Posted by Justin on August 24th, 2010 | 0 comments
While I’m one of only a few who take notice of some quality WiiWare releases, it’s been pretty rough in recent months. There hasn’t been much of anything lately, and making matters worse is Nintendo’s decision to damn near kill off Virtual Console support.
Finally something noteworthy released, however.
And Yet It Moves is a WiiWare game I’ve had my eye on for a while and it launched yesterday. It looks like a puzzle-platformer (there’s a lot of those these days) with an interesting aesthetic centered around paper-like environments.
While the slick trailer focuses on tilt controls, the game actually makes use of four different control schemes including the classic controller.
I’ll be scoping out opinions to see what folks are saying about it.
As a side note, there actually was a Virtual Console release this week. It’s another Sunsoft title, this time an old NES game called Ufouria: The Saga. It never made it to the US, so it should be interesting pick up.
Posted by Justin on August 17th, 2010 | 0 comments
Considering my love for retro games, I figured I’d be into Retro City Rampage but it looks even better than I was expecting.
There are loads of classic references to be found, and I mean with actual gameplay mechanics and not a line of dialogue or two. Among other games, this trailer calls out to the original Ninja Turtles on NES, Super Mario Bros., Bionic Commando and Jackal.
Oh, and Grand Theft Auto, of course.
Retro City Rampage hits WiiWare later this year, so be sure to pick it up.
I’ve gushed about MDK2 in the past so hell yes I’m excited to see it return to PC and WiiWare. The announcement came today that the classic Dreamcast title is on its way, and I have to say, I’m pretty damn surprised.
I have to wonder what made Interplay dig this BioWare-developed game out of the vault. Here’s hoping success leads to MDK3, or who knows, maybe this is just warming us up for an already in development MDK3 (only in my dreams).
The platform choice is rather odd. The PC version is being called MDK2 HD while the Wii version is simply MDK2. Given that the Wii can’t run in HD, that’s not that odd part. It’s that Interplay doesn’t appear to be bringing it to XBLA or PSN.
Allow me to find something to gripe about in the face of positive news: I’d rather play this on an HD system with achievements, as shallow as that sounds. There’s no reason it can’t also be on WiiWare, but if an HD version is in the works, why not bring it to the Xbox 360 and PS3, too?
At this point, it’s safe to say the BIT.TRIP (Bit.Trip from here on out)series is the go-to set of games for me if I want to show off some quality WiiWare games. It’s pretty remarkable what the small bunch at Gaijin Games has done for themselves, besting even Nintendo at becoming the known quantity on WiiWare.
Gaijin got my attention with the first entry in the Bit.Trip series, Beat. Its simplistic, Atari-inspired graphics (albeit with a modern edge) are sleek and aesthetically sound. Gameplay is similarly simplistic and ridiculously addictive, even if its difficulty can be infuriating.
I scooped up both Void and Core, the next two Bit.Trip releases. Both are great games, both get thumbs up. However, neither compare to the awesome explosion of rainbows and pixels melting my face in Runner. READ MORE
This week’s Nintendo Download is actually quite good with at least one appealing piece of downloadable software across the trio of Nintendo’s stores.
WiiWare gets the latest entry into the Bit.Trip series, Runner. It’s a speedy platformer that’s been likened to Canabalt though not without some major differences . I’ve never played it so I guess I’ll have to find out later this afternoon when get that shits.
It’s the Bit.Trip series, so expect it to be super high quality.
DSiWare gets Looksley’s Line Up which is an absolutely dreadful name for an interesting game. Based on the description, Looksley (ugh) is that crazy looking 3D game I posted about way back when called Rittai Kakushi e Attakoreda in Japan.
I’m not sure how much game there is to it, but it looks to be worth the download if only as a neat little gimmicky game.
Virtual Console returns with Kirby Super Star. You get a lot of Kirby for your $8. Assuming you don’t own Kirby Super Star Ultra (I do), this is definitely worth a purchase.
I hadn’t heard of this WiiWare title, called Robox, until a friend enlightened me (thanks Chris!), and it’s actually a pretty damn good looking. It looks like a hybrid title of sorts, blending platforming with a bit of Metroid adventuring tossed in.
Robox rocks a pretty snazzy art direction though it does have similarities to Mommy’s Best Games titles like Weapon of Choice and Grapple Buggy (see: not a bad thing).
A personal recommendation to Dreambox Games: speed that little robotic bastard up a little bit, he’s kind of crawling along in this trailer.
I’ll be keeping an eye on this one, it looks good so far.
I’m a day late on the Nintendo Download which in most cases means I’d ignore it altogether, but there’s a noteworthy release I’d like to highlight so here we go.
Yesterday Zombie Panic in Wonderland released on WiiWare so you might want to give it a look. The price seems a little steep at 1,000 points (10 bucks), but it looks like a solid shooter with some real effort behind it so I guess I shouldn’t be bitching.
I can’t say I’m 100 percent certain of how it plays, but it looks like a quasi-rail shooter. You actual take control of a character in third person to fend off waves of enemies, but you appear to be limited to horizontal movement.
I’m tempted to pick this one up for the weekend to help pass the time before Super Mario Galaxy 2 (hype!) releases.
As for the rest of this week on Nintendo Download, I only offer this: No fucking Virtual Console release.
Noitu Love 2 is coming to WiiWare and like Cave Story, Spelunky and La-Maluna, it’s based off a popular indie title for PC – Noitu Love 2 actually costs money though, even in PC form.
Golgoth Studio is working with developer Konjak to bring it to WiiWare. No idea when we’ll see it, let’s just hope Cave Story isn’t an indication of how long these damn indie games take to port over to consoles.
It seems to have a dedicated following so I guess I should can an eye on it.
Blurriness aside, this new La-Mulana remake clip is enough to get me excited. Apparently there are some placeholder graphics mixed in, too, so when the final version hits it should look even better.
The clip has made its rounds around the Internet, but I’m still posting it because I want to (take that, Internet!).
Like Cave Story, this is another indie game getting a facelift on WiiWare.
Speaking of Cave Story, you should go download it now. Audio issues aside, it’s a fantastic game.
It looks like people are buying it, too, as it fast took the No. 1 slot of WiiWare’s top 20 biggest sellers. This isn’t all time top 20 of course, but it’s off to a great start.
While Nintendo’s weekly download list may look sparse, it’s obvious they cleared room to say “OMG Cave Story finally released!” Cave Story serves as the lone Wii release with no other WiiWare titles, and zero Virtual Console games.
DSiWare sees the release of a variety of Game & Watch titles for 200 points.
From what I hear, Cave Story is a game worth checking out, especially if you’re into the whole Metroid-style of gameplay (see: me).
It’s 1200 points – commonly referred to as 12 bucks in the real world – so it’s slightly steeper than most WiiWare releases, but Nicalis packed quite a bit of content into the package.
Previously Nicalis was all set to nickel and dime us with DLC as tacky as Mega Man 9 and 10, but they squished it all into a $12 package now so I’m good with it (the DLC probably bumped the price up, so perhaps the joke is on us).
It’s been a long time comin’, but it’s finally here. There’s a huge amount of hype surrounding the game so here’s to hoping it’s a surprise third party hit like World of Goo.
