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Ones to Watch: Wii and DS for November 2009
By Joe Fourhman | November 2, 2009
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!
Nintendo Download Monday – the another freaking Street Fighter?!?! edition
By Joe Fourhman | November 2, 2009
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.
First Thirty: A Boy and His Blob
By Joe Fourhman | October 28, 2009
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:
Aeropodcast #104 – Fourhman Phones It In
By Joe Haygood | October 20, 2009
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.
A, B, C, Wii!
By Vikki Blake | October 19, 2009
Whilst mixing kids and a console system named after a bodily function sounds like a recipe for prepubescent giggling, for one lucky stateside school playing with your Wii in class has suddenly taken on a whole new meaning.
In an effort to improve student attainment and attitude, Hook Junior High in Victorville, California, has introduced a ‘Wii Room’ where students who have made significant improvements in their work or have been spotted bestowing ‘random act[s] of kindness’ to others are rewarded for their efforts. Teachers, support staff and security personnel can award students with tickets that can then be exchanged for time in the Wii Room.
Principal James Nason explained how the school wished to move away traditional methods that reinforce negative behaviour with detention and instead concentrate on rewarding kids by ‘catching them doing something good’. “We focus on the negative too much,” he said. “Sometimes it’s just the smallest rewards that the kids strive for.”
So – what do you think? An interesting twist on the age-old concept of childhood bribery, or a cheap, crappy gimmick? Would it have worked for you when you were in school? (If I have to be honest, it probably would’ve for me.) Does it even matter if it seems to be working and standards are improving?
And yes, I came up with that post title all by myself. Good, eh?
Source: thatvideogameblog.com
Club Nintendo post-play surveys now on 7-day delay
By Joe Fourhman | October 13, 2009
Nintendo has made a slight alteration to their Club Nintendo survey system, and it makes a Bowser-sized pile of size. You now have to wait at least seven days for taking the online Post-Play Survey. Shocking!
Before this change, you could take the Post-Play Survey immediately upon registering the game. In fact, Nintendo’s system sort of encouraged you to do so, what with all the ubiquitous reminders to take the survey and earn a bonus 10 points for your Club Nintendo account. Of course, taking a Post Play Survey when you’ve barely played the game is ridiculous. Now you have to wait… the survey won’t even appear in your To-Do list until a week has passed since registration. Hopefully you’ve played the game once or twice since then.
Incidentally, even though Wii Fit Plus retails for $20, you still get the full 50 point buff for registering it with Club Nintendo. Mario didn’t randomly cheap out on the points. We’re only four months into the current Club Nintendo calendar year and I’m already at Gold status.
Blobtober begins now
By Joe Fourhman | October 13, 2009I completely thought this one came out already, but if anybody would know, it’s Majesco. Maybe there was small delay. So I suppose A Boy and His Blob is in actuality out today.
Something else I didn’t know, but Majesco’s press release does, is the price. A Boy and His Blob, this year’s critical darling Wii exclusive, will retail for only $40. Now how am I going to work that into this week’s Buy Two Get One Free deal at Toys R Us?
Full press release after the jump. Jellybeans not included.
Sad Chao is going to have a happy, sunshiney Halloween
By Joe Fourhman | October 12, 2009
| 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! |
Nintendo Download Monday – the Super Chaos Hippo Pong edition
By Joe Fourhman | October 12, 2009A light week for Wii and DSi downloads, with only three new games on tap.
500 points gets you a pinball game on DSi, Pinball Pulse: The Ancients Beckon. Or you could pick up Gravitronix on WiiWare, which looks like an 8-player circular Pong with an anime vibe and all the chaos of Hungry Hungry Hippos with a four year old.
Then there’s 800 points for Final Fight 2, an SNES game for Virtual Console. Have we reached the point where Nintendo needs to revisit the point structure for VC games? We’re now getting all-new games for both DSi and Wii that range from 500 to 1000 points… and yet SNES and Genesis games still go for 800? Even more of a crime, the world’s worst classic NES games are still marked 500! I know Nintendo would like to have standard pricing, but would they really generate much marketplace confusion if Super Mario 3 was 500 and flippin’ NES Soccer was 200?
Full press release after the jump.
Read-a-long with Nintendo Power #247 (November 2009)
By Joe Fourhman | October 9, 2009
It’s a big review issue, as NP prepares readers for the best Wii/DSi buys this holiday season. Being a magazine, plenty of the reviewed games are already old news, but we’ll hit the highlights regardless. There’s a lot of high-scoring games this month, so get out the Christmas wish list and read-a-long!
Issue #247, November 2009
featuring Shantae: Risky’s Revenge (DSiWare), Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles (Wii), Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky (DS), C.O.P.: The Recruit (DS)
Let’s jump right to the reviews since there’s so many key titles to discuss. I’ll take it from the top.
First up is Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. NP gives it a 9.0 and suggests that it may be Square Enix’s finest achievement on the DS. Although the review reserves an entire page, it really doesn’t say much about the game other than it’s good. The DS game is very similar to the originals in gameplay, but is slow to start and recycles the PS2 soundtracks again.
Kingdom Hearts shares 9.0 top honors with Scribblenauts. The review points out the game’s critical flaws but is far more generous than I am. NP doesn’t bring up the awful controls, but they do point out the stupid snapback camera and the mysterious deaths brought about by confusing win/loss parameters. That doesn’t add up to a 9.0 game in my book.
Speaking of that, the top Wii game of the issue is Beatles: Rock Band with a 9.0. I continue to be mystified by how critics everywhere agreed to review this game in a vacuum where other similar games do not exist. Did the Rock Band 2 instruments on Wii not include auto-calibration? Because Nintendo Power spends fully one quarter of the review lauding the Beatles edition instruments for having that feature, as if that’s a huge selling point.
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