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Best of 2007: First-party games [update]
With the end of 2007 approaching at near lightning-fast speed, we thought it would be nice to check out what you, the excellent reader, thought about the games of this year. First up, we have the obvious: first-party games. We have a good idea which game you're going to say, but in the name of healthy debate, check out all of the choices past the break.
New Advance Wars images show off new COs, new belly buttons
Supplementing its latest preview of Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, GameSpot has posted over twenty screenshots, faction emblems, and commanding officer portraits for the turn-based strategy title. Among the new cast of COs are two similarly designed gothic lolitas (possibly sisters?), a nefarious scientist with watercolor stains on his labcoat, and what could possibly be Advance Wars' first black CO. Also worth noting is the leather-clad redhead who looks a lot like an older version of Sami. The darker palette, reportedly "heavier" soundtrack, and serious expressions on the COs really reflect the series' new mature direction. -- we can't wait to see how much further away Intelligent Systems will take the game from its lighthearted roots after having killed off 90% of the world's population. You can preview the new images and COs yourself with the convenient gallery we've embedded below. As promised in our headline, there are plenty of belly buttons -- both male and female -- for you to appraise.%Gallery-8563%[Via AWN]
Card Hero trailer gets us totally pumped about cards
We think card-based video games are pretty inherently hilarious on their own, in that they use expensive, cutting-edge electronics to simulate small pieces of paper. There are, of course, advantages to this approach (online play, computer-governed rules) but it's funny on a very fundamental level. However, when video card games, like Card Hero, include dramatic, action-packed cutscenes in their card game, they leave "inherently hilarious" and buy tickets to LOLlapalooza. The kid in the intro is all screaming and posing and stuff, and crazy lightning effects show up, as if he's going to go have some flying Dragon Ball Z battle or something; when he is, in fact, playing some cards, which is one of the most sedentary things you can do.Oh, but in general, Card Hero looks pretty neat.
Wii Fanboy Review: Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
When it comes to RPG franchises, a new entry in a series often introduces a different storyline with different characters, effectively providing a clean slate for the player. While Fire Emblem normally follows this tried and true formula, the creators decided to shake things up and make Radiant Dawn a direct sequel to the game that came before it, Path of Radiance. Whenever a sequel to a game comes out, it's important to know whether the game can stand on its own or if newcomers will be completely lost without playing the previous title. In the case of Radiant Dawn, however, this concern can't be fully answered in simple one-word terms.
Confirmed: Advance Wars: Dark Conflict laying siege to Europe on January 25
var digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/nintendo/Confirmed_Advance_Wars_2_dated_for_Europe_boxart_revealed'; Following yesterday's speculation, we've just received confirmation from Nintendo of Europe that Advance Wars: Dark Conflict will be hitting European stores on January 25, just four days ahead of the game's U.S. release.Also confirmed to us was the name change, though judging by the leaked boxart that materialized on NeoGAF recently (and which seems to fit in with the game's new, oh-so-serious approach), this will only apply to Europe. Looks like the title will still carry the Days of Ruin suffix when it launches stateside.%Gallery-8563%
Fire Emblem transfer glitch to be fixed
One neat feature in the Wii's Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn is that you can import a save file from the game's GameCube prequel, Path of Radiance. This will give some of your characters stat boosts, not to mention a few other nice perks. For anyone who just rolled through PoR on easy mode in order to beat the game quickly and pump their characters full of bonus experience, however, Radiant Dawn will laugh at you and then slap you in the face for good measure. See, easy mode files don't transfer over to Radiant Dawn because (as you'll know if you've played the game), the word "easy" isn't in its vocabulary. Even if you try to transfer a normal or hard mode file while having any easy mode PoR files saved somewhere else on your card, Radiant Dawn will have none of that. Christian from The Tanooki decided to contact Nintendo on the issue, and it seems that Nintendo will have a fix ready by mid-December. In order to get your disc repaired (or possibly get a completely new disc), you have to contact Nintendo about the issue, give them your name, address, and phone number, and then send your disc to them when prompted. So, what lesson have we learned from all this? Well, that Fire Emblem is for badasses only, of course.
Nintendo Power reconstructs Days of Ruin facts
One of the folks over at NeoGAF got their grubby little mitts on the latest issue of Nintendo Power and, as you can imagine, it's chock full of factoids and other interesting information. And, there's a good deal of stuff on the Advance Wars sequel, Advance Wars: Day of Ruin. While there isn't anything new to look at, per the last few videos of the game in action or the screens we have in our gallery below, Nintendo Power still has some stuff to present: The game stars Will, a survivor of the meteorite. He dug himself out of the rubble, living only on canned bread. There are 26 main missions, 30 training missions are unlockable and over 150 multiplayer campaigns Ranks are raised when a unit destroys another unit, with a maximum of three before it becomes a Veteran CO powers have been nerfed, making them weaker and they now ride in your unit of choice and have Veteran status CO Zone has been incorporated, giving your CO specific power-ups based on what kind of CO that person is. Also, your CO will strengthen nearby units. The rest of the information in the post is old hat, if you frequent our site on a regular basis.%Gallery-8563%
Fire Emblem opening video is cinematic candy
We may have neglected Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn's release because of some other big releases this month, but we felt we had to show you the game's opening video because it's epic. Although Radiant Dawn came out earlier this month, the opening video seems to have only just hit the internet. If we didn't already own the game, we could see something like this making us rush out to buy it. If you're still on the fence about the new Fire Emblem game, though, never fear, Nintendo Wii Fanboy is here. We'll be reviewing this game in the near future, so stay tuned.
Card Hero: Screens from a game about a game within a game
If you were hoping for a peek at some of the actual screens featured in last month's magazine article on Kousoku Card Battle Card Hero, then today may just be your lucky day. In our freshly updated gallery below, you can get a closer look at Intelligent Systems' follow-up to the GBC strategy title, which seems to be coming along nicely. %Gallery-10298%
RPG magazine scan time: DQIV, Card Hero, Soma Bringer
It's time again to reap the bounty from, uh, some dude with a scanner and access to Japanese magazines! Three games are shown off in today's crop (to continue the farming metaphor for some reason), all RPGs of various kinds.Most interesting (to us) is the first real blowout of images from Intelligent Systems' Kousoku Card Battle Card Hero, which we haven't heard from in about a month. Also in the "somewhat mysterious RPG project from Nintendo-owned developers" department is Soma Bringer, Monolith Soft's new RPG, which, according to NeoGAFfer charlequin, "has possibly the most generic character designs ever seen in a JRPG." It's probably going to be a pretty good game and all, but it does rather look like they put some money into a JRPG Character vending machine. "One EVIL LONGHAIRED GUY, and ... hmm, maybe GIRL IN ELABORATE DRESS."We initially thought it was a strategy RPG, but the magazine description pegs it as an action RPG.Finally, Dragon Quest IV gets a seven-page preview, which is thick with screens of, well, basically running around on the overworld and then also battling, which is what happens in Dragon Quest IV quite a bit.
Wii releases for the week of November 5th
Today is a big week for releases on the Wii, as we not only get one first-party Nintendo game, but also two very high-profile third-party titles. It can only mean one thing: we're getting closer and closer to the holidays. Oh, will someone think of our poor wallet, please? Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn Bee Movie Hannah Montana: Spotlight World Tour LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games My Word Coach Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None Code Lyoko: Quest for Infinity So, going to pick up any of these games? Would like to pick something up, but lacking the funds?
Joystiq hands-on: Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (DS)
The "Days of Ruin" addendum to the standard "Advance Wars" title is more than a surprising acronym that doesn't stand for "DS." (DR? What?) Days of Ruin marks the bleak setting and style for the latest version of this turn-based strategy game. The plucky Advance Wars characters have been retired in favor of an all-new, more tempered cast. And while this is still a Nintendo game -- don't expect anything too edgy -- the company anticipates it'll earn a T-rating for the game's language and tone. The plot is about a more serious, war-decimated planet, after all. More than just the setting, this Advance Wars was described as an Intelligent Systems relaunch of the series. CO powers have been reduced; don't expect them to let a losing side suddenly win the game. And the dual-screen gameplay from the previous DS version has been removed; the top screen shows dedicated battle info, while the bottom screen shows the game area. We recently played a few levels of the new title, and we're looking forward to an Advance Wars game again. We never liked the dual-screen battles, and the CO powers seemed to have gotten out of control in the previous version. Days of Ruin felt like a much needed course-correction for the series. Features like Wi-Fi play with voice chat, and map creation and sharing, remake the title while keeping its addictive strategy gameplay. %Gallery-8675%
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin to support online, voice chat, and Map Center
Previews for Advance Wars: Days of Ruin reveal that the game's cheerful tone isn't the only thing Intelligent Systems stripped from the turn-based strategy title; fans of the series can expect to find a lot of the "distractions and unnecessary elements" that plagued previous games to be missing. Dual-screen battles and "many advanced units" were cut, and unbalancing CO powers have been softened in favor of more strategic maneuvering.Gamers waiting for online support's inevitable addition can rejoice, however, as Wi-Fi battles and voice chat made the list of new features planned for Days of Ruin's January 21st, 2008 release. A Map Center system of sharing, rating, and downloading online maps will also come included with the 170 scenarios on the cart.New troops like the Motorbike (lightly-armed vehicles that can capture territories), Flare (infantry capable of clearing fog-of-war from a distance), and Duster (air units equipped to fight off aerial and ground opponents) promise to add creative angles to past tactics. Check past the post break for more off-screen videos of those units in action.Read - 1UP's Advance Wars: DoR hands-on impressionsRead - GameSpot's Advance Wars: DoR hands-on impressionsRead - Kotaku's Advance Wars: DoR hands-on impressionsRead - IGN's Advance Wars: DoR off-screen videos
Nintendo remembers that war isn't always so jovial
Along with its grittier, browner, and more next-gen art style, Advance Wars: Portrait Days of Ruin brings a much darker story to the turn-based strategy series, deviating from Wars World's usually colorful and light-hearted tone. The apocalyptic plot begins with a storm of meteors devastating the planet, setting off a chain of natural disasters that kill 90% of mankind. Cutscenes show Commanding Officers contending with non-combat issues like starvation and disease, a drastic departure from Jake's inane quotes that peppered Dual Strike.While we're on the topic of maturing the brand, we wonder if the game will take a chance and tackle themes from current wars and conflicts -- occupying a country in the midst of a civil war, outsourcing private military firms, or suffering losses to unconventional threats (e.g. IEDs, suicide bombers). It's unlikely, but it would be interesting to see executed.Nintendo also put out over a dozen English screenshots for the game which you can view in the gallery below. The new images betray a great deal of unannounced details, like an improved map editor, new terrain and terrain stats, and a unit leveling system. %Gallery-8563%
Card Hero: Intelligent Systems' other strategy game
Intelligent Systems is busy. We assume they're working on the Fire Emblem remake that we just now heard about, as well as any finishing touches that may need to go on the Wii Fire Emblem game. They're also in the midst of Advance Wars DS 2 development. But apparently that's not enough for the former R&D1, as they've revealed yet another strategy game project, this time a card game called Kousoku Card Battle Card Hero (Quick Card Battle Card Hero).This isn't their first Card Hero game; the original, on Game Boy Color, came out in 2000 and was almost released in the U.S. In addition to the GBC game, Japan also got a real card game based on the property. Card Hero is a sort of meta-game, in that you play a video game about kids playing a card game, and, of course, play that card game within the game. We've got the first magazine scans of the game after the break!
Fire Emblem's handheld return
Having established its SRPG dominance on the GameCube and Nintendo Wii with its past two entries, Fire Emblem is finally returning to the portable field with its next title. Intelligent Systems -- the Nintendo's internal development studio behind the Fire Emblem and Advance Wars series -- hasn't published any specifics about the game, but we suspect that there will be plenty for us to talk about by the time Fire Emblem DS's 2008 release charges into view. Word on the street is that it is a remake of the first game, Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryu to Hikari no Tsurugi, and will star Marth. Jeux-France posted a number of screenshots for the newly-announced title, and they appear just as expected -- zoomed-out battlefield displayed on the touchscreen, combat/data/conversations shown on the top. Enjoy them all in the gallery we've set up for you below. %Gallery-8394%
PAX 07 hands-on: Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
The Wii version of Fire Emblem should be quite familiar to anyone who's played Fire Emblem. The graphics and presentation are basically identical to the Gamecube version. That's not really a complaint-- the semi-cel-shaded style still looks nice. The game doesn't depend on motion controls for anything but cycling through camera views. However, for a turn-based RPG like Fire Emblem, this is a welcome decision. The demo started me in a town square in the midst of a bandit attack; I took on a group of three or four bandits with swords and magic. Movement is done on a grid, just like before, and attacks zoom into the more cinematic view seen above. After I had taken care of the first bandit, a new character named Leonardo showed up and joined in the fight, allowing me the use of an archer. People who liked Fire Emblem enough to want another one probably already have their minds made up: this is another one. But people who were afraid that waggle would ruin a strategy RPG have no reason to fear (this time).
Metareview: Planet Puzzle League
Planet Puzzle League has been known by many names over the years, but we really only need one word to describe it, and that word is awesome. It's not just us, either; the reviews have been pretty positive so far. The puzzler has even edged out Ouendan 2 score-wise, by a single point. That's quite a feat! Here's what the reviewers have had to say:Nintendo Power: 85% - "Holding the DS like a book and pushing blocks with the stylus makes for an intuitive and fast-paced experience ... Planet Puzzle League lives up to the rich tradition of its heritage, and puzzle fans would be remiss to ignore it." (Issue 217, p. 97)Game Informer: 85% - "Sure, it's not terribly original, but I'm not complaining about another chance to play one of the all-time greats – especially when this new DS version has been created with such care. The touch-screen functionality (which allows you to slide blocks with the stylus) fits perfectly, and Wi-Fi play means that you can take your skills online."IGN: 90% - "... the core gameplay is identical in the Nintendo DS, but the biggest change is its control: instead of using a D-pad to control a reticule in the stack of tiles, now it's a simple matter of tapping and dragging the tiles left or right. While it changes the overall feel of the original Panel de Pon by increasing the pace of the game, that's the only thing that it changes. The puzzle game still has that same enormous amount of strategy -- much of the skill comes from shifting tiles around in a way that'll trigger the stack to fall multiple times for huge amounts of points, a technique that's absolutely important in Vs. play. But now it can be done a lot more quickly and intuitively with the stylus."Games Radar: 90% - "It's not as inventive or charming as last year's Tetris DS, but that game's overwhelming Nintendo aura could easily have turned a lot of people away. Planet Puzzle League opts for a very clean, uncluttered approach that simultaneously makes it seem generic and intensely stylized. The ability to share this joy with people around you and then play them from anywhere in the world serves to make this one of the better buys you can make for the DS."
Paper Mario pencilled into the VC release schedule
The N64 version of Paper Mario is soon to hit the Virtual Console, according to a recent magazine article.If you've just finished Super Paper Mario and are after some more dimension-shifting hyper-realism , then this is the place to get it. The 2001 classic is more of an RPG than its younger sibling, with turn based combat, so bear that in mind if you're thinking of shelling out the Wii points. No news on release dates as yet -- we'll keep you posted.
DS Fire Emblem possible
Try not to get too excited (we know how you Fire Emblem devotees can be), but in an interview with IGN, a few of the franchise's producers dropped some hints that may lead to a DS appearance. However -- and this is why we caution against jumping the excitement gun -- Nintendo's Hitoshi Yamagami voiced some hesitation at a DS version. While they think that the handheld is perfect for SRPGs, they prefer to see Fire Emblem on a television. The demand is considerable for such a title, though, so if we keep our fingers crossed and think happy thoughts, it just may happen. In the interview, they also discussed WiFi options and the fact that they wanted to implement online functionality in the Wii's Fire Emblem: Goddess of Dawn, but there just wasn't enough time. Wherever the next installment in the series falls, it's probably going to be online.
