Wii Rally

The characters from the worlds of Mario and Sonic come together in a new game that hits the store shelves today. Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games features several sporting events modeled after the scheduled games of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Track, table tennis, and gymnastics are three of 20 summer Olympic events featured. There are also unlockable stages that bring in objects from both the Mario and Sonic world. Players can choose one of three game modes: Single Match mode, Circuit mode, and Mission mode. Play one of the beloved characters or bring our Mii to get in on the action.

Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games is rated E for Everyone and has a suggested retail price of $49.99. Click on the full story for screen shots.

edit: will be released November 9th. Wednesday was the day pre-sells began at Toys R Us.

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Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn hits the store shelves today. This title is the next in the Fire Emblem series and takes place three years after the great war that ended in the death of Mad King Ashnard. His land now is under the control of the war’s victors. A small band of freedom fighters have come together to free the king’s country Daein. Build your army to defeat the oppressors in this turn-based strategy game from developer Intelligent Systems. Suggested retail price is $49.99.

ESRB E 10+

Game Type Role playing/strategy

Players 1

See full story for screen shots.

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When online play was first brought to the Wii in the form of Pokémon: Battle Revolution, players didn’t respond. Yes the kids go ape poop over those little Pokémon but the “stadium” games have never been the bread and butter of the series. Just recently we were shown again how online play can be done on the Wii with Mario Strikers: Charged. This week we get to see how a third party handles the online option.

EA’s Madden ‘08 should be at your local game store as you read this. Sure it’s the only licensed football fair on the market but more importantly it’s the first third party Wii game to feature online multiplayer. So if you love football, the Wii, and playing online? You should definitely check this baby out. Don’t forget to laugh at those PS3 and 360 guys as they compare pixel by pixel trying to see who’s version runs better. Laugh heartily, for if you cared about graphics you wouldn’t have bought a Wii.

Hahahahah “I can see the interlacing” HAHAHAHA!

Title: Madden NFL ‘08
Developer: EA Tiburon
Publisher EA Sports
Platforms: All of them including Wii.
Rating: E for Everyone

Madden, Wii, New Releases, Games, EA, NFL

Only one new release this week but it is strong nontheless and it is surly significant in ones Wii world view. This week Wii Rally honours the release of the first non-Pokémon Wii title to feature online play, Mario Strikers: Charged.

Mario Strikers: Charged is the sequel to the GameCube title featuring 9 new arenas and a butt-load of new characters each with their own special moves. More importantly Strikers: Charged will allow you to take the battle for the Cup online as you and other soccer enthusiasts wage war on the pitch of battle to get that coveted number 1 spot in the rankings. Now any victory will be short lived if you do not defend the title. Nintendo plans on resetting the rankings once a week to keep the competition new and fresh.

I have a soft spot in my heart for Mario sports games; I’ve spent many hours with Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and Mario Power Tennis both for the GameCube. Although I am still waiting for a Wii version of Mario Tennis. I’d recommend picking this one up if not for the Soccer than to see what Nintendo has done with the Wi-Fi Connection. If things go well with Strikers: Charged hopefully we will see a slew of other Wii titles featuring online play.

Finally some new software to talk about and I use the term “new” loosely. There are two titles available for the Wii this week. The first is Escape from Bug Island which was released in Japan under the title Necro-Nesia. Why they changed the title I’ll never understand. To me “Necro-Nesia” sounds a lot cooler than “Escape from Bug Island”. Why do the Japanese have to dumb everything down for the rest of the world I mean come on I didn’t think that Super Mario Bros. 2 (Japanese version) was too tough for us North Americans but apparently the powers that be at Nintendo think that us poor folks in the Western hemisphere are too dimwitted to wrap our heads around most games from the land of the rising sun. However I digress, I’ll take what I can get.

The other new release this week is another re-make of a classic game that has been redesigned for the Wii, Alien Syndrome. Back in the late 80’s and early 90’s Alien Syndrome appeared on almost every console under the sun, and a few computers. There was a DOS version (Anyone remember DOS?) and a Commodore 64 version. Well now over 10 years later the game a been redone for the Wii and I must say that the gameplay looks solid I’m just really itching for some more unique and new software for my Wii.

New Releases:
Escape From Bug Island
Horror/Action Adventure
1 Player
Rated M for Mature

Alien Syndrome
Action/RPG
1-4 Players
Rated T for Teen

Parents, don’t forget to check the ESRB ratings on these games if you plan on buying or renting any of the above titles for little Johnny . For more infromation on the ESRB and video game ratings please visit the ESRB website

There wasn’t much to say last week about new releases seeing as how there was only one. This week is totally different, there are 7 new Wii games out this week. Sure 3 of them are multiplatform movie tie-ins but still, waving your Wii Remote around like Harry Potter’s wand may prove quite interesting.

Pokemon Battle Revolution
(E for everyone)
Finally online play comes to North America. Now if we can just get rid of those pesky friend codes.

The BIGS (E for Everyone)
I’m having trouble deciding which is more boring; watching Baseball or playing Baseball.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
(E10+ Everyone 10 and up)
“It’s not Levioohsa, it’s Leviosa!”

Transformers: The Game (T for Teen)
Could this game be more than meets the eye? I doubt it.

Driver: Parallel Lines (M for Mature)
Every ones least favorite crime sim comes to the Wii

Chicken Shoot (E10+ Everyone 10 and up)
Shooting chickens, yeah that’s topical.

Ratatouille (E for Everyone)
I ear ze movie iz good but ow iz de game. Iz amusant joost come Jerry Lewis.

Another week another batch of new releases. Know I’m using the term “batch” very loosely since there is only one piece of software being released this week. Now it is game of the year….. 2005. The Wii-make of Resident Evil 4 should be on store shelves as you read this.

Priced at a nicely moderate 29.99$ with all the bonus features that were previously only available in the PS2 version of the game. Play as Leon or Ada Wong to unravel the sinister plot surrounding the Las Plagas parasite. If you’ve already played RE:4 you might find the new controls fun to play with but that seems to be about the extent of it’s appeal to repeat players. However if you are like me who has played the original version but has never finished it this could be the adventure you need to get through the long summer ahead.

You know what? I never tell you guys what new games come out in a given week. Sure I keep all you Rally readers up to date on the North American and European Virtual Console releases but what about Wii software. So without further adieu here are the New Releases for this week.

The Sims 2: Pets (T for Teen)
Are you a fan of the Sims? How about Pets? If yes, face it tiger you just hit the jackpot.

Scarface: The World Is Yours
(M for Mature)
Wii-make alert, if you didn’t like this game on Xbox or PS2 then I don’t think this version will convert you.

Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (T for Teen)
Multiplatform movie tie-in. Approach with caution!

Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (E for Everyone)
A spiritual successor of sorts to the smash NDS hit Brain Age. Wii Degree is said “to make learning fun for the whole family”. Well I didn’t say that but I’m sure someone did.