Anyone interested in a new Kid Icarus on the Wii? Neither am I.
I understand that Nintendo deals heavily in nostalgia, but that doesn’t mean everything they do should be a throwback to the old days. It’s really time for them to come out with something new, instead of reviving an OK game first released back in 1986.
Kid Icarus Wii still hasn’t been confirmed, but when the rumor winds are blowing this strongly, the S.S. Official Announcement should set sail soon.
On Mario Kart Wii’s uniquely-named “Mario Kart Channel”, you can now participate in the game’s first online tournament, where drivers compete for the fastest time through the “Mario Circuit” track. The world record is hovering around 1:30, but my best time so far is 2:03. How is everyone else doing?
Now if I can just get my hands on a golden mushroom (pictured above), I may be able to shave off some more seconds.
I refused to believe that Manhunt 2 was as bad as all the terrible reviews it received. I thought those were just reactions to a game that got so much press, and ended up giving in to censors while still trying to attract buyers with its gratuitous violence. I assumed there would surely be some good gameplay in there; some redeeming qualities that would make it a fun game.
I was wrong.
Aside from the bad dialogue and crappy visuals, it’s just a terrible game at its very core. It tries to be all Sam Fisher-ish and makes you sneak around in the shadows to avoid being seen so you can pop out at the right moment and execute someone without them ever knowing you were there. The game never lets you do that, though, because the enemies are constantly turning around to see you, and you can’t sneak up behind them as they’re walking because they walk faster than you can sneak, and if you pick up the pace at all, your footsteps blow your cover. It also doesn’t help that your character moves with the sugarplum fairy agility of a Sherman tank.
I don’t want to run this too long because I don’t need a bunch of words to tell you that a game you already know is crap…is crap. But I will say one thing about the most infuriating aspect of the game. I didn’t think the whole de-violencing of the execution scenes would be a big deal, but it really was. Whenever I finally got the drop on someone and had the chance to brutally murder them (which is pretty much the point of the game), and all I get to see is what looks like a burning film reel coming apart on screen, it really sucks all the wind out of the game, and effectively takes away any reason to play it. So don’t.
52 death rattles out of 100
Suckah, I’m buying Wii Fit next month when it comes out. My Wii has sat unplayed for too long, and I don’t really want to play the same games I’ve played before that have worse graphics than my Xbox 360 (as I nod towards Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime, Super Paper Mario). I want something different, something that may actually get me a bit more into shape.
My wife doesn’t know it yet, but she’ll be playing, too. I’m not going to look like a goombah alone.
I think it’s time for me to finally come out and say it: I’m disappointed with the Wii. After a year of defending it against people that say it’s weak, and there are no good games, and it’s just too gimmicky, I’m caving in and admitting that I expected much more out of it than it has given to me so far.
I came to this epiphany today while I was perusing the video game section at Best Buy, and the vast majority of Wii games were titles like “Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity,” “Nitrobike,” and “Winter Sports: Ultimate Challenge,” none of which scored higher than a 6.5 in Game Informer’s extremely forgiving reviews. The Triple-A titles like Super Mario Galaxy, Twilight Princess, and Smash Bros. are drowning in the mini-game quicksand that is the Wii’s game library, and those three games are just the newer versions of game franchises that have been around for generations.
I really hope the Wii gets starts to improve on its games soon. I just read a quote from the creator of the recently-released Wii game, No More Heroes, where he says, “…I wasn’t expecting that Wii would be a console targeted only for non-gamers. I expected more games for hardcore gamers. The reality is much different.” Ditto.
After ten hours and twenty-two minutes of gratuitous violence and enough blood spilled to make Exxon Valdez look like a sippy-cup uh-oh, I finally finished No More Heroes. This game was so bat-shit crazy that I’m not even really sure what just happened. I don’t even know if I loved it or hated it. I do know, though, that if the people that thought Mass Effect had too much sex and violence caught a glimpse of this game, it would make their heads explode.
I’m going to work on a thorough write-up, once I wash the blood stains out of my brain.
My friend Raul just called me and told me about his first few days with his shiny new toy, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He confirmed what I have been hearing so far; that the servers are so clogged that it’s nigh impossible to get into a match online right now. He did say, though, that he is able to spectate others’ matches, which some people aren’t able to do. But from what I hear, he’s just lucky that his copy even worked.
I haven’t picked up a copy or played it yet, but hopefully by the time I do, this whole mess will be straigtened out. I’d hate to see something similar to the Xbox Live Christmas fiasco.
I just played through the first section of No More Heroes, and I can honestly say that it’s already hands-down the most insane game I’ve ever played. So far, I’ve chopped off more heads than I ever have before (both in video games, and real life), and with each death comes more blood than a Gallimimus being eaten by a T-Rex. I think this game was made by a violent anime-loving psychopath that grew up watching the WWF. Don’t get me wrong, though, it’s totally awesome, and something completely surprising to see on such a family-friendly console such as the Wii.
The main character, Travis Touchdown, does have a really cute kitten in his apartment, though.
I received No More Heroes in the mail from Gamefly yesterday. I’ve been on a nonstop work-school-work schedule all week though, so I haven’t had the chance to play it. I’m looking forward to it, though, as I’ve heard some pretty positive reviews about it. I was worried about his one because I played this studio’s (Suda 51) last game “Killer 7,” and it was one of the worst games of all time. That’s hardly just my opinion, either, everyone hated it. Supposedly this one is much, much better though. One guy even said that it could already be a contender for this year’s Game of the Year. Fat chance, I think he was just trying to generate some controversy. Maybe I’m wrong, I’ll have to play it first.
I just finished Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law for the Wii. It took me a whopping 4 hours to “beat,” but it was actually a pretty good time. As I said before, it’s a lot like any Phoenix Wright game, only with HB characters, a lack of any logic, and 1000 grammes of semi-crude humor. It does have what I wish the Phoenix Wright games would have, which is some action and animations. Here, the characters actually move and walk and talk, as opposed to rotating through a couple facial expressions.
So all in all, this game was game/episode was pretty fun, but I’m glad I Gameflied, because the $40 retail price point is far too high for such a short, basic game with negative replay value. Unless you really, reeeeeaaallllllyyyyy like Harvey Birdman, then it might be worth it. I don’t know.
I finally found a reason to hook up the ol’ Wii in my new apartment with the arrival of Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law game via Gamefly. Although I only have a passing familiarity with the show, and I’ve never actually seen an entire episode, I have been looking forward to playing this game since I found out about its creation. I’ve had it for about a week now, but it’s been really hard to pull myself away from Mass Effect in my limited gaming time lately. But this morning when I woke up; well, technically this afternoon (hey, I work late) I was in the mood for something different. So I fired up the sensor bar and popped it in.
So far, I’ve played through about 2 1/2 of the cases of this very Phoenix Wright-esque game, but it’s a lot of fun. The characters and the situations are about as crazy as I would expect, which turns out to be the most challenging part of the game. Anyone who has played Phoenix Wright knows that the game is all about choices in questions you ask witnesses and evidence you present, and a poor or illogical choice can hurt your progress. HB is the same way, but the choices are so crazy that much of the time you can’t even tell what a logical choice would be. I had to redo a section of the game four times because (spoiler alert) I had no idea that I was supposed to present a greasy sack of nuts to Secret Squirrel. Maybe I would have known if I watch the show.
I’ll keep you posted on my progress.
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