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Love Mario, win 2 DS Lites
Do you love those Mario brothers? Do your dreams encapsulate not the sheep languidly springing over an undefined, isolated wooden fence, instead opting to fill your mind with the pleasing sounds of a fat plumber and his skinny brother stomping Goombas to death and riding around in pipes? Are you a sick, obsessed fan with a ridiculous mural of Luigi on your wall? If you've sat there anxiously reading that above paragraph, feverishly biting what little bit of nail you have left on each of your fingers, sweating that someone might find you on a site called DS Fanboy only to out you to your friends and family, then how about signing up for this contest? That way, when people look at you with disgust in the street, you can hold your head high and say "Yeah, well who bought you 2 DS Lites?!" You'll likely then proceed to jump on the person's head.[Via DS-x2]
A look at how Smash Bros. could work online
Gamedaily has a feature running right now where they look at how Super Smash Bros. Brawl online could work. Dissecting the experience down to three important fields, they discuss what the most important aspects of the title need to make the online roster to ensure the online experience is as endearing as the game is offline.First up are what different game modes will be available for online play. Now, Smash Bros. is such an experience that it can be augmented each and every time you play. There is a core underlying mechanic in just attempting to beat your opponent silly, but there are factors such as stock count, time, locale, as well as the variants such as Coin Battle, that are really going to be tough to bring online. Game Daily thinks that Nintendo really has to leave all of this content in for the online arena, and we're inclined to agree. Really, it's a no-brainer to say that the online multiplayer should very much resemble that of the local multiplayer.Next item of interest is latency issues, or lag. Now, it's no secret that most fighting games rely on speed and intensity to create a great experience, with Smash Bros. being no exception. Other games such as the upcoming Virtua Fighter 5 refuse to take their game online because the lag will take away from the title. Nintendo will have their work cut out for them if they hope to provide a lag-free experience. Tecmo's Dead or Alive 4, however, has managed to remain excellent online, so hopefully Nintendo will be able to look to that title for inspiration in how to ensure that the game remains the same online.Finally, the game will undoubtedly need a ranking system. I mean, what's the point if you can't get into a match and/or lobby with your incredible record and talk smack. The question is exactly how will it be done and what will be the criteria for rewarding players with better ranks.Now, we're still not sure this game will even be online or not yet, so keep that in mind while you mull some of this over. When will we find out if it'll be online or not? Probably next year, sadly.
Mario Strikers could be bound for Wii
IGN has picked up word from their super-duper secret sources close to Nintendo of Europe that a follow up to last year's Super Mario Strikers on the GameCube could be making its way to the Wii. Further speculation adds that the game could be unveiled at the Leipzig Games Convention later on this month. Citing the reasons why we would see a sequel to the franchise on the Wii, IGN was quick to note that the game has sold 500,000 copies since its December release, making it a prime candidate for the sequel treatment. It currently has a 76% average ratio through Game Rankings.[Thanks Josh!]
No Space World, Mario Galaxy could be available at launch
Over at AMN, Nintendo has confirmed that there will in fact be no Space World event held this year. The person confirming this, Nintendo of America Public Relations Manager Matt Atwood, dashed away speculation that this event would help usher in the launch of the Wii. However, there is good news!I managed to save money on my car insurance! Matt Atwood, the clever PR-type person that he is, said that while Nintendo has yet to officially announce its Wii lineup, in regards to Super Mario Galaxy making the cut for launch, "anything is possible."
Could Mario do for the Wii what he did for the DS?
There's an interesting article up over at Yahoo where the debate as to whether Mario can work his magic for the Wii, as he did on the DS. The fact is yes, while maybe not to the extent that New Super Mario Bros. has done wonders for the DS, on the Wii the Mario brand is a guaranteed way to push units. While Super Mario Galaxy not being available at launch, or during the battle to come this Christmas when all 3 consoles are available on retail shelves, is sure to be a fairly-sized detriment to Nintendo, other first-party titles such as Metroid Prime 3 Corruption and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess should help to carry that load. Honestly, who doesn't like Mario?[Via Joystiq]
Nintendo's top 10 games of 2006 (so far)
With the year half-way over, Nintendo of America's Rufus has seen fit to put out his list of top 10 games so far this year. What's surprising is that Big Brain Academy comes in at the number one spot, a place which we're fairly sure should be given to New Super Mario Bros. instead. What isn't surprising, however, is that the list is dominated by DS titles. Big Brain Academy (DS) New Super Mario Bros. (DS) True Swing Golf (DS) Drill Dozer (GBA) Super Princess Peach (DS) Chibi Robo (GCN) Super Monkey Ball Touch & Roll (DS) Tetris DS (DS) Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (DS) Odama (GCN) What would your own personal list look like?[Via Infendo][Note: This has nothing to do with sales numbers. This is a list purely based on personal opinion of one Nintendo of America employee.]
Destructible environments and custom characters in SSBB?
Rumors are coming in that a programmer for Super Smash Bros. Brawl has recently said on his blog that the game will be featuring destructible environments and customizable characters. The environments are said to feature terrain that will reflect damage through burning and crumbling. Whether this can be used as a weapon in the game is yet to be determined, as well as the validity of the statement on a whole.As for customizing characters, supposedly the game will employ a new stat system that allows you to customize the play style of each character, inputting data to balance its speed, strength, etc. to the player's liking. Also, it is said that each character will have an arsenal of moves that the player may map to the character, allowing for even more customization.While this is all a huge rumor right now, we sure hope that it turns out to be truth.[Thanks Thousand Dragoon Link!]
Smash Bros. most popular game on Game Stats
That's right Halo 3, go take a walk!Over at Game Stats, today's (and yesterday's) most popular game is next year's Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Besides the previously-mentioned, alien-exterminating cyborg, the game has some seriously stiff competition, a majority of which are on the Wii. The console, and obviously its games, are getting major buzz, and for good reason. Face it, we all, Nintendo fanboys or not, want to take Snake into the Smash Bros. arena (namely Hyrule) and kick some ass. Link vs. Snake, or Samus vs. Snake...oh we cannot wait.See also: Rumor: Ubisoft character making Super Smash Bros. Brawl roster Smash Bros. Brawl: who's in, who's out
Macworld: The many faces of Get Info
The Get Info window works in a few similar but at times mysterious ways, and Rob Griffiths has put together an article that outlines each of its three iterations in Mac OS X 10.4 (Panther has two). While this might be rudimentary to some of you hard-core Mac OS X users out there, this is a handy feature walk-through of each slightly different version - Get Info, Super Get Info and Summary Info - for those who haven't covered this ground yet. Check it out.
Rumor: Ubisoft character making Super Smash Bros. Brawl roster
By way of DS Revolution, we're to believe that a gamer, who naturally has an inside source at Nintendo, is telling him that a few of Ubisoft's most notable characters are being looked at to be included in the roster of characters in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Of Ubisoft's long line of franchise characters, the proposed character has been narrowed down to Jade, Rayman, the Prince, and Sam Fischer. Now, this is purely a rumor, but the thought of either Jade or Sam Fischer being included tickles my fancy in ways it was not meant to be tickled. Obviously, Sam versus Solid Snake would be a stealth fan's dream come true, but the thought of Jade getting in the spotlight again, which would then help bring us a much needed sequel to Beyond Good & Evil, is too much to pass up. Yes it's a rumor, but who would you like to see the cut if it turns out to be true?
Homebrew: Super Smash Bros. Tactics
DS homebrew hero ali banana has come up with a customer application entitled Super Smash Bros. Tactics. With two confirmed playable characters in Samus and Link, along with another character being shown in Kirby, the application looks to be a huge step in the right direction. While this blogger has yet to actually download the files and get it going on the DS, maybe one of our fine readers would like to step up to the plate and comment on the gameplay?[Thanks Nushio!]
More Super Mario Galaxy screenshots
Feast your eyes on some widescreen screenshots, about a bajillion to be exact (more like 40 if you're counting), of Mario hanging loose out in the black void of space. The screenshots, which showcase the wide variety of planetary structures inhabiting this vast game world that Mario only so eagerly treks,help whet the appetite. While, personally, going into E3, Red Steel was my most anticipated title for the Wii, Super Mario Galaxy easily takes that spot.
Smash Bros. site updated again
The Smash Bros. site has been updated again with two more character bios in Wario and Zero Suit Samus. Turns out that the Zero suit Samus is not a fully selectable character and instead, regular old Samus will shed her armor if certain conditions are met. So considering how Zelda could transform into Sheik in the last game, we're thinking Samus could just shed her armor with a button combination, although why you would want to just throw away the awesome arm cannon is a mystery to me.[Thanks to everyone that sent this in!]
Smash Bros. Dojo updated
Smash Bros. Dojo, the official Smash Bros. website, has updated the character section. Pit, star of the game Kid Icarus for the NES, and Meta Knight, rival to the gluttonous pink ball that is Kirby, are the first two of the game's characters to receive the star treatment with added screenshots and biographies.
Goro Abe interview [Update]
For those of you unaware, Goro Abe is the director of development for Warioware: Smooth Moves, the Wii installment in the popular Warioware franchise. In a lengthy Q & A session, Goro discusses how the team comes up with the quirky minigames the series has been known for and some of the challenges that come from developing a title for Nintendo's next-gen system, and even discusses his role in bringing Wario to Super Smash Bros. Brawl.[Update: It's Goro, not Masamichi.]
Mario site is updated yet again
During all the chaos that was E3, we totally neglected to check the New Super Mario Bros. site for updates. That's where trusty reader Jeremy swooped in, wet fish firmly gripped in hand, and waved the large tuna directly into our collective faces screaming "post it!" Not one to ever turn down a crazed madman fan, we happily report that the site has received a major overhaul, but if you're too busy actually playing the game to check it out, we'll understand and suffer our fate as best we can. [Thanks Jeremy Hall!]
Bowser gets the business
Some videos popped up yesterday over at IGN showcasing several different situations the portly plumber might get himself into in his travels of eating mushrooms and balancing on ropes over lava pits in New Super Mario Bros. The first video even shows Mario duking it out with the big bad Bowser himself in the truest fashion, that is, in a recreation of their very first encounter back during the original Super Mario Bros. This time around has an exception, however, as once he is thrust into the liquid magma, Bowser emerges to the surface, much in the way T1000 did at the end of Terminator 2, thrashing about in great pain, yet displaying a ghastly skeletal visage. Could this finally be the end of Bowser? Also, how odd is it that his hair doesn't even get scorched? [Thanks TxdoHawk!]
Jump Superstars getting an English makeover
If you're unfamiliar with Jump Super Stars!, it can be best summed up as a hodgepodge of anime characters brawling it out in one game. Goku is there, Naruto is there, and so is Yugi. Just about everyone who's bothered to import the title from Japan will hold it as one of, if not the, best games on the DS. Well, those without the desire to try and battle through screens upon screens of Japanese dialogue, there is hope! TranlastionRL seeks to take all that incomprehensible Japanese script and provide a translation into the Queen's English so that the full title can be enjoyed by those of us without the gift of Japanese gab.[Via Siliconera]
