Red box means you will buy it the second you see it

Return of the king

I was very skeptical about the New Super Mario Bros. Wii. For starters it seemed like the DS game was ported over to the Wii and given a slight visual upgrade. Also when compared to its 3D counterpart (Mario Galaxy) the title seemed very “last gen” to say the least. So I questioned how a decade old game with a new paint job would ever keep my attention.

Oh boy was I in for a surprise.

Super Mario Bros. Wii is unlike anything out there. Sure the same old story of Princess Peach being kidnapped by Bowser and his Koopa Kids is far from original, but the gameplay is classic Mario at its best.  Granted it’s a reinvention, but does it pack enough variety and value to merit your hard earned cash?

Gameplay
The gameplay is platforming at its purest. Which means you have to navigate 8 large worlds with ten stages each (more than 80 levels) to reach the grand finale.  Each world has its own unique theme to add to the variety- my personal favourite being the tropics. You navigate each level by jumping, bouncing, sliding, and butt stomping your way to the end before the timer runs out.  Along the way expect to run into various enemies that you can stomp on and create point combos. You have your classic assortment of power ups like the Red Mushroom, Fire Flower, Star and a couple of new ones like the Ice Flower, Propeller Cap, Tiny Mushroom and the Penguin Suit. The Tiny Mushroom (as seen in the DS release) allows Mario to become micro and run on water and leap great distances. The Propeller Cap allows insane leaps and momentary flight/ glide abilities as well as a drill attack from the air. Finally the Penguin Suit is much like the Ice Flower and allows you to freeze enemies with ice shots, but also adds more stability to Mario snowy surfaces and allows him to slide at high speeds on land and water.

These new power ups play nicely to the variety of levels and will ensure you have a blast finishing each world. Controls are simple and have you holding the Wiimote sideways while using the D-pad to move. Jumping is relegated to the 2 button and 1 is the action button used for fireballs and holding down for running. You can grab shells and other players by holding 1 and shaking the Wii mote and some areas even have you tilting the Wii mote to slide and move objects. Don’t worry about the waggle part since its plays out naturally and never breaks the flow. In fact lightly shaking the Wii mote becomes second nature as you pick up shells toss em in mid air or jump up and do an extended air spin. You can play with the Nunchuck connected, but you are better off playing it classic style – trust me.

Momments later Mario landed with an atomic explosion

To keep up the variety in the game play department each progression is marked by harder platforming sections and levels that defy the traditional convention. A good example is a level where you navigate the skies on flying manta rays or the level where you are thrust into the world that is pitch black save for the 3 steps in front and behind you.  There are some truly insane levels here that will leave you smiling- I will not spoil them for you. And then there’s a few toad carrying challenges in every world that are only available when you play by yourself. We could have used a lot more of these missions as they are some of the most challenging ones. Good incentive to play the game alone once in a while. You will also never be away from collecting power ups to use before levels. The game lets you hold on to bonus round items in an inventory screen accessible only during level selection. With the many toad huts across each world be sure to collect you power ups and 1 Up Mushrooms.

By now there is no surprise that you have the ability to have 4 players play along. I’m honestly glad this functionality is kept as simple as drop in and out. The second player becomes Luigi while the third and fourth players are yellow and blue Toadstools. It is a shame they did not utilize other characters from the rich Mario universe to be a part of this game. Having two different Toadstools be the other characters feels rather cheap, but that’s just a minor gripe. It’s not like they function any different- in fact all characters jump and perform the exact same manner.  Having 3 of your friends play along comes highly recommended. It is tremendously fun and actually makes the main quest richer and far more entertaining.  If you have played Little Big Planet you will be at home here; after all the game was inspired by Mushroom Kingdoms platform action – though the platforming is much better and controls much tighter. There are a couple of new mechanics that open up when you play with friends. One of these is the ability to grab and throw your team mates which can be very useful for scaling high unreachable secret areas as well as being an annoying, destructive tactic. The other mechanic is the bubble – which is designed to help you from falling behind. Simply at any time you can enter a bubble that will leave you immobile until someone can pop it. We found some truly awesome ways to use this mechanic by tossing our friend over the edge to get that impossible to reach Star Coin- only to have him activate the bubble just before he dies thus keeping him in the alive. I believe the developers intended for such uses with novice players to keep up with the advance ones.

In the middle east we hunted piranha plants instead of foxes..

Now a feature that has gained some controversy is the ability to have an auto guide finish the level for you. This happens when you die 8 times in a row in a particular level and from what I gather only in single player. A green block pops up and Luigi then finishes the level for you. I’ll say it is a nice feature for those poor souls who have never played a Mario game. During any point of the run you can resume play and tell Luigi to beat it. This Super Guide feature is nice for the new gamer, but I doubt any of you will run into it. I had to die purposely to see it in action.

Finally you can use your hard earned star coins to watch videos of Nintendo pros doing speed runs and skill runs. These are remarkable videos that will leave you in awe. It is a shame the game has no ability to record videos of your play sessions that could be shared with friends online. I mean Smash Bros. Brawl did it so why can’t this game?

I create ice so you can tread on water

Graphics
New Super Mario Bros. Wii is not going to win any awards for its graphics. The game uses 3D characters and puts them on a 2D plane. The animation is solid for each character and the design aesthetic works wonderfully. There are nice subtle effects like volumetric clouds and sand storms but for the most part the game retains the simple feel of the classics. It is not the most gorgeous Wii game, but frankly I wish it was. Go ahead and boot up Donkey Kong Jungle Beat and marvel at how they handled 3D elements presented on a 2D plane. The graphics can definitely be a lot better, that being said the game looks much sharper and cleaner than its DS cousin (obviously) and has some truly scenic moments. Very few 2D elements are present in the game and for the most part these are background elements. Aside from the small gripes the over all package is a nice surprise because of the sheer number of locations this game visits.

Mario grabs on and recreates a scene from Die Hard

The game is pretty, but is not all that it can or should be.

Sound
No complaints here since all the classic sound effects and music are presented in such clarity. Something about hearing the warp pipe or collecting coins makes me smile. All the nostalgia you will feel is because of the brilliant sound design.  The level music is whimsical and very appropriate – even changing with each new world and infectious enough to be stuck in your head. Rounding the list there is an audience clapping sound effect that plays out when you collect all 3 Star Coins or manage to pull off an impossible feat, I found its inclusion refreshing and most appropriate.

Replay
Now here is where I look over the multiplayer options. The game allows you to select Free Play and Coin Battle.  Free play allows you to play with your friends from a select list of levels in the game. In the end, Free Play boils down to just fooling around in some of the games most chaotic levels while trying to get the most points and lives. Coin Battle on the other hand tasks you to collect more coins than your friends in each level. This mode is the more competitive of the two and often yielded the most hilarious moments between me and my friends. Trying to grab a hold of your opponent and tossing them into the abyss while collecting their loot was as hilarious as it was fun.

But I found one multiplayer game on the DS missing in the Wii game. It was a game of collecting Stars on a looped level. This multiplayer mode was insane on the DS and it is a shame they didn’t include it here. But lets be fair the game is all about playing the main story mode with four of your friends. Sure there are added challenges if you go it alone but nothing beats playing with your friends.

Having no online hurts but when you begin to realize the game is about having your friends over and just having a good time you understand why online play just wouldn’t be the same. But that doesn’t mean we couldn’t have used some decent leader boards and other share functionality. Even an online only multiplayer mode could have been a great addition.
In the end you have 80 plus levels with tons of hidden passages and Star coins – ensuring multiple replays for the hardcore.

Tilt the Wii mote to move the light

Verdict
I have always found something very unique about how platforming is executed in Mario games. You would think that jumping on to a platform is a simple animation, but there is something about the dynamics of this action that is perfectly created here. It is the best platform game out there, a true masterpiece of 2D gameplay. I feel sorry for gamers who did not grow up with a Mario game, for them this is a chance to understand why this little plumber is king of the platform.

New Super Mario Bro. Wii is the definitive title to own this season. The game packs enough nostalgic elements to keep the fans happy while throwing in some new power ups and refined gameplay mechanics to create a very satisfying experience. The game plays it very safe by not doing some of the advance functionality we take for granted. I just would have loved the ability to record my speed runs with friends or some online functionality. Throw me a simple level designer and I would have been floored.

But in the end it is all about the gameplay and in that case this title has it in spades.
A must buy for every Wii owner. Go play this with your friends!

Gameplay  5/5
Graphics    3.5/5
Sound          5/5
Replay         5/5

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19 hits! It reads...

Got no game…
I’ve always feared the day when I would come across a game that would be so terrible that its very existence would torment me. Maybe I am being a bit melodramatic but trust me when I say that Game Party 3 makes me very sad. You see a while back I wrote a good editorial piece about the Wii and how there are plenty of good games available for it. The main focus was to draw attention to stellar third party games and how they need our support if the Wii is to have a bright future. Game Party series makes it harder for any third party developer to actually make a decent game when publishers can see so much revenue created by this minimalist approach.

Yes I do sound pretty jaded and with good reason- I reviewed this title.

Gameplay
Do I really need to analyze the gameplay behind this title?
To be fair it has almost 19 games that all end up being some form of aiming with the IR, chucking your Wiimote, or waggling the Wiimote like a complete moron. Excitement is ever abundant in this title with such gems like skeeball, lawn darts, darts, puck bowling, shuffleboard, horseshoe toss, and a horrible game of shooting the hoops. Apparently there have been some unique additions such as bumper pool, croquet (no way), and whack a mole- aptly titled here as smack a troll.

Why did I even go and list these horrible renditions? Honestly I searched for some sort of silver lining in the gameplay department but to no avail. Besides the sheer variety of games there is nothing that is innovative or creative about the gameplay. The only thing the game can do well is have the IR sensor appear on screen as you navigate the main menu.

The games are broken down to six different categories: country club, lounge, rec room, sports zone, family fun, and backyard. Each category houses multiple games that take advantage of their respective theme.
Controls don’t perform as smoothly as they should and feel as if these games were designed before the Wii development kits ever arrived at Farsight studios. Try playing darts or any other title that requires precise motion and you will begin to hate your life.

What it boils down to are horrible games that are more fun in real life. Video games are supposed to make even the most mundane tasks seem fun and exciting but this game makes me want to call up my buddies to actually go to a backyard and toss some horseshoes and not in a good way. Maybe I can play a game of long darts and try and see if I can nail this game with something pointy. I just can’t talk about anything that works here in terms of gameplay. I have played free flash games that are more fun.

Amongst the utter mess of a game there is one thing I did like and that is how Game Party 3 has all the games from Game Party 1 and 2. What they forgot to do was to add something new to the old games (even a new control scheme would suffice) which truly stinks for the poor souls who bought the previous versions. But it is good to know that once you’ve played 3 you haven’t missed out on any of the previous games.

Lucky troll...

Graphics
The game has some decent menus and simple navigation that will deceive you . For a moment you tell yourself there would be no possibility that this would look like an N64 game upscaled to 480p. I’m sorry even N64 games like Banjo Kazooie look more fleshed out than this and that game is almost a decade old.

The characters look horrendous and have such horrible proportions to them that you wonder if the programming team had a crack at designing them. They look as stiff as they animate and it just gets worse from there. Seriously generic looking characters and some horrible environments that lack any style or inspiration litter the entire play experience.  I don’t even know if they were going for a washed down cell shaded look because whatever they tried to achieve look to have failed.

Sound
The only thing this game has going for it is the fact that it actually has sound.
Music is forgettable and often times playing this title on mute may enhance the experience a tad bit.
Go play smack a troll and tell me you want to blast that in your home.

Replay
19 games that are accumulated from the previous two titles is the ONLY thing that might be considered a positive here. No online functionality and 1 to 4 player support means you have to crack this little gem out when the crowd is passed out from too much drinking. Pray your friends don’t remember anything about this game.
The fact remains that none of these game have received any visual or control upgrades which means you just paid too much for something that could have been bought for 3 bucks. I understand this is a budget title but you will still feel cheated.

What exactly makes this "Super" Hoop Shoot?

I played this title with my brother and he punched me in the arm and walked out of the room. He is my younger brother and I had to go buy him a game for sitting down and helping me review the multiplayer portion of Game Party 3. I don’t like buying games as a sign of apology.
The real challenge is having 4 sane people play this for over an hour.

Verdict.
This is a game designed to attack the poor parents who have no idea what to get for their family Wii.
This game preys on those poor souls who want some fun multiplayer game to enjoy with their friends and family but are not well adverse to gaming information you and I take for granted.

If you are ever around some loving parent and see them pick this up, do them a favor and warn them of the horrors that lie ahead. Please don’t play games like this on the Wii- not when games like Wii Sports, Mario Party, Deca Sports2, and countless other family friendly games exist. Do your research and avoid these crappy mini-games at budget prices.
I enjoyed absolutely nothing about this game and wonder why Warner Bros. Interactive even bothered continuing this sad legacy. The best thing about Game Party 3 is turning it off.

Gameplay      1/5
Graphics     0.5/5
Sound          0.5/5
Replay            1/5

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Adam Sandler once sang in The Wedding Singer,”All I wanna do is grow old with you,” which for many, whether we intended to or not, happened in the case of Mario and friends . Till this day, we can still see small children getting introduced to the ever flourishing franchise.

Who are we talking about? We are talking about the short, confident, Italian plumber who wears a trade mark red hat and overalls. Throw in his taller, more socially awkward younger brother who sports an identical outfit only in green. Also in the mix would be the dragon like figure bent on kidnapping a certain princess of the mushroom Kingdom.

Now Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Princess Peach and many other familiar faces are back for another game. So what’s happening in the world of Mario now? There are so many examples that could be used to explain the whole situation but the most simple is one quote:

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

Like in WWII there was a common enemy that wanted to take over the world. As in the textbooks, two opposing forces will become one in order to overcome this greater evil. Whether they wanted to or not, they’re going to inadvertently work together.

Enemy: Fawful

Goal: Save the world so life can go back to normal.

Well at least they get the job done, unlike Aquaman

At the start of the game, we quickly debriefed about the situation of the Kingdom. It seems that the citizens have developed a sickness which occurs when the victim is exposed to a Mushroom called “Blob Shroom”. The victim inflates to a tremendous size and rolls around without control of what direction. With the situation getting dire and the cure not becoming apparent, a plan of action must be made in order to bring order and peace back.

So, a meeting is called, and in attendance is important figures like, Starlow a representative of the Star Sprites, Princess Peach and of course the Mario brothers. However, their meeting was cut short by non other than our favorite Villain King, Bowser, who ruins the meeting. Of course he’s not welcome in the meeting and is thus kicked out. Such a quick defeat for our friend Godzill…. Bowser.

Now with Fawful as the antagonist in this game he has two problems to deal with.

1. Mario and Luigi
2. Bowser

How does he deal with them? Well kill the head of the beast and the rest will fall? His kooky plan: Make Bowser eat everyone that could possibly put a fight against him. His assumption, the oaf can be defeated easily with him and his infinite knowledge. As in the traditional stories, the saying never give up, never surrender comes into play. That is exactly what we see because they need to find the cure and save the princess by kicking Fawful butt. Everyone is of course is safe in the belly of Bowser and so Mario and Luigi do their part by helping Bowser out from the inside when the going gets tough.

How does this story play out you ask? Well give it a try and see if it’s your cup of tea. For now, shall we get into the nitty gritty of this title? Hear, hear! That’s why we’re all here!

Gameplay
It can look nice and all that jazz but does it work well? Beauty and no brains can still equal to an enormous flop with the people. Being the bearer of news, this game has an excellent grasp of where it needs to be and how it should play out.

Burn baby burn

As you play the game you are given control over Bowser, Mario, and Luigi. Playing as either Bowser or the brothers really is an experience. The battle format remains the same as you enter into battle as one or the other party. It is all simply choosing the attacking and pressing the button at the exact moment to make the damage larger against opponents. For special attacks it varies from the different choices. Memorizing game where you must remember which barrel each brother is hiding within to have a greater damage. While some other attacks are more on controlling the character to catch certain items.

To help out in the heat of battle are badges, certain combination can really get you out of tough situations. The gauge meter for it depends on how well you perform an attack, the more excellent hits you get the gauge goes up. When the gauge is filled and when the time is right you can activate it and either receive more health, or more power with each hit. It all really depends on which badges you combine.

When playing are the brothers you control their actions with the A and B button.  For example pressing both buttons simultaneously will make both brothers jump. Or pressing them one at a time will make one brother act first. As you get further into the game more actions such as going underground and gliding will be added to the list of actions available. The triggers at the top allow you to choose which action to use.

For most part though a lot of the game is played as our favorite baddie. All his actions like Mario and Luigi are on the X and Y buttons, changing his actions are controlled via the triggers.  When playing as him there are few little perks that have been added.

Like mentioned earlier this game is about co-operation between the three. On several occasion Bowser will need help from the brothers whether he knows it or not.  Having earned the ability to eat enemies which will be dealt with swiftly by the brothers.

This gives the "keep your enemies closer" quote a whole new meaning

Aside from switching fights from time to time between them. For Bowser there is a special Giant Battle mode, when playing there will be a few battles where you face the enemy as a giant. The controls are at its best really. Unlike the regular battles where you press buttons in correct time in order to have a greater attack. You are given the opportunity to have a more interactive battle. Throwing a punch would require sliding the stylus across the screen as quickly as possible. And my personal favorite breathing fire has you breathing into the mic. Although I did run into a few problems with the response with some of the touchscreen games which made it difficult for me.

The battle system explained, we can take a look at just how everything really does work in the game. Everything being a whole point A to point B, the whole story progresses with getting past certain obstacles of course. Getting past them is always a unique experience, aside from the typical boss battles there are many mini-games that will greet you along the way. For example to make Bowser boost up in order to further the story, as Mario and Luigi you must find a way to stimulate his muscle. The mini-game encounter is one that depends on you to hit the energy orbs into the muscle in correct order which also requires timing. At times though the sheer amount of mini-games really can leave a person weary. There were just too many of them for my own liking.

Graphics
What is there really to say? The graphics look great. At first glance you would assume that it’s the same ol’ thing. But second glances are well worth it as you see that the movements of the characters are smooth. The designs of the characters are well done and look superb really. My only problems with the graphics were during the giant battle mode, with the characters looking slightly pixilated. Aside from that there are really no big complaints about how it looks. I really loved the victory poses they struck every time they leveled up.

Sound
Don’t fix it if it ain’t broken.  They most certainly didn’t do anything drastic to throw off long time followers of this game. Mario and Luigi are still speaking gibberish in the game although it is really entertaining to listen to them as other characters really tell us what the two are saying. Each character making their own specific sound to simulate them actually speaking as the speech bubble appears above them. Although I’m not really fond of Peaches voice in this one, something about it is unpleasant and annoying to my ears. Sound effects from jumping from one point to another, using the hammers and other actions still haven’t changed.

When it comes to the music itself in the game, you won’t mind listening to these tunes throughout. They don’t ever become boring; they become tunes that simply get stuck in your head. The music has also been carefully selected to fit the mood or the moment. Music was perfect in my ears.

Replay
In terms of going over and replaying the game again and again and again. There are many extra things that you could go back to try and find such as beans and scattered puzzle pieces. There’s even a challenge area which consists many of the challenges from earlier in the game.  Although there are many things to go back for, at moments during the game you could turn back and look for these items and do these challenges. It never is too late to go back and find those items. There really isn’t much to go back for and one would only do so out of the sheer love of the story.

Verdict
This has got to be one of the best Mario games out there. The script is amazing and even I was surprised when a few giggles escaped from me when playing. Controls are easy to get hang off and despite being a new Mario game it takes a lot from the older games and improves upon it. Although there are a few minor problems and an awful lot of mini-games, it is something that can be overlooked because this game is just that great. With the gaming taking out a good 20+ hours of your time, Mario enthusiast will positively love his.

Gameplay   4.5 /5
Graphics      4.5/5
Sound               5/5
Replay         3.5/5

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Oh Scooby what are you searching for?

A trick or a treat?

With Halloween just passed I can’t get enough of scary games. You see last year my friends and I all got together and played Dead Space for the PS3. Sure it was a single player experience but we took turns and only played the game after 1 am every Friday leading up to Halloween. It was an insanely fun experience.

This year I got Scooby-Doo! First frights for the Wii. Now it’s no Dead Space but if you think back to when you were a kid(like 6 to10) I’m sure you wanted a slight chill of Halloween and not the full blown horror we all seek these days.

Gameplay
Scooby Doo! First frights is developed by Torus Studios and comes out for the Wii and DS. The main quest is broken down into four episodes with each containing upwards of four levels to complete.

The best way to describe it is linear progression with a heavy dose of collecting Scooby snacks. Along the way expect to search for clues fight bosses and beat up countless baddies, it’s standard stuff, nothing here is  really inventive nor innovative. That would not be a bad thing if the gameplay mechanics were solid, sadly they turn out to be more of a chore. Linear levels with tons of invisible walls are a bad start but then to add hordes of mindless enemies that are as fun to beat up as a bag of sand is just adding to the frustration. The combat mechanics are simple enough with two attack buttons and a charge up, it will get boring really fast unless you use Daphne-who does a Liu Kang bicycle kick! Now I was a big fan of the original cartoon and its half baked attempts in solving puzzles and piecing together clues yet those moments in the game are relegated to bashing items around an area to literally find “puzzle” pieces that become a clue item. I understand this is supposed to be a kids game but maybe a little more effort could have been made in creating something that could channel the spirit of the cartoons. A bit of point and click or other exploration elements in finding clues would have been amazing.

Man up Fred! You can learn a thing or two from Daphne

The other problem is with the actual platforming and camera. The game relies on a fixed camera that gives you a three quarters view from above and is relatively functional for the most part. The game however has this nasty tendency of going into a 2D view angle for some of these platform areas and often times it is just a bad choice. Especially since most of the platforming elements tend to go into the Z axis. The characters don’t seem to be designed with platforming in mind either since they jump and move in a very loose manner. This makes for some truly messy platforming.

To add to the plethora of game play experiences are the obligatory chase scenes that play out like the old Crash Bandicoot sequences,  it seem the people at Torus are fans of Naughty Dog. These sequences for the most parts are fun and feel right at home in Scooby Doo!

In terms of controls the game does a decent job of keeping things simple and fun- you can play with the nunchuck or even the classic controller. I played with the Wii mote and nunchuck where you can jump with the A button and perform attacks with the B button. Your characters special moves are assigned to the Z button and C lets you switch between the two characters in each level. You can do the classic butt stomp by double jumping and pressing attack. Certain characters like shaggy can even reflect projectiles with their special attack button. The character swap mechanic isn’t as deep as you would think since it’s relegated to simple level navigation. Now here is where the context sensitive moments come in – pressing Z lets your specific character do their special ability.  Scooby can go through doggy doors, Shaggy uses a Yo-Yo to swing and hit switches, Fred can push and pull large objects, Velma can hack computer switches, and Daphne can shimmy across pipes to reach far away areas. These elements help the gameplay but are not used enough or cleverly implemented. Now you wouldn’t have to do all that switching if you play co op but trust me the only way I would play co op is if my young cousin wanted help with the atrocious platforming. Again the game at its core is very simple and at times the same mindless set of actions are repeated level after level. The game after all is very linear.

Wasn't this a Loony Toons gag?

Is there a silver lining? Sure there is! The game uses costumes not as a skin but actually changes your characters visual functionality. Take Shaggy as an example, he has a space suit costume that shoots out laser blasts instead of his standard slingshot and double jumping activates the jet pack. Granted the functionality isn’t enough to be called an upgrade but I just adore the details. Then there is the solving of the mystery; you see whilst playing the episode you meet the locals of the area and by the episode’s end you have to decide of the three people you meet who was behind all the shenanigans. Choose the wrong one and there are no consequences but just having them in a line up and kids guessing “who done it?” is a nice touch.
It is small feature that makes me smile.

Graphics
In terms of production values the game is certainly packing some heat and the graphics aren’t that bad. Sure it uses low polygonal designs cleverly to create a very stylized look but you will be amazed at the versatility of the engine. Some of the stuff in this game is truly exceptional, the ambient lighting and some of the skyline vistas are just beautiful. The same could be said in the diversity of scary locations as this game skips all the typical settings and creates some truly inspired locations-granted they aren’t original settings but they are different from the usual mix of haunted mansions.

The character animations are decent but some of the important animations like jumping look as stiff as they are to control. It is evident that this is a last gen game but they try their best to deliver. The indoor areas are always littered with tons of geometry and often times  you may be forgiven to try and check out an object that ends up behind an invisible wall. Again I was really impressed with some of the background work- just play the second episode that has you jumping on parade balloons to get to the toy factory and tell me you weren’t a tad bit surprised.
The entire cast of Mystery Inc has been wonderfully recreated in their adolescent form, adding to that some unlockable costumes and you have a title that will try it’s best to keep things visually interesting.

Looks like you are on your own Shaggy

I’m actually in love with the intro and menu screen since it seems to be inside a small cottage with Scooby and Shaggy, just the movement around the cottage is nothing new but it goes a long way to say that the devs made sure to keep the feeling of the series alive in every visual aspect. This game won’t win any awards for its visual fidelity but it does do a great job and packs amazing production values that we have rarely seen on the Wii (aside from the stellar first party games).

Sound
The game has the standard music selection that compliments each area very appropriately, the cinematic showcases great voice acting with the help of classic canned laughter. Sadly these do not make it into the actual gameplay where we are treated with repeated taunts by our heroes and some incredibly annoying grunts by the baddies.
I really was expecting a lot out of the audio portion of the game to enhance the cartoon’s feel but it does an ok job and nothing more. Compliments again to the cinematic voice acting with canned laughter- just make sure there is more of that in the actual game.

Replay
With about four episodes and four levels each- it’s a good kids game that is over in about 5 to 6 hours. Even young kids who have played their share of video games will manage to finish this with relative ease.
Unlockable costumes and trophies are a nice addition but fail to offer anything beyond an aesthetic change. There isn’t a whole lot motivating you to play again.

Verdict
I have to keep telling myself that this is a kids game and I then catch myself wondering if as a kid would have enjoyed this. For a scary theme game First frights does a very decent job with particularly stellar production values but it is when we take the scary theme and cartoon license away do we see the core gameplay and how it relies heavily on its  license. For every great production value related moment we are treated to some mind numbing gameplay. A rental for the fans and maybe a buy for that little kid who can’t wait to play Dead space when he is old enough (yes let’s try and enforce the rating system people).

Gameplay      2/5
Graphics        3/5
Sound         2.5/5
Replay        2.5/5

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The Play offs have started.

The last hockey game I bought for full price was Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey for the N64, since then I haven’t really fallen in love with any new hockey games. Sure, I’ve played my share but nothing has captured the frenzy of the old hockey games and has left me wondering if maybe my expectations are a bit too high.  No, I haven’t been under a rock or anything, I’ve played and kept up to date on the newer NHL games but nothing has really stood out enough for me to merit a purchase.

When talks were brewing about NHL 2K10 utilizing the Wii Motion Plus accessory I was really excited to see how evolutionary this title might turn out to be. This excitement was due to the fact that the last sports title I played that utilized the Motion Plus was the excellent Tiger Woods 10. In the end it’s the actual utilization of this little gizmo that will either make or break this title.

So does NHL 2k10 have what it takes?

Gameplay
I’m rather glad that we have this healthy competition going for NHL games. When two or more developers take on a sport you really get to see the creativity come out in each iteration. Where I would call the “other developer” one that goes to fine tuning the gameplay experience, I will give 2K the edge in providing sheer value. Bonus points for 2K for being first to bring hockey to the Wii. What clearly separates the 2K series in the end is its pick up and play arcade-like feel, where as I find the other hockey game out there has become more of a hockey simulator. Now don’t get me wrong, if you feel that the sim approach is what you love then you can certainly replicate that here. One of the features is the ability to tweak every aspect of the game (the 2k sliders) which makes the 2K10 a more robust offering.

Score!!!

In terms of modes you have your normal assortments- starting with season mode, franchise, mini rink, play offs, online, and pond hockey. With the option of having a no hassle quick match online or off, things are kept simple for those of us who might be overwhelmed with the options. There is even a mode to have your Mii become a seasoned hockey player. The actual bevy of play modes are sure to keep the fans of the sport hooked. The game does a great job of offering an auto sign in option the moment the disc is booted but despite all its intentions I found match making to be a frustrating waiting game almost any time of the day. I suppose the real blame lies in the fact that a large majority of Wii owners are not online nor divulging their attention to other fine games on the platform. Elaborating on the Mii integration the title offers themed motion controlled games that focus on the actual play mechanics of hockey. Modes that showcase goalie skills, shoot outs, passing, and dekeing get their own motion controlled challenge. I hate to call any of these mini games since they are far from a party offering; the reason being most of these motion controls are not as simple to grasp and master as you would want for a mini game. Add in also the fact that really there are just 5 different types of games that don’t beckon multiple replays. I know we all hate mini games as a stand alone concept but I believe almost any sports game on the Wii could benefit from a couple of light party style mini games thrown for variety online or off. Online wise there is nothing better than having a league match where you control just one player. Having ten people play with you is a rare achievement in online hockey. It’s a shame though that the Wii Speak isn’t being bundled with this game since most people online are mute.

What this title lacks in the game play department is a true identity, it begins as an arcady experience that tries to dive into sim territory with somewhat fair motion controls. It’s a decent effort but nothing really revolutionary let alone evolutionary. The real drawback is that the package is almost identical to the other consoles offerings save for the small Mii features and that just won’t do.

The controls require the use of a nunchuck as expected with the alternate option going to the classic controller. New this year is the Wii Motion Plus which technically should offer added precision and take this game to exciting heights.
The key word there was “should” since the application of the Motion Plus peripheral is a mixed bag. Flicking the controller to pass is horrendously inaccurate and trying to poke check and tackle someone by thrusting the controller feels ridiculous. What they did manage to nail is the goalie controls that have you face the Wiimote and nunchuck at each other to stop some speedy shots. Granted it’s not as fast of a reaction time as I would have wanted but does the job well. Taking a shot however feels amazing, the further you draw back the remote the more power you can expect to utilize. It is very subtle but just enough to make you appreciate it.

Another good application is the slight stick control you achieve by holding down on the D-pad and using the Wiimote to move your stick to evade incoming attackers. This creates a type of dekeing that is unrivaled on any console. No longer are you limited to idiotic button presses, now your control of the puck is all in your wrists. These applications are far from excellent but do lay out the framework which should help create a more immersible experience next year. The rest of the controls are fairly well laid out with movement allocated to the control stick while shooting and passing respectively being kept to the A and B buttons; finally turbo and backward skating are assigned to Z and C. With respects to passing and shooting you still have to hold the button down and flick the Wiimote to complete the move, honestly I would recommend you turn on pointer passing for your offline sessions since it feels more like an evolution than the motion controls.

At the end of the day it seems like the game really can be played with the same level of immersion without the Motion Plus however the dekeing controls are just so delightful that you might as well try it for yourself.

Now motion plus enhanced.

For the next iteration they should focus on the soccer control blue print ala the fine Winning Eleven series. There are small elements of that here such as pointer passes but unless they treat this sport for what it is (fast paced strategic game play) these problems may repeat year after year.

I will warn you about the Wii Speak utilization, the peripheral is tied to a 16 digit code so go ahead and invest in it. Chatting during a game is smooth and the Wii Speak channel gives you all that in-game access. You’re never really disconnected at any point during team selection to the moment the puck drops. The best moment seems to be when you’re in an online 10 player league match and then are sent to the box to chat with your rival for fighting. Online hockey deserves voice chat! It’s a shame that the peripheral is tied so strongly to a serial code.

Graphics
Things are kept really simple here which is somewhat sad. I find it amusing where other sports titles go out of there way to push the graphical limits of the console, the only game that truly lacks behind is hockey. I’m not just speaking just of the Wii offering, I’m talking about all the console versions. We have seen football, soccer, basketball, baseball, and countless other sports improve drastically each year but the hockey games just seem to get a better reflection mapping on the ice.

Who has a Wii here and is Online??

The Wii version seems to have horrendous cut out crowds and horrible reflection maps. Players do look like the real life counter parts albeit some stiff facial animation. Moving on the positive side of things the shadow works and player animations are very impressive. In fact all those gripes are forgiven once you see and entire arena in motion. For what it’s worth the animation saves this title from looking truly last gen. Still this is a bare minimum and things need to be stepped up drastically next year.

Sound
The standard array of sound effects you’d hear in any hockey game are here. With decent crowd reactions and fairly well done commentating. I found it impressive that they do a recap at the end of each period, despite sounding a tad bit vague it’s definably an extra effort that is appreciated on the Wii. The sound effects are sharp and well done except for the post ricochet which ends up sounding a bit too loud and fake. Musically the game has a decent selection of tracks that are catchy and mainstream. Nothing like hearing Lupe Fiascos’ Superstar the moment you score the first goal.

There should be a drinking minigame in every hockey game

Replay
The sheer amount  of things to do will keep you occupied for some time, with tons of modes designed to test your hockey skills. Obviously creating a well rounded online experience with leader boards insure this is an exceptional offering on the Wii. I only wish there were creative Motion Plus themed mini games designed outside the constructs of the game that were more geared towards a party expierence (I can’t believe I just wrote that). Maybe I just expected a bit too much but a good example was how Tiger Woods 10 handeled these options. It’s just about the quality of the offerings.
Another mention to the spectacular online mode despite its horrendous match making option. If you know 10 people who own a Wii (by now we all know at least 50) get them to buy this game and play as a league, I believe this is the greatest online experience on the Wii since Smash Bros. Brawl.

Verdict
NHL 2K10 is a hockey game without an identity. It dances around the fine line of arcade vs. sim without leaning to any one side. It’s a big deal they broke ground on the Wii with a more than decent effort but things need to improve as far as controls and graphics. The list of options and production values won’t win any awards but do deliver a good hockey game. If you own just a Wii and are a hockey fan then this is a must buy; however if you own any other console you might want to rent and see if the 2K series is right for you.  Either way give this game some of your attention.

Gameplay          3/5
Graphics        2.5/5
Sound                  3/5
Replay                 3/5

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andPOP got the opportunity to try out 2K Sports’ latest hockey title, NHL 2K10. We had the chance to play the game and talk with the developers.

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Not necessarily a sequel to Nintendo’s hit Wii Fit, Wii Fit Plus is more of an expansion and a tweaking to the original.

A big issue with the original Wii Fit (complete with pressure sensitive balance board) was that if one was doing a workout regeim, they couldn’t do two very important things when working out. 1) fitness gamers were unable to focus on speicific parts of the body (as they could in real world gyms), and 2) the process was so slow between sets and changes of workouts that the sweat gamers built up would die down in between exercises.

Luckily with Wii Fit Plus, these two major issues have been corrected, and in style! Gamers can now create their own customized workout routines according to their own unique schedules, preferences, and fitness goals.

Not only does Wii Fit Plus have all the original aerobic, yoga, strength training, and balance activities, but it also has over 20 new activities to increase the fun including skateboarding, platforming (Mario style) and even a Segway course! An estimated calorie burning calculator rounds out the new features in Wii Fit Plus giving all those gamers who are looking to get a little more active no excuse to stay on the couch.
That’s not all! Now for the first time, you can create a Mii for your pet by weighing them and creating custom Mii’s for them… that’s not to say your pet can exercise to Wii Fit Plus, but at least they won’t be left out of the family tracking lobby! Best of all, if you already own the balance board from the original Wii Fit, you can pick up this title for about $25!!! ($100 if you need the board as well).

Know what? this article is over, I’m heading out to pick this title up right now!

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The runaway hit gaming console of this generation finally receives a price cut.
Nintendo a couple days back officially announced the Wii will retail for (MSRP) $219.95.
A drop in $60 is sure to make you pick up that extra game or accessory for the system. I’ll suggest you check out every retail outlet for some killer bundle deals.

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Primed Perfection

Developer Retro Studios has my heart, what they have managed to create over the last 7 years is nothing short of the most influential and loved series to ever grace any console.
On my list of favorite games 2002’s Metroid Prime for the GameCube ranks the highest, simply put I love this title.

Till this day I am astonished at how a once unknown developer has taken such a beloved franchise and moved it into the third dimension whilst maintaining the classic series feel and essence. Very few games can match the sheer mood and ambiance that the Metroid Prime series is known for.
When I found out that the entire Prime series was coming to the Wii on one disc I just couldn’t believe Retro studios was going jam pack all that awesome sauce into one piece of media.

So what we get in Metroid Prime Trilogy is the excellent GameCube games, Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2 Echoes, and the Wii’s Metroid Prime 3 Corruption on a single disc with significant control and graphical enhancements for the GameCube originals plus a clever achievement system that ties all three titles into a seamless gaming experience. It has been a tremendous joy revisiting this entire series conveniently packaged into a metal collector’s edition case with an art pamphlet.  You couldn’t ask for a better deal on the Wii.

Yes this is a Wii game

Seriously, three tremendous gems packaged for around $59.99 is a steal!

Gameplay
The Prime series at first glance may look like a first person shooter but actually takes the more appropriate title of First Person Adventure.  They employ a lot of exploration, tons of back tracking, zany morph ball puzzles, some delightful first person platforming, and clever battles.  In fact each one of the sub genres within the series could very well be a game on its own; yet only in this series do we see such elements blend in a harmonious manner to create an unparalleled gaming experience.

All three titles focused on exploration of alien lands and trying to piece together a story of a greater threat. In the case of Prime 1 you’ll find yourself organically navigating the land to finally confront the final boss. This traversing and exploration aspect feels so natural and that by the end you begin to realize the true magic of the games script and level design. Having locations that were once unreachable quickly become accessible throughout the adventure and uncovering secrets and weapon upgrades never felt more satisfying. On the topic of upgrades expect to see a typical Metroid stereotype of losing your suit powers during the beginning sequence. This is forgivable for Prime 1 but by Prime 2 you feel slightly cheated and a tad bit sad that you’d have to go around and reclaim the upgrades that were yours to begin with again, thankfully this mechanic is tossed away for Prime 3. What all three games do well is create a layered world that beckons to be explored with the various weapons upgrades and insanely cool visors.

Control wise the first two games of the series get a much needed boost as these were original GameCube titles. By applying the same blueprint from Prime 3 the controls (thanks to the IR sensor) are smooth and refreshingly accurate. In fact I went back to the original Cube titles and found the controls very limiting. You visors and beam selection is smartly given to the plus and minus buttons that now overlay the screen and let you freely select the visor or weapon of you choice. Movement is set to the nunchuck and shooting and jumping is set to A and B on your Wiimote. The lock on ability is given to the Z trigger on your nunchuck and finally missiles are now selectable by pressing down on the D-Pad.  It is a smart utilization of the Wiimote and nunchuk and feels as intuitive as it is natural. I would strongly recommend that you select advanced controls in the options to get the best results. In advanced, the dead zone of your targeting is minimized giving you a sharper turning radius and faster left and right movement. Trust me it’s worth it.

Prime 1
The gameplay focus is on what wiped out the Chozo of Talon IV with different regions on the planet that need to be explored to solve this mystery. You’ll find yourself going from desert ruins to scenic glaciers to underground mining labs in some of the most diverse landscapes in any of the Metroid series. You begin to unravel the space pirates (your enemies) research and find the missing link to this poison that plagues Talon IV. Along the way expect tons of morphball puzzles and some very interesting story telling thanks in part to your scan visor. Very ambient with tons of cool weapons and memorable boss encounters. Prime 1 ranks as one of the best in this trilogy set.

Prime 2
Often compared to Majora’s Mask from the Zelda series, this iteration has the same gameplay mechanics as its predecessor but with the inclusion of light and dark worlds. Samus answers a distress signal to a planet and finds herself in a conflict between the Luminoth and the dark world menaces known as the Ing. Utilizing ammunition for her beam cannons you are thrust into a world which houses both a light side and a dark side that can be traversed by going through portals. With a lot more boss fights and tons of cool cinematic moments you soon realize the same poison from talon IV has had a hand in the disruptions on this new planet and face off against a new but somewhat familiar foe.
What begins as a side story soon ensues a deep quest to restore Luminous to its normal state.
With tons of secrets and some fine vistas to explore your objective is all about restoring light to the dark and collecting mystical keys to the Ing Hideout. Echoes was less about natural flow and more about objectives based gameplay which to some extent needed to be there since Luminous is dauntingly large and equally complex.

One of the gigantic boss encounters you'll face

Prime 3
Heralded as a return to the series roots while wrapping up the dark Samus/Phazon story arc, Prime 3 was developed for the Wii  and released almost a year ago. Weapon upgrades are handled in traditional Metroid fashion with each upgrades replacing your old one. A greater focus is laid on story telling and small investigative work in uncovering where the home planet of Phazon is located. With the most gorgeous levels  in the series you are not limited to just one planet and traverse to different parts of the galaxy.  Now mixed into the gameplay is an overdrive mode that runs on Phazon and players must use this hyper mode cautiously at the risk of Samus’ health.  Adding to that for the first time in Metriod history you get to use your Gunship in some really clever puzzles. Prime 3 showcases some of the finest boss fights and immersive story telling yet.
Since it was a Wii title the motion control implementation is natural and many of the motion interactive moments feel genuine and well thought out.

Graphics
On the visual front things are looking stellar as all three titles have received visual upgrades of which Prime 1 and 2 get the most out of it since they were last generation titles. The entire set runs at 480p and thankfully in widescreen mode. Prime 1 gets a lighting and texture overhaul with environments now looking crisper and more vibrant than ever before. This truly is evident in some dynamic lit rooms and when looking at enemy characters up close.  Prime 2 utilized a different rendering tech and so the upgrades may not be as apparent as in the first but they are definitely there. Visually Prime 2 does lag a bit behind but it’s still an upgrade when compared to the GameCube release. I find the reason may be in its design of the dark world and some dreary locations that really can’t benefit from slight visual upgrades. But don’t let that fool you as the game does look stunning for a Wii title. It’s rather sad that games that were released last generation with a small visual upgrade can stand as the best looking Wii games but then again I believe it’s a testament to Retro and their artistic ability.

Prime 3 was developed for the Wii as mentioned before, and its visual fidelity is noticeable right from the beginning; even though the game is a year old it still stands at the top tier of  Wii titles. Really they didn’t have to but Retro went in and actually did some minor visual work in Prime 3.  All three games are oozing with lush environments that cause you to stand there and stare. With dynamic lighting, tons of level geometry, and some awesome hand drawn textures  no two areas look alike. Just try and marvel at the lattice work on each corridor in Elysia and then be stunned as you traverse the high tech solitude of Sanctuary Fortress.

I should tell you that during my review word got out that some effects work was missing from Prime 1, namely slight water dynamics and some gun effects. This seems to be true and a questionable omission on Retro’s part. By no means does it affect the entire games visual scope nor does it hamper on any of the ambiance but its removal does prove odd for the fans who own the original. Above all let me stress that this is very very very minor and I guarantee 90 percent of people won’t even notice this. Still the original had some slight water dynamics and subtle effects like your gun freezing over when loading an ice beam.

I should also let you know that since all three games are selectable from the main menu there was no need to implement each titles personal menu and load out screen, a minor sadness to those of us who have seen the stellar load screens of Prime 1. Seriously it was the best menu load out I had ever seen. In the end the menu and selection screens are well done and follow the trilogy set’s own art style.

Sound
Someone go give Kenji Yamamoto an award! Prime Trilogy houses some of the best work he has ever done. All the music is eerily beautiful, almost like a galactic opera that fuses all sorts of electronic music into one harmonious symphony.  Some of the best ambient music is here and a fair amount of it is remixed/ re-imaginations of the original 2D soundtracks. But it’s not just the beautiful music that will catch you ear, a lot of smart effects sounds and ambient location noises complete the entire audio package. Whether it’s the beautiful chorus harmony of Elysia complimented with the turbulent sounds of airborne engine thrusters or the isolated ruins of Chozo and its echoing hallways which compliment the down tempo electronic music; it’s clear that a balance is created in each location through ambient sounds and awesome musical accompaniment.

Power up

Prime 3 takes it a step further with tons of dialog and well acted moments between you and the other bounty hunters. The voice work is top notch and while our heroine remains silent everyone around her certainly has a lot to say.
Turn up the volume on your surround sound set since it does run the standard Dolby Prologic II and defiantly ranks as one of the Wiis finest audio experiences.

Replay
You have three stellar games each taking about 20 hours or so on your fist go to complete .
Add to that hours of replay with an achievement system that is taken from prime 3 and now implemented for the entire trilogy. You collect prime Credits that can be exchanged for items like story boards, music, art, diorama sets, and small cosmetic upgrades ala a new skin for you armor or a virtual bobble head for your ship.  Combine the fact tat you can send friend credits and receive them via Wifi and you have an achievements system that rivals the trophies set on PSN. It’s sad that other games on Wii don’t do this.

Add to the whole list is a reworked version of Prime 2′s multiplayer now fully reworked to take advantage of IR motion controls and viola! A perfectly good time waster with you buddies; just don’t expect to play them online since it’s all local here.
Easily clocking at 80 hours I found myself completely in love with the tons of unlockables on this disc.
It’s a title that you’ll come back to again and again. The single player story alone will take up most of your time and should you dive deeper and complete 100 percent, you’ll definitely be treated to more than just an extended ending.

Verdict
The finest trilogy in gaming has come back as a stellar value package. There is no finer example of modern gaming than the Prime series. The innovations, style, music, and game play mechanics have stood the test of time. This is A MUST BUY FOR ALL WII OWNERS.

There are no excuses anymore if you own a Wii. Go out now and get this.
Just like Ocarina of time and Mario 64 before it, the Prime series is the crowning achievement of a classic franchise revived for next gen gaming. I can guarantee that there is no other gaming experience like this.

Gameplay  5/5
Graphics    4.5/5
Sound          5/5
Replay         5/5

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Welcome to GWAR into your home this October with Guitar Hero 5!

No tricks here folks just treats as Guitar Hero rolls out a fine month of DLC for Guitar Hero 5.

It all starts with a Queens Of The Stone Age Pack featuring three tracks from their debut album, with Dave Grohl being featured on Avon you know it’s going to be a blast on drums. The week after that we get three tracks from Billy Squier with “The Stroke” which funny enough was the first Guitar Hero custom ever! Coming up next is Mike Patton’s favourite band Wolfmother featuring three tracks from their forthcoming album  Cosmic Egg.

The second most exciting pack of DLC in October would have to be The Classic Rock 2 Track Pack featuring another epic from Peter Frampton with  “Show Me The Way (live)”. Canadian rockers Triumph make their debut on plastic instruments with their hit “Lay It On The Line” which is sure to give guitarists a run for their money. Finishing it all off is a track from The J. Geils Band “Freezeframe” which is sure to make you go “Oh YEAH! That song.”

The most exciting announcement however is The All Hallows’ Eve track pack with the debut of GWAR’s “GOR GOR” so make sure you don’t wear your Sunday’s best when you sit down to play with all the blood and umm “GWAR juice” coming out of your screen. Adding to the Halloween spirit Marilyn Manson submits his smash hit “The Beautiful People” and we finally get an authentic horror-punk band with The Misfits “Astro Zombies” (let’s hope it’s the original with Danzig).

Downloadable Content – October 1

Queens Of The Stone Age Track Pack

* “Mexicola”
* “Avon”
* “How to Handle a Rope”

Downloadable Content – October 8

Billy Squier Track Pack

* “The Stroke”
* “Everybody Wants You”
* “When She Comes To Me”

Downloadable Content – October 15

Wolfmother Track Pack

* “Pilgrim”
* “California Queen”
* “Cosmic Egg”

Downloadable Content – October 22

Classic Rock 2 Track Pack

* The J. Geils Band – “Freeze Frame”
* Peter Frampton – “Show Me The Way (Live)”
* Triumph – “Lay It On The Line”

Downloadable Content – October 29

All Hallows’ Eve Track Pack

* GWAR – “Gor Gor”
* Marilyn Manson – “Beautiful People”
* The Misfits – “Astro Zombies”

http://guitarhero.com

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Elementary my dear. After almost a year and then some we finally get another Layton game in our grubby little hands. It’s sort of funny as I mentioned in the preview that Japan is on its 4th title and the series is fairly popular there and here is hoping it catches steam in North America. The title is developed by Level 5 who have been handling this small franchise called DRAGON QUEST. The thing that strikes me about The Professor Layton series is how it can be called a true successor to old-school point and click adventure games. Almost every artistic scenery is littered with interactive madness, whether it’s coins that need to be uncovered, a scene to be analyzed or your traditional brain teaser that needs to be solved. Combine the fact that the game follows a very well told story which runs at a decent 12 hours with over 150 puzzles and you have a solid title that is a must buy for gamers of any age group but especially those nostalgic for the old school adventure games.

I've got two tickets to paradise..

Hint 1 – Gameplay I’m going to assume you have a vague idea of what the original title was all about, for the sake of not explaining the mechanics and minute details of the original so I’ll try and keep it more concise and short. The game hasn’t changed much from the original, actually it hasn’t changed any of the mechanics at all from the original. But that’s not really such a bad thing considering the original title was stellar. So for the sequel small refinements will suffice. The meat of the gameplay is the actual point and click story driven puzzle madness of an adventure. You’re taken to a couple of different locations where you uncover coins that you’ll use for hints (since the professor won’t give hints to freeloaders) and carefully follow an intriguing mystery that will have you mulling over countless brain teasers/puzzles. These puzzles are the real star of the show here, they’re genuine, intriguing, and just fascinating to solve. The control and navigation is simple and intuitive. You really feel like a detective at times when whipping out the stylus to solve a devious puzzle. I do like the trace paper option for those puzzles that require you to draw a fair amount; basically you can apply a tracing paper layer over the puzzle area and draw away or note down your thoughts. A nice touch that surely heightens the gameplay. It’s so refreshing to refer back to your working notes on some of the later more tough puzzles in the game. The game has you traversing some interesting places that range from an express train and its frequent stop overs to a quaint European village, a museum and even a castle. Each location has tons of areas to explore. Layton runs at a fairly brisk pace and things never seem to let up or get too intense, I must say it’s an enjoyable ride that will keep your brain active and sharp. Lastly the small inclusion of a “pet” you recieve early on in the game is a nice touch that by the  adventure’s end becomes one of the longest running puzzles- no pun intended for those who know. Hint  2 – Graphics I love the look and feel of this title. There aren’t many titles that utilize such beautiful 2D art and have such wonderfully crafted locations. The art style is very reminiscent of European animation with a good dose of Japanese anime injected into it. The characters are drawn with so much personality and detail that it’s often hard not to just observe a location and its bystanders just because of how it all comes together. Just like the previous title, I was blown away by the quality of the animated (and fully voice acted) cartoon sequences thrown in to tell the tale. I wish there were more of these but I do realize the DS Cart has its limitations. Overall the presentation seems like it was given a good polish and shines the entire game. This is an adventure game with brain teasers so you cant expect a robust 3D engine to be running things, so having a talented 2D art team really suits this title and makes it one of those stylistically gorgeous DS titles. Hint 3 – Sound The fully voice acted bits are truly amazing to view and listen to on your DS, the voice acting is done well and makes you wish you wouldn’t have to read dialog boxes for the majority of the title. In terms of ambiant sound the game does its fair share with decent bits like ambiant train noises, sliding doors, etc. anyhing to compliment the tone of the game and create that special ambiance. The music for the puzzles remains almost the same chime tune. It’s definatly complimentary for those puzzles but can get on your nerves if your just hearing it and not playing the game. The other musical selections are fairly well done and have an almost french accordian feel to it, very appropriate and soothing.

Hint 4 -  Replay This is the only area where the title might not fully deliver. That’s not to say the adventure is not satisfying nor is it not worth revisiting but essentially once you are done a puzzle and the solution is understood you can’t really have the same level of challenge doing it again can you? So despite the fact that there are a few puzzles with multiple answers, the game is certainly fun but once finished you aren’t going to run into any new reasons to replay it. Granted you could pull this title out after a few months and still be left guessing since you’ve long forgotten the solution but that’s the nature of almost every adventure/ brain teaser title. What you do get that will keep you hooked for a good few months is the DS puzzle of the week. Every week you can connect the game online and download to your Cart a brand new puzzle to solve. I adore this feature since some of the puzzles are quite challenging and will have you scratching your head. Granted you won’t have this feature for the entire year, but while it lasts its something to praise and enjoy. SO GO GET THIS ASAP – lest you want to miss out on this feature. Solution SO without typing too much I’ll summarize what we have. This is a definite buy to all you adventure nuts and  brain teaser fans. If you are someone who is into mad casual games and prefers playing brain age or big brain academy let yourself graduate to this title and get a bit more entertainment out of your DS. It is a great ride and has tons of interesting teasers that once solved (without any outside help) give you that RARE sense of accomplishment. I did not feel a single minute was wasted during the 12 hour adventure, it was challenging and very satisfying. GO GET THIS. Gameplay  4.5 /5 Graphics     3.5 /5 Sound           3.5 /5 Replay             3  /5

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Let’s start off this list of announcements with the launch date for Wii Fit plus: hitting store shelves October 4th 2009! The game disc alone will cost only $20! Giving you yet another reason to keep that balance board and your lifestyle totally active.

And starting September 13th The DSi will get pink and white colors added to its selection.
I know what youre saying, where is the Wii love? well come this holiday the Wii mote, nunchuck and Wii motionplus will come in black! could a Black Wii be far off???

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ENTER THE MANSION

Layton, you’ve done it again.
Professor Layton is one of those unique titles that’s really hard to explain. The game isn’t just a puzzle/brain teaser compilation, it’s not entirely an old school adventure, nor is it a complete role playing game… its all of these combined into one of the most intriguing packages available on the DS and DSi. Developed by the fine folks at Level 5, who are responsible for some serious gems in gaming, the North American sequel should be on store shelves as we speak and it’s a title that’s not to be missed out on.

Now this was my first press preview, I arrived at The Charles Rundle Mansion, in downtown Toronto, a quaint little part with many old English styled houses. Walking by the front gate I was greeted by a big lazy cat that was perched up on the porch and watched me and my friend walk into the mansion. I must say Nintendo does know how to set the appropriate mood for each of their games, I felt almost as if I had stepped into the old country village (Saint Mystere) from the Professor Layton series.  I was greeted by our Nintendo reps and sent coin hunting amongst the antique lower level. They actually hid gold chocolate coins in the furniture!! We found a couple around the picture frame and then proceeded to the dinning room where actual puzzles from the game were on display and we had to solve them. While trying to solve these large puzzles (mostly posted on to cardboard) we were told to have some refreshments should things get too difficult and ask the Professor for any hints we might need. ‘The Professor?’ I asked
‘Yes, he should be on his way down.’

Low and behold we saw a tall gentleman dressed as Layton himself. He actually had a pretty spot on British accent to boot. This was pretty cool.

The professor helped me and my buddy through a very trying puzzle that was akin to Sudoku- in a sense where we had to group and divide a gathering of trees by including one of each type in every grouping.
Tired by my buddy Roy’s lack of organization I parted to try out the real game itself. We were then taken to the living room where a copy of the game was running on a couple of DS and DSi. My play session was for about 40 minutes to an hour, in which I only managed to solve 5 puzzles and take in the opening of the game, I must say in that amount of time I was amazed at how appropriate the setting and mood was to try out this title. The game feels like a true homage to old school adventure titles but with tons of more interesting game play mechanics put in and connected to an intriguing main story line.

I gotta set my house the same way

Now I did play the original and was taken completely by its high presentation and creative story telling, not to mention how insanely cool some of these puzzles were.  Fast forward a couple of years and we have the Sequel (Japan is on its 4th already!!).

The thing they kept in tack for the sequel among others is its high presentation and art direction. I just adored the hand drawn back drops that screamed old school adventure games.  Combine that with some really flashy animations snippets and you have a DS title unlike any other. But its not all about the flash factor, this game is a serious step up and a natural pick for those who grew tired of brain age and other
“mind minigames”.

I’m always charmed by the accessibility DS games provide, it’s something that rarely lends itself to gimmicky controls or game play and with Layton and the Diabolical box it’s fairly evident. The controls and mechanics weren’t broken so there was no need to fix anything. All that was added was an original tale and some pretty hard puzzles.

For our preview we sat in and played the train ride section and with more than half a dozen puzzles we had our hands full with some unique challenges that bring forth the old charm of accomplishment! It’s hard these days playing games where the sheer challenge of it relies not on quick reaction and mastery of controls but actual thinking.

Me and my buddy Roy with the professor himself!..im on the left

A tremendous difference I noticed this time around was that the puzzles in the main adventure actually had something to do with the setting and people around it. In the previous title my main complaint was how some puzzles seemed highly irrelevant to the setting and quest at hand, a guy talking to me about a murder suddenly presented me a puzzle to do with tooth picks. This time around things make a ton of sense and thus never break any immersive experience you are having. For example in the train compartment Luke’s suitcase is on the bed and since you’re almost ready to depart you are left with the task to cram your suitcase with some items whilst not overlapping any item. A good improvement over the last title and with brain teasers that will leave you wanting more the main adventure promises more of the same good old game play

Believe me when I say it’s not frustrating nor is it boring, as if they know how and which puzzles to select things are kept on a steady learning curve. Things getting a little too hard? Well just like the original coins provide you with Professor Layton’s hints. You’ll rely solely on the Professor himself as you embark on an epic adventure.

Just how I want to get every game from now on... with chocolate coins

Oh and this time around it is quite an adventure, you see the professor’s mentor has been mysteriously murdered and the only clue is a ticket to an express train where you’ll find the true nature of the adventure.  During the story you discover that the Elysian box has something to do with this murder and countless other problems and it’s up to you and the professor to solve this “Diabolical mystery”.

The title has about 150 puzzles and the story mode is said to stretch about 12 hours with the option to play some of the puzzles again and a couple of side mini games for good measure. Returning again is the awesome download puzzles of the week and from the last time I heard it will run for a good long while-I think it was 32 weeks but let me confirm that for the review. So far like the original my only reservations are the opening animations set such a high bar that later on you’re begging to see some more but all your ever treated to is some dialog boxes. The only other complaint I had was any sort of co-op style adventure that could be incorporated to the main quest, granted the title isn’t broke but we should see something more added besides the stellar story update but then again that’s me being very picky and otherwise this seems to be one amazing title!
The title is out now so watch for our review very very very soon!

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METROID PRIME: TRILOGY ON SALE NOW!!

This week we saw the release of my favorite game of all time, Metroid Prime! Now bundeled with Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Metroid prime 3: Corruption to create the METROID PRIME TRILOGY SET for Nintendo Wii.
Prime 1 and 2 now get a facelift with true widescreen presentation and subtle rendering effects that visually enhance the game (we are talking bloom lighting and sharper textures) while Prime 3 gets some minor texture enhancements and some smart loading fixes. Adding to the list of improvements to an already stellar game are achievements that unlock special content through out your progress as well as all new control schematics for Prime 1 & 2 utilizing the Wiimote. All these wonderful games are on ONE DISC!!! It comes with a sleek and beautiful metal case and an art booklet! This wonderful collectors edition package can be yours for the price of a single Wii game- 59.99

You have to be a FOOL not to get this for you Wii! Seriously let me stress at how amazing these titles are and what they have contributed to modern gaming as we know it. Bottom line- You own a Wii? GET THIS NOW!

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Get it? Mewtwo, Newtwo… I’m sorry.

Anyway, The Pokemon Company Intl. and Nintendo have announced two brand-new games coming out in 2010 for the apparently still-kicking Pokemon franchise.  HeartGold and SoulSilver, which are updated versions of the classic Gold and Silver versions.

These new updated versions for the DS will include great graphics and controls, including touch screen controls and bringing back plenty of oldschool Poke-characters to Poke-capture with Poke-balls, Poke-train and Poke-battle!

And Poke is once again an adjective.

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Get the version that includes the motion plus!

A Glorious Swing!

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

You know a little more than a decade ago I remember golf breaking into the gaming scene.  Back then Tiger Woods was fast on his way to becoming a worldwide recognizable sports icon, which meant we were going to get a new game  franchise thrown our way. Besides the Hotshotz series of games, we had nothing really serious and cool on the consoles… well Mario Golf was definitely one of the better titles out there on the N64.

My first Tiger Woods PGA Tour experience was with the 2004 edition. I was amazed at how gorgeous this game looked running on a ps2, it played like a deeper, realistic version of the famed Hotshotz golf games. Suddenly we had an alternative to the arcade-like golf games on our consoles.

Over the years I found that with each new offering things seemed to improve just barely  so  it wasn’t worth picking up essentially the same game year after year. I stopped playing the Tiger Woods PGA Tour games simply because of two reasons; a golf game could only offer so much back then (being a rather slower paced sport than most) and secondly, the series was becoming tiresome and most of the newer itirations pretty much offered the exact same experience.  The 2004 edition was good enough for me to hold on to.

I  kept tabs on the series thanks to some die hard golf friends of mine, but in terms of actually returning to the world of Tiger Woods PGA Tour. I wasn’t even sure if that would be a possibility. I’m going to tell you right up front, I never dreamed of actually loving a golf game. My friends, I love this golf game. This is one of the most rewarding sports title out there and the finest golf game thus far. The reason? Motion Plus.

Imagine everything  great about the series and then add a control scheme that creates such an immersive experience that you end up dragging 6 of your buddies who hate golf and golf games to try it out. That’s exactly what I did and we collectively as a group could not believe how much fun could be had with this new iteration on the Wii.

Game play

Firstly you’ll notice that the game boasts half a dozen new locations and two new golfers for the fans, a decent selection of golfers can be unlocked through the single player season mode and challenge mode. Courses are earned in similar fashion, however a lot of them are available from the get go. Noteworthy editions on the disc such as  the Banff Springs course ( A ps3 and 36- DLC)  is already included on the Wii version of the game.

Single player offerings have tons of modes from which you can play, of which the primary one being PGA Season mode, which has you creating a custom character of your choice to take to the greens.  Sadly the options in create-a-character felt like a step backward from previous iterations. Gone are the days where you could create goofy misshaped abominations.  This time around the parameters have been tweaked as to give you a more humanesque character; its deep enough but no where near as complex as it had once been. Now once you’ve created your character you have some personalized style swings to choose from and plenty of golf related attributes to keep track of. You can then level up these attributes and increase areas such as luck, drive distance, spin and more.  I must say over the course of the entire PGA tour (some 50 events) you will grow a lot and end up spending most of your hard earned points tailoring your character.

Now the other main single player option is the FedEx cup, a four event finals session designed for those who don’t want to play the entire PGA Tour. I am very pleased that they included this option since some players won’t have the patience to go for the entire season. Most sports games should include such an alternative.

Great moments in Tiger history.

Lastly you can take on the Challenge mode. This mode is extremely cool and has you play through certain famous moments in the sports history to either recreate that moment or rewrite PGA history; with three difficulties to choose from, you will be playing this one over and over.  I loved challenge mode since it takes a simple game of golf and adds creative objectives. It made things more interesting and further opened up the real stars of the PGA and some of its most memorable moments. You are treated to a short video of Tiger himself explaining any back story for his own challenges; a beautiful touch that I wish incorporated all of the other famous golfers into the mix.

If you want to play right away either by yourself or with friends the Play now option lets you dive into any standard game of golf with any number of players, chose the front or back 9 or the full 18 holes.

Now from the main menu the Game Modes options lets you pick up different options and categories of golf games for 1 to 4 players.  It divides these categories into Traditional, Arcade, and mini-games.
Traditional houses a total of 9 serious golf modes, everything from skins(player with the lowest score takes the money for that hole), to bloodsome, greensome, match play(each hole is its own contest), stableford (entire structure is based on points earned during each hole) and more.

Arcade mode houses its own brand of fun with 6 available games modes that include elimination, battle golf (surprising twist with each holes winner taking any one of the losers clubs!), one ball (where in you all play with one ball and the one to sink it wins the round!), team one ball, disc golf and rings (precision shots through various rings to earn points). Fun for the hardcore and casuals alike.

The last mode is the Minigames, which includes mini-golf, T I G E R (a variation of horse with a shot for shot competition), targets (hit the targets), capture the flag (zone style capture play) and target to target. Strickly designed for the casual although its not limited to.

If thats not enough then the Online mode will let you take your skills around the world via EA LIVE and from there you have ranked/un-ranked games, daily, weekly, and monthly tournaments to play through, casual and advanced lobbies, to create the most advanced online infrastructure ever imagined on the Nintendo Wii.

See the genius is the EA Live account which logs you into their servers, from there you are free to look for games and actually send chat messages to people you just played or people on your  Wii address book.  With the click of the 2 button you can navigate this organizer service and then decide to go forth and enjoy all the online game play you can handle. There is a drawback however, while playing online you can’t see your opponent and are only treated with shot tracking and other statistical information such as strokes and running score.  This is what they call “simultaneous play” and it sort of  makes sense,  yet  I just really wanted to see my opponent online and his avatar interacting.  It’s strange when playing some random person online and only being able to see their shot trails but that is the nature of the game online.

By no means is the online play boring, in fact its interesting and fairly competitive. For your consideration a shot timer is always ticking ensuring that you aren’t left waiting on someone to finish a hole.  The online component is designed to make the most of the Wii and it definitely does not disappoint.  A minor problem I found was that the lobbies have connection problems, online games however ran smoothly (with good reason) and disconnection during game was very rare.  Rounding the list  Leader board features further ensures this will be a well visited component.

you'll love disc golf.

But if you want to play offline and want to just play the minigames only then a party minigames option is there to satisfy you cravings. It was a bit redundant at first to see minigames in the other game select options and have it as a standalone in the main menu but on closer inspection youll realise these minigames are for multiple wii motes and are structured as a party mode. This mode includes gems like golf cart collector and a game that has you juggling a golf ball with your club. Truly some of the most fun games exist on this mode that will have you battling your buddies for hours.

Control

The Wii Motion plus assisted controls are the real star of this game and the reason to own Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10. Honestly if you don’t have the motion plus GO OUT AND GET ONE! There is little to no doubt in calling the Wii version the better golf game of its console brethren simply because of the accuracy of the motion plus unit. All you need to play this game is the Wiimote and Wii motion plus attachment.

The real core game play deals with you picking one of three types of control styles. All Play, Standard and Advanced. All Play disables any hook or slice you can do (whilst twisting your wrist), shows you the balls flight path and eliminates any of the advanced functionality of the Wii motion plus. If you have never ever ever ever swung a golf club or have no control over your own hands then this mode is for you. It trades the games challenge and innovation for accesibility. Standard is the mode most people will be playing under. With no flight trajectory visual aid your left with an estimate marker of where the ball might land. You have control on fade and draw (slice and hook) just by twisting your wrists. When you’ve struck the ball you can add spin whilst in the air via the D-pad and shaking the Wiimote to achieve the desired curve on landing. Advanced mode removes the later two options and takes out any manual preset spin control and draw/fade tweaking. Absolute control is given to your swing and how you position your wrists when hitting the ball and how you follow through with your swing. It’s note worthy that each of these styles showcases 1:1 motion for the backswing and front follow through making this a very rewarding game to control.

Once on the tee you can use the A button to check your projected landing spot and move it left and right to adjust your aim. When using any club you can view how much percentage of a swing (judged by power and follow through) you require in order to make it to the selected area. Most of the time when you peak at 100% and try to push it farther the game will automatically pick the best club that will give you even more distance, keep going lower and the game will pick a suitable club that will be optimized for the shorter distance.  In the end you’re seeing how much power you need to exert to reach your desired marking. To take a swing simply hold the Wiimote facing down and press and hold the B trigger and swing, however if you want a practice shot then hold both A and B and you can see the hypothetical trajectory of your actual swing.

If you do not have the motion plus the game takes into account just the Wiimote accelerometer and how fast you swing, you can still try and curve the ball but these options are handled via games hud and result in what I think is a very scripted game – similar to the first Wii Sports golf offering.  I can tell you the game works well without it, but lacks the total control one gets with the accessory. New to this  series is an over haul of last years putting, aptly titled  precision putting. This option takes your back swing into account and applies your forward swings speed and power.  It’s harder and in my opinion more accurate. Lastly putt preview is available with the press of the minus button.

At this point you must be overwhelmed with the sheer depth and variety of the controls, fret not and know that once you begin the game simple tutorial messages will help you pick the best style of controls and then in detail explain them to you via Hank Haney, who is  someone Tiger trusts to get his swing just right. It’s a great touch that you can listen to him or read up on the tutorial.

The high point of the visuals.

Graphics

If there is one area where this game is somewhat lacking it has to be with some visual touches that are not up to standards. The animated crowds are somewhat polygonal and enjoyable only at a great distance, up close you can see the blurry and jaggy models and in some cases sprites far off. Some blurry textures sometimes even find their way into some distant trees and building units that make for an ugly site. It’s a sham too since most of the game looks outstanding.

The actual character models are decent and animate as you would expect them to be, with the create a player model looking fairly decent compared to the games all-star cast. There is a good amount of facial animation in regards to shot reactions and small gestural animation to convey the feelings appropriate for each shot. Most of the background elements could use some work since we all know the  Wii can create some beautiful visuals.

The courses are different altogether, with lush environments and articulated contours of the land; these are the real stars of the show. The textures on the courses are sharp and most obstacles are modeled very well with tons of foliage around. It’s not the best looking game on Wii but it has its bright points, namely when you pick a course and the sun is out. I find that the bright sun soaked (and cloudy with sunny breaks) weather really showcases the games visuals and pushes these dynamic weather effects to a higher level.

On the opposite end when things are cloudy and rainy for some reason the visuals look very dated. It’s as if the light engine is turned off, any depth of field is disabled and suddenly the environment is dull,not because of the weather, but a whole set of other visual reasons. The rain looks downright awful and most particle effects are such as blowing grass or leaves are from last gen. Trust me I’ve seen more scenic rainy conditions replicated beautifully on other Wii titles. Besides the horrible portrayal of overcast weather things still look pretty decent.
A long over due edition is Dynamic weather, where the game will connect with the Weather Network to replicate accurate live conditions on the famous courses across the globe. That’s insanely cool!

There are no out of this world effects to speak of since the game is carried out in a very controlled environment, but you’ll be happy to see slight water splash backs when raining, sand trap dust bursts, and even where the ball hits the ground the grass getting slightly dented . The small subtle visual cues are nicely done and never break you away from the game’s world.

Vs the low

I’m also glad the visuals did not take the simplified style approach as in Grand Slam Tennis because the game can push realistic visuals fairly well. It’s what the Tiger Woods series is known for and they should keep raising the visual bar as far as I am concerned and not opt out to what we have seen Madden and Grand Slam.

Sound.

For the most part sound is handled very well, with commentary handled just as it would on a PGA broadcast. The commentators are standard affair, with their pointers and critiques sounding delivered with conviction and humour. It’s all normal until you start playing with other friends and then depending on how each of you are doing the commentators will start picking apart or supporting each character. I’m not sure if this was intentional or not but in our group session one of our friend was getting really lucky with her shots which prompted some vicious commentating when she made a mistake, where as the other friend was playing consistently well and received an appropriate tone via the commentators for the entire play session. It wont blow your mind but some of the things these guys had to say ranged from standard golf banter to out right dissing. This, in a group play session is hilarious to tune into. I never knew golf could be such a ‘playa’ haters sport.
The ambient sound effects are also handled rather well thanks to the Dolby Digital set up. Using Pro-logic II on the Wii things feel just as they would when utilizing surround sound. The ambient noise is perfect and the crowd knows when to cheer and when to shut up.

Now when we are talking about actual in game music, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 has not equal! I know it’s not normal to have a golf game with exceptional music unless it’s a Mario golf game, but the soundtrack ranges from the appropriate almost Celtic vibe tunes to some insane beats. The cool soundtrack covers a wide range of electronic music from ambient electro, to down tempo, to drum and bass. I found myself jamming to the music before each swing and somehow it felt right.

Replay

I’ll keep this short since most of the play mechanics and options were already elaborated on. It’s a sports game, the replayability is nearly endless (until next year’s game comes out). The games single player season mode boasts 50 full events and it will take you a full week of hardcore playing or a month of normal play sessions to get to the top. Add in challenge mode that will help you improve your skill while immersing you into the history of golf and you already have a sports title that’s longer than most other games. The sheer number of modes available in traditional and arcade play extend the life span of this title. Add in minigames for those crazy multiplayer sessions and you’ll be amazed at how much fun these silly additions can be (specially the golf cart one) There’s nothing revolutionary but definitely make this game more than just a golf simulator. This game was designed to be played with friends so almost all the modes (except season, challenge and FedEx cup) are multiplayer friendly.

Add to that an online leader board system and ranked matches with daily live tournaments and you’ll be glued to this title for months on end. I have never played a sports title that had so much to offer offline and online. The competitive nature of the sport is translated perfectly through the myriad modes and creates what I will call the best buy for sports games. This is especially evident on the Wii and its inclusion of these Wii specific minigames and multiplayer options that leaves the other platform versions trailing behind.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 is a simple game to get into yet hard to master (much like real golf), it’s innovative, intuitive and a blast to play either single player or multiplayer. The online network is outstanding for a Wii title and with the plethora of modes and game play options you’ll never put this title down- Unless you hate golf in which case why are you even reading this review? This is the most value packed version of the game and worthy of a ton of praise. I honestly believe there is so much to do in this game.  It would be just as good  of a game without the motion plus, in terms of sheer value for your money, yet thanks to that little gizmo the game play soars above anything on the market as of this review.

Game play 5 / 5
Graphics 3.5 / 5
Sound 4.5 / 5
Replay 5 / 5

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Nintendo is giving us all a treat.

Flipnote Studio, a free download application for the DSi is currently available (again, for free) from the Nintendo DSi Shop. This application gives users the ability to create quick simple animations, or highly detailed cartoons in a similar fashion to old school notepad flipping.

Utilizing a set of simple (yet extremely useful) tools anyone, and I mean anyone, can create an animation of their own with ease. Amateur animators can then register on Hatena’s website, upload their animations, and even download other users animations and then edit them to their own taste. Flipnote animations may also be shared through the DSi’s local wireless feature as well as saved onto a SD card.

I had a chance to try out Flipnote at Nintendo’s E3 of the North and let me tell you, even with zero artistic ability and little interest in making a cartoon when I could be playing the new Super Mario Brothers Wii, I still had a blast with Flipnote and couldn’t put it down for a good 20 minutes while I finished my animation depicting a worm sliding across the screen.

Flipnote. For the DSi. Available now. Free.

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I’ve played Monster Hunter before, I’ve enjoyed it at first but then a few things always bugged me. First off I would always play it on the PSP, the screen was too small and the controls hurt my hands. Secondly, The online play would force me to use my PSP at home, something I am not a fan of (if I’m gaming at home, I want to play a console). Third, there was no local split screen type of gameplay. Finally, no one in North America really knew of Monster Hunter so it was tough to talk about it in public. Luckily, it looks like all this will soon change!

Monster Hunter Tri is coming to North America and Europe in 2010, and it’s coming on the Wii! With this new rendition, not only will we be able to play what the Japanese gamers have been able to enjoy for years, but we also get to enjoy it on a broader platform.

Monster Hunter Tri will have four player Online Co-op (a must for monster hunter titles), 2-player split-screen action (for when you have a chum over, and new underwater environments.

Thanks to Capcom, maybe the Monster Hunter craze will finally catch on in North America beyond the few PSP titles out there now.  The facts again: Monster Hunter, Wii, early 2010.

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Little Mac is back!

Watch out kid, this one is gonna knock you OUT!

So the review copy of Punch Out had finally arrived! Here was a game that honestly came out of nowhere. Thinking back six months ago, there was little to no clue what this new iteration had to offer. I was very curious to see how things would pan out but I won’t deny that I was a bit worried that this might just flop and tarnish the games legacy.

Before I dive in to this title, let’s look at some of its history! Punch-out was originally crafted as an arcade game back in 1984; with its success came the NES game titled Mike Tyson’s Punch-out!! (’87)– This was later changed since the contract with Tyson expired to Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream as the official NES game.

By then the arcades already sported a sequel to the original, titled Super Punch-Out!! This game then made its way onto the SNES and by 1994 we were glued to Super Punch-Out!!

What made these games so popular were its raw game play, original concept, and colorful personalities that gave it something more than a mere sports title ever could.

I have played the original NES version of the game and I liked it a lot! In fact one of andPOP’s seniors has quoted the original as his fav game ever! A lot was riding on this title to say the least. My biggest fear was that this new development studio – Next Level games- would not be able to capture that magic of the original. These fine people did bring us both iterations of the Mario Striker series, so you know Nintendo had some faith in them.

Tell your face to stop bothering my Fists!

So then… what do I have to say after playing the game?
I love it!

Round 1 – Game play
Now I’ll start off with the controls, the Wii is a very unique console in that there are always multiple control options for most of their games. Seems like motion only controls weren’t all that easy to pull of with a majority of their titles. I am glad to say that we get multiple control options instead of being forced to play something that might turn out very “shoe horned” in this one.

Punch-Out!! Has got multiple control schemes that work well to create an enjoyable experience. The standard control has you holding the nunchuck and Wiimote in either hand and punching either one to throw hooks. To throw jabs you have to hold the control stick forward and throw your punches; in terms of defending you have to hold the control stick back for a duck, left and right to do the appropriate dodge, lastly press the stick forward whilst neutral to block. Now there is an option for advanced players to make the control scheme a bit more… um interesting, what you have as an option is to use the B and C buttons while punching to throw jabs. I’d recommend this option if you’re a die hard for motion controls since it keeps you from accidentally blocking when in fact you were prepping for a jab, lastly star punches are handled by pressing the A button and throwing a punch. I should mention here that this is not 1:1 motion nor is it even close to, but don’t fret, this actually works really well! Believe me you can throw punches physically as fast as pressing buttons.

Bald bull is telling me I should've given this game a perfect..

Wii balance board owners have another game to attach their board to thanks to a set up that now moves the dodging aspect of the game to the board. Personally I don’t recommend this set up since dodging is about good timing, and where I can rely on my fingers, the same cannot be said about putting pressure on the board. Not to say it’s not accurate, just it feels rather cumbersome, convoluted, and an after thought. To be fair I only gave the balance board one go – in which I started stepping ala dance dance revolution – only to be eating punches and then disconnected the whole thing altogether. I don’t know if I was the only one here, but I found that there was no calibration message when I connected and disconnected. Though I will state it again, I just had one go at it.. hated it and then returned to the standard controls. But hey if you want to justify your balance board for more than using Wii fit and other fitness software, be my guest!

Now you might be worried at how much your arms will tire out, and you are right! Using the standard scheme for about half an hour can leave you a bit tired (or in my case without a shirt and panting as if I’ve never exercised or seen the sun in my life) thankfully the CLASSIC CONTROL SCHEME IS HERE!!

In the end I will tell you nothing beats holding the Wii mote on its side and playing the game old-school style! I’m talking 1 and 2 buttons for punches, pressing up and pressing the buttons for jabs, A for that star punch and good ol 1..2 to get back up if knocked down. Dodging is thrown to the d pad and pause menu to the + button.
As a small note I liked how navigating the screens and menus had you pointing with the Wiimote and use its IR sensor, enough games don’t do that when they should.

Take it from me and stick to the classic control scheme unless there is a party going on and you want people to really get into the game, in which case the motion controls work just as well.

Ok, let’s talk about the game shall we? Little Mac is back and he has to go through the gauntlet of fighters in the WVBA (world video boxers association) to become the new champ.

The game play remains the same “pattern memorization” boxing you loved about the old. Though I should state that it’s not as easy as it may seem, patterns for each boxer do change as you progress. This game rewards counterpunching, and once you’ve gotten it down, you can try and time things right to earn star power. You have your health bar and your stamina is measured in hearts that decreases after each block shot and missed punch. Replenishing your stamina is as easy as dodging any opponent attack. Things progress smoothly and you are always rewarded for pulling off daring well timed punches.

and this is fair ?

Three rounds with exactly 3 minutes each is all you have, either knock them out 3 times in one round to get a TKO, knock them down enough so by the end they can’t get up or leave it up to the referee for a decision at the end of the third.

Now the key again is memorizing each boxer’s pattern, looking for their opening and exploiting it. Good counter-punching and nailing some one during their candid moment gives you star power which is essential for the later matches. However one hit from your opponent and you’re left recollecting that star power. What this game breaks down to is trying to avoid the un-blockable attacks, counter punching, blocking and taking advantage of any opening to start a punch combo. It’s exactly like the classic, it works, it’s rewarding, and this time around it plays very very very smoothly.

The meat of the single player game is hours of fun to become the champ. This is a relatively simple task that some vets could accomplish in a few hours or so, the real challenge is then defending your title from the entire cast in a second mode that opens up once you become the champion; only this time these guys have changed their moves and some of them have covered up their main weaknesses. As an example, the first time you faced King Hippo his belly was a weak point, in Title Defense mode he has a manhole cover taped to his belly and you got to find a way to remove it and take him down a peg. It’s a challenging and a creative way to keep things going with the games cast.
The last thing that pops up is the aptly titled Last Stand option after you beat Title Defense. In this mode you have to survive the entire cast and its onslaught without losing more than 3 times. Think of it as survival mode- 3 losses and Little Mac retires. This is extremely challenging and boasts the games best reward once completed… I won’t say who or what it is but you can see this reward often appear in the background crowds watching your bouts.

nice intro screens set up where you will beat your opponent back to

Round 2 – Graphics
Punch-Out!! is no slouch! The game looks gorgeous, and considering most of the titles out there – this is a standout. The game has a brilliant cartoonish almost cell shaded look that works very well. Punch-Out’s animation system is stunning with its fluid animations that are gorgeous to watch. You’ll be also amazed to see these old characters brought to life in a way that seems so fresh yet very fitting. Big bold characters that animate well are easily pulled off considering the nature of the game. The background work is decent and all you see are low poly silhouette crowds followed by sprites at the very back. The fluid motions of the characters move fast and when you knock them, little aspects of their character will fly out of their heads. You’ll be happy to know that there are no Mii characters appearing in the crowd though I gotta repeat this again, keep your eye out for someone watching your matches…you’ll be in for a cool little surprise!

For the most part the game does an outstanding job with its menus, and over all layouts. Everything is easy to read and navigate, and things are done exceptionally well.

The opening cinematic will have you misty eyed and the pre-fighter stills will fill you in on the colorful character ready to fight you. These small subtle touches have heightened the presentation of the game to give it a richer experience.
Other small additions include sweat droplets hitting the ring floor and being absorbed to the fabric, fighters getting bruised in specific areas; as in if I keep punching Piston Hondo’s body (no longer named Piston Honda), it will start to turn red and before you know it’ll get bruised. Little Mac also retains some damage, if you get clocked on the face a couple of times you’ll get a black eye and a few bandages. One thing I missed in this title however was the lack of Mario as the referee.

The game runs in 480P and in widescreen mode which for the most part is a standard these days for the Wii.

Round 3 – Sound
I fell in love with the music here, some of the best orchestral sports music you could ask for.
Just have a listen to the opening theme and you’ll agree with me. It is exceptional stuff that’s very familiar but still fresh. Reminds you of the old games and at the same time borrows heavily from the best boxing movies out there without ripping off eye of the tiger.

Glass Joe!! how did you manage that 1 win?

Every character has dialog that’s delivered with a great sense of humor and precision. My only gripe is that since most of the cast of boxers are international, it’s rather sad not knowing what they say during rounds since there are no subtitles for any of their boxing banter. I mean I understood Great Tiger since he spoke in Hindi; and I was astounded at the creative dialog he had to deliver. Great Tiger was hilarious, telling me off in a very creatively Indian manner – I wish the entire cast had subtitled translations since it seems like these little banters are solid gold comedic material.
Little Mac himself is silent but that’s to be expected from Nintendo, I’m just glad that the entire cast was so lively and the music so perfect. Doc Louis (Little Mac’s coach) really comes through as the mentor every boxer wants with his wise words of wisdom and complete love for chocolate bars.

The punch sounds and fight noise are amazing , with tons of over the top but appropriate sounds that add to the ambiance of the game. The crowds cheering and booing is as expected and coupled with the in-games boxing music, which are remixed versions of the original characters, creates a sound package worthy of praise.

Round 4 – Replay
The single player fair will take you a couple of hours to plow through with Title defense mode giving the game more legs and the survival Last Stand mode giving the hardcore gamer more for their moneys worth. I’d says overall the game takes about 5 to 6 hours to complete everything (but not unlock everything), some bouts are devilishly hard and may take more than a half an hour. Expect to lose a lot near the final tier of fighters unless you really nail down counter punches. In essence you are fighting each character 3 times, with some tactical change for each face off, things may seem to get a bit repetitive unless you’re a die hard fan.

Lets fighting love!!

With some exhibition matches that are essentially achievement driven bouts for each character (unlocking sound tests and what not) and a hologram trail mode for the fighter you have not beaten (practice mode); Punch-Out!! is a simple fan service game that has tons of content to offer only if you dig the premise and its world.

Multiplayer seems like an afterthought with a Mac vs. another look alike in which your goal is to try and transform into Giga Mac and takes the other guy out. Its fun but definitely not the main event of the evening (only 1 against 1 here).
There is no online mode and no hidden version of the original to unlock which is rather sad. If you’re a fan of the franchise it wont matter much to you since that’s the nature of the game you fell in love with. For what it’s worth it does a tremendous job of creating a fun single player experience than a Fight Night game ever could have.

Decision!
Ultimately what it boils down to is that Punch-Out is a game for the Fans of the franchise and it is nostalgically perfect. It’s all about the fighters and the rich fictitious world of the WVBA. I own a copy of Victorious boxers for the Wii because I liked the anime, for me it was worth it no matter what any critic said, so in that vein this is a game that will make you smile and keep you hooked on, as long as you dig it.

Without a good multiplayer this titles legs are a little short but it does deliver some of the best sports single player action out there. You HAVE to try this title and for most of us this is a MUST BUY. I can’t tell you how surprised and in love I am with this game, it’s a crowd pleaser and its a perfect next gen boot -up of a classic.

Game Play 5 /5

Graphics 4.5 /5

Sound 5 /5

Replay 3.5 / 5

Read more at andPOP. andPOP - POP Culture with Substance

Jenn and Josh take a romantic visit to E3 North where they learn about the next latest and greatest from Nintendo. They have a look at 4 player Mario, New DS games, Wii Sport Resort and more!

Read more at andPOP. andPOP - POP Culture with Substance