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Renowned devs creating 'Big Name Games' for free WarioWare D.I.Y. DLC
Playing your own microgames in WarioWare D.I.Y. is great and all, but what if you could play 5-second microgames designed by your favorite developers, like 5TH Cell, Gaijin Games, and even Cave Story creator Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya? In the weeks following the release of the microgame creation suite, you'll be able to do just that. Every Monday from March 29 through July 26, Nintendo will make new microgames in its "Big Name Games" series available for free download through WarioWare D.I.Y. The first offerings will include the game Yoshio Sakamoto showed off at his GDC presentation, as well as a game from Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai. Team Meat and WayForward are also contributing games.
Gaijin bringing iPhone's Lilt Line to WiiWare
Lilt Line, winner of a 2010 IGF Mobile award for Audio Achievement is a simple iPhone game, in which you tilt the phone to guide a line through winding tunnels, and tap the screen in response to on-screen cues, all in time to dubstep music by 16bit. Essentially, it's Irritating Stick without the irritation! Developer Different Cloth revealed in a tweet that Wii owners will get to experience Lilt Line as well, thanks to Bit.Trip creator Gaijin Games. All we know from the (necessarily brief) announcement is that Gaijin is bringing the game to the Wii. We can assume, both from the nature of the game and the fact that we don't think the three-person Gaijin Games team is going to start publishing packaged games, that it's WiiWare. We've asked Gaijin for more information. In the meantime, check out the iPhone version after the break.
You should probably watch this Bit.Trip Runner trailer
Gaijin Games has released the first trailer for Bit.Trip Runner, the fourth game in the WiiWare Bit.Trip series. Now we can see what the developer means by calling it a "rhythm platformer." The layout of the stage, from enemies to terrain, is all designed in accord with the chiptune soundtrack, and Commander Video, the franchise hero, jumps, slides, and collects gold at super-high speed -- all to the beat of 8-bit-inspired music. We wanted to point to one specific moment in the video (posted after the break), but, as trailers tend to be, this one's full of moments. So, see if you can spot Super Meat Boy! Check out that Pitfall level! Watch out for the ... giant miner? ... Who shoots fireballs at you from a lantern? While you're on a treadmill?
Bit. Trip: Runner is a 'rhythm platformer'
Speaking to Nintendo Life in a podcast, Gaijin Games's Alex Neuse spilled plenty of details about the fourth Bit.Trip game for WiiWare, Bit. Trip Runner. Neuse calls the game a "rhythm platformer," a genre populated, in his estimation, only by Vib-Ribbon. Which means that players will move Commander Video through side-scrolling environments to the beat of new chiptune songs, two of which are provided by chiptune superstars Anamanaguchi. The game's 50 levels will make use of user-submitted fanart, for which the developer is still soliciting entries. The universe of Bit. Trip will also expand a bit: "We're going to be adding a lot more to this game," Neuse said. "There's going to be multiple characters – not playable characters, but we are going to introduce some new characters into the franchise." Runner is around 2/3 complete, and is expected to release on WiiWare sometime this spring.
Gaijin Games offers first screen of Bit.Trip Runner
A single screen from the next Bit.Trip game from Gaijin Games has been revealed, and judging from the look of it, Bit.Trip Runner is going to be significantly less abstract than the previous entries in the retro-themed musical WiiWare game series. In fact, it looks like a side-scrolling platformer, which would make sense, given the name. But, of course, Gaijin made a Pong-esque game with 15-minute long chiptune-based levels, so we shouldn't assume the obvious when it comes to the adventures of Commander Video. This could be controlled with the Your Shape camera, for all we know. [Via Destructoid, GSW]
NintendoWare Weekly: WiiWare demos, Pokemon Rumble, Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures
This week, we get our first taste of Nintendo's new WiiWare demos. Surprisingly, it didn't take Nintendo that long to flip the switch for North America, considering the company revealed the long-overdue feature -- and day-one annoyance -- only earlier this month. And on top of the free trial versions of select WiiWare titles (five total this week!), there are also two new Virtual Console titles to enjoy, as well as three new DSiWare games. Hit the break for the full list.
Give thanks for Bit.Trip Void on November 23
Gaijin Games has announced a release date for the third game in its abstract, chiptune-infused Bit.Trip series. Bit.Trip: Void, which involves using the Nunchuk's analog stick to absorb and/or avoid dots based on color, will arrive in North America on November 23. "That's right, the week of Thanksgiving!" the announcement notes. "Total sweetness in the village." Like Beat and Core, it'll cost 600 Wii Points. If you like the music from the Bit.Trip games, you'll also be delighted to know that the soundtrack for Bit.Trip: Beat is now available for purchase on iTunes and CDBaby, with releases to follow on pretty much every online and mobile music retailer you've ever heard of, and several you haven't. Finally, proving its allegiance to the chiptune community. Gaijin Games announced that it will sponsor this year's Blip Festival in New York City. Classy!
IL-2 Sturmovik DLC dive bombs PSN, XBLM
Attention virtual pilots: New DLC for IL-2 Sturmovik is now available on Xbox Live and PSN. The DLC adds six new missions to the game, one for each theatre. Also included in the pack is a new plane to fly, the American P47D. According to the Xbox Live Marketplace description -- though curiously absent from the press release -- the pack also adds the German Ta 152 H-1. The mission pack DLC will set you back 400 or $4.99 on Xbox Live and PSN, respectively.
Nintendo reveals three new Bit.Trip games headed to WiiWare
Proving that the Bit.Trip is far from reaching its destination, Nintendo has listed two additional games in the pixel-celebrating series for WiiWare. (We already got a hint at another this morning, bringing the total number of Trips we'll be going on to three.) The Big N has the already announced Bit.Trip: Void down for Q3 2009 release, noting that "three additional titles" in the franchise will arrive sometime in Q4 2009 and into Q1 2010. We already know from our chat with Gaijin Games that one of the trio is based on an old-school Atari title -- the other two are anyone's guess. We're betting on the sixth game being Bit.Trip: Trip, in which players must guide a lone pixel home through all of the previous Bit.Trip games.
Austin GDC 2009: Gaijin Games hints at Bit.Trip: Void release date, next game
Following his panel about Gaijin Games' design process, we approached art director Mike Roush to try to get some more information about Bit.Trip: Void -- specifically, when we'll be able to download and play it. He wasn't entirely sure, because nobody is when it comes to downloadable Nintendo releases, but he told us, "If I were to guess, it would be mid-October. We wanted to push that release date back." Roush said that Gaijin is shooting for a simultaneous worldwide release for the Ikaruga-ish dot-absorbing game, after receiving some "flak" from impatient European fans. While we were chatting, we tried our wiliest interview techniques to try to extract some hints about the next Bit.Trip title -- which is to say we asked for hints about the next Bit. Trip title. "I will not give you a hint," Roush said. "However, it is the game we all wanted to make when we started Gaijin Games. It's the game we've been waiting for... I will give you a hint: it will be based off of an Atari game." And no, it isn't Warlords. We asked.
Explore the Void with Aksys and Gaijin Games
Gaijin Games is up to its old tricks again, offering inscrutable teasers for an upcoming game, though the new "Explore the Void" site is much more quietly lovely than the Commander Video mysteries we're used to. Over the last week or so, the developer has posted images to the site that have now been revealed as extreme closeups of satellite dishes in silhouette. What does it mean for the next game? Bit. Trip: Dish? Bit. Trip: Transmit?Bit. Trip: Zoomed In Images of Everyday Objects? At least we have pretty pictures to look at while we contemplate this puzzle.
Review: Bit.Trip Core (WiiWare)
Gaijin Games returns with another installment in its Bit.Trip series: Bit.Trip: Core, and if you found yourself hyperventilating at the prospect of zapping pixels from a whole bunch of different directions, know those fears are well-founded. Bit.Trip: Core is very tough, but like its predecessor, it's not frustrating. [Note: There's also a video review!]
NintendoWare Weekly: Bit.Trip: Core becomes 100th WiiWare game
Folks, it's time to break out the party hats and noise makers because, just as expected, Bit.Trip: Core is the 100th WiIWare game to release on the service. Why, we remember our little pal doing finger paintings and learning to ride a bike like it was yesterday. They grow up so fast!
Bit.Trip: Core to be 100th WiiWare game upon its July 6 release
Gaijin Games posted this semi-cryptic puzzle to its official blog yesterday, offering what seems to be the release date for Bit.Trip: Core, the follow-up to the retro-rhythm-Pong-shooter, Bit.Trip: Beat. The numbers "7+6+9" correspond to a date: July 6, 2009, which just happens to be a Monday. We've gotten confirmation from Gaijin Games that this is indeed the meaning of the image. "Absolutely," Gaijin's Chris Osborn told us. "And it will be the 100th WiiWare release!" Given that Nintendo saves its milestone Virtual Console releases for things like Zelda games, it seems like quite a distinction to be the hundredth game on WiiWare. [Via GoNintendo]
Prepare for pain with this Bit.Trip: Core trailer
After watching the trailer for Bit.Trip: Core we've embedded after the break, we're panicking well in advance of actually playing the game. Beat only had pixels flying at us from one direction, and we were scared enough when we learned that Core would up that to four. But this trailer shows that dots approach the middle of the screen from eight directions. The more precise digital control scheme should make the gameplay a bit easier to process, but we still perceive a lot of psychedelic, entranced failure in our future. And we can't wait!Those creepy stretched-out Commander Video characters didn't help make us feel any more confident about the game, either.
Gaijin Games offers help with Bit.Trip: Beat's hardcore save system
We thought Bit.Trip: Beat's saving system, which only saves your progress if you achieve a high score, was just part of the punishing design of Gaijin Games' WiiWare title. However, Gaijin revealed on its blog that it's actually a bug! "The fact is, we discovered this bug after the US version of the game was in the queue for release," BTB designer Alex Neuse said. "This meant that those of us in the US were stuck with this issue. The Japanese and European versions that came after the US one do not share the same problem."Even more surprising is the method Neuse has employed to rectify the bug -- he's offering his own save file, with all three levels unlocked, for download. You can just copy it over the save file on your Wii and actually see the second and third level for once! Neuse promises that "If you beat a level in CORE, the next level stays unlocked."%Gallery-43105%
Gaijin Games ups the ante on WiiWare with Bit.Trip: Core
The sequel to the very fun (yet, very punishing) Bit.Trip: Beat has been revealed in Bit.Trip: Core, GameSpot reports. If you thought it was tough keeping track of rogue pixels assaulting you from one direction, then you're going to have an even tougher time with Core, as the player must now defend against attacking pixels from four different directions. Another big change comes in the controls department. The first game featured motion-based controls, but in Core you're stuck in the middle of the screen, pushing directions on the d-pad to shine a beam of light toward rushing pixels. It's essentially the same type of gameplay, combining rhythm and shmup elements, so if you liked Bit.Trip: Beat, then you'll likely find value in this. The game also adds a progress meter showing you how far you've made it into a stage, as well as a screen clearing ability that will hopefully ease the experience up a bit. Bit.Trip: Core is due for release on WiiWare sometime this summer.
Joyswag: Bit.Trip: Beat (WiiWare)
Update: Sorry, folks, entry is closed. Thank you all for entering and keep an eye on your email inbox!We have 3 copies of the super fun Bit.Trip: Beat to give away, thanks to the fine folks at Gaijin Games! You all know the drill: follow the rules below and you might just win! We'll be crossing our fingers just for you. Leave a comment telling us the toughest (but still fun) game you've ever played You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US Limit 1 entry per person per calendar day This entry period ends at 2:59 pm ET on Friday, April 3. We'll randomly select 3 winners at that time to each receive a Bit.Trip: Beat for WiiWare (ARV: $6.00) For a list of complete rules, click here %Gallery-43105%
Joystiq Review: Bit.Trip: Beat (WiiWare)
Bit.Trip: Beat is a harsh mistress. Never before have I played a game this tough, let alone one with such a difficult first level. Still, as hard as it is to climb that quirky, puzzle mountain, reaching its summit was a rewarding experience as I employed my floating bar of justice to stop the unrelenting army of pixels that sought to sneak past me. (If you're looking to skip all of the boring text and enjoy a more visual presentation, check out our handy video companion.) %Gallery-43105%
Wiikly Wares: Bit.Trip: Beat and Summer Games II
Monday's aren't just for loathing, with the Wii receiving one new WiiWare and one new Virtual Console game today. So, while you may he miserable at the office or in the classroom, you have new gaming goodness awaiting you at home. Here's what's on offer:WiiWareBit.Trip: Beat (Aksys Games, 1-4 players, 600 Wii Points): Developed by Gaijin Games, this title is like a combination of Pong and the craziest rave party you've ever been to. Don't believe us? The proof is in the video pudding, friends!Virtual ConsoleSummer Games II (C64, 1-8 players, 500 Wii Points): Featuring 18 different competing countries and 8 different sports - cycling, equestrian, fencing, high jump, javelin, kayaking, rowing and triple jump - this C64 title brings all of the drama of the Olympics right into your living room. Or your bedroom. Depends on where you have your Wii set up, really.%Gallery-43105%
