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Fresh Teenage Zombie footage to gnaw on
We're absolutely concerned for the well-being of this game. Not because we want a worthwhile title to enjoy on our beloved DS (our wallet has been crying for a break, lately); the system is filled with great experiences contained within tiny little carts. We're just worried somebody is going to try and eat the thing and get hurt.As for Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys as a game you play, we always had our doubts. The first gameplay footage we laid eyes on only confused us, then the second trailer we caught a glimpse of only made us sink deeper in our doubt, and now this final trailer of extended gameplay has us fairly certain it's not the game for us. But, that doesn't mean it isn't the game for you.Anyone still down with the zombie horde?
Obscure: The Aftermath trailer is like a B movie
We love survival horror (especially on our Wiis), but after watching this trailer, it's hard to be excited in any way for Obscure: The Aftermath. It looks like a cheesy horror film, though with none of the charm (or Bruce Campbell) that makes such movies worth watching. Not only did were we completely lost while watching this video (the plot, clearly, is also obscure), but it just looked silly. Do we have another Escape from Bug Island on our hands? Perhaps not, since the first game was supposedly enjoyable, and there's also the budget price of $30 to consider. If that's enough to convince you to at least give this game a look, it's set to release next week in North America.*Note: This video is from the PC version of the game.
Innovation: Teenage Zombies has both minigames and microgames
In an interview with Cubed3, inLight Entertainment's Darren McGrath revealed some interesting design choices about the upcoming platformer Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys. Interestingly ... disappointing design choices. First, when asked about co-op play, he said that he believes that the character-switching system is "somewhat co-operative by default," in that your characters cooperate with each other. But as for two humans cooperating to play the game: not so much. Even though there's no room for multiplayer, inLight has managed to implement two separate sets of minigames. The "Big Brain Challenge" micro-games are brain-training-type games that "relate to the Big Brain character." We assume that these micro-games are designed to help nurture the more delicious parts of the brain. Other stylus-based minigames are "an extension of the story" and become accessible via the main menu later for repeated play. If they're fun, we suppose we don't care how many and what kind of minigames are included. But we aren't sure about the idea of burying what already looks a bit iffy under a pile of minigames.
New Zealand Story, Bubble Bobble headed to U.S. in early 2008
Ignition Entertainment just announced a deal with Marvelous Interactive through which Ignition will be publishing some of their remade arcade classics. The first DS games to benefit from this arrangement are the remade Taito hits Bubble Bobble: Double Shot and New Zealand Story Revolution, which will come out early next year.We could have sworn that both of these games were already out, but it turns out that a) they've been out in Europe and Japan for quite some time, which confused us a bit, and b) we were conflating the two titles with Bubble Bobble Revolution, which obviously contains elements of both new games' titles and had a rather ignominious release last year.Because they've been out across the pond, there's been time for the European press to register their opinions. And, while we shouldn't expect broken cartridges, it doesn't look like there's too much good to expect here either. Spencer Yip namechecked New Zealand Story yesterday as an uninspired and uninspiring remake in our roundtable.But we admit that we still want to give New Zealand Story Revolution a chance when it comes out. It was such a great NES game! We're remaining optimistic that we'll be able to extract enjoyment from the game.[Via press release]
Wii releases for the week of October 8th
Much like last week, this week is chock full of new releases for our beloved Wii. There's even one release that was to already be released last week, but had to be bumped forward to this week. There's even a title that originated on the GameCube releasing this week (which we've had some mixed feelings about).. Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast Balls of Fury FIFA Soccer 08 Bleach: The Shattered Blade Thrillville: Off the Rails Looney Tunes: ACME Arsenal Mercury Meltdown: Revolution Rock and Roll Adventures
Cheap IP of the Jungle
Remember George of the Jungle? You know, the cartoon from the '60s, from the same people that made the Rocky & Bullwinkle Show? It got made into a movie in ... oh, man, that was eleven years ago? Well, maybe the character has maintained an enduring appeal in Europe. Apparently he's coming back with a new animated series, and Ignition Entertainment is already showing off the new tie-in game for Europe.It makes slightly more sense that there's a new cartoon to promote, instead of just being a case of some random old cartoon getting a new video game. According to the press release, this game is among the "first releases from the global George of the Jungle™ licensed product programme." So look forward to more! Of this!
Edge's July cover: Wii remote winged and gilded
We try to tip our hats whenever we spot a magazine cover that catches our fancy, but after having received numerous complaints from the jerks in accounting, upper management recently revised our office dress code to prohibit the wearing of sombreros, bowlers, and Davy Crockett caps. Our heads have been bare ever since the decree was passed down, and we haven't been doing much hat-tipping as a result. Needless to say, we really miss our silly hats.Edge's cover for its July issue is just what we needed to lift our spirits. The UK magazine has a reputation for attractive layouts, inside and out, and this month's artwork is no exception, heralding Nintendo's victory run on gold. Though the image pasted above captures the basic gist, you can see a shot of the full cover after the post break. Ironically, only one Wii game made Edge's review pages this time around -- Mercury Meltdown Revolution. Ignition's labyrinthine title garnered an 8 out of 10; quite impressive considering the magazine's traditionally tough scoring.
Dev sees a lot more potential in Wiimote
During an interview with Ignition Entertainment, GameIndustry.biz got the developer to speak their mind on the Wiimote. Their thoughts? The Wiimote is capable of much more. Not only more complex gesture-based movements, but more fun as well. Ignition's studio manager goes on to say that he thinks "the controller is capable of translating actions far more complex and energetic than most players are interested in performing even in the privacy of their own homes."Bradley, however, doesn't believe that developers should be looking to complicate things just yet, asking us if "at the end of the day developers want players to have fun rather than impose clever mathematics on them, so if it turns out to be fun only using a simple subset of the controller's gizmos then why worry about how "proper" it is?" We'd be hard-pressed to argue, as some of the most simple games have been the most excellent experiences of our lives. Also, given the new nature of the console and its control scheme, shouldn't developers wait until the mainstream gamer is more used to controlling games with the Wiimote before complicating the controls?
