intended as a slur on Logitech's new force feedback wheel for the Wii, which actually looks and sounds excellent. Releasing in November for $99.99 (!), the Logitech Speed Force Wireless features built-in gas and brake controls, a comfy-looking expandable lap rest, a wireless USB receiver and, naturally, full force feedback.It is almost certainly the best possible way to play Cruis'n, GT Pro Series, and Wacky Races: Crash & Dash.%Gallery-30186%[Via press release]
Somewhat more Sedate Truck found at Gamestop
This profoundly limited-edition copy of Excite Truck was spotted on the shelf at GameStop. Evidently, an employee drew this charmingly quaint alternate boxart instead of using the default GameStop display box for loose games. You can see from the little motion lines that the truck is clearly excited, which is a much subtler approach than the usual bright colors and EXTREME explosions.We totally prefer the lunch-break line art shown here to the real boxart, but we're still a little shocked that they're selling this copy as a new game with no discount.[Via Siliconera]
Wii toys served hot off the grill
Fast food chain Wendy's plans to pack its Kids' Meals with Wii-related toys soon. The new knickknacks don't look like they're anything to fawn over, but that miniaturized and muddied Excite Truck might make a nice addition to your collection of Micro Machines and Hot Wheels racers. Truthfully, we've never been partial to the restaurant's square-shaped burger patties or its bland french fries. Wendy's chicken nuggets, however, are like the real-world equivalent to Narnia's turkish delight. Families have been betrayed and wars have been set into motion over these bits of meat. The fact that we can get a pocket-sized Wii remote with these nuggets pretty much settles our schedule for where we're eating lunch at when this promotion goes into effect.[Via Infendo]
Fake: Excite Truck 2 delivers 6 player wi-fi multiplayer
Update: It looks like the Internet, including Joystiq and Wii Fanboy, got punk'd when an Excite Truck 2 press release was supposedly released by Nintendo of Canada. The release appeared on official press resources, such as Games Press, and is still available on GamesIndustry.biz. Thanks to an intrepid reader, there is confirmation that this is, indeed, a fake--quite possibly the most successful in recent memory. We apologize for this err in judgment, and hope that Nintendo will actually make an online-enabled Excite Truck in the future.
Upcoming release schedule for Europe
NoE put out a list of their upcoming games for the European market, and while it may not be quite as filled-to-bursting as the DS list there's certainly plenty to be excited about. Upcoming with a quickness is the exquisite Wario Ware and -- ooh! we're jealous -- colorful Kororinpa. Loads of titles undated as well. Check after the jump for the full list.
CNNMoney picks 10 best gifts for gamers
Having already advised gamers to hold off from buying a PlayStation 3, it's not surprising that CNN's Chris Morris has no PS3 goods on his holiday shopping list. Besides, only a few brave (and crazy) souls have managed to procure Sony's "non-competitive" new console. Instead, Morris recommends the following titles for CNNMoney's game gift guide: Gears of War (Xbox 360) Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PC, Xbox 360) Half-Life 2: Episode 1 (PC) Guitar Hero 2 (PS2) Kingdom Hearts 2 (PS2) Okami (PS2) Brain Age (DS) New Super Mario Brothers (DS) Excite Truck (Wii) Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii) Not a very sports-friendly list (no Hawk or Madden?), and PSP owners are also left out in the cold. Anything else missing?
Nongamer on Wii: it's better than buttons [update 1]
It begins -- as the Wii kiosks go up around in GameStops everywhere, we're starting to see more hands-on impressions of the system. Reader Nick tipped us off on this one, and it's not much, but there's something interesting in these few quick lines about the Wii. He and his wife, Katie (who he says is "pretty much a nongamer") stopped by their local store to check out the Excite Truck demo in action. In their blog, Katie reports that Nick had a little trouble with it, but she found it easy. Why? Because it was really like steering and not just about pushing buttons. That was something we noticed at the Fusion Tour as well -- that those of us who spend vast oceans of time with a controller in hand may not have it so easy with the Wii, at least in the beginning. [Thanks, Nick!][Update: Removed photograph at reader request.]
Wii-osk in action at Gamestop
We visited a Gamestop in California last night, only to find a darkened Wii kiosk, which was very sad. Although it was almost made up for after we found a Gears of War console case, that thing is just flippin' sweet. Anyhow, digression aside, we asked the guy behind the counter when the Wii would be switched on, and he said "We need an ID." Stupid us replied with, "Oh, so someone from Nintendo has to come out and set it up? When will that happen?" And he said, "Uh ... no, dude. I need your ID." Clearly, we be geniuses.So we handed over our IDs and a major credit card (what's a minor credit card these days? Discover? Diner's Club?) and were handed two Wii-motes. He fired the system up and left us to it. They hold on to your plastic to make sure you don't run down the street laughing with their hardware in hand. The only game they had on display was Excite Truck, but we had a blast playing it and literally everyone in the store, which was oddly packed for a Sunday night, came over to watch us play.Quote of the minute from the whole experience by two teenage bystanders:Guy #1 -- "Dude, those graphics don't look that good ..."Guy #2 -- "Are you kiddin'? They look pretty good to me, and check out the badass controllers!"We assume he meant the Wii-motes and not us. Check out pix and video after the jump.
Fusion Tour impressions from the mid-South [update1]
Last week, we forayed into an as yet undiscovered country for a chance with the Wii. What country? Well, it's more of a town, really ... a smallish town ... known as Jonesboro, Arkansas.Arkansas State University in Jonesboro is a strange stop for the Fusion Tour. Sure, it's a college town, but there are far more obvious locales nearby. Little Rock is a mere two hour drive away. It's a big, grown-up city, home of a President and all. And Memphis, that sultry city of the blues, is less than an hour away for those with particularly heavy accelerator feet. But Nintendo chose Jonesboro. Sigh. In service to you, dear reader (maybe not all of it), it was Jonesboro-ho.
Wii want 4-player, Nintendo can't deliver
According to the official Wii site, Excite Truck has been capped at two players. In fact, out of nine first party titles featured on the site, only two (Wii Sports & Mario Strikers Charged) are confirmed to support 4 players -- WarioWare will have "some" multiplayer (2-5 players) support. In addition, out of the nine, only Mario Strikers and Battalion Wars II will offer online multiplayer.This is a step back, even if many (solitary) gamers claim not to be affected. If Wii is being marketed as a family/group activity, then -- at least with this initial clump of first party games -- Nintendo has not delivered on that vision. Four-player should be the standard? Isn't it already?And what's up with the lack of Wi-Fi Connection support? Two first party titles -- and no third party love 'til next year? That just takes the 'we' outta Wii.[Via 1UP]
A smorgasbord of mini-rumors
A recent IGN Podcast has unveiled some interesting tidbits related to the Wii. Now, we all know IGN's information comes from the shadiest of places...scarred men whispering secrets in dank alleyways, unnatural seances with souls departed...but if they're willing to dive into hell's inferno to obtain some info, then we're certainly willing to take all the credit relate it to you, the faithful reader. So, without further ado: Nintendo may decide to move Super Paper Mario directly to the Wii, as the Gamecube is essentially dead in the water. This would not only make financial sense, but finally allow us at Wii Fanboy to cover this excellent looking game. We want to believe it. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption may not make the Wii launch after all. This is directly contradicting several months' worth of continuous confirmations by Nintendo and Retro Studios, and would take a lot of steam out of the superlative launch lineup. We doubt it. Dragon's Quest: Swords also may not make the launch window. We see no reason to disbelieve such a thing; Square-Enix loves their delays. Excite Truck has been confirmed as a launch title. Why not? LucasArts has indeed been developing a lightsaber game for the Wii. Yeah. We know. Publisher THQ has 6 to 8 titles in development for the Wii. Seeing as how they're handling the more lighthearted affairs (Cars, Spongebob), it seems plausible, but none too exciting. At the Leipzig Games Convention (coming soon!), Nintendo and third parties will reveal exactly how they intend to port more traditional game fare from the PS3 and Xbox 360 over to the Wii. Uhhh...sure. And, there you have it. As a special bonus gift from us at the Fanboy, here are some complimentary grains of salt.
