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Rage of the Gladiator monster elicits sympathy
The latest enemy to be introduced in Ghostfire Games' intriguing WiiWare arena combat game Rage of the Gladiator is the least humanoid creature we've seen yet: "Ixthid," a creature with not only six arms, seve eyes and seven mouths, but six eyes inside six mouths. That seems really impractical. In fact, he doesn't appear to have any throats or anything -- just eyeballs in the back of his mouths. When he eats, he just ends up cramming food right into an eye, which is futile, painful, and really unsanitary! There's no mystery as to why this guy is angry.%Gallery-69305%
Rage of the Gladiator's Vensor battles with magic, acting
The latest trailer for Ghostfire Games' Rage of the Gladiator introduces one of the deadliest weapons the the game's antagonists employ: voice acting. This trailer features Lord Vensor the 3rd, a "diabolical magician" who has honed both his combat and his oratory in the arena of Medieval Times. We don't think we're going to hesitate at all when the time comes to smash him with a big hammer. Interestingly, one of his magical techniques is a teleportation move in which he quickly moves in a circle before stopping again to attack. It reminds us a lot of Great Tiger's signature move from Punch-Out!!, demonstrating some of the stated influence from that game. %Gallery-70259%
Interview: Ghostfire Games' Ed Roman on Rage of the Gladiator
Ghostfire Games' Rage of the Gladiator is a pretty unusual game -- a first-person fighting game against a set of mythical monsters. What makes it even more unusual is that the violent, fully-3D game is being developed for WiiWare -- by a company whose last game was about dancing.We spoke to Ghostfire CEO Ed Roman about Rage of the Gladiator, and learned about its skill trees, concept, and enemies, as well as Ghostfire's commitment to WiiWare and its apparent admiration of Blizzard and World of Warcraft. You can read the full interview after the break, and oggle three exclusive screenshots in our gallery below:%Gallery-69884%
Rage of the Gladiator's control scheme revealed
In our initial post about Rage of the Gladiator, a Ghostfire Games staffer left a comment stating that the control scheme for the game wouldn't rely on motions, with the developer opting instead for a scheme in which you "hold the Wii-remote sideways (like Punch-Out!!)."After some exhaustive research (we emailed Ghostfire), we've got the details of the Rage of the Gladiators control scheme. Wondering just how you're going to punch a minotaur? Wonder no longer.Attacks are mapped to the Wiimote's 1, 2, and A buttons. 1 swings left, 2 swings right -- holding down on the D-pad and pressing either button results in a kick. The A button is used for the shield, both to block and to perform a "shield bash" on a stunned enemy, which starts combos. Combos take the form of quick-timer events, "inspired by games such as God of War," Ghostfire's Scott Merriam explained. The "equipped" combo is selected beforehand with the minus button.Merriam told us that the controls were designed such that the left-hand item, the shield, was controlled on the left side of the Wiimote, and the weapon controls were mapped to the right.%Gallery-69305%
Rage of the Gladiator rages on WiiWare
Helix developer Ghostfire Games has revealed its next WiiWare project: a first-person fighting game called Rage of the Gladiator -- a title that gets us all primed for violence just by typing it. RAAAAAAAGE.The game takes place in a city called Avalance, in which some kind of political betrayal has forced the prince into arena combat, where he must face a bunch of mythical creatures, like minotaurs, dragons, and demons. The prince is armed with a warhammer and a shield, along with some rather intimidating magical skills that manifest as "finishing moves" -- for example, one finisher lets the prince "darken the skies with a solar eclipse, sending a beam of light to fry your enemy."First-person fighting is a rarity, as is a WiiWare game with 3D visuals this nice. Rage of the Gladiators is due out later this year. Check out a trailer after the break.%Gallery-69305%
Helix dances onto WiiWare
We don't have any idea if Helix (1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points) will be fun or responsive. We don't know if there's enough for the money, or if it's mind-bogglingly buggy. All we know is that the rhythm-music game (developed by Ghostfire Games) allows you to follow along with an onscreen robot as you dance in time with 26 different songs and (in the process) get a little exercise. We don't know much about how good Helix will be. But what we do know is that it's different. And for a service that (with few exceptions) has become something of a dumping ground for cast-offs and cash-ins, that's just about the most refreshing thing we can imagine.
Rhythm game Helix coming to WiiWare tomorrow
Trying to get those chunky pounds to come right off, but you're unable to find a copy of the elusive Wii Fit anywhere within a fifty-mile radius? Perhaps a new WiiWare title, due out tomorrow, can temporarily fill the void -- Ghostfire Games' rhythm-fitness title Helix. The game, which will cost 1000 Wii Points, will have players performing 30 different gestures with two Wiimotes to the beat of 26 songs from independent artists. Ghostfire CEO Ed Roman highlighted the game's health benefits, saying that you can "really burn some calories playing this game." Based on the gameplay video we've posted after the break, you'll probably look totally cool whilst doing so.
Hudson says Ys coming out next week (again), may be joined by Helix
Once again, Hudson Soft has updated their Virtual Console page with a release date for Ys Book I & II. They say it will be out this Monday. Last time they dated Ys, Nintendo chose not to release it or any of the other games that had been announced for that day, choosing totally different games instead. Will it show up for real this time? We hope so. We'll have 800 points ready. Would Nintendo really do that to the same game twice? Well, okay, but will they?Ghostfire Games also sent out a press release announcing that their rhythm/exercise game Helix will be released on WiiWare this Monday for 1,000 points. We wish both companies the best of luck in having their games released.
Taking a closer look at Helix
While some of you remain skeptical about Helix, we're definitely interested in Ghostfire Games' upcoming WiiWare title. Essentially, everything you need to know about the game is revealed by Ed Roman in this producer walkthrough (embedded up top). Ghostfire is really stressing the whole "exercise made fun" angle, and with the success of titles like DDR and Wii Fit, who can blame them? What we like most about Helix, though, is that the developers clearly put a lot of thought into every aspect of this dancing game. Take, for example, the calibration option, which helps the software map out your own specific movement quirks more easily. (MotionPlus, schmotionplus.) Also, according to Roman, you can still play the game if you only have one Wiimote, so if you lack two controllers that's not a game-killing issue.If you're curious about how the developers fit twenty-six songs onto a WiiWare title, or why they decided to use two Wiimotes rather than a Wiimote/Nunchuk combination, or anything else about Helix, for that matter, just check out the video above.
Helix for WiiWare gets an official trailer
If the previous videos for Helix got you all kinds of excited for the WiiWare title, then the new, official trailer for the game is likely to make your heart explode with anticipation. To us, it's the usual: some experience shots sprinkled throughout gameplay clips and a list of the game's features. According to the trailer, we can expect this one to hit WiiWare sometime next month.
Helix springs onto WiiWare
Ghostfire Games will be releasing a rhythm title for WiiWare this summer, called Helix. You can get a taste of the game from the video above -- there's something mesmerizing about watching the skeleton-like figure dance against the pulsing backdrops. Even so, that's not the main appeal of Helix.The game, which will offer twenty-six different songs and three different difficulties, uses two Wiimotes to track your hand and arm motions. In that sense, not only is the game meant to be fun, but it also gives the player a nice workout.Helix will have over thirty moves that you can perform with the Wiimotes, but we're not sure whether the songs will be choreographed or if you can make your own combinations (probably the former). We also appreciate that the music in this WiiWare title comes from independent musicians.Check out another video of the game in action after the break!
