Electronic Arts try to outdo Wii fit with EA Sports Active

November 18th, 2008

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Ok imagine you’re a big games studio wanting to dominate the world, you suddenly notice out of the corner of your eye that Nintendo are making millions of dollars by selling a fitness game and peripheral for the Wii. Which of the following would you do?

A) Encourage gamers to play Wii Fit to try and perhaps get themselves on track with their overall fitness.

B) Jump on the bandwagon by developing your own software and peripheral.

If you said A it suggests you are a kind hearted person who tries to do the right thing. If you said B it suggests you are a ruthless in whatever it takes to make money.

Enough of the cynicism, let’s look at EA’s new fitness software in a little more depth. Called EA Sports Active, the game is exclusive for the Wii and it has been developed with the help of fitness experts with women’s fitness in mind, though just like Wii Fit it can be used by the whole family. EA Sports Active for the Wii will use Nintendo’s Wii balance board for certain exercises but generally focuses more on cardiovascular exercise rather than the balancing elements from Wii Fit. The game also comes bundled with special leg straps that will hold the Wii Remote and Nunchuck for the rigorous exercises like Running or Jogging; whilst unessential it’s a nicer alternative to placing them in the pocket of your jogging pants as suggested by Nintendo. We’ll keep an eye on the progress of this up until the EA Sports Active release date of spring 2009 - meanwhile check out the EA Sports Active trailer.

If you can’t wait that long to exercise in front of your TV then you can buy Wii Fit from Amazon as they currently have the hot selling device in stock (still rare, even after a year). While you’re there don’t forget to pick up a spare Wii Fit rechargeable battery pack for your Balance Board to make sure you don’t run out of juice whilst getting fit.

Tags: Wii Fit, EA Sports Active, WiiFit, wii fit rechargeable battery pack

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Help Wanted for Wii

November 18th, 2008

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We might not be getting Nintendo’s Disaster Day of Crisis on Wii in the US but Hudson Software are jumping into the void that’s left with their game Help Wanted. Well sort of. The story goes that there is a meteor heading towards the Earth, the trouble is the world’s governments are unwilling to fork up the cash to pay for the special equipment to save the planet. You’ve decided to do 50 odd jobs around the town to raise the cash to buy the equipment yourself and save humanity. You’ll be performing some of the weirdest and most frantic tasks imaginable; Farming vegetables, helping babies fall to sleep, interviewing celebrities and lots more. Help Wanted for Wii is looking fun, especially in the multiplayer mode, hopefully the Help Wanted release date of Summer 2009 will come around as quickly as the meteor is heading to Earth. In the mean time, Deca Sports for Wii is a fun little alternative to Wii Sports and is well worth a play (oh, and it’s by Hudson Software too).

Related: Deca Sports, My Aquarium for Wii

Tags: Help Wanted, Deca Sports

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Pool Revolution, Pit Crew Panic and Snowboard Riot

November 18th, 2008

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As you may have noticed, Hudson Software is one of WiiWare’s biggest supporters with hit titles such as Alien Crush and Bomberman Blast. Well they’re not stopping there folks, Hudson are bringing us another three interesting titles very soon to download via the Wii Shop Channel.

Pool Revolution; A fun pool and snooker game that features both normal and motion controls, they’re even throwing a four player online mode into Pool Revolution for WiiWare too.
Pit Crew Panic; If you’ve ever wanted to feel the adrenaline rush of working in the pit lane then Pit Crew Panic for WiiWare is for you. Take part with up to four players fixing toilets, wedding cakes, bridges or even air craft carriers. Best of all you can do this crazy stuff online.
Snowboard Riot; This gorgeous looking Snowboarding Game brings the weapons of Mario Kart onto the snow for an awesome Snowboarding Riot for WiiWare. With balance board support, four player online racing and official Oakley apparel to wear this has to be a must download.

You will need to purchase Wii Points (soon to be called Nintendo Points) to download titles from the Wii Shop Channel; these can be bought online through the Wii or via a handy Wii Points Card which is currently being discounted by $10 on the Nintendo Wii point codes Amazon page if you spend more than $50 and pay with Bill Me Later - enter the code BMLSAVES when you checkout.

Tags: Pool Revolution, Pit Crew Panic, Snowboard Riot

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Wii Opera Browser Update

November 18th, 2008

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Leaked information on the web suggests the Wii Opera Browser will be getting a fresh update this holiday. It will be free for those who already own the current browser or a $5 purchase for those who are new to the software. We’ve used the Wii Browser quite a bit and find it’s very handy to be able surf the internet on your normal TV from the comfort of your couch. Also rumoured is support for Flash Lite 3.1 which will play most Flash 9 footage from the web (as opposed to Flash 7 on the Wii right now) and a unique tab cube which will keep track of up to 6 WebPages at a time. There is also talk of the WiiSpeak microphone being enabled whilst browsing, we can’t think why at this moment at time but Nintendo will no doubt let us know very soon.

Tags: Wii Opera, Opera, Wii, Nintendo web browser, Wii Browser

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Nintendo Gamecube games on Wii

November 10th, 2008

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During Nintendo’s autumn press conference a new GameCube remake series called Play On Wii was announced. Those of you who aren’t new to the gaming scene will already know that Gamecube didn’t sell that well compared to Sony’s Playstation 2 and so many great titles from the Cube era didn’t get into the hands of many gamers. So even though the Wii is backwardly compatible with all gamecube games (GCN or Classic Controller required), Nintendo have decided to remake a selection of classic titles with updated visuals (Widescreen and 480p) and Wii Remote and Nunchuck controls.

Confirmed Game Cube games for Play On Wii so far are:

Pikmin 1 & 2; Nintendo’s very clever real time strategy games which mixes; gardening, item collection and battling all in one.
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat; Some gamers consider this to be the spiritual sequel to the Donkey Kong Country series developed by Rare Software before they ran away to Microsoft. This game featured all the classic platforming action combined with the Bongo Controller set, but now will make you wave your Wii Remote around instead.
Metroid Prime 1&2; The awesome first person shooters which brought Retro studios out from obscurity will feature the same control scheme as featured in Metroid Prime 3, excellent.
Mario Power Tennis; We think this sequel to the hit N64 title (Mario Tennis) will be reworked with the control scheme from Sega Super Star Tennis, we’d have preferred Mario Tennis Wii but this will do.
Chibi Robo; A rather interesting 3D platformer set in the 1960’s where you take control of a small household domestic robot, think WALL-E mixed with Toy Story and you’re half way there.

We really can’t wait to get our hands on the Nintendo Play on Wii range; rumour has it that the titles could be around $30 each which is a bargain.

Tags: Pikmin, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Metroid Prime, Mario Power Tennis, Chibi Robo

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Alien Crush Returns, Home Sweet Home and Space Harrier

November 10th, 2008

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Nintendo have blessed us with another three titles this week but are they worth spending our Nintendo Points on?

On WiiWare we have:

Alien Crush Returns from Hudson Software. At last a true sequel to Alien Crush from the TurboGrafx16 , if you like movies full of aliens and playing pinball in your spare time then this is the game for you. With tons of Alien stunning alien themed tables, Hudson promise this to be the best pinball action on Wii and with up to four player online play and high score leaderboards, we can’t fault them on their offering at a bargain 800 Nintendo Points.
Home Sweet Home from Big Blue Bubble. Have you ever wanted to be an interior designer? Me neither. However if Feng Shui pumps through your veins then this little WiiWare title could very well be for you. At 1000 Nintendo points it’s a trifle expensive when you can play the Flash version on popular arcade sites for free, so it’s not one we recommend just for the comfort of playing it on your couch.

On Virtual Console we have:

Space Harrier from the Sega Master System. Probably one of our favourite Sega Arcade games which sadly got a bum deal when being converted to home consoles. With ports ranging from the ZX Spectrum to the Commodore Amiga you’d thought at least one of them would’ve recreated the awesome experience of the original Arcade Machine, but alas this was not the case. Even if this is not the best version it’s still a classic game where you run and fly forwards towards hoards of dragons and UFO’s shooting them up with your trusty blaster gun. Not bad for 500 Nintendo Points.

Tags: Alien Crush Returns, Home Sweet Home, Space Harrier, WiiWare, Virtual Console

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No Disaster Day of Crisis for Wii in the US

November 10th, 2008

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Before the Wii launched Nintendo’s preview of Disaster Day of Crisis got folks rather excited. Developed by Monolith Software (who previously worked on Baten Kaitos) on behalf of Nintendo, much was expected from this core title which promised nonstop action, great graphics and interactive controls. After a long quit spell in development rumour spread that the game was cancelled due to development problems as well as real life world disasters which could deem the game socially insensitive. Then after Nintendo’s dismal E3 showing we heard that the game was back and due for release in Europe in October with no word of a US release, it seemed that Nintendo wanted to get a core game into the shops before Christmas to appease the fans.

Shockingly Nintendo of America President Reggie said the game wasn’t very good and speculation soon grew that we would not see a stateside release of this interesting low key title unless sales in Europe were high, we’ve since found out that it bombed at European retail and so sadly we don’t expect to see it anytime soon if ever in the US. Stick around for an import review of Disaster Day of Crisis for Wii soon.

Related: Silent Hill V

Tags: Disaster Day of Crisis, Wii, US

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Virtual Console Round Up

November 5th, 2008

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Super Turrican 2 from the SNES - A great 2D platforming shoot ‘em up which has a strong Metroid feel to it. 800 Nintendo Points.
Mario Golf from the N64 - A rare treat from Nintendo’s last cartridge based home console. Take Mario and friends on a round of golf (or 10), Camelot’s Nintendo licensed game is jam packed with extra game modes and secret characters. 1000 Nintendo Points.
Shining Force 2 from the Genesis - A rare tactical RPG treat on the Sega console which is full of; battles, secrets, treasure and characters to chat to. 800 Nintendo Points.
Secret of Mana from the SNES - The classic three player RPG from Square Enix returns once again with its great graphics and intriguing storyline. 800 Nintendo Points.
Street Fighter II Special Champion Edition from the Genesis - Whilst not as good as SF2 Turbo for the SNES this is the best Street Fighter game from the Sega Console and does feature the exclusive Group Battle mode missing from the Nintendo release. 800 Nintendo Points.
Digital Champ Battle Boxing from the TurboGrafx16 - Here’s an unusual one, a first person sci fi themed boxing game. Might not look as good as the one on Wii Sports discs but it could be worth a go. 700 Nintendo Points.
Gradius II for from the TurboGrafx16 CD Rom - Yes, another space shooter! The virtual console is cluttered with them, but hey - someone must be buying them. This one ain’t bad though.
Earthworm Jim from the Genesis - the original comedy platformer is back in all its 16bit glory. A superhero worm with an affection of sorts for cows and shooting guns, cool. 800 Nintendo Points.