WiiNintendo

This is the same as Guitar Hero: Smash Hits in the US, this is for our Euro brethran

Sumthing Else Music Works, Inc., through its licensing relationship with SEGA, are today set to release the MADWORLD Official Soundtrack featuring twenty original Hip-Hop songs from the inventive Action game developed by PlatinumGames. MADWORLD Official Soundtrack is released today to retail outlets through Sumthing Else Music Works www.sumthing.com, and will be available for digital download on Sumthing Digital www.sumthingdigital.com and iTunes.

“There are a total of twenty tracks on the MADWORLD soundtrack and they are all original songs that we produced especially for the game,” said composer and soundtrack producer Naoto Tanaka. “I would make the backing tracks (or the beats) and then we would hand them off to these talented artists to get their performances. It was a pretty big challenge, especially as it was my first time with this kind of collaboration, but I think luck was on my side and it turned out to be extremely successful.”

[Electronic Theatre]

Listen: Download mp3

Highlights:

Wii Sports Resort

- It’ll sell a lot
- They’ve all had a chance to play it
- Only 1 or 2 duds
- Craig doesn’t like cycling
- Just sit there and drum the controllers for cycling
- Some games clearly not MotionPlus
- Airplane game probably not using the attachment (if it does, probably for the hell of it)
- The airplane game still feels good…Makes Craig want Pilotwings
- Have noticed a lot of drift – As you’re playing it gets out of calibration
- Can push down on d-pad with sword fighting for calibration – Not ideal
- Weird that this is sort of the revision 2 of the Wiimote and we still have to deal with these issues
- Don’t have as much control in frisbee golf compared to the dog-throwing mode
- Matt really enjoying archery – gives you a really long range (depth) to the course – Get a taste, then you wish it isn’t as shallow
- Wind should play a bigger factor in archery
- Wii Sports Bowling is the same game

Wii Sports Resort games in general/games Nintendo Team doesn’t like

- Wake-boarding – not much too it, Craig convinced it’s not MotionPlus at all
- Basketball mode, since it seems it’s about timing
- Power-cruising (Bozon) – felt it just feels like tilt to move, revving your wrist a lot
- Canoeing – Craig likes it, only good when you’re playing with other people
- Cycling – Not very good, just drum the controller and tilt
- Bozon doesn’t like airsports, Bozon/Craig do – Matt not a timer on the exploration mode
- Like archery, frisbee stuff, swordfighting, table tennis (controls are great, still very timing based) – bowling/golf are marginal updates
- Tiger has better putting than in Wii Sports Resort golf

The Conduit

- Gave it an 8.6/10
- Misspelled Matt’s name in the credits
- Liked the game, thought it was pretty good
- Good shooter, problem with it is that it doesn’t feel new at all
- Doesn’t push the genre forward other than controls
- Felt like Perfect Dark – straightforward FPS, couldn’t knock it for that because he still had a lot of fun
- Intense, controlled well
- Frame rate online dips but still a lot of fun
- Not the greatest FPS of all time but still a damn good one
- Nintendo Team is aware of the reviews that Wii owners have been complaining about
- Online mode is a big deal for Wii, people are having a lot of fun

Overlord Dark Legend

- 7.5
- Had a lot of potential
- Visuals were getting there
- Framey, had slowdown and camera issues
- A lot of good stuff but there were times where tech was holding it back
- Storyline was funny
- Controls well done
- Frame rate is a killer, it got in the way of gameplay
- Minion AI very dumb sometimes

Harry Potter

- More of the same
- EA hasn’t used the added time to make the game better
- Can tell it’s been shelved for awhile
- Dev team has immersed you into Hogwarts, feel like you’re a part of the school
- Flying stuff is pretty good – simple but cool
- Story crudely composed – cut-scenes clip, animation stiff, lip-syncing off
- Nearly Headless Nick will guide you around – funny and a great guide
- Harry Potter controls like a tank
- Overall Matt had fun of the game, it’s a good update but not anything amazing
- If you’re a Potter fan you’ll probably like it, if not it won’t draw you in
- Review tomorrow
- Hoping next year’s version will use MotionPlus
- Matt thinks EA needs to rethink their approach to the series and make a Wii-exclusive game which takes advantage of the system

Renegade Kid

- Got quick preview of Maximillian and the Rise of the Mutant Mudds
- Interesting since it’s their attempt at a different genre
- It’s a 3D platformer
- Has a lot in common with Super Mario Sunshine
- Max’s main gadget is his water pack
- Shoot water at mud characters
- Demo was very, very short (1-2 mins)
- Controlled pretty well
- Hold L or R button to go into first-person, control view point and gun by aiming with d-pad, aim with a face button
- Can also use touch screen for camera view
- Engine’s good
- Very early in development
- Has a lot of potential
- Could be retail or DSiWare release – Haven’t made a decision yet

Flower, Sun, and Rain

- Pretty cool
- Biggest problem is that it’s very obscure and strange
- Old game from PS2
- Puzzles are tough to figure out
- Feels kind of dated
- Probably will frustrate more than it pulls people in
- Gave it a 5.0

Overlord Minions

- Craig liked what they did for the DS version
- Follow the minions instead of the overlord
- 4 different minions, have their own abilities
- What wrecks the game is some of the most insensitive touch screen controls you could possibly have in this kind of game
- Controls like Phantom Hourglass – Control characters with stylus but then you have gesture controls too (work only about 50% of the time)
- Very frustrating experience
- Some clever puzzles
- Craig couldn’t get over touch screen controls
- Not shovelware but didn’t produce good-controlling game

Transformers (DS)

- Better than the original, better than the console versions
- Still has its problems
- Well-produced
- Gave it a 7.0
- Have voice-acting
- Don’t play direct with people online – Download a mission, play it, upload your score, depending on whether you’re an autobot or decepticon, mark that place on the map and take over the world
- Online is kind of like a weird version of Risk

Reader questions

- FPS on dual thumb stick feels archaic but still haven’t seen anyone that just locks the cursor in the center of the screen
- Bozon and Matt would recommend Tiger Woods MotionPlus bundle over Wii Sports Resort, but if you’re not a golf fan you should buy Wii Sports Resort
- Have no idea how well The Conduit sold – Matt has an interview with marketing director of SEGA about their sales projections – Will be tracking the game closely
- Predictions for The Conduit for the end of the year – 250K – 300K for Bozon, Matt agreed with it – Matt optimistically HOPING for above 500K – Probably 250,000…Matt doesn’t think that’s enough for a sequel
- Not sure what’s going on with Orbital Media or Racing Gears DS, will try to find out
- Guys handling Rock Band 2 DLC delay juggling a lot of stuff
- Little King’s Story better than Overlord, but don’t have cursor control, still really fun

[NeoGaf]

When: Saturday July 18th
Where: Denver, CO | JJGames Store | 7975 E Harvard Ave, Ste G | 80231
Games: Nintendo World Championships & Nintendo Campus Challenge
Prizes: $200 JJGames gift cards, free t-shirts, and NWC and NCC reproduction
cartridges
Website: http://www.jjgames.com/page/retro-game-championship-2009

About the games:
Nintendo World Championship (On 5 TV’s): A game created for a Nintendo video
game competition in 1990. Players have 6 minutes to get 50 coins in Super
Mario Bros, finish one lap in Rad Racer, and get a high score in Tetris. The
competition was loosely based on the movie The Wizard.

Nintendo Campus Challenge (On 5 TV’s): Another game created by Nintendo for
competitions on college campuses in 1991. You have 6 minutes to get 25 coins
in Super Mario 3, 100,000 points in Pin-Bot, and a high score in Dr. Mario.
There is only one known copy of this game in existence..

A sequel to the 2007 “The Gamer”, “The Gamer 2″ is a tour de force. Donkey Kong and his henchmen from the gaming universe are back, and this time, The Gamer will need to pull out all the stops in order to defeat them.

Featuring games such as Tetris, Doom, Pokemon, Smash Bros. and more, “The Gamer 2″ is everything a sequel should be.

[Thanks Chris]

MJ was the soundtrack to my childhood… sad

[More Pics]

Wii MotionPlus does get a little lost from time to time. To keep everything running smoothly some games will require you to constantly recalibrate the device.

EA’s Grand Slam Tennis asks you to place your Wii Remote, with Wii MotionPlus installed, on a flat surface for a few seconds if control becomes unstable during play, which it did occasionally.

Other games, such as Wii Sports Resort, will require recalibration more often. In this case the game will prompt you to press the + button whenever the controller needs to know where you are standing and the position of the Wii Remote. It doesn’t seem like it will be too much of an annoyance.

Via Kotaku:

When Tiger Woods appears on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon later this week he will be facing off with the show’s host in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 on the Wii.

On Monday, enthusiastic gamer Jimmy Fallon announced that Tiger Woods would be on his show this Thursday, saying he wanted to play him on the Wii because it was the only way he would have a chance.

Today, Electronic Arts confirmed to Kotaku that Woods has accepted the challenge and that the two would be playing rounds of golf on the Wii version of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10. I’d assume it will include MotionPlus, which means Fallon better start practicing.