Tiny Diggers – An iPad Construction Truck Game for Kids Age 2-5

“Save some money for late August!”

August 2007, for me, is the biggest month yet for the Wii. My most anticipated title on the platform, hands down, is Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Mario, Brawl, and yes, even Zelda take an array of positions beneath Metroid. I will be carefully watching that release date as it closes in. Xbox people, this is my Halo 3.

That said, August is set to be a busy month on the Wii, crowded with quality and quap alike. Quap? Read on.

Image: Wikipedia.

BOOGIE. Rhythm; EA, August 9th. OFFICIAL SITE





Think of Boogie as a Dance Dance Revolution type game with motion control using the Wii Remote and karaoke incorporated. “Shake it, Sing it, Create it” is the slogan EA’s using. You dance using the Wii Remote, you sing using the included microphone, and you build performances in the game like music videos using your customized “Boog” avatar and your own lousy performances. Well, they would be if it were me playing.



MADDEN NFL 08. Sports; EA Tiburon, August 14th. OFFICIAL SITE





EA’s 800-pound gorilla hits every platform known to man once again. Last year’s Madden rated very highly on the Wii despite a lack of online play, but this year, it’s in there. It remains to be seen if the results are any good, but the die-hard Madden fans don’t really care if it’s good, as long as it’s Madden, right? I’m the first to admit that I’m talking out my ass here. The last Madden I played was Madden 94 on Sega Genesis.



BRUNSWICK PRO BOWLING. Sports; Crave, Summer. OFFICIAL SITE.





Some Wii players would consider Wii Sports Bowling to be the platform’s “killer app.” Indeed, it is a tall, pin-shaped shadow the game casts with its brilliant, spot-on controls, and Crave’s got their work cut out for them trying to match the accessibility of Wii Sports‘ brightest star. It’s actually pretty sad, because the more realistic Brunswick Pro will only ever be considered in comparison to its arcade-y forebear. It’s fortunate, then, that Crave’s chosen to sell the game at a mere $30. It remains to be seen if it’s even worth that. The release date is officially “summer,” which is running out.



METROID PRIME 3: CORRUPTION. Adventure; Retro Studios, August 27th.




It’s time to get excited about first party games on the Wii. Zelda aside, let’s just say the lion’s share of first-party titles on the Wii have been… somewhat light. That ends on the day Metroid Prime 3 comes out, and stays dead with deep upcoming titles like Mario Galaxy and Brawl. While those titles are exciting, nothing matches the Metroid Prime series for me, and this game looks to fit right in as a worthy continuation of the revered 20-year-old franchise.



GUILTY GEAR XX ACCENT CORE. Fighting; ARC System Works, August 27th.





Sharing billing with Metroid Prime 3 is not good for any title, but a relatively low-key title like Accent Core really doesn’t stand a chance. That’s really a shame, because the game looks really, really slick. This is a 2D fighter, an arcade port with (optional) gesture controls using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. It remains to be seen how these controls will work out, as IGN calls them “gimmicky,” but what we do know is the Japanese release was very, very buggy and that the game was delayed from US release to this date in order to remove these bugs. Good for us, too bad for Japan.



Back to sharing billing. I recall I had preorders in for Baten Kaitos and Metroid Prime 2 for the same day, and I ended up returning BK unopened due to the expense and lack of time, and when I eventually got the game, I did so at a bargain price. Sounds like a similar situation to what will happen here. When Accent Core hits the bargain bin, I may be there waiting for it with my fighting stick.