Wii Rally

There are a few words that come to mind when I think of WarioWare Smooth Moves. Fast, chaotic, strangely addictive. Warioware: Smooth Moves is full of 3-5 second micro-games that challenge players to do crazy tasks like pick someone’s nose or balancing a broom in the palm of your hand.

There is a story behind all the chaos. Here it is from the Nintendo website:

While pursuing a strange creature that stole his snack, Wario accidentally stumbles into an old building called the Temple of Form. Inside, he finds a mystical treasure called the Form Baton, which looks suspiciously like a Wii Remote. He discovers that the Form Baton gives him special powers depending on his “form” - the way he holds and moves the baton. Wario decides to pocket his new treasure, and soon the form craze spreads through Diamond City.

To advance in the game you have to clear those wacky micro-games that change how you use the Wiimote. Be ready to adapt your game play really fast.

I had recommended WarioWare to friends because I thought that they would enjoy playing it. Apparently they didn’t and were very disappointed with it. So I guess the game antics aren’t for everyone. So, if you like crude humor and short games, WarioWare Smooth Moves might be worth checking out.

After reading all the praise for the new Mario game for the Wii, Super Mario Galaxy, I finally decided last week that it was time to play this game that is being touted as the best Mario game in years.

After playing Super Mario Galaxy for a little less than a week, I’m beginning to see what all the fuss is all about. I knew at the opening scene that I would like this game. It’s almost as if “you had me at Mario” moment. My only trepidation with the game for the Wii was that I would have to use the nunchuk and the Wiimote in the game, something I feared would be too much coordination for me. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy I mastered moving Mario with the nunchuk while also using the Wiimote to make him jump and to capture star bits. Star bits are important since you can feed stars or fight enemies using them. You can also earn 1ups when you collect 100 star bits.

This will not surprise Mario fans to know that at the root of the premise of the game is to save Princess Peach. Bowser has stolen something that allows him to travel through time and space. So, it’s up to Mario to set everything straight, as always.

The worlds of Super Mario Galaxy are quite different from the standard Mario game. There’s still enough of the game like Mario’s patented moves or the retro music mix to remind players that this is indeed a game starring the Italian plumber.

The only downside I have found so far to the game is the camera angle is somewhat clunky at times. You can use the Wiimote to move the camera around but can take a little getting use to.

Overall, Super Mario Galaxy is a great addition to the Wii line of games. It’s fun and provides a lot of entertainment.

Maybe it was all the bright colors but the moment I saw Carnival Games behind the glass I knew I wanted to play it. It even made my Will holiday gift guide. So after passing it by a couple of times and then unable to find it for sale, I finally got it a few days after Christmas.

Carnival Games features 25 different mini-games that will take either luck or skill to master. Up to four people can play with either their own Wiimote or use just one Wiimote by taking turns. Games resemble those found at carnivals like the ring toss, duck shoot, or the dunking booth.

The first order of business in Carnival Games is to create your player. Once you’ve created your sim, you are read to hit the midway. In single player mode, players earn tickets when they play games. You can use these tickets to purchase items for your sim or to play specialty carnival booths like the Fortune Teller. It takes a minimum of 25 tickets to purchase anything for your sim, so it’s best to play a few games to build up some tickets. The booths that take tickets are okay but only if you have nothing else to purchase. I wasted 15 tickets on the fortune teller basically to get an answer I could have gotten from a magic 8-ball.

Carnival Games with its variety of mini-games should offer something for everyone. I have my favorite games while my husband has his. All of the games are fun while some are more challenging than others. It’s a great game to break out when friends come over or makes a fun choice for family game night.

Link’s Crossbow Training comes packaged with the Wii Zapper and unlike Wii Play that came with a Wii remote, Link is very reasonably priced. I bought it because I knew I wanted a zapper and didn’t expect much from Link’s Crossbow Training. I do have to say that I was pleasantly surprised to actually play the game and see that there is some substance to it.

Link’s Crossbow Training has three ways to play: practice, mulit-player, and score attack. There are 27 different levels to play through. Each round lasts one minute and in that time the player is challenged to shoot as many targets as possible. There are three different shooting modes: target shooting, ranger, and defender. In target shooting, players try to hit the various targets like floating fruit, tossed skulls, or bullseye targets. In ranger, players roam around the playing map to snipe out the enemy. In defender, Link must stave out invading attackers in various settings.

The Wii Zapper houses both the Wii remote and Nunchuk. The Nunchuk is used ranger to move Link around, giving players a chance to practice with movement. The game begins with the first nine levels open. Players must earn at least a bronze medal to unlock additional levels.

While Link’s Crossbow Training may not be a full game like holiday favorite Super Mario Galaxy, it is worth the $25 or less to buy it and the Wii Zapper. Besides, it will give players a great opportunity to get used to playing with the Zapper. The learning curve isn’t that steep but does take a little practice to get the hang of walking and looking around. The graphics and music make Link’s Crossbow Training a delightful way to target practice while gearing up for full-blown Zapper-compatible games.

Link’s Crossbow Training

Would a Mortal Kombat game be the same without Fatalities? Kind of but not really.

Midway’s goal upon porting Mortal Kombat: Armageddon to the Wii was to give any type of gamer a chance to be able to produce special moves and fatalities. When Mortal Kombat debuted in arcades back in 1993 fatalities and special moves were a sign of skill but with the Wii edition of Armageddon a 5 year old can do anything a seasoned veteran can do. So the playing field has been effectively leveled.

Armageddon accomplishes this by allowing a player to produce special moves and fatalities simply by making one of eight possible motions with the Wii Remote. 4 of which are either up/down, down/up, forward/back and back/forward; the rest are quarter circles with the Wii Remote. The downside is that by simplifying the controls they’ve really dumbed down the challenge that made the gameplay exciting. Also in simplyfying the controls they’ve ditched the characters unique fatalities and replaced them with a generic one that can be escalated by the player but they pretty much all end up the same.
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Alright, in the interest of full disclosure I must tell you that I’ve been a fan of the Mario Party games for quite some time. One of the main reasons being that my girlfriend Jen particularly enjoys them as well. More often than not Jen just watches me play games but the first time I brought a copy of Mario Party, I think it was 5 over to her house she jumped right on board and wrestled the controller away from me. She waited with great anticipation for the next game in the series which happened to be the finest to date. Mario Party 6 was incredibly fun with a nice selection of compelling mini games. Mario Party 7 was all wrong it seemed that the series had lost it’s momentum. Enter the Wii and an entire new control scheme, which bring us to the topic of today’s lesson Mario Party 8.

Mario Party 8 is the series’ Wii debut. Many gamers were excited to see how the new controls would be implemented and what surprises Hudson (Who developed the game) and Nintendo (Publisher) had in store for this latest party game-a-palooza. Especially since the game was originally slated for a March ‘07 release which was delayed until June of the same year. Why the delay? I doubt anyone outside of Hudson or Nintendo knows.

A key mistake was made with this title. Mario Party 8 should have really showcased what the Wii Remote’s motion controls could do. The problem was they forgot to implement them. OK that’s unfair yes some very few motion controls are used but they are limited to tilting the Wii Remote to fly a plane and shaking one up and down like a can of soda pop. Most of the mini-games throughout Mario Party 8 are controlled with the Wii Remote’s D-pad. I know that these are mini-games we are talking about here but come on how about knocking the complexity up a little especially for those long time fans like myself who already know how to play the game. Which brings me to my next point.

No matter how well versed you are in the Mario Party universe, Mario Party 8 seems to treat you like a moron. Explaining every little detail like you’re 100% grade A “nub cake”. A way to tell the game “hey I’ve played this game before I know how it works” would have been nice but an old English teacher once told me “Always assume the members of your audience are ignorant to what you are talking about.” I’ve never used this rule myself I like to give my audience a good amount of credit I mean they can obviously read at least.

The stages or “game boards” in Mario Party 8 are seriously lacking in some decent creativity with the exception of Boo’s castle I felt as though I’ve played these game boards many times before. I did however enjoy the new Star Battle mode but felt it was too short.

With Mario Party 7 being a disappointment I began to suspect that the series may have lost it’s momentum and fun factor. I believe that Mario Party 8 confirms this suspicion. It maybe time to call the cops on this party and have it shut down. Ever go to a house party and by about 2 or 3 in the morning almost everybody has left except for a few obnoxious party people and you just want them to leave? Well that’s how I feel about Mario Party 8. I really do think that 8 is enough.

Still going strong with Virtual Console Week here on the Rally today I’m doing some mini-reviews of the classic and not-so classic.

Donky Kong
NES, 1 Player, Wii Remote, 500 points

Nintendo’s Donkey Kong was originally released as a coin-op arcade game and as such it makes sense to have only 3 stages where the overall goal is to beat the high score. However shelling out 500 points for a game with only 3 stages doesn’t really seem right in today’s day and age. Bottom Line: Skip this one, trust me you’ve played it at some point in your life.

Punch Out!!
NES, 1 Player, Wii Remote, 500 points

A great classic with tones of replay value. I was once asked why I never wrote down any of the passwords for this game. My answer, “I find it more fun to try and finish all the bouts in one shot. I wouldn’t want to fight the thoughest guy over and over that’s just boring”
Bottom Line: Grab this one for endless hours of fun.
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“Twip, twip, twip”

OK I’m going to say this right off the bat. Vicarious Vision’s “Alchemy” engine is normally used for less detailed environments most commonly found on handheld platforms like the PSP and NDS. That being said why VV decided to use it for this game is really beyond me. Everything that is done “in-engine” looks absolutely retched. Models have incorrect geometry and textures look like they were done by a High School student instead of a reputable developer. I will say that the pre-rendered CG cut scenes look really good.

Now that I have that off my chest I can talk about how this game is fun. This is the first (movie-based) Spider-man game for the Nintendo Wii. The controls are implemented well and the combat is reminiscent of Twilight Princess. Once you get the hang of the combo system you should be able to take out large groups of baddies in no time with or without the use of a certain black suit. Web-slinging is done by pressing the left or right triggers (Z and B respectively) and flicking your wrist in the direction you would like to shoot your web. It’s all very intuitive and is very fun since you actually feel and look like you’re web-slinging around the city.

Enough about the controls lets talk story. For a game based on a movie with almost no story I was surprised to find even less here. They throw a couple of extra villains like the Lizard and Morbius in there but with a complete lack of any reason whatsoever. The villains are present just for the sake of being present. Even the scenes right from the movie were altered for no reason. No Harry or Venom death here folks they simply disappear and are never mentioned again.

Even with the extra villains this game tops out at about 6 hours to complete the main story, I was even playing on “Super-Hero” difficulty and came in under the 6 hour mark with 51% completion. Sure I can go back and defeat all the gangs that populate NYC but since they all have the same 3 enemies I think the cops can handel it.

If you love Spider-man give this one a rent. If you hate Spider-man you’re just not very nice. If you bought this title than you obviously didn’t learn anything from shelling out 11.75$ for that movie ticket opening day.

P.S.
Thanks to Brad who bought this game and was kind enough to lend it to me so I could save all of you the trouble of making the same mistake.

That’s right kiddies Super Mario is back! No Super Mario Galaxy is still a long way off but Mario fans recently got their beaks wet with a new addition to the Paper Mario series which debuted way back during the N64’s heyday.

I can’t talk about Super Paper Mario without first mentioning that the game was originally supposed to show up on the GameCube much like Zelda: Twilight Princess. I blame this on Nintendo’s commitment to quality which often results in long development times. This time around the GameCube was six feet under even before the Wii was picked from Nintendo’s secret underground console farm. Seeing as how both titles were given extra functionality and 0 to -10 load times I’m hardly complaining here.

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*Note* This game has been rated M for Mature by the ESRB and should not be played by anyone under the age of 17 for more information about ESRB and their rating please visit http://www.esrb.org

There are some ignorant people out there (fanboys mostly) that would have you believe that the Wii is just for kids. Well The Godfather: Blackhand Edition is definitely not for kids or adults that happen to be pacifists. From the opening cut scene to the final mission blood, guns and barehanded assaults are never in short supply

This game is essentially a Wii-make having already been released for Windows, Xbox(360) and PS2 there is also a special “Don’s Edition” for PS3. What’s unique about the “Blackhand Edition” is of course the Wiis unique motion controls which have been integrated nicely I might add.

I did find the precision aiming a little wonkey and insensitive which seems to be common among most Wii games especially those made by a certain french developer which I will not name. The Godfather has a “lock-on” targeting system so the precision aiming didn’t get much use so I can’t really penalize EA for that.

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I love cooking it’s strictly a hobby though that being said Cooking Mama: Cook Off comes relatively close to translating most of the actions and movements it takes to make any number of dishes into waves, thrusts and pounds of the Wii Remote.

Sporting a slight learning curve it will take you a couple attempts to get the precise motion the Wii Remote is looking for but once you do the challenge really drops off. Once I unlocked all 55 recipes I moved on to the Food and Friends mode where you are pitted against the AI to best them in the making of their countries signature dishes. Yes it is satisfying when you school the Japanese friend at making some delicious Sushi or the Russian friend at some yummy perogies the satisfaction only comes from my assumption that Russians should make the best perogies.

Where Cooking Mama really shines is the multiplayer mode where you can take on your real friends to see who can make the tastiest dish in the shortest amount of time.
Now this game isn’t going to turn you into the next Emeril Lagasse but it will have you shouting “BAM!” as you prove to your friends that you are one galloping gourmet.

Last week Wii Rally took a look at Thrustmaster’s Wii Remote cover the T-Protect (link) This week we take a look at the T-Care and the T-Charge also from Thrustmaster, first up the T-Care.

I must say that the T-Care doesn’t really do much besides Hold your Wii Remote and nunchuck while looking good but then again that is its purpose. Coming in stylish “Wii white” and sporting a nice large compartment for your Nunchuck you can place it right on your coffee table without worrying about troublesome wires.

I did find that the Wii Remote didn’t fit perfectly into place while it was sporting a T-Protect but that seems to be the only flaw. What do you do if you have two Wii Remotes unfortunately the T-Care only come in the single model so you will have to buy a second one or you can pick up a T-Charge

Bottom Line

Pros:
Large Nunchuck compartment
Colour matches the Wii
Nice design.

Cons:
Doesn’t work well with the T-Protect
Only holds one Wii Remote and nunchuck

I wouldn’t say that Wii Remotes gobble batteries but they do like to snack on them. Since I heard that the Wii Remote would be devoid of any DS/GBA SP like charging mechanism I have been on the hunt for a decent battery solution. The T-Charge is an adequate solution to this problem.

The T-Charge looks exactly like the T-Care only sporting a sexy black paint job instead of the white found on the T-Care. Built into the stand is a battery charger which connects via USB to the back of your Wii console. No putting this one on your coffee table unless you have really smart children or pets. If you happen to trip of this wire not only will you pull the T-Charge from it’s resting place but there’s a good chance your Wii will come crashing to the floor as well. I find that the best place for the T-Charge is right next to the Wii itself.

I was surprised that you can only power the charge unit via USB instead of your standard AC plug meaning that the T-Charge must be kept in close proximity to the Wii. The charge time is decent however it takes about 5 to 6 hours to fully charge batteries. When batteries are placed in the charger located at the back of the holder a blue LED located on the front of the unit lights up letting you know that the batteries are charging. Once the batteries are charged the blue LED begins to flash notifying you to remove the batteries.

The best thing about the T-Charge is that it comes with four yes FOUR Thrustmaster rechargeable batteries. Thrustmaster’s reason behind this is that you never have to stop playing to wait for batteries. You can play while you other batteries are charging. Again this functionality kind of takes a hit when you own more that one Wii Remote.

Bottom Line

Pros:
Batteries included
Quick charge time
Sleek look

Cons:
Powered by USB only
Not available in white
Doesn’t work well with the T-Protect

Both these entries are extremely solid with only a few drawbacks. If you are looking for something to hold several Wii Remotes or a battery pack solution then keep looking but if you just want to save money on batteries then the T-Charge is an ideal solution. If space is problem for you the T-Charge and T-Care may fit well into your gaming environment. Oh and did I mention that they look stylish? I did? OK then well I’ll say it again they really do look cool and match the Wii nicely. You can also buy a combo package containing a T-Charge and a T-Care aptly named the T-Charge+.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Thrustmaster’s Marketing Manager Winn Keaten for providing these items to Wii Rally so that I can review them for all of you out there. For more information on Thrustmaster visit their website at www.thrustmaster.com If you missed it don’t forget to check out Wii Rally’s review of the T-Protect available here

Guillemot owned peripheral maker Thrustmaster has some accessories on the market to pimp out your Wii, today Wii Rally focuses on the T-Protect.

The T-Protect is a silicon sleeve for your Wii Remote and nunchuck combo. It is designed to give you more of a grip on the Wii Remote and accent it with style. What sets the T-Protect apart from similar products on the market is that the T-Protect is designed to absorb shock it’s actually a couple millimeters thicker than the basic colour sleeves you can buy anywhere. So if you’re a butter fingers that is constantly dropping the Wii Remote or you like to live dangerously and forgo the suggested wrist strap then the T-Protect may help you get a little more mileage out of your Wii Remote, until you send it through your nice new TV because you’re too manly to listen to warnings.

The T-Protect comes in too colours black and white it’s surprising that Thrustmaster didn’t go with any other colours considering the success of sites like Decal Girl or the simple joy people get out of customizing their Wii Remote. I got my girlfriend a pink sleeve for her Wii Remote and she’s never been happier. I was a bit skeptical about the white T-Protect considering how the Wii Remote on it’s own seems to gather a greasy form of filth during particularly sweaty sessions of Zelda:TP. The T-Protect did not stop this occurrence but the sleeve itself remained clean while the gunk stayed on Wii Remote.

The T-Protect does fit comfortably in your hand and doesn’t add much weight to the Wii Remote but when you’ve been playing video games as long as I have sometimes something wrapping around your controller just feels “wrong”. I prefer the smooth texture of the original Wii Remote casing but if your worried about one day dropping your controller and having it smash in into pieces on your nice hard wood floor. You can spend thousands of dollars installing carpet in your game domain or dish out 9.99$ for a T-Protect.

I’m not a big fan of Wii Remote sleeves but if you are really looking to buy one for protection’s sake than the T-protect is probably is the strongest and best value for your money.

Bottom Line

Pros:
Comfortable
Protects your controller
Doesn’t get dirty.

Cons:
Only comes in two colours
Can feel “wrong” for seasoned gamers
Won’t protect loved ones from injury.

It’s Video Thursday once again and like the title says today we are featuring some video reviews from GameTrailers.com. Don’t get me wrong I like print reviews just fine but I find it infinitely easier to understand what a reviewer is talking about if I can see it at the same time. With that said I bring you reviews of two Wii games which came out recently. Sonic and the Secret Rings by Sega and EA Big’s SSX: Blur. Interesting side note regarding SSX: Blur. All my sources retail and otherwise are telling me that SSX: Blur is out already but EA’s website and various other publications are telling me that the game will be out on March 15th. So either EA didn’t bother to announce the date change or every retailer broke the street date and no one cared.

Grab a cup of tea maybe a few cookies sit back and enjoy. Maybe you will decide which games to try out this weekend.

Sonic and the Secret Rings: GT Review

SSX: Blur GT Review

Don’t forget to hit the jump for this weeks Bonus Round (more…)

Let the engines roar, the nitro spray and the trucks fly. I recently spent some time with ExciteTruck and I must say I have been having a blast. ExciteTruck is nowhere near as deep as say Burnout or Need For Speed but who cares. Sure there’s not much to unlock and realists won’t appreciate the trucks flying 200 feet through the air and the terrain morphing right before your eyes but therein lies the fun. Taken at face value ExciteTruck is probably the Wiis finest driving title to date. Anybody can enjoy this title all you have to do is hit the gas tilt the WiiMote to steer and away you go.

Even casual gamers can achieve an “S” rank on the first course with only one try. Not to say that the game is lacking in challenge once you get past the Bronze Cup races the game progresses nicely. There is a slight learning curve, it will take you about two or three races before you’re launching yourself high into the air. While playing the later tracks I realized the only way to gain ground on the race leader was to launch off jumps and land perfectly gaining a small boost. Master this technique and you will unlock “Super Excite” mode before you can say “Waaaaahooo!”