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DS Daily: We just want to talk about Jam Sessions some more
It's been a popular topic of discussion lately-- the DS guitar simulator/toy/thing that Ubisoft is surprisingly localizing for a US audience. For some of us, weirdly enough, it was the biggest story to come out of GDC. We're still actually not sure why Ubisoft, a company generally known to play it safe and never release anything that hasn't already been released on other systems, decided to pick up something that isn't even a game. A misguided attempt to jump on the Guitar Hero bandwagon, perhaps?Whatever the reason, we heart Ubisoft for doing it. We haven't made any attempt to hide it: we are eager to try Jam Sessions. We want it to be out right now. We don't care that it isn't a game, or whatever.So what about you commenters? Are you ready to strum-- but not solo-- on a virtual guitar doodad? Have you learned to stop worrying and love the non-game?
We love non-games now: Jam Sessions preview
We know Electroplankton sort of covered the musical DS toy thing, but we are so impressed with every aspect of Jam Sessions. It sounds great, it looks fun, the interface, while a little homebrew-looking, is just ... pleasant. Look at that floral background!We now know a little more about Jam Sessions, like that it will come loaded with 20 licensed songs to play along with, complete with lyrics, and that your playing is limited to strumming rather than picking individual notes-- sorry, no solos. You can also change the sound of your guitar, adding distortion and delay effects. There's still no game attached, just songs you can play along with, or freeform strumming.This game (well, toy) just goes so far against what usually gets released in the US in so many ways. It looks totally fun and totally relaxing.Check out a couple of screens after the break.[Via GoNintendo]
From Eigo Zuke to Jam Sessions
Newsweek's N'Gai Croal, who reported the news that Ubisoft would be localizing Hiite Utaeru DS Guitar M-06 as Jam Sessions, has posted an interview with Seth Delackner of Plato, the director of the "game". The story of how Delackner got to create a guitar simulator is pretty surprising: he was hired to program a sequel to the English training game Eigo Zuke. But Nintendo decided to handle the programming themselves as they had for the first game, leaving Plato with a DS programmer, a DS development kit, and no projects. The team brainstormed new ideas, and came up with a music game.As a demo, Delackner put together a little program that allowed the user to "strum" over a line on the touchscreen to play guitar samples. Plato loved it, Nintendo loved it, and Hiite Utaeru DS Guitar M-06 was born.It's no secret that we love music games, so expect more on Jam Sessions as we hear it. We want the story on that beautiful, but random boxart.
Ubisoft is going to publish Jam Sessions
Remember that Guitar-type game on the DS? Well, we're happy to inform that Ubisoft is going to be publishing the title stateside, allowing all of us to live the dream of being a rock star whilst still getting our gaming fix. It's like a delicious sandwich that is chock full of peanut butter (that would be Jam Sessions) and fluffer nutter (and that would be the DS Lite). Wait ... what would that make the bread, then? You? We didn't really think that through and are, honestly, kind of hungry right now ...Grumbling stomach aside, the game will be releasing in June. For those unaware, the game turns the DS into a tiny guitar, where the stylus is used to pluck strings and create music. Using the d-pad and shoulder buttons, you can switch the tone of the notes you're playing, allowing for a wide variety of different tones from your virtual guitar.
A very merry Virtual Console Christmas [update 2]
Hold on to your mistletoe, folks, Nintendo is dropping all kinds of radiological bombs come Christmas morning. Let's skip the preamble and just head right on in: Super Mario Bros. (NES) - Finally, is all we have to say. The defining "retro" title in video gaming history is finally up for grabs, and you might not have a soul if you don't pick it up. Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (SNES) - One of the most influential titles in the 16-bit era, Street Fighter II is revered by millions of angry, violent gamers worldwide. And Chun-Li is still hot. Super Castlevania IV (SNES) - The beginning of the modern Castlevania games, this title features more hot whip action than your mistress on Friday night. And unholy werewolves, too. Toe Jam and Earl (Sega Genesis) - We've been raving about this funkotronic title for weeks, and it's finally here come Christmas morn. Get your groove on and ignore your holiday dinner ... that's what we're doing, anyway. R-Type (TG-16) - An apparently famous shooter that we ourselves have not played. We hear it's quite the hit, though. Any takers? This is gonna be one hell of a Monday. Who said presents needed to be encased in paper and under a tree?[Thanks, Benny!][Update 1: Also, on January 1st, Nintendo will be releasing both Baseball (NES) and Urban Champion (NES). Not that it'll matter. We'll be too busy playing these games to bother.][Update 2: And no, none of these games are free. Cheapskates.]
Upcoming VC releases
Thus far, Nintendo has decided to keep the exact releases of Virtual Console Mondays a secret until the day-of, leaving us gamers biting our nails in mind-numbing suspense. Sega's official website and a major in cryptology have given us three gleaming glimpses in the future.First, from Sega's camp, the classic space-shooter Space Harrier II (1989) will see the light of day next Monday, the 18th of December. Furthermore, on Christmas Day, they'll drop cult-favorite and this blogger's most anticipated VC title, Toe Jam & Earl. Awesome.From Hudson, their website left the internet-at-large with this little clue:WHICH GAME COMES NEXT? This one is a doosy. Truly a classic. Here's your first clue:VGCE0590PG46Yes, I know. that's freakin cryptic. If no one can figure it out, I may drop another clue tomorrow.Good luck!Brilliant minds came together, formulas were solved, chemicals were mixed, and lo, the secret was revealed. VGCE0590PG46 stands for Video Game and Computer Entertainment, May 1990, Page 46. Dig up a couple of old magazine scans, and voilà! The game is Military Madness, a turn-based strategy game with a fairly large following.Couldn't they have just told us right out?
DS Fanboy Review: Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam (GBA)
Just about everyone has heard of Tony Hawk. Whether you're a fan of skateboarding or gaming, the man has made an impact, often considered equal, in both cultures. With his first game being released way back when on the original Playstation, folks have had plenty of time to learn how to bust kickflips and grind massive rails in his games.His games on the GBA have been no joke, either. Featuring an isolated bird's eye view, previous games featured excellent 3D graphics and gameplay on the portable system. But where the old games were all about busting big lines and tearing up the course to your heart's content, this game is more of a racing game and, as such, you're limited in the tricks department.
DS Fanboy Review: Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam (DS)
Just about everyone has heard of Tony Hawk. Whether you're a fan of skateboarding or gaming, the man has made an impact, often considered equal, in both cultures. With his first game being released way back when on the original Playstation, folks have had plenty of time to learn how to bust kickflips and grind massive rails in his games.Then, upon the launch of Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connect service, a little Tony Hawk game by the name of Tony Hawk's American Sk8land released. Not only taking full advantage of Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connect service, the single-player and local multiplayer experience in the title were also excellent. Now, we receive the game's successor in Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam.
New Downhill Jam trailer busts grinds across our eyeballs
With the latest online feature revealed, we're anxious to get our hands on Tony's latest outing on the DS. As such, IGN's newest trailer up at their site only further aids our maniacal desire for what is sure to be a rail-grinding, kickflip-busting good time. The trailer comes in at 1:39, but we assure you the length is chock full of good gameplay footage.Go check it out already!
Confirmed: Downhill Jam to feature in-game voice chat
That's right, you read the headline correctly. In an e-mail that was sent out to Sk8land community members describing the game's final features, it's revealed that the title will feature in-game voice chat, something sorely missed from a certain game featuring a female bounty hunters and energy-absorbing life forms. Among that bomb, other Sk8land community features in the final game include: 50 graffiti and skate decks drawn by SK8Land's best community artists have been included in every copy of Downhill Jam for Nintendo DS! Community Moderator AgoraKenny worked with Vicarious Visions as a Designer on Downhill Jam DS Some of the game's other features include: Create custom shirts and pants as well as graffiti and skate decks for your skater Fully customizable RGB color scale - use any colors you want! Zoom in for pixel perfect precision Upload your art and share it on the Downhill Jam Community Site 4 player Head to Head over Nintendo Wi-Fi Live voice chat with friends during gameplay Global score rankings Replays Sk8 Crews 100 Downloadable Goals
London theatergoers: "Jam our phones"
Losing reception can be a downright nerve-wracking experience for some of us, but if there's one place no one wants to hear a ring -- much less take a call -- we have to believe it's in live theater. It really comes as no surprise then that a recent poll conducted among theatergoers in London suggests that a full 72 percent would like to see jamming equipment installed to prevent calls from interrupting performances (if anything, we're surprised it's not higher). For the record, said equipment is currently illegal in the UK, but support is growing to legalize it for these kinds of environments. If it can all go down without jeopardizing legit signals, we suspect they'd find support for similar measures virtually everywhere in the world.[Via Techdirt]
More Tony Hawk videos
Two more videos have surfaced over at IGN's Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam media page. Both were nabbed during Leipzig, with the one video focusing on head-to-head multiplayer, while the other shows off a castle-themed level in some single player action. We here at Wii Fanboy are still on the fence about this game, as we enjoy the open-ended environments of old. Still, should we be looking to pick this up at launch regardless? What do you guys think?
Tony Hawk Downhill Jam gameplay video
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam has been somewhat of a mystery since it was first announced, so this video really helps give us an idea on what to expect with the titles. Half chock-full of intense menu selection screens, half chock-full of gameplay, the game looks to keep the overall spirit of the Tony Hawk franchise, albeit in a form catering more towards jammin' down some gnarly hills as opposed to tearing it up at Love Park.[Via Go Nintendo; Thanks Patrick!]
Activision: We got 3 games coming near launch
During one of those boring conferences where the company mills over profits and losses, an endless string of numbers, Activision actually dropped a little nugget of info about their involvement in the launch of Nintendo's Wii. Turns out the company will have three titles ready for the Wii launch, which is a time period that can range from the day the console releases to months later. Basically, it's whatever the "window" Nintendo states will be. Of these three titles, Tony Hawk Downhill Jam, which is described as "a frenzied downhill racing game and new direction for the Tony Hawk franchise," is more than likely one title, with the other two being left to speculation.
Nintendo Power: Downhill Jam confirmed
In the upcoming June issue of Nintendo Power Magazine, Nintendo Power Managing Editor Scott Pelland, in his preview titled We Love 8-bit, said "other June highlights include Nintendo President Satoru Iwata's keynote speech at the Game Developers Conference, [and] the announcement that Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam is coming to Revolution and initial details about the game,"In checking Nintendo Power's website, there's not much beyond the headline of "A Tony Hawk Revolution," the inclusion of a preview for Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, and in-depth coverage of New Super Mario Bros.[Via Revolution Report]
Matt at IGN: Tony Hawk Downhill Jam coming for Rev
Matt Cassamissa, resident Revolution guru over at IGN, recently posted to his blog that a new Tony Hawk game, titled Tony Hawk Downhill Jam, will be launching with the Revolution. He has received no word as to how the game will play with the Revolution's remote or the basic premise of the title (I assume it'll have something to do with downhill skating much in the way the original Tony Hawk games featured long, luge-like levels that were the complete opposite of the game's other open-ended maps).Launching with a Tony Hawk title is a smart move for Nintendo, even smarter should this title be custom-designed for the Revolution to capitalize on the unique remote's capabilities. While it has not been confirmed by Activision, other rumors would make it seem like the company is planning to release quite a few games on the console.
