Official SKnet Wii thread

Walter

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Seriously, are you being paid by The Conduit's developers?  :???:

Ive been playing Bomberman a lot the past day. Once you play all 10 levels you unlock Mii capability, so Ive changed my name to *MAGNUM* with a Tom Selleck face.  :carcus:  It's pretty fun, though two of the newer items are a little confusing, requiring you to wiggle the remote to activate them. The game doesn't do a great job orienting newer players to their capabilities, and you have to parse through the electronic manual to understand them.

Other than that, Multiplayer is a blast. My only gripe is that people need to learn to PUSH THE GODDAMNED OK button after a battle. There is inevitably some asshole who forgets to hit the confirmation of end of battle button (2), and we sit there for 20-30 seconds between each round. UGH. Can't they just make it timeout after 10 seconds?

All in all though, this is the second best Wii Ware title so far - next to Mega Man 9.
 

Guts intestines

Yer breath is bad... It'll go away with yer head
Walter said:
Seriously, are you being paid by The Conduit's developers? :???:

Ive been playing Bomberman a lot the past day. Once you play all 10 levels you unlock Mii capability, so Ive changed my name to *MAGNUM* with a Tom Selleck face. :carcus: It's pretty fun, though two of the newer items are a little confusing, requiring you to wiggle the remote to activate them. The game doesn't do a great job orienting newer players to their capabilities, and you have to parse through the electronic manual to understand them.

Other than that, Multiplayer is a blast. My only gripe is that people need to learn to PUSH THE GODDAMNED OK button after a battle. There is inevitably some asshole who forgets to hit the confirmation of end of battle button (2), and we sit there for 20-30 seconds between each round. UGH. Can't they just make it timeout after 10 seconds?

All in all though, this is the second best Wii Ware title so far - next to Mega Man 9.

Damn it, you've exposed me again.... their studios in Hoffman estates, Illinois isn't to far from where I live. Oh, and is Bomberman Blast anything like Bomberman 64, because I loved that game.
 

Aazealh

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Cave Story is to be released as a WiiWare in the US this winter. It'll have additional content that isn't in the free PC version.
 

Walter

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Yeah, read about it when they announced the DSi. I wonder who will be the final boss? M. Bison?
 

Aazealh

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That new Punch-Out game looks quite fun despite staying close to the original visually and thematically. I never cared much for the idea but now that it's actually out there I'm getting a little excited.
 

Guts intestines

Yer breath is bad... It'll go away with yer head
Aazealh said:
That new Punch-Out game looks quite fun despite staying close to the original visually and thematically. I never cared much for the idea but now that it's actually out there I'm getting a little excited.

1v1 online boxing matches with wii motion plus would be da shit. :guts:
 

Walter

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IGN gave Wii Music a 5.0. OUCH! 1up.com gave it an A-, the equivalent of a 90/100. Of course, the reviewer they used was a chick who, judging from her previous reviews, is more of a casual gamer.

I have to say Im completely baffled by the huge media push Nintendo is giving this game. This is their top-shelf first-party title of the fall season and it doesn't exactly ... inspire the masses. Put more bluntly, it looks like complete shit. And I love Miyamoto, but I hope he gets his pay docked for this nonsense.
 

Uriel

This journey isn't ov--AARGH!
Yeah, I doubt he'll worry about a pay dock -- seeing as it's going to see 560 trillagabazillion copies.
 

Aazealh

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Walter said:
IGN gave Wii Music a 5.0. OUCH! 1up.com gave it an A-, the equivalent of a 90/100. Of course, the reviewer they used was a chick who, judging from her previous reviews, is more of a casual gamer.

I have to say Im completely baffled by the huge media push Nintendo is giving this game. This is their top-shelf first-party title of the fall season and it doesn't exactly ... inspire the masses. Put more bluntly, it looks like complete shit. And I love Miyamoto, but I hope he gets his pay docked for this nonsense.

GameSpy.com gave it a 3.5/5, so I'm not sure the 1UP review is necessarily less reliable than the IGN one. I wonder what the global consensus will be in the end, if there is one.

Anyway, some of the videos I've seen looked funny, but the only way I'd consider buying this would be if it were a 100 points WiiWare game. Too gimmicky to be worth anything more than that. They probably should have just implemented it in Wii Sports 2 and sold the whole package for $30.
 

Walter

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Uriel said:
Yeah, I doubt he'll worry about a pay dock -- seeing as it's going to see 560 trillagabazillion copies.
I dunno about that. Nintendo isn't without its share of duds. Remember the Super Scope 6? Or the Virtual Boy?

And yeah, this game is well-suited to WiiWare. Which, btw, got an awesome game last Monday called World of Goo that has been taking up much of my mornings recently.

Virtual Console also recently got SECRET OF MANA. :isidro:
 

SaiyajinNoOuji

I'm still better than you
Walter said:
Virtual Console also recently got SECRET OF MANA. :isidro:
Pffft, let me know when they get the sequel, translated, then we can talk.

Also with Monster Hunter... Most of the game can be accomplished via the single player mode BUT you cant get all of the good items since certain monster parts will only be obtainable via online.

Other then that I am really really really excited for this game. I do wish though that they could give LAN support for these types of games. Thats one thing that I liked about the Xbox, and presumimbly, the Xbox 360.

I want to be able to get a couple of wii's and play it that way with my wife and sister in law (We love us some Monster Hunter).
 

Walter

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SaiyajinNoOuji said:
Pffft, let me know when they get the sequel, translated, then we can talk.
Im actually playing the sequel, translated via emulator on my Wii. It runs nearly flawlessly (have to turn off the bilinear filter). And yes, this is one ROM where I do actually own the original cart.
 

SaiyajinNoOuji

I'm still better than you
Walter said:
Im actually playing the sequel, translated via emulator on my Wii. It runs nearly flawlessly (have to turn off the bilinear filter). And yes, this is one ROM where I do actually own the original cart.
Uggh... as much as would love getting a Wii... I know it would just get put into the entertainment center for a while and never be heard from again! Iv been planing too much Warhammer and my love is and will always be with my Computer... :judo:
 

Walter

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SaiyajinNoOuji said:
Uggh... as much as would love getting a Wii... I know it would just get put into the entertainment center for a while and never be heard from again! Iv been planing too much Warhammer and my love is and will always be with my Computer...  :judo:
I was the same way until Nintendo recently started getting more serious about their WiiWare and Virtual Console releases. Now I play it about 30 min-1 hour a day. But Nintendo really needs to start ushering in better third-party support. It's like a wasteland of utterly shitty titles in game stores these days.
 

SaiyajinNoOuji

I'm still better than you
Walter said:
I was the same way until Nintendo recently started getting more serious about their WiiWare and Virtual Console releases. Now I play it about 30 min-1 hour a day. But Nintendo really needs to start ushering in better third-party support. It's like a wasteland of utterly shitty titles in game stores these days.
Reminds me of every console near its death throes. I remember the amount of shit games that each system would get.. I think the worst of them all had to be Total Recall for the Nintendo. Yea what the fuck was that about?


Anyways, I think its just my personality. Im just a big old computer dork... I used to be a big console dork but that changed once I could grief people on-line!  :ganishka:
 

Aazealh

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Staff member
SaiyajinNoOuji said:
I do wish though that they could give LAN support for these types of games. Thats one thing that I liked about the Xbox, and presumimbly, the Xbox 360.

I want to be able to get a couple of wii's and play it that way with my wife and sister in law (We love us some Monster Hunter).

Well you can play with splitted screens. :carcus: But seriously, if you have a good Internet connexion it shouldn't be a problem to have 2 or 3 Wiis draining it at the same time.

Walter said:
But Nintendo really needs to start ushering in better third-party support.

To be fair that's not entirely up to them. They can only do so much to attract third party support.
 

Walter

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Here's the column I'm writing for my paper's Entertainment section this week, regarding the future of downloadable content in games. I wasn't able to tie together all the ideas I have in my head, and I didn't even mention Steam or Virtual Console once. But it still attacks the new titles side of the issue.

There is a revolution occurring in the video game industry that will change the way everyone experiences games in the future, but no one seems to know.

Ask the average Nintendo Wii owner, of which there are now millions, if they knew they could download a new game each week for under $10 through the console’s shop channel. You will inevitably get a bewildered: “Really?”

Nintendo launched WiiWare in March, an online store accessed through the console’s menu that allows Wii owners to download games priced between $5-$15 developed by third-party companies.

The service is nearly identical to Microsoft’s more robust Live! Arcade service for XBox 360 and the relative newcomer, Sony's Playstation Network for the PS3. The major difference between the three is the number of quality titles. Nintendo and Sony haven’t pushed the envelope in the downloadable market as much as Microsoft has.

The long-term effect of downloadable content in the gaming industry will be to polarize the way games are developed, and the evidence of this trend is already upon us.

Since the launch of the 360, the industry has been weighed down with the high costs of developing multi-million, AAA titles such as Gears of War 2, Unreal Tournament 3 and Halo 3. These games run on advanced graphics engines that require a huge investment of both time and money from the developer, which translates to higher costs from the consumer. The average cost of a next-gen retail game is now $59.99, $10 higher than the last generation’s standard game.

These top-heavy games leave little room for developers who may want to make an outside-the-box concept. After all, the premise has to be tried-and-true before a publisher fronts the capital for a multi-million investment, which may explain the rut of sequels the industry has been stuck in for the past decade.

But there’s hope for those dreamers through downloadable games. Focusing a game’s concept, cutting back on the graphics department and eliminating the cost of retail distribution drastically reduces the amount of capital required to make a game.
This rethinking of how games can be developed has nurtured a veritable renaissance in the gaming world — for both consumers and creators.

Last week, Wii owners got a taste of the future in perhaps the most polished of downloadable games thus far, World of Goo. Anyone familiar with Lemmings, basic physics and LEGOs will feel right at home with this game. Without a doubt, this is the most fun, creative and addictive game I’ve yet played on the Wii.

But what masked man made this gem that’s been scoring A+ reviews across the critics’ corners? 2D Boy. What, never heard of them? Neither had anyone else. The two-man gaming team got their start last year during a 48-hour independent game competition. Winning several prizes for their flash-based game Tower of Goo, the duo saw the winning formula in the concept and fleshed it out into a full 40-level masterpiece of a game.

World of Goo is just one shining example of how a rock-solid, simple concept can be developed into a powerhouse of a game on a tight budget — and in under a year. Microsoft’s Live! Arcade recently got a lot of press over Braid, a 2d platformer involving time-warping elements and existentialism developed by newcomer Number None, Inc.

Despite the gameplay differences, Braid has a lot in common with World of Goo. They’re both unique titles that would likely never have seen the light of day if not for the new window into the consumer market downloadable content has ripped open for the industry. But whether 2D Boy and Number None reap their much-earned success will depend on how effectively word gets out that these downloadable services even exist.

Like in many other areas, Nintendo has dropped the ball in promoting and expanding the Wii’s online capabilities. The WiiShop channel is pretty much an advertising executive’s nightmare. Each title is listed next to the game’s title screen and links to two pictures, and about a 200-word description. From that paltry information, consumers have a tough decision to make.
But titles with a history can thrive and be marketed on name alone. Which brings us to the other side of the coin in developing new downloadable games — reviving existing franchises.

Capcom drew the attention of the entire industry when it announced the Mega Man franchise would continue after an 8-year hiatus. Even more shocking, the ninth Mega Man game would be a download-exclusive game. But nothing prepared gamers worldwide for the most outrageous detail — the game would be a return to the title’s Nintendo Entertainment System’s roots and be designed like a 1990’s game, graphics, clunky mechanics, nostalgia, warts and all.

Such a game would directly appeal to those gaming veterans who have suffered through decades of “upgrades” to their favorite shooter. This was fan-service in its greatest form, and it was a huge critical and commercial success.

Just how Capcom’s runaway success with Mega Man 9 will play out for the future of the revivalist trend in gaming has yet to be seen. But there’s no denying the stirring in the hearts of gamers everywhere for such possibilities as a new Super Metroid, new Super Mario, new Link to the Past and other silver-age classics. Here’s hoping Nintendo and other developers see the pure money-milking potential in continuing its popular franchises with a return to form.
 

Aazealh

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Good article, but you definitely could have squeezed a VC reference at the end when you mentioned the revivalist trend in gaming. However there's one part where I'd have added a comment: "This rethinking of how games can be developed has nurtured a veritable renaissance in the gaming world — for both consumers and creators."

Personally I wouldn't call this a rethinking so much as a return to the olden times of people making stuff in their garage. Downloadable content grants people freedom from the industrial aspect of video games, making it possible again for small "artisans" to rise to fame with innovative concepts.
 
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