News/release from Cyberslime


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Nintendo's announcement of Tingle's Balloon Trip of Love last week lacked the kinds of details that usually help people understand what a game is all about. Fortunately, Famitsu came through with a followup this week. Unfortunately, we're still pretty confused.

Tingle's new adventure begins as the 35-year-old bachelor watches a suspicious direct sales program on television and learns of a book that promises to make its readers popular amongst the ladies. He orders the book, but when he opens it up, he finds himself sucked into the world of a picture book.

We're not sure entirely, but we presume Tingle's goal is to get back out of the book. Or maybe you'll end up helping him find the female companionship that he longs for so.

Tingle will definitely meet at least one girl. A mysterious pink-haired beauty suddenly appears before Tingle and shouts at him: "Don't look at me, you pervert!" Other scenes show the two fighting together.

Yes, fighting. Tingle's Balloon Trip of Love appears to have combat sequences that take on a variety of forms. You'll board vehicles to face off against giant foes, try your hand at a shooting game, and also work through 3D behind-the-back dungeons. We're not sure what the "main" combat system is, or even if there is one.

You control the action in Tingle's Balloon Trip via the stylus. You have access to a variety of tools, which include, based off the icons that appear in the magazine's screenshots, a slingshot, a glove, and a bottle of milk. Outside of these tools, a screen shows options for speaking and grabbing things.

Tingle can also rely on some Wizard of Oz-influenced friends to help him out. There's a cowardly lion, a sexy but apparently heartless robot, and a cheerful but mentally lacking scarecrow. The scarecrow is said to be small, allowing him to get into small spaces. The lion's strength can help you out on your quest once you've brought him into your party. Likewise for the robot's intelligence.

How this will all come together in a game is still unclear, but considering how fun the last Tingle game was, we're excited to see the end result. Unfortunately, Tingle's Balloon Trip of Love is without a final date, so the vague updates will presumably continue for a while.

http://uk.ds.ign.com/articles/100/1001922p1.html ...

Nintendo is good at two things: making games and making money. Now they're combining the two for an all new DS title.

In English, the new app's lengthy title translates to "You'll Incur Losses If You Remain Ignorant: How Money and Things Work DS." We're not sure about the "things" part, but the program promises to train users in how the economy works through multiple choice questions.

Nintendo is co-developing the game with the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper (you've likely heard a number of game-related scoops from this paper, most recently first disclosure of the game that would become Super Mario Galaxy 2). Nikkei, as the paper is also known, has an advisory role on the project and is also providing economy-related materials including charts, graphs, and photos.

It's unclear how much of the content is Japan-centric and how much applies to the world at large, but if this is a success, perhaps Nintendo can get team up with an American source like The Wall Street Journal for an English version at some point.

Japan gets this latest experiment in non-gaming on August 27, priced at 3,800 yen.

http://uk.ds.ign.com/articles/100/1001913p1.html ...

ED has posted some news on the official blog concerning the Pandora and thankfully it seems that Mass Production is getting much closer now, hopefully soon all of you who preordered and paid will get yours soon:

Heres whats ED posted


http://www.openpandora.org/blog.php ...

ED has posted some news on the official blog concerning the Pandora and thankfully it seems that Mass Production is getting much closer now, hopefully soon all of you who preordered and paid will get yours soon:

Heres whats ED posted


http://www.openpandora.org/blog.php ...

MetaFight has updated Harmonium to v1 beta3.

Harmonium is, to put it plainly, a musical doodling tool. The user can manipulate notes on a 16x16 grid to create melodies within a pentatonic scale. On top of this already addictive concept, you can bring things to life by enabling Conway's Game of Life!

It's not the easiest thing to explain, so just try it!

7 July 2009

It finally happened... I got a job. That means I won't be able to work on homebrew nearly as much as before. I was hoping to skip a beta3 release and go straight to v1 but considering the little amount of free time I have that would talk a while. I thought it would be better to release what I have now and simply tell people it's still not done yet ... So here it is! Harmonium v1 beta3!

A lot has changed since the original release!
Noticeably: Grid shifting, grid history, grid saving/loading, more evolution modes, UI changes, and probably more...
Less Noticeably: The playback system now uses only one ASND voice per column (this removes all note drops, yay!), sound playback is now even (yay!).

What I didn't get around to doing (yet):

Fix the tuning to 440Hz
Fix software mixing so loundess is constant
Tweak the UI.
And probably a few more things I'm too lazy to go find in my notes.
So, I guess that's it for now. I hope you enjoy this release. Version 1 final is probably a long way away.

-- MetaFight



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Summer Athletics 2009's Wii version will support Wii Balance Board controls. The game is equipped with a unique Balance Board Cup.

Console athletes will need their stability on the Wii Balance Board to control their character in the contest's five disciplines. These are high jump, triple jump, hammer throwing, high dive and archery. Players wiggle their hips around to spin the hammer and gather speed. Holding your breath and standing evenly balanced is key to hitting the mark in archery. If you center your weight right in the middle of the Wii Balance Board, you have only to adjust to cross winds to score full points.

Like all contests and challenges in Summer Athletics 2009, the Balance Board cup is available in three difficulty settings. "Easy" is recommended for players who have never played a sports game before, "Average" appeals to more experienced players and "Difficult" requires the skills of advanced players. It is possible to obtain a fourth difficulty setting called "Champion" after unlocking special achievements. "Champion" features the hardest AI competitors that will challenge even gaming veterans.

The battle for Gold Medals and personal bests sparks excitement and healthy competition in Summer Athletics 2009. Athletes from all over the world run, throw, jump and swim for victory. Millimeters and split seconds will decide the winners. When playing with friends and family, a living room becomes a stadium. It's not only four players competing; in Summer Athletics 2009 they can chase records and beat their best times as a team, to eventually celebrate their big victory together.

The athletes compete in 28 summer time disciplines, including 100 meters sprint, high diving, javelin or the new skeet shooting event. In Berlin World Cup mode, a national team can go for ultimate glory in the World Championships in 15 track and field contests.

With a variety of game modes, format specific controls and up-to-date graphics, Summer Athletics 2009 will be challenging and fun to play at the same time.

Summer Athletics 2009 will be available this summer for Wii, Xbox 360? and PC in multiple territories. In the United States, the game will be published under the name World Championship Athletics by Conspiracy Entertainment.

www.summerathletics.com ...

One of Hudson's more mysterious Wii projects burst back into the headlines today with a proper unveiling in this week's Famitsu. Wii owners who like the scares of such games as Fatal Frame can look forward to Calling, a first person horror adventure game that's due for Japanese release this year.

You take control of male lead Shinichi Suzutani and female lead Rin Kagura, who make the mistake of visiting one of those mysterious countdown websites we're seeing all over the place nowadays. It's said that visitors to this site, known as "The Black Page," can occasionally enter a chat room. There, they may hear a signal, dooming them to eternity in that uncomfortable place between life and death.

Our two heroes find themselves in that uncomfortable void, and they've got to find a way out. Thankfully, they have their trusty cell phones with them. When you're not using the Wiimote in pointer mode to move the two characters around the world in first person, the controller becomes a virtual cell phone. You'll receive calls from ghosts, whose commentary could yield hints at how to progress. You'll also use the cell phone to call other cell phones, something that allows you to warp around the world. The cell phone even has a camera, which can be used to take pictures of the environment (to be sent to friends later).

Outside of helpful phone calls, the ghosts are also featured in fright events. You clear these by swinging the Wiimote around while using button commands for special actions. Success in these events will allow you to progress to the next episode.

This all new Wii horror adventure is currently 70% complete, Famitsu reports. Japan gets it some time this year. Given Hudson's track record with releasing Japanese titles around the world, an international release sounds like a safe bet.

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/100/1001902p1.html ...

Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 for the Wii is to launch shortly after the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game, marking an end to the staggered release schedule that the series has taken across this generation's consoles.

Konami's long-running Pro Evolution Soccer series traditionally makes its debut shortly after the European football season commences, with the Wii version coming some months after. That's to change this year, with PES 2010 coming to the Wii this Autumn.

Whereas the HD versions of Pro Evolution Soccer have struggled against the resurgent FIFA games, the Wii versions have proved to be the pick of the bunch, introducing innovative and effective motion controls and providing a fresh take on the sport.

That's going to continue this year, with the game's producer Akiyoshi 'Greyhound' Chosogabe promising a series of refinements. Details are still vague, but expect an improved stamina system as well as more involved free kicks.

"Our control system for Wii is still regarded as the finest and most intuitive around, and we have once again reworked it to add a level of control and realism that can appeal to new and old PES fans alike," said Greyhound.

Expect to learn more about Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 in all its incarnations very soon.

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/100/1001893p1.html ...