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First look (not talk) at Wii Speak
By Joe Fourhman | December 6, 2008
I grabbed the Wii Speak Channel today, and since I figure a lot of people either A) Are not picking up the Animal Crossing City Folk Bundle or B) Think $30 is too much for a USB microphone accessory, I thought I’d give everyone the nickel tour. Although the documentation is vague and confusing, and I don’t know anybody else who has it so I can’t fully test the whole chatting thing. But in short, it does what you figured it would do - voice chat, albeit voice chat stuck inside one particular application - and it does a couple cutesy Nintendo things that maybe you didn’t expect.
First up: the install. The Wii Speak Channel takes up 51 blocks. I’m down to my last 100 blocks by this point (with plenty of VC stuff punted to SD cards), so every download is a nailbiter. But getting the download in the first place is non-intuitive. Because WSC is limited to those who own a Wii Speak Microphone, it’s not just a simple Shop Channel download on the Channels page. There’s not even a blurb about it there. You instead must go to the Settings & Features button on the main Shop Channel menu. There’s a new option in there (assuming your Shop Channel is up to date)… the ability to redeem a promotional code. Tap in your code and you’re on your way.
Sad Chao wants to live in a 24-hour society
By Joe Fourhman | November 23, 2008
| Do you have a gaming disappointment for Sad Chao to lament? Send it to tips@aeropause.com with the subject “Sad Chao” and your mail might make Sad Chao sad enough to post it! Can you make Sad Chao happy again? Write in comments! |
Secrets of the Strategy Guide: the Good and Bad of Animal Crossing City Folk
By Joe Fourhman | November 18, 2008
I’ve been picking my way through the Animal Crossing City Folk strategy guide to see just how the game is going to surprise - and disappoint - me. Even as a longtime fan of the series, I have to admit that Nintendo has NOT moved the needle very far. It’s not the barely-improved graphics that bother me; it’s the repetition of structure. Why should Tom Nook’s tutorial be identical to the tutorials of both Wild World and the GameCube original? How tough would it have been, Nintendo, to come up with a different series of tasks to introduce players to the controls and possibilities of Animal Crossing? Instead of having to deliver packages to local villagers, how about Nook requests you catch a bug? A change as subtle as that would have acknowledged the legion of fans who played the previous games, while still providing simple starter tasks for the newbies.
Nevertheless, there still are fun features and cool tricks that enhance the experience… albeit sprinkled with plenty of “Oh come on, they didn’t fix THAT!?!” moments. I will try to keep things spoiler-free, but if you’re a lapsed/curious Animal Crossing fan, follow me inside and see if there’s any reason to sway your decision one way or the other. Please keep in mind that this is mostly from the printed strategy guide, a document that sometimes ends up incorrect due to last-minute changes or writing/editing ineptitude.
First Thirty: Animal Crossing City Folk
By Joe Fourhman | November 16, 2008
The Animal Crossing City Folk / Wii Speak Microphone bundles arrived in force today, despite never showing up in many preorder systems. While the Wii Speak Channel is not scheduled until sometime in December, Animal Crossing fans will still have plenty to do… even if it is the same stuff already well-remembered from the GameCube and DS editions.
This very special First Thirty is a tale best told in pictures…
Sad Chao would like to be a bargain shopper.
By Joe Fourhman | November 9, 2008
| Do you have a gaming disappointment for Sad Chao to lament? Send it to tips@aeropause.com with the subject “Sad Chao” and your mail might make Sad Chao sad enough to post it! Can you make Sad Chao happy again? Write in comments! |
Here is how Nintendo is marketing their holiday releases
By Joe Fourhman | November 7, 2008
If you’re already on Nintendo’s advertising e-mail distribution list, these will all be old news to you. But if you’re not, maybe you’ll find them interesting. They’re all colorful, graphical email blasts… encompassing an odd mix of marketing to the hardcore and the newcore.
The ad for Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia (DS) is heavy on details, appealing to the notoriously OCD pokefanbase. It even discusses a pair of exclusive downloadable Wi-Fi levels for the game that interact with Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. This ad arrived November 6. [You can browse all the ads in the gallery below.]
Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir (DS) came out in early September, but is receiving some holiday push. (You’ve seen the MillionHeir TV ad with Liv Tyler and her sister, right? I’ll put it after the jump.) This email showed up on November 4.
The Wii Music (Wii) ad lives up to the minimalist Wii design aesthetic. Note the “NES Horn” mentioned in the text and held by the balding Mii. It also plugs the optional Balance Board Drum Kit mode, which is a nice detail. This showed up in my inbox on November 5 with the bizarre subject “Let Your Music Out With Wii Music.”
Wario Land: Shake It (Wii) was emailed out on October 22. This one is all hardcore with phrases like “Turn the Wii Remote sideways and play this game like it’s 1986,” “platforming goodness,” and “Finally, a new chapter in the classic Wario Land series!”
The email for Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii) arrived on November 3 with the worrying subject line “What happened to Animal Crossing?” For a minute I thought I was getting some kind of Sad Chao-style editorial. The answer to that question is the non-judgmental “We’re moving to Wii.” No word on the Wii Speak mic or Wii Speak bundle, and nothing about the gameplay. Just a pretty AC picture.
One to Watch: The Wii Release for November 2008
By Joe Fourhman | November 3, 2008
And there it is. THE ONE to Watch for Wii in November 2008.
Animal Crossing: City Folk moves into town on November 16. The game is $50 by itself, or $70 for this snazzy game+Wii Speak bundle. The Wii Speak microphone will be available separately for the slightly cringy price of $30.
I’m not saying that you have to buy Animal Crossing: City Folk. Just that if enough of us get together, we can join forces and finally BEAT THIS GAME. Legitimately. Without cheat codes or time traveling. United, we can.
I guess there’s other games headed to your Wii this month. But a quick warning… I’m skipping everything with a “z” in the title. Unfortunately, I can’t apply that rule to everything with “party” in it.
Read-a-long with Nintendo Power #235 (December 2008)
By Joe Fourhman | October 18, 2008
My copy of #235 came wrapped in an ad for the game Ultimate Band, Disney Interactive’s take on the Rock Band formula. It looks like it has all the soul of a Bratz movie. The true cover feature is Animal Crossing: City Folk… but the AC article offers almost nothing interesting. Do we worry or do we trust? Read-a-long!
Issue #235, December 2008
featuring Animal Crossing: City Folk, Chrono Trigger, Suikoden: Tierkreis, Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia
Boy, you can’t go to much further extremes in your cover art than the road from last issue’s Grand Theft Auto to this issue’s Animal Crossing. The Animal Crossing: City Folk feature article is a detail-free six-pager presented as a diary of the first four days in City Folk. And it sounds exactly like the first four days in any Animal Crossing game. There’s no mention of the Wii Speak microphone, the character transfer from the DS Animal Crossing game, potential DLC, how the online/Friend play works, how the game interacts with the Wii Message Board, or what kinds of items we can look forward to collecting. Even more frustrating, there’s no promise of a follow-up article that would talk about this critical info.
But’s here the few items we are told (some of which we already knew), and my personal list of the Colossal Mistakes it seems we can expect from Animal Crossing: City Folk.
Aeropodcast #53: Get Your Official Wii Box Accessory
By Joe Haygood | October 13, 2008
This week, Stephen, Fourhman, Koss and Joe are back in the mix in a podcast that was issue free for a change.
This week, we looked at the two big conventions going on, Tokyo Game Show and Blizzcon, and picked some of our favorite topics from those shows. Some of the highlights include a No More Heroes sequel, new footage of the 360 and PS3 version of Castlevania, a date for the 360 dashboard update, and Lets Tap the game you control with a box.
We also gave much props to George Walker, one of our writers who is taking a break from writing to spend some time with his family…who are we kidding, it is to get the rest of those Legendary achievements in Halo 3. Seriously George, good luck, and we’ll leave the light on. In news we had advertisements from the Obama campaign in Burnout Paradise, Fallout 3 PC specs and some Castlevainia pre-order goodness, along with other items. This week, our bumper music comes from Castlevania, which is a Konami brand.
Download the podcast from here or subscribe to the podcast using one of the services below: Also make sure to review us on iTunes and Digg the podcast.
Read-a-long with Nintendo Power #233 (October 2008)
By Joe Fourhman | August 23, 2008
The first first-party cover feature in six months heralds an excellent issue, full of some great details, reveals and surprises. Read-a-long!
Issue #233, October 2008
featured games: Wario Land: Shake It!, Time Hollow, House of the Dead: Overkill, Kirby Super Star Ultra
The main article this month is the promised E3 coverage, “The Big 15.” Nine upcoming Wii games, one WiiWare game (guess!) and five DS games are highlighted, to varying degrees of depth. In order - presumably a meaningful order - the Big 15 are Facebreaker KO Party, Sonic Chronicles: the Dark Brotherhood, Wii Music, Castlevania Judgment, Major Minor’s Majestic March, GTA: Chinatown Wars, Wii Sports Report, Wario Land: Shake It!, Chrono Trigger, Rhythm Heaven, Animal Crossing: City Folk, Mega Man 9, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, The Conduit, and MadWorld.
Um, where’s Fatal Frame 4? A no-show at E3, missing from the Big 15, still no US release date (and it’s getting veeeery close to October and Halloween)… and it’s been out in Japan for a month. If I were the worrying sort, well, I’d start to worry.
We’ve already covered the surprises on the Animal Crossing front (short version: can carry over DS character, city area is Friend only, can save photos to SD card, and Wii Speak microphone will not be bundled in), so let’s find some other interesting news about the Big 15.
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