Pokemon Rumble has spawned a card game

By Joe Fourhman | November 20, 2009

pokerumbleTCG Just in case you thought the Pokemon Trading Card Game’s complexity was prohibitive to younger players, there’s a new easy-play edition on the way that ties directly to recent WiiWare release Pokemon Rumble.

The Pokemon Rumble TCG ($10, coming early December) comes with sixteen cards and plenty of dice and token accessories, bent on simulating Rumble’s Battle Royale mode. The cards are fully compatible with the “regular” Pokemon TCG, but feature artwork done in the cute low-poly style of the Rumble WiiWare game. The thumbnail description (I haven’t seen an actual rulebook yet) makes it sound like a controlled guessing game where you wager which pokemon will survive based on how you roll the dice and what attacks are currently available.

The official Pokemon Rumble website has launched, and it currently offers a fourth code for owners of the WiiWare game. Unbelievably, the code unlocks the ultimate Gen 1 fanbait critter, Mew. The site promises more codes to come soon, including some that must be discovered by playing a matching game.

Spend 2010 playing the WiiWare versions of the entire Phoenix Wright library

By Joe Fourhman | November 18, 2009

phoenix_wright Although once an only-in-Japan punchline (WTF LAWYER GAME?!?!?), Phoenix Wright has become fairly ubiquitous here in the West. Even as the Ace Attorney DS series passed the lawyering torch off to Apollo Justice, Phoenix still seems to hold the giant OBJECTION finger of our hearts.

Today Capcom announced that the three Phoenix Wright DS games will arrive on WiiWare next year. January will see the four-chapter “Ace Attorney” for 1000 points, plus you have the option of getting the fifth AA chapter for another 100. “Justice for All” appears in March, and “Trials and Tribulations” is scheduled for May.

We’ve talked about this on the podcast once of twice, about Phoenix Wright being an odd little beast. A tad too trial-and-errory for me; a little too nonsensical for Haygood. But at $10, you could do a whole lot worse. Given that this series is much-loved on DS (and remember that the DS releases were ports of popular Japanese GBA originals), I’d say we’re getting a pretty ripe plum for WiiWare.

Read the rest of this entry »

Pokemon Rumble already making with the free code giveaways

By Joe Fourhman | November 17, 2009

pokerumble-screen It was a little buried by all the excitement over WiiWare demos yesterday, but Pokemon Rumble has some surprises of its own. The new WiiWare game allows unlockable pokemon via code, and two releases are already available.

One was mentioned in the weekly Nintendo Download press release. If you buy the game and have synced your Club Nintendo account, you will get an email in about a week with a secret code. Nintendo has the details here. They don’t say exactly what the code unlocks, but there’s a picture of a Charizard. So I’m thinking Charizard. This offer expires next April.

Note that Nintendo’s info page at this writing still thinks Pokemon Rumble is only 1000 Wii Points. It’s actually 1500. I smell a last-minute price hike.

The second code can be found by watching this week’s edition of Nintendo Week via the Wii’s Nintendo Channel. Host Alison has a Rumble interview and the guest reveals the eight digit code that will net you a Blastoise. Following the trend here of Final Evolutions of Gen 1 Starters, I’m going to guess that a Venusaur will be made available through Nintendo Power or wherever.

Pokemon Rumble features the entire original cast of 150 Pokemon, but it seems plain that the hooks are there to add in the remaining 330+. It just remains to be seen how Nintendo will add those guys in and what it will cost.

Incidentally, the game is pretty much Li’l Diablo.

Darth Vader, Sabers and Wiis

By Vikki Blake | November 17, 2009

Darth Vader Wiimote Sensor Bar

What do you buy the gamer who already has everything this Christmas? A Darth Vader Wiimote sensor bar holder, that’s what!

Sculpted from resin and holding a replica of his saber (snigger), Darth is set to hit the usual retailers soon for the reduced price of $39.99 (it originally retailed for a staggering $50, so be thankful for the drop). You can see it up close and personal after the jump.

So if you’ve been wondering what to get me this year, wonder no more. Never mind love and happiness and family – all I need now is this sensor bar holder and a full-sized Solid Snake statue and then my life will be complete.

[ Via Destructoid ]

Read the rest of this entry »

Modern Warfare 2 sequel revealed by The Onion

By Adam Englebright | November 10, 2009

Screen shot 2009-11-10 at 21.53.35
The Onion is today reporting that even as Modern Warfare 2 is being released, developers are putting the ‘final touches’ on the most ‘realistic’ military game yet, Modern Warfare 3! “Whether you’re waiting around for orders, or cleaning mud off of Humvees,” (says Onion Tech Trends reporter Jeff Tate) “the real-life military action in Modern Warfare 3 never stops!”. There’s also a Wii version which comes “packaged with a 17-pound controller shaped like a M-249 machine gun”! I can hardly wait! For more in-depth information, hit the jump and watch the video!

Read the rest of this entry »

Read-a-long with Nintendo Power #248 (December 2009)

By Joe Fourhman | November 10, 2009

np-248 Nintendo Power continues their holiday game coverage with a cover feature on Mario and another big list of reviews. You Shantae fans will want to search this issue out for the cool character design evolution chart. The rest of you will just have to imagine bikini-clad genie girls and read-a-long!

Issue #248, December 2009
featuring New Super Mario Bros Wii, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (Wii), Infinite Space (DS)

Nintendo announced a flurry of new games at E3 09, but only one was slotted to be this year’s big holiday title… and that’s New Super Mario Bros Wii. Nintendo Power is quick to point out the game is no watered down party minigame collection. In fact, it’s more of a watered-up version of New Super Mario Bros on DS.

As the first console-based 2D Mario title in eighteen years, NSMBW owes everything to the NES/SNES generation. The screenshots show rolling hills, card-matching minigames, an overworld map, and the usual allotment of tubes, coins and blocks. NP stresses that the game is a fully capable single-player experience, just in case you thought the levels were best enjoyed with the 4-man multiplayer.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ones to Watch: Wii and DS for November 2009

By Joe Fourhman | November 2, 2009

doclouisPO Those of us who made the Club Nintendo Platinum Elite may already be enjoying the first Wii release of the month, Doc Louis’s Punch-Out. The rest of you, read on and see what Nintendo has on their little white plate.

November 3
Academy of Champions Soccer – Ubisoft’s arcade soccer + Hogwarts game is finally out. This one made an initial splash for including characters from Ubisoft’s stable like Jade and Mr. Splinter Cell.

LEGO Rock Band – The multiplatform family-focused Rock Band title arrives. I still think it’s odd that the setlist isn’t true kids music from established kids bands, because what you are getting really isn’t appreciably different from a regular Rock Band setlist. 2009 seems to be the year that Harmonix finally squanders all that goodwill they’ve built up since the initial RB release. And speaking of that, Band Hero is also out this week. Both are also on DS.

Rabbids Go Home – The evolution of the Rabbids into a genuine gaming brand is complete as they get their first non-garbage-minigames game. Actually sounds pretty funny, if you can stomach the oh-so-zany Rabbid marketing. (Also on DS)

November 9
Excitebike: World Rally – Nintendo stealth-announced this new WiiWare title on the October 26th Nintendo Week show. Looks like a fair redux of the NES original, with some very familiar track layouts just at a new 3D camera angle. And it still has a level editor!

Read the rest of this entry »

Nintendo Download Monday – the another freaking Street Fighter?!?! edition

By Joe Fourhman | November 2, 2009

nintendo-logo1 Seriously. Can we just knock this the hell off? How many ports of Street Fighter do we need on the Virtual Console? To make matters worse, this “new” one is a TG-16 version hilariously titled “Fighting Street”! Are you freaking kidding me?!?! Yeah, sure, let’s sell it for 800 points, because that’s fair. Or you can hold out for Fighting Street Alpha Prime DX.

In other news, you can keep the Halloween train rollin’ with “Aha! I Got It!” Escape Game, which tells the horrifying tale of a father who locks his son in a room and forces him to find a way out. 500 points gets you this WiiWare torture porn simulator. Wait… it’s not supposed to sound scary?

The only first party offering is Sparkle Snapshots, a 500-point DSiWare app that enhances the built-in camera tools.

You’ll also find the Sega Master System version of R-Type, some intriguing DSi games about vikings and giants, and another pair of needless WiiWare releases involving carnivals and card games. All neatly available for your perusal after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

First Thirty: A Boy and His Blob

By Joe Fourhman | October 28, 2009

blobbox At every turn, I wonder if WayForward’s Wii-exclusive A Boy and His Blob is doing enough.

Does the box art stand out on the Wii racks filled with Game Party and flash puzzle ports and no-name platformers?

Is there enough residual brand awareness to draw in those who would have played this franchise twenty years ago on NES and Game Boy?

Does the 2D style look classy and polished, or does it come off as a budget title?

Is the game BIG enough?

A Boy and His Blob begins very simply. There’s a short cutscene, and the Boy wakes up in his coolass treehouse. The first mission is to go find Blob, and from there you head into a hub-based level structure (still the treehouse) where you essentially choose each level one at a time.

If you remember the formula of the original games, you’ll be right at home. You still toss jellybeans to determine the type and location of the Blob’s transformation. You need to utilize Blob’s various forms to get to the end of each linear, 2D platformer level. It’s classic lock-and-key stuff. Each board has three hidden treasures to collect and if you find all three you get a bonus level… finishing each bonus level reveals some production artwork unlockables.

It’s cute. It’s simple. There’s a Hug button. But here’s my First Thirty concerns:

Read the rest of this entry »

Aeropodcast #104 – Fourhman Phones It In

By Joe Haygood | October 20, 2009

dock With the podcast down one man this week, we decided to hit up the community for some topics. However, one of those comments from one Jordan Snyder, drew Fourhman out from the House of Mouse to call in and retort. To say it is epic is selling it short.

We also took the time to sit discuss some of the recent hulabaloo on the web surrounding the complaints over the recent scores that Uncharted 2 has received from some media outlets. Yes, you read that right, people have been complaining about 9.3, 9.4 and 4.5 out of 5 scores. We just found it interesting that a game that has reviewed so well, is still getting complaints over the review scores being so low.

The podcast music is provided by Revolution Void and they can be found at www.revolutionvoid.com. The podcast is mixed as always by our favorite DJ, Stephen “stop clearing your throat already, Joe” Munn.

Download the podcast from here or subscribe to the podcast using one of the services below: Also make sure to review us on iTunes.