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Jett Rocket trailer takes off
Developer Shin'en released a trailer for its WiiWare platformer Jett Rocket. Let's just get this out of the way: Wow, this looks nice for a WiiWare game. We're kind of amazed by how nice the environments and the lighting effects look! It seems like there are plenty of interesting elements (or gimmicks) in the levels, as well. Oh, not to mention that the protagonist has a jetpack. Shin'en has yet to date the platformer. We're certain we don't have to say this, but we would warn the developer to avoid releasing a 3D platformer in May. [Via Siliconera]
Shin'en lighting up WiiWare with Jett Rocket
Shin'en, developer of the DS Nanostray games, as well as the recent WiiWare release Art of Balance, has announced a new 3D platformer for WiiWare. Jett Rocket looks like your basic 3D platformer, but slightly smaller in scale, with three areas of the planet Yoroppa to explore. It looks impressive, with graphics that recall Super Mario Galaxy. With a name like Jett Rocket, you'd expect some kind of powered vehicles, and the game features three: a paraglider, a "Jet Boat," and a "Jet Snowboard." Wouldn't that melt all the snow?
Zenses: Soothing in an angry sort of way
Okay, listen. Just who is responsible for the idea that females -- note, no specification of age or tastes there, just the entire gender -- only like a certain type of game? And why do publishers feel the need to tell us, repeatedly, "ladies, this game's for you?" Perhaps we can't be trusted to make our own decisions about what is and isn't fun. Never mind all those chicks playing Guitar Hero and RPGs and even -- gasp -- first person shooters. If you're female, it's either Imagine Babyz if you're under fifteen, or puzzle games if you're over. That's scientific fact.So why do I feel so unimpressed by the purportedly-relaxing Zenses: Rainforest? Maybe, unlike Zenses: Ocean, it's not "designed specifically to appeal to females." Either way, this female feels a little more inclined to turn to Puchi Puchi Virus for her dot-connecting needs. Maybe it's the trippy art style. Maybe it's the fact that they're not trying to tell me to like anything (except Disgaea, apparently). Or maybe that's just my personal taste, resulting from an ability to make decisions without being guided in one way or another. Now it's your turn to do the same: check out the screenshots and see if Zenses: Rainforest is up your alley. It does look relaxing, and perhaps worthwhile, now that all the rage and bile is cleared out. See? The relaxation bit is working already.P.S. You boys can look, too. It's okay. We won't tell.%Gallery-27954%
Metareview: Nanostray 2
Despite the incredibly varied critical reaction to Nanostray, we know the shmup was popular with many of the readers, and that means there's a lot of concern over the recently-released sequel. So how's it looking? So far, on par with the first, though we're not seeing any of the high-scoring reviews the original garnered ... at least, not yet. Games Radar: 80% -- Sometimes, it's okay to just be what you are. "Nanostray 2 doesn't try to re-invent the genre, and that's totally fine. The no-nonsense weapons and controls are easy to get the hang of, each stage has its own unique collection of enemies and environmental gotchas, and there's rarely a moment when the screen isn't flush with bullets, ships, and explosions. Detailed 3D graphics give the two-dimensional action plenty of depth, while the soundtrack consists of a manly mix of lasers, explosions, and trippy rock-trance music."Nintendo Power: 60% -- Nintendo Power's negatives sound like positives to us! "Nanostray 2 is an odd mix of old and new; it looks and plays better than any of those old games, and it has the polish of a fresh title, but its brand of twitchy, frenetic action and on-hit deaths is so 1985." (Feb. 08, p. 89)GamePro: 80% -- GamePro had praise for the new controls. "What Nanostray fans won't find are the much-maligned touch controls, which Shin'en rightly decided to deep-six. The D-pad controls your ship's movement, while the A and B buttons pull main and secondary weapons duty. The L and R buttons shift the position of satellites, floating Gradius-like orbs that supplement your main blasters. The touch controls do make a cameo, however, as alternate control settings, but we'd steer clear, anyway."
Don't stray away from these Nanostray 2 screens
The fine folks over at 1UP have dished out a bundle (what's a good term for more than a small amount, but less than a lot?) of new screens for Nanostray 2, which, we might say, looks like the hotness. We loves us some Raiden and Ikaruga, so this game is currently living in a house on the corner of Right up avenue and Our alley street.Any of you gamers dying to shoot down uncountable hordes of enemy ships with us?%Gallery-4607%
Nanostray 2 meanders under Majesco's wing
As expected, Majesco has announced its plans to publish Nanostray 2, developer Shin'en's sequel to the 2005 shoot-em-up, in North America and Europe. Though the original game was widely regarded as a somewhat mediocre shmup with janky touchscreen controls, its initial limited availability sent collectors scrambling for copies before Majesco eventually restocked shelves with bulkier shipments; hopefully, those troubles will be avoided this time around.Addressing the complaints many had with tacked-on touchscreen features, Nanostray 2 will have three control schemes -- classic control, left-handed touch control, and right-handed touch control. Multiplayer cooperative (multi-card) and duel modes, both played locally, will also be incorporated, as well as online leaderboards. Expect Nanostray 2 to traipse into stores early 2008.%Gallery-4607%
