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Jason Priestley wants to throw down in some Mario Kart with you
Following up the kind gesture of offering you a free lift, Nintendo has informed us that one and all are invited to the Nintendo World Store in New York City for fun and games this Saturday from 2 - 6pm, one day before the game releases here in North America. But, Nintendo, we have to ask: why not just hold the event on Sunday or let folks pick up the game then, on Saturday? Seems like it wouldn't be too fun to head on down for the festivities, try the game out then have to return back to your life for 24 hours before you can buy it.Still, it should be a fun shindig going down at the Nintendo World Store. They're going to give out personalized Mario Kart licenses, as well as hold a tournament where the winner can take on (and, we assume, whip the ass of) actor and driving enthusiast Jason Priestley. Just, uh, don't ask him what Dylan is up to these days.See also: Fanswag: Mario Kart Extravaganza%Gallery-4772%[Via press release]
Picture this: a rival for LOL
As family board games go, Pictionary pretty much rocks our world, so the news that Sega's Pictoimage has been classified by Australia's OFLC, while a touch surprising, brightened our day. If it's being classified in Australia, there's every chance this could reach other English-speaking corners of the world.Pictoimage coming out in the west may not be as random as it seems, however, especially as Agetec announced plans last month to localize Archime DS (as LOL in the U.S. and as Bakushow in Europe). Perhaps Agetec's gamble has convinced Sega that such a game could work outside Japan. Like LOL, Pictoimage will support up to eight players from one card, but also comes with a single-player mode, with a database of 300 drawn images.Single-player Pictionary doesn't exactly sound like a mountain of fun, but we'll remain open-minded for now. %Gallery-21261%
DS Daily: OMG LOL, amirite
Skip, the creators of Chibi-Robo, surprised us last year with Archime-DS, one of the most bizarre games on a system known for bizarre games (seriously, its most popular games are about doing math and walking dogs). Then Agetec surprised us by announcing plans to (sort of) release it in the U.S.! It's about the weirdest and most simplistic concept for a game we can think of, basically a chat client with a configurable timer and a voting mechanism.We normally don't like to rely on our friends to create a game's content, but at the same time we can't deny that Pictionary is fun -- and LOL is even more freeform than Pictionary. It's designed with the idea of voting on the best answer to player-submitted questions, or best prompted drawings, but you can kind of do whatever you want. There's definitely the possibility of fun to be had here, but do you think you'll be able to get past the strangeness of the game to seek it?%Gallery-18526%
Europeans get to LOL with Bakushow
We won't bombard you with more details about LOL (we can really only LOL so many times in one day), but news just rolled in that Rising Star would be bringing the game to Europe. Instead of being called LOL, though, it will be titled Bakushow, which means "big laugh" in Japanese.There's no word yet on whether Rising Star will follow in Agetec's footsteps and make the game available online only, but even if it is available in stores, we're sure it won't be the easiest game to find. Rising Star also gently reminds us that "Billy No Mates need not apply," since this software includes no single player mode. You probably already knew that, but we just wanted an excuse to write "Billy No Mates."If that doesn't deter you, we've added some new screens to our gallery (for the love of all that is holy, we get it, you can ask people to draw pandas!) should you feel so inclined to check them out.%Gallery-18526%[Via press release]
Look Online for LOL
Skip and Route24's LOL is seemingly a very freeform game. It has no prescribed content, just an open canvas with which you can design your own trivia or drawing game -- or anything else you want that involves sending pictures and text between DS systems. It provides the infrastructure and a timer, and that's pretty much it! But LOL is defined as much by its constraints as it is its freedom, in that it is a strictly multiplayer-only game. Don't have any friends around? It doesn't work. Now it seems there's another restriction: according to Agetec's product page, LOL will only be available online when it is released on May 30th. This has the effect of ensuring that what was once going to be just a bizarre game will be a very expensive bizarre game within a year's time. Also found on the product page: new screens (in our gallery!) and the boxart, with the ESRB "Game Experience May Change During Online Play" notice. Online play?%Gallery-18526%[Via Siliconera]
GW weekend event: Gaile's farewell party
As we reported last week, ArenaNet's Community Relations Manager, Gaile Gray will be switching roles at the company. So this weekend was her final farewell. She appeared in-game in Guild Wars to celebrate her last days with the players, as did the infamous Frog on his farewell tour as well. Every 3 hours, The Frog appeared in each district of Kamadan, Lion's Arch and Shing Jea Monastery, granting special party buffs for players who attended and performed certain emotes at his request. It was very reminiscent of the Mad King's appearances during the Halloween events, complete with that unique humor we can only find at these events. I'm sure the Sugar Hill Gang would be proud of The Frog's rendition of Rapper's Delight.While this special buff was active, players would earn double the points for using party items towards their Party Animal title. This led to an overall heightened festive mood for the entire weekend with bottle rockets, sparklers and champagne poppers flooding our screens. We wish Gaile and The Frog all the best in the future.
A multiplayer-only drawing game? LOL!
"If the game is boring, you are boring." That's how Agetec is choosing to market a localized version of Skip's bizarre Archime DS, a multiplayer-only game that is entirely dependent on user-generated content. And we mean entirely.LOL DS is little more than a networked drawing pad. One player issues challenges to the others and determines a time limit. It is then up to the other players to fulfill that challenge using drawings or words. The group then votes on a winner, who is then the leader of the next round. And that's LOL!Is this emergent gameplay, or no gameplay? It's a very bold move on Agetec's part to release this, much as it was for Skip to release it in Japan.%Gallery-18526%[Via press release]
EIEIO 08: Hail to the Chimp impressions
click to embiggen Not being much of a "next-gen" follower (sorry!) I had a vague belief that Wideload's Hail to the Chimp was a downloadable game. I was, then, surprised to find it a full-sized (but budget-priced) release. Developer Wideload Games used the retail-game budget to create not only a unique party game, but also a hilarious audiovisual experience that doesn't really have an analogue on modern systems.Hail to the Chimp's menu interface is the GRR News Network, with pompous anchor Woodchuck Chumley (seen above enjoying some... hot coffee ... with Bean the Sloth) onscreen authoritatively intoning ridiculous stories, while the menu options take the place of all the ubiquitous TV news infoboxes and text clutter. Wrapping the game inside this TV-station premise allows Hail to the Chimp to have something resembling a storyline, and also provides the opportunity for the funniest aspect of the game, which I'll get to shortly.%Gallery-4895%
A real Mario party, with drinks to match
Have you ever wanted to try a Yoshi cocktail? If so, you probably should have hit up the Scrollbar in Copenhagen on February 15th.A bunch of students attending Copenhagen's IT University decided to deck out the Scrollbar in Mario goodness, and topped it off by serving original Mario themed drinks.If you're looking to make some of these alcoholic beverages for yourself (assuming, of course, that you're the proper age to do so legally), you can check out the recipes for drinks like the Goomba or the 1up shot here.Too bad -- it looks like we missed out on the video game party of the year.[Via Tokyo Mango]
GDC08: You're at the PlayStation Block Party
Sony's PlayStation party at GDC08 was one of the most exclusive parties to get into. Just ask MTV's Stephen Totilo, the GameTrailers crew, and the entire team at Insomniac Games. (None of these people were invited, supposedly.)As we described earlier, "There are hula-hoop girls with really short shorts; there's a breakdancing crew getting boogaloo on the dance floor; there's a DJ mashing up 70's throwbacks; there's a barber shop upstairs (no, seriously, they're actually cutting hair)." If you didn't believe us, try watching this video: it'll be like you're there! Enjoy this, uh, VIP access to the show.Download an HD version (for your PS3) from my Vimeo page.
GDC08: Live from Sony's Block Party
Click for high-resolution image. We're currently enjoying the tunes of Q-Tip and Guru in what's been called the most exclusive party of GDC. Sony's "PlayStation Block Party" has a seemingly limitless budget, with food, booze, and girls everywhere. "Let the good times roll," indeed. But we have a question: where are the games?Enjoy our gallery to make yourself feel like you're there. We'll try to have video for you in the coming hours.%Gallery-16579%
GDC08: Joystiq live from Sony's Block Party
<click above for more party pics> Word on the street is that Sony's Block Party, uh ... party is, well, in a word: exclusive. We spoke with several notable video game writers, developers, and others who apparently couldn't get into Mezzanine, the trendy club you're seeing in that shot above. To be honest, we hate to sound like the ungrateful twerps everyone assumes we are but, here goes.Upon arriving at the door, having our unique bar-code invitation scanned, getting a wrist bracelet, and wandering inside, one thing was abundantly clear: There's a lot of stuff here, and none of those things are video games. There are hula-hoop girls with really short shorts; there's a breakdancing crew getting boogaloo on the dance floor; there's a DJ mashing up 70's throwbacks; there's a barber shop upstairs (no, seriously, they're actually cutting hair). We ask a group of people why they're here. "We're friends with the bartender."
GDC08: The 9bit indie games party
We went to the Cellar (the same location as last night's Telltale event) for the 9bit indie games party, a crazy confluence of independent game developers doing what they apparently do best: crushing me with their sheer numbers. Seriously, the intrepid Joystiq crew was neck deep in the best and brightest. Hundreds of game developers mingled and enjoyed beverages while a DJ, dressed in Mario regalia, played loud, thumping, yet also nerdy music (like the obligatory Portal, remixed with an even nerdier 8-bit beat). We captured a small portion of the brilliant throng in the picture above. Check after the break for another view.
GDC08: Telltale's party of the living dead
Monday night, Joystiq braved Telltale's zombified GDC08 party. Click here for photos from the event.
Catch these Ninja Reflex screens in your chopsticks
It's no Wii, but the DS still has its fair share of mini-game compilations. Nevertheless, the crucial ingredient of ninja means we feel compelled to cover Ninja Reflex, EA's forthcoming selection of ninja-based party games.More information on the once mysterious title has stealthily found its way to our inboxes, including the news that the game will feature a series of six reflex-honing martial arts challenges. These include such exercises as hunting koi with your bare hands, taking down attackers with either shurikens, nunchucks, or a samurai sword, testing your quickness against the flash of a firefly, and catching flies with chopsticks. Regrettably, there is a crushing lack of painting fences or waxing cars.Having prepared with EA's game, we appreciate some people will want to go one step further, and become a full-time ninja. If you are one such person, you'll want to head here for full instructions. Thank us later.%Gallery-15605%[Via press release]
Iwata on Wii party culture, Wii Ware, and changing the world
Gamespot's question-and-answer session with Satoru Iwata is rich with (written translations of) excellent sound bytes. For example, about the risky change in strategy that brought about the DS and Wii: "I worked under the assumption that if five years went by and the world didn't change, I could kiss my job good-bye." Luckily for Iwata, the world did come along right about when the DS Lite came out.Iwata expresses his surprise with the success of the Wii several times. As he puts it, the DS was easier to share and thus drive further sales, but showing off the Wii requires someone to visit your home. "In retrospect, the U.S. culture of the house party played a major role in spreading the value of Wii to a bigger circle faster than we ever predicted." He attributes the Wii's meteoric rise in the U.S. to this cultural difference, while Japan has gone more for the DS.But by far the most interesting part of the discussion is about the upcoming Wii Ware service. Surprisingly for someone with such an interest in casual games, Iwata sees download services not as the entire future of gaming, but as a breeding ground for experimental game design: "When making games, though, you come up with a lot of fun ideas that could sell for ¥500 (about $4.70). Well, if there were a forum for releasing that ¥500 single idea into the market now, maybe the idea would grow into something that could be used as a full packaged game in the future."[Update: Sonic_13 points out Iwata's claim in this interview that more than 10 million Virtual Console games have been downloaded worldwide! Go old games!]
How to get geared up for Super Bowl XLII
Yeah, you've seen an awful lot of Super Bowl XLII talk 'round these parts over the past few days, but considering that it's probably the biggest sporting spectacle in all of America, we suppose it makes sense to get everything absolutely perfect for gameday. Sound & Vision has an interesting writeup that details the dos and don'ts for throwing a shindig that will leave guests in awe, and while having the right equipment most certainly plays a part, using that DVR judiciously and ensuring that seating is setup so that all guests can view the screen satisfactorily also makes a huge difference. Hit up the read link below for the rundown -- you can never be too thorough, right?[Image courtesy of NY Times]
Rare's 'The Fast & The Furriest' revealed for XBLA
Exciting news for furry fiends: Rare is currently developing The Fast & The Furriest, a party-sports hybrid with Vision cam support, for Xbox Live Arcade, reports X3F. An unnamed source has passed along a stack of presentation materials that detail the game of mini-games. Apparently, Rare initially intended for the events to be controlled with some sort of gesture wand (um, wrong console...), but has settled on ever-awkward mocap controls. Thankfully, flapping your arms up and down to sprint the 100-meter dash is optional.Players will be able to reunite with fan-favorites of yesteryear by selecting characters like Conker and Banjo – and even better, players can inhabit these cuddly creatures. Indeed, here's where F&F borders on fetishism, allowing players to superimpose their likenesses onto the bodies of Rare's fuzzy mascots as they bumble through games of croquet, bowling, volleyball, fishing and target practice. The Fast & The Furriest is still under development and currently without release date.
Wii Warm Up: Wii will always party hard
We know that Wii owners are social animals, busting out the Wii Sports, Mario and Sonic, Raving Rabbids, and other favorites during parties and gatherings. The Wii has helped us all party harder (using our working definition of "partying hard," anyway) but it also has the capability to help us party smarter.Are you using any of the Wii's extended functionality to improve your party experience? The Fletcher home is going to be the venue for a New Year's Eve gathering, and I'm planning to stream some music to the Wii to provide a soundtrack. It's a good way to get some music coming into the living room, and, uh, researching it is a good way to stop myself from worrying about the apartment and stuff. How does your Wii enhance your atmosphere?
World of WarCrafts: Healing Potion Punch
Every Wednesday World of WarCrafts features a recipe that shows you how to make own real life version of in-game recipes and items. In the spirit of upcoming Christmas Winter Veil parties I thought that a drink might be a needed component. Now the drinks in WoW aren't exactly something you would want to serve at a party, Refreshing Spring Water, Ice Cold Milk and Moonberry Juice don't seem very....... festive to me. BUT! What about Healing Potions? Now hear me out. There has to something about those things if you have to wait two minutes to drink them.So, to that end I decided to create Healing Potion Punch.
