Wii Rally

The sun beats down on my back as I crawl forward in search of refreshment. “Water? Water!” I yell “Water and games, will this drought never end?” But wait as I look out into the horizon I see it. Relief from this crazy drought we have been stuck in since January. Get ready for a flood here come the games of March.

Getting serious now. Reggie once promised us that we would see no game drought for the Wii in 2007. Well what do you call the last 2 months big man? Sure there’s been some hotness on the virtual console and both Sonic and Wario have made their debut on the Wii but still there hasn’t been that much to be excited about. Hopefully March will change that with 8 new Wii games set to make Wii owners the busiest they’ve been since Christmas.

March will see the release of some original content along with a couple of shoe-horned “Wii-makes”. It would seem that almost every major publisher has a game coming out for the Wii in March. Nintendo kicks off the party right at the beginning with the release of the anticipated release of Mario Marty 8. You know what they say March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb, well the same is true for games. The month of march starts strong but then kind of peters out at the end.

Who will rule the charts Ubisoft’s TMNT? EA’s Tiger Woods PGA Tour ‘07? or Hudson’s Wing Island? We shall see.

Hit the jump for the complete list of Wii games launching in March. (more…)

I noticed something interesting about the Wii Shop channel today.

Once you have purchased a Virtual Console game from the Wii shop channel you can no longer see the price. If you view the listing for a Virtual Console game after you have purchased it in the area that once displayed the price (in Wii Points) the words “downloaded” appear. I know this is nothing new but I recently pondered the implication of such a feature. Yes it’s good to see what you have already downloaded so as to prevent repeat downloads but what is stopping Nintendo from changing the prices of Virtual Console games later on?

Look at it this way. You download Donkey Kong for the NES for 500 Wii points you play it and enjoy it. Then 6 months later Nintendo changes the price to 250 Wii points. But you will never know because as far as you know it’s “downloaded”. So you go through life wondering why people are snickering at you behind your back. All because you paid 5 bucks for 3 stages of Donkey Kong, what’s up with that anyway.

I’ll give Nintendo the benefit of the doubt though. I have faith that big “N” wouldn’t do business in such a sneaky underhanded way but then again EA was founded on similar principals. Just something to think about before you blow all those Wii points on something you might regret later.

Aside: Stupid Donkey Kong I swear there was more than 3 stages back in 1983.

Today Maxis and EA announced MySims which is being developed exclusively for the Wii and DS. The game will allow for crazy customization of yourself, everything you own and even the whole town. Will EA capture all those hardcore “Sims” lovers out there or will the cutesy aesthetic limit the game’s appeal?

EA has a great opportunity to really show what the Wii can do. I’m hoping for some Wii-DS connectivity or the ability to visit other people’s town. Details outside of the general premise are scarce at the moment but I’m gonna be following this one for awhile. EA does have a trailer up on the MySims website.

Cue the fanfare lay out the red carpet The Legend of Zelda hit the NA VC today. To no surprise since Nintendo released a hype garnering press release on the 23rd. It will make a very nice addition to any collection which already contains Mario Bros.
Before you run to the Wii Shop channel and spend that 1000 Wii points read this description of Chew Man Fu.

A novel action-puzzle game set in the sacred towers taken over by the evil sorcerer, Chew Man Fu. It’s up to an apprentice female monk to free the towers and lift Chew’s curse to bring peace and fried rice back to the land once ruled by the Egg Roll Dynasty. The rules are simple. The objective is to clear each round by pushing or pulling four colored orbs onto their matching colored tiles. Beware the sorcerer’s minions in the tower who stand in the way. Players kick the orbs to take enemies out or to break down walls. They must overcome the obstacles and place the orbs on their respective tiles. Chew Man Fu also features the two-player Kick Ball minigame, as well as an Edit Mode for creating unique stages. The fun is endless.

A kickball mini game and a level editor? The fun really is endless.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64 1000 Wii Points)
Bio-Hazard Battle (Genesis, 800 Wii Points)
Chew Man Fu (TG16, 600 Wii Points)

It’s time for another Wiikend wrap up! (Applause)

A couple tidbits for you this weekend. First you may or may not have heard about the possibility of NeoGeo games coming to the Wii’s Virtual Console. According to CVG (Computer Video Games) Nintendo of Japan has confirmed they will be releasing an update to the Virtual Console allowing gamers to play NeoGeo and MSX games. Nintendo wouldn’t tell CVG whether Europe or North America would seeing this update. Now I’ve never owned a NeoGeo or an MSX but the more the merrier.

On to the wrap!

Monday
NA VC Update 02/19/07

Tuesday
Wii Charging Station by Thrustmaster

Wednesday
Wii Wish: Rocket Jockey

Thursday
Makin’ Miis
Video Thursday: Sonic Edition

Feature Friday
European VC Update 02/23/07
WiiMote != Lightsaber

I found an interesting article on TheForce.net today. Apparently Game Informer sat down with a rep from Lucas Arts to talk about the upcoming Star Wars game “Force Unleashed” during the discussion the rep was asked why the games was coming to every platform except the Wii. “even if that version does happen, it probably wouldn’t be ‘the lightsaber game’ that gamers have eagerly been awaiting.”

Is this good news or bad news? I think it’s good that the first iteration of lightsaber combat will not be from some crappy port that is “shoe horned” on to the Wii. I believe that at the moment Lucas Arts has no official plans for a Star Wars game on the Wii. However that doesn’t mean that it won’t happen. Lets look at the facts.

~Lucas Arts is notoriously secretive about most projects.
~Lucas Arts tends to announce games that are very near the end of their development cycle.
~George Lucas is the king of merchandising next to Gene Simmons of course and will never turn down an opportunity to make some cash with his beloved Star Wars IP.
~Apparently no developers can really get “realistic” sword fighting to work with the WiiMote.

I think that we will see an amazing Star Wars game on the Wii just not anytime soon.

Source:TheForce.net

I told everyone that last week with the release of DK Country here in NA I wasn’t jealous of the Euro market anymore. Well my eyes turned green again this week with the latest Euro VC update.

Kid Icarus (NES, 500 Wii points)

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64, 1000 Wii points)

It is widely known throughout the games industry that the market most commonly screwed on prices, release dates and content is Europe. I guess that Nintendo is trying to make amends by giving them access to one of the most widely anticipated VC games, Ocarina of Time.

What interests me is not that the game is available in Europe but that it only costs 1000 Wii points not the previously rumored 1200 Wii points. Will we see a change in the price point for the NA release of the game on the VC? That remains to be seen but I sincerely hope not. Every one’s used to getting screwed by Msoft, Sony, EA et.al but when Nintendo screws you it hurts….deep down inside.

So will we finaly see OoT hit the NA market with the coming monday update? Check back on Monday to find out.

Sonic and the Secret Rings came out on Tuesday and I still have received no word from Sega on the status of my copy. Must have gotten lost in the mail or something. Anyway I found this video from Wii.TV of the first nine minuets or so of the game.
The video takes you through the intro video the tutorial stage and the first mission.

Still looks bad ass to me. From the control explanation you can kind of get a sense of how the game is played. My only gripe thus far is that annoying women’s voice. Kind of like Midina from the Zelda series only not as cute. Let hop something bad happens to her so you don’t have to listen to her through the entire game.

Hit the jump for the Bonus Round (more…)

The world seems to be falling in love with Miis the little and sometimes crude avatars that can be made with your Wii. I know that anyone who ventures over to my place must make one before they can do anything else. Lately you might have noticed that several companies and artists have begun to fabricate Mii sculptures often you send them a picture and some “duckets” and boom FedEx is at your door Mii in hand. One such company is Fabjectory, I got an email from Fabjectory’s owner yesterday a fellow named Michael Buckbee telling me about Fabjectory and what they do. They make digital avatars into real life sculptures including but not limited to Miis.

What makes Fabjectory different from all the other Mii sculptors out there isn’t what they do it’s how they do it. The sculptures are built using a rapid prototyping machine which sprays on a plaster powder 1/400th of an inch at a time; think of it as a 3D printer. Rapid prototyping is most commonly used in CAD (computer assisted design) to give designers and engineers a better idea of what an object looks like once it occupies real 3D space.

How does this benefit us? By using the rapid prototyping process Fabjectory is able to make sculptures that are sturdy, accurate and unique looking. There is one downside however, the price. A 3 inch tall sculpture will run you about 50$ US and a 5 inch monument to you will set you back about 100$ US plus shipping costs. Fabjectory does offer a “no questions asked, money back guarantee” if you are not satisfied with your Mii once you receive it.

If I’ve peaked your interest head on over the Fabjectory’s website and take a look around. Maybe Miis don’t float your boat but you have a really bad ass Second Life avatar well they do those too so quit complaining.

I was contacted sometime ago by reader named Rustopher Hashonah a.k.a Rocket Man, you may have seen his comments around the site. He originally proposed a Remake of his favorite title Rocket Jockey, so I told him to go ahead a write up a “Wii Wish”. Needless to say he was so amped at the opportunity to share his love for what he calls a “hidden gem” that I received his “Wii Wish” within a couple days so without further ado I present…..

Rustopher Hashonah’s Wii Wish: Rocket Jockey

Whenever I see reminiscence about fun, yet somewhat dated PC games, the same group of popular gems like X-COM, Fallout, Star Control II, and Syndicate get the most attention. During these conversations, I always bring up a small lost gem, but very few have heard of it and even fewer have played it. This diamond in the rough is known as Rocket Science’s “Rocket Jockey”.

Published by SegaSoft back in 1997, Rocket Jockey lived a short life between being too powerful for some machines and yet incompatible with next generation PCs. In addition, the coveted LAN play-enabling patch was released far too late in the games lifespan, after any popularity Rocket Jockey had built faded away. Rumour had it the game would be released for the Playstation, but this never came to fruition.

(more…)

(Hehehe Thrustmaster!?!)

In an interview in 2006 NoA president Reggie Fils-Amie said that consumers would have to look to third party companies for a rechargeable battery pack solution for the WiiMote. Thrustmaster to the rescue while they may not be the first third party company to develop accessories for the Wii but their entries seem pretty solid.

If you’re tired of that strange black gunk that makes your pretty little WiiMote look scuzzy than you can grab Thrustmaster’s T-Protect to keep that WiiMote looking pristine. It’s a shame it only comes in black and white I’d love a sexy purple one. (I’m talking to you Thrustmaster!)

Thrustmaster’s T-Charge is not an ideal solution to the WiiMote’s NiMH thirst but it will certainly do the job. The T-Charge is powered by your Wii via USB cable. Inside the T-Charge is a charger, guess what that does? It charges two AA batteries (duh), so you can charge while you play. You will still have to swap the batteries when one pair gets low and you can always use more wires coming out the back of the Wii. Alas I guess that third party battery pack is still a way off. (Hint hint Nintendo)

Good morning all! I hope a fine weekend was had by all. I spent mine plying ExciteTruck and Frets on Fire, anyway on to new business. Nintendo keeps the kick ass coming with an awesome Virtual Console update. My resentment and jealousy of the European Wii owners become less and less every week. As of today there is only two VC games that they can hold over the heads of us spoiled gamers here in North America ExciteBike and Zelda II the Adventure of Link. Give us time my friends give us time.

Streets of Rage (Sega Genesis, 800 Wii Points)
New Adventure Island (TG-16, 600 Wii Points)
The Legend of Kage (NES, 500 Wii Points)
Donkey Kong Country (Super NES, 800 Wii Points)

Wii Rally’s VC game of the week is Donkey Kong Country. Definitely worth the wait!

Another strong week here at Wii Rally. Light on the content yet heavy on the opinion. While comments are always welcome on Wii Rally there are a few guidlines that I would like everyone to follow.

1. Please no cursing, it’s just not necessary.
2. Avoid personal attacks. You can rebut their point or argue some one’s opinion but making personal attacks on someone you have never met invalidates you as a rational human being.
3. I as the site administrator retain the right to edit change or delete comments as I see fit. To make sure this does not happen to you please follow the 2 guidelines I have posted above.

So play nice kiddies, On to the wrap.

Monday
NA VC Update 02/12/07
You’re Cordially Invited to the Wedding of the Year

Tuesday
A Few Words About…… ExciteTruck

Wednesday
Happy Valentines

Thursday
Video Thursday: Love Edition

Feature Friday
A Few Words About…… The Everybody Votes Channel

The first question that comes to mind is “Why does this even exist?”.

Nintendo surprised Wii owners on Wednesday by releasing a new piece of software via the Wii Shop channel. The Everybody Votes channel is the first piece of stand alone software that has been issued for the Wii. Talk about tripping right out of the gate. Sure the concept seems intriguing, vote in national and world wide polls and my favorite part see the results. Sorry I’m about to pee in my pants I’m so excited about looking at statistics and the prospect of finding out how many Wii owners prefer chocolate over flowers. The Everybody Votes channel seems like a sad attempt at one of those “The whole family can play things” just excecuted very poorly. I mean they could have at least made it fun to use. Trust me it’s about as exciting as browsing the Wii Shop Channel.

As dull as it may be the Everybody Votes channel is totally free. Nintendo makes you go jump through a few hoops in the form of a system update and a trip to the Wii Shop channel to download the actual application. It is nice to see that Nintendo is at least playing with the idea of linking consoles by a means other tha the friend codes we all love to input.

Sorry guys I’m a little busy today so here’s a treat from Ubisoft

Thanks Brill.

Here’s a little valentine from Kirby and VG Cats.

Thanks Jon.