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VC Friday: Panic! hits PAL regions
Pit Crew Panic!, a bizarre minigame compilation in which you repair busted cars, trucks, medieval castles, wedding cakes, giant toilets, and whatever this is, leads the new arrivals on the PAL Wii Shop this week. It's joined by remade Nintendo puzzler Art Style: Rotohex and, as we expected, Strong Bad: Dangeresque 3: The Criminal Projective. Then there's Bang!, a puzzler that looks a bit like Bejeweled with fruit -- the gameplay video after the break is possibly the most soulless thing we've watched in years.Oh, and we can now say with some certainty that World of Goo will be out in Europe and Australia on December 19, the only "WiiWare Friday" left in 2008. Unless it's been delayed again, which doesn't bear thinking about. Strong Bad: Dangeresque 3: The Criminal Projective -- 1000 Points -- WiiWare Art Style: Rotohex -- 600 Points -- WiiWare Bang! -- 600 Points -- WiiWare Pit Crew Panic! -- 500 Points -- WiiWare Footage of all four after the break! Cookies for those who make it through the whole Bang! video.%Gallery-36617%
New trailer, screens for Sam and Max: Season 2
Following up this week's announcement that Sam & Max: Season Two would be releasing on Wii, Atari was kind enough to shoot us over some new screens and a trailer for the upcoming compilation. As one would expect, it's business as usual for the duo, with the above trailer showcasing the wacky hijinks one should expect in a Sam & Max game. So, watch the trailer above, then head into the gallery for the new screens.%Gallery-38371%
Sam & Max coming back for a second season
Click image for new screens Nabbed a copy of Sam & Max: Season One and looking for more? Well, the second season of the most excellent episodic series will be available to Wii gamers in another compilation disc, titled Sam & Max: Season Two. This gathering of all of season two's episodes is planned to reach store shelves some time early next year. Be sure to check out our gallery below for some screens.So, who's ready to enjoy season two of Sam & Max's antics?%Gallery-38371%
VC Friday: Strong Bad, Cubello, cooking, billiards
Four new WiiWare titles came down the tubes in Europe and Australia today, and the selection couldn't be more diverse. Art Style: Cubello and Strong Bad Episode 3: Baddest of the Bands you'll already know about, but CueSports and Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam are more mysterious beasts. The former looks promising, the latter, er, not particularly great, according to the few reviews that are about.Art Style: Cubello -- WiiWare -- 600 Wii PointsCueSports -- Snooker vs. Billiards -- WiiWare -- 800 Wii PointsStrong Bad Episode 3: Baddest of the Bands -- WiiWare -- 1000 Wii PointsYummy Yummy Cooking Jam -- WiiWare -- 1000 Wii PointsFootage of all these is past! The! Break!%Gallery-33956%
Born for Wii: Grim Fandango
If spending your existence selling travel packages to the dregs of society sounds like a peculiar form of Hell, that's because it is -- quite literally. For Manny Calavera, life-after-death in the Land of the Dead is little more than a series of disappointing clients and missed opportunities. But things are astir at the Department of Death. Strange things. On the Day of the Dead, Manny finds his life as an indentured travel agent in serious jeopardy -- but could hope lie in the saintly (and recently deceased) Mercedes Colomar?Released in 1998, Grim Fandango was an inspired capstone to an era of PC gaming. Though Lucasarts published Escape from Monkey Island in 2000, Grim Fandango represents the last truly great adventure game from the company. Like far too many of its point-and-click brethren, Fandango failed to sell as many copies as it deserved. Few games can match the sheer originality and style Tim Schafer crafted -- a comedy noir set in the Land of the Dead with a Mexican motif is like nothing else out there. In honor of its recent 10th anniversary and place in gaming history, Grim Fandango is this week's game that's Born for Wii. #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } NEXT >> %Gallery-35986% Every week, Born for Wii digs into gaming's sordid past to unearth a new treasure fit for revival on the Nintendo Wii. Be sure to check out last week's entry in the series, Eternal Darkness, and for more great titles that deserve your attention, take a look at Virtually Overlooked.
Wii Fanboy Review: Baddest of the Bands
We've been waiting for the third installment of SBCG4AP for a little while now, jonesing for a new episode after thoroughly enjoying the first two. For myself, this third episode is my favorite, as the combination of a "band off," and what I found to be the best writing in the series so far, have come together and dropped hot, delicious gaming action all over my face. Grab your leopard print pants and Squealin' Larry Limozeen Microphone and head past the break for the full review. Well all right!%Gallery-33956%
Rumor: Broken Sword to get resurrected on Wii? [update]
Update: Looks like someone managed to find the listing on USK's site and take a screen grab (head past the break to see it).Gamefront noticed a listing on the Germany's rating classification website, USK, that showed a new Broken Sword game for the Wii and DS. Our own search of USK's website only turned up a rating from 2002 for Broken Sword on the GBA, however. Even when searching under the Wii and DS system, we found no classification for an Ubisoft-published game. Personally, we hope the game is in the works. We love the genre and playing a new Broken Sword doesn't sound like too bad a time. What about you all?
A double dose of Strong Bad goodness
Here are two friggity fresh videos from the third episode of SBCG4AP. So far, the series hasn't disappointed and we're hoping for the same from the third chapter, which, if everything goes to plan, should be dropping on WiiWare very soon. Hit up the video above, then head past the break for more.%Gallery-33956%
Metareview: Sam and Max: Season One
Sam and Max: Season One has finally released on the Wii. We've been talking about the duo coming to the Wii for some time now. Has the wait been worth it? There haven't been that many reviews yet, so we'll keep updating this post when they come in. But, that's not to say a few outlets haven't tossed their two cents in. So, without further delay, let's get to the scores. 1UP (67/100) explains you'll need lots of patience to get through this one: "The game's still fun and unusual, and it's worth checking out if only to enjoy some of the more clever writing in gaming. But don't forget your patience -- you'll need lots." Game Informer (70/100) found the gameplay to be lacking: "When the laughter dies and some of the jokes fall flat, however, Sam & Max teeters as its gameplay is unable to support much interest for some stretches." [Sept 2008, p.105] Nintendo Power (70/100) says the game isn't really that funny: "There are moments of genuine hilarity, but the humor too often feels overwrought or simply falls flat." [Oct 2008, p.89] %Gallery-23759%
ScummVM now has limited GameCube and Wii support
The homebrew community is the best. Not only have they allowed us to do things that we never thought possible on the Wii (like play GoldenEye 007 and watch our favorite movies), but now they're hard at work coming up with ways for us to enjoy classic point-and-click adventure games on the platform. While we won't be able to, say, play Sam & Max Hit the Road yet, the current release (version 0.12.0) has support for 5 games. These include: The Legend of Kyrandia: Book Two: Hand of Fate The Legend of Kyrandia: Book Three: Malcolm's Revenge Lost in Time The Bizarre Adventures of Woodruff and the Schnibble Drascula: The Vampire Strikes Back Sure, it's no Secret of Monkey Island or anything, but progress is being made so that we need not rely entirely upon Telltale for our point-and-click fix. We're excited for a future where we can enjoy all of those classics on our Wii. [Via Slashdot] The homebrew community has been hard at work creating wonderful experiences for you to enjoy with your Wii. Did you know about homebrew game Masteroids? Or how about the shmup OpenTyrian? Outside of games, people have been using the Balance Board to come up with some really neat stuff. Keep up with the homebrew scene by staying current with our Homebrew category!
Born for Wii: Sam & Max Hit the Road
In 1987 Lucasfilm Games (now better known as Lucasarts) released a little game called Maniac Mansion. And while Maniac Mansion is a great game in its own right, the effects of its creation were considerably more significant -- it kicked off more than a decade of Lucasarts adventure games, launched the SCUMM engine that would form the framework for each adventure, and inadvertently led to the production of some of the best PC games of all time. One of those games was Sam & Max Hit the Road.Arguably released at the height of the adventure game's popularity in 1993, Sam & Max Hit the Road is possibly the zaniest of Lucasarts's adventure titles. The titular characters were originally created for a comic book by artist/writer Steve Purcell, but they eventually found their way into Lucasarts when Purcell began working on games such as The Secret of Monkey Island. Sam, the leader of the pair, is a canine gumshoe decked out in the traditional film noir suit and tie. Max is a lagomorph, though he's often referred to as a "hyperkinetic rabbity thing" who has a penchant for violence. Together, they are the freelance police, and their original 1993 adventure outing is the perfect opportunity for the Wii to catch a classic. #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } NEXT >> %Gallery-30959% Every week, Born for Wii digs into gaming's sordid past to unearth a new treasure fit for revival on the Nintendo Wii. Be sure to check out last week's entry in the series, Power Stone 2, and for more great titles that deserve your attention, take a look at Virtually Overlooked.
VC Friday: Something fishy
Arguably more a relaxation tool than a game, Hudson's My Aquarium makes its western debut in the latest PAL update today. Its price, just 500 Wii Points, reflects its status as the Endless Ocean of WiiWare; it's definitely a good deal cheaper than the real thing. The in-jokey Strong Bad Episode 1: Homestar Ruiner completes the line-up, while the Virtual Console is put on the backburner for another week.My Aquarium -- WiiWare -- 500 Wii PointsStrong Bad Episode 1: Homestar Ruiner -- WiiWare -- 1000 Wii PointsSpread your fins and swim past the break for video of each.%Gallery-29482%
Wii Fanboy Review: Strong Bad Episode 1: Homestar Ruiner
Click for full-sized image When booting up my review copy of Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People, I thought about how long it had actually been since I took a trip around the Homestar website (plug). Sad to say, it had been years. So, I was curious to see where these characters had gone in the long time since I laughed at their antics.Thankfully, they haven't changed much over the years.%Gallery-29377%
Agatha Christie burns us all with Evil Under the Sun
A good murder calls for a glass of fine wine, a monocle and perhaps a strapping butler, ready to answer all questions concerning dastardly deeds. Luckily for adventure fans, Agatha Christie is happy to deliver mountains of murder, mystery and intrigue with the upcoming PC port of Evil Under the Sun.Followers of the adventure series will know that And Then There Were None was ported to the Wii a while ago with mixed results. However, the recent revival of point-and-click games on the Wii is incredibly refreshing, as it gives developers inspiration to create new, interesting storylines to accompany the solid gameplay mechanics.Evil Under the Sun tells the story of master detective Hercule Poirot as he goes about solving a murder case on a sunny island -- hence, the evil being under the sun. The game comes out in October this year; plenty of time to brush up on Agatha Christie history in preparation.[Via press release]
Prophecize this: Nostradamus on DS
Haven't we been down this road before? This "old PC adventure game coming to DS" road? Well, yeah -- but it's one of the best roads ever. It's even better than Cool Street or Badass Lane. This time around, we'll be driving towards Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy, from old hat adventurers Microids. You'll be playing as Madeleine, the young daughter of the chick-magnet prophet Nostradamus. He's too old and crotchety to solve the mystery of a curse and the royal family, so Prophet Jr. takes to the streets and begins solving puzzles and unravelling intrigue all over the place. A large element of gameplay will require stealth and different disguises to successfully investigate the old-tyme goings-on. The control will be standard point-and-click gameplay, which is totally suited for the DS touchscreen. We have no official DS media as yet, but Elektrogames has made a brief announcement on their official website, and you can check out the teaser for the original PC version in the video above.[Via Wiiz]
Broken Sword dev continues to mercilessly tease us
Evidence of a Broken Sword game for the DS is mounting. First, there was a petition posted by Revolution Software designer Tony Warriner to register player interest (which, predictably enough, was sky high). Then, a Broken Sword game cropped up in the database of the rarely wrong GameStop. And now, Revolution Managing Director Charles Cecil has dropped some heavy-handed hints about such a title.Speaking to Videogamer.com, Cecil admitted that the petition was "really inspirational," and that the DS was "an ideal platform" for the point and click genre. His final comment on the matter was far more suggestive, however: "I just wish that we were having this interview in about a month's time," he told VideoGamer.com's Wesley Yin-Poole. "Then you'd be asking me much more direct questions!" Hmm.Even though Broken Sword for the DS remains a rumor, we're struggling to think of other ways in which Revolution can hint at the game without, you know, announcing it. Petition posted by developer? Check. Appearance of Broken Sword in GameStop records? Check. And now Cecil's comments? Frankly, you don't have to be a heavily pixellated, world-saving law graduate called George to figure out where this might be going.
Nancy Drew finds clues on the Wii
The fact that three PC-to-Wii adventure games were announced in one week is nothing short of crazy, but as adventure game junkies, we won't complain. The more that come along, the more likely at least one will be good and sate our thirst for point-and-click, right? Right? This time Nancy Drew will be sleuthing her way onto the Wii in a port of The White Wolf of Icicle Creek. The same developer that handled the PC version (Her Interactive) will be porting this one, unlike the DS games which were made by Gorilla Systems. While the original didn't blow anyone's socks off their feet, it did get respectable reviews. Let's just hope for some refined point-and-click goodness with the Wiimote, and we should be all set.[Via GoNintendo]
Cracking safes, taking names
Just watch any old thief movie to be infused with a great sense of power. Laugh heartily as a sexy babe or handsome badass steals millions right from under some chump's nose, then boldly exclaim "Ha! I could do that!". Well, probably not, so Safecracker is for those who dream big but don't particularly want to go to prison.You play the role of some safe expert who is hired by a family to search the mansion of their dear old (dead) dad, Duncan Adams. There are 35 safes to crack in total, so you'll need to explore the mansion to find Adams' last will and testament -- then fork it over to the spoiled brats in his family. Fat chance!Safecracker was originally a PC adventure game, much like this, that, And Then There Were None. The Wiimote works perfectly for pointage and clickage, so any puzzle aficianodos can look out for this one in Q3 2008.%Gallery-26007%[Via press release]
Zack and Wiki: Quest for a Sequel is fruitless
Oh, Zack & Wiki, what an overflowing treasure chest of delights you were; your demanding (yet fulfilling) puzzles and vibrant, cute visual style won us over in a heartbeat. Even though you consistently made us feel thick, we'd still do anything to spend just another hour in your puzzley company. Even that meanie Yahtzee liked you! Alas, a new adventure featuring the pirate and his monkey is looking increasingly unlikely. Capcom bossman Christian Svensson seemed to rule out a follow-up on the Capcom forums, noting that he "[wasn't] so sure there will be [a sequel] on any reasonable timeline." That doesn't mean we'll never get one, of course, but we wouldn't go expecting Zack & Wiki 2 in the next decade or anything rash like that. We can't say we blame Capcom, either -- remember how the company was forced to drop the game's price just three months after it launched in the States? That's probably not an experience it wants to revisit. %Gallery-3283% [Via Nintendo Everything]
Point and click to Escape the Museum
Those who love a good, old-fashioned adventure game might be hunting in the museum this holiday season. Majesco is making a Wii budget title based on the PC software Escape the Museum, which released earlier this year. Since we're big adventure fans, a game that utilizes the Wiimote's point-and-click abilities for the low price of $19.99 has found its way onto our radar. At the same time, a quickly-put-together port has the potential to be awful, so let's hope Majesco puts some effort into this one.The story sounds a little on the "meh" side. An earthquake traps Susan Anderson in a museum, so she needs to find a way out, look for survivors, and rescue priceless artifacts along the way. You could have probably figured most of that out from the game's blunt title, but hey, that's what we're here for.
