Denman has released a new version of the Snes emulator for the Gamecube/Wii, heres whats new:


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Vodkkaa posted some findings of a dump of the 3.30 firmware:


A sign of new things to come for future PSP firmware releases ?

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via the Dreamcast Junkyard

Moving on, I've decided to put together a list of the top 5 games on the Dreamcast that I believe would work really well if remade for the Wii, control wise. I may even consider sending Sega some of these ideas, as I'd love to see them get off their lazy arse's and make some games for the Wii other than Sonic and Monkey Ball. The Wii has the potential to be Nintendo's Dreamcast, and I don't mean that by sales fiures, but I mean that by just how pioneering it can be, but if everyone just keeps porting PS2 games over, we will never know.

5: REZ

While I can't see anyone (let alone Sega at the moment) pulling off a sequel to this well, the Wii remote would suit this game mighty well. Pointing at the screen would be your aim, and the B trigger would be the shooter, which you hold down than let go of. Pretty simple control then, but where the remote would be great for this game is the built in speaker and rumble. The game is all about how it responds to your actions in both of these departments. Even if it was just a direct port of the PS2 version, this would be great, as the game is pretty darn rare now too.

4: CHU CHU ROCKET

A no brainier, this. The Wii remote pointer could be used as the cursor, the d-pad could be used to place the arrow blocks, and the B trigger used to remove arrow block. This would be a much faster and simpler control scheme than the system used on the Dreamcast, which would make the multi-payer mode much more frantic and fun. If not a full fledged retail release, this could be a direct port with these new controls available on the Virtual Console (The Dreamcast cast is a very small file size). From a financial point for Sega, this would be instant cash as it would be dirt cheap to develop and publish online. Also, use the online features, like the Dreamcast one did, to exchange levels and play against others, this time without that annoying delay.

3: SPACE CHANNEL 5

Before reading on, watch this Youtube clip of a dancing mini game in Wario Ware Smooth Moves, followed by this YouTube clip of how it's actually played. Now, image this, but with Ulala on the screen instead, with the quality 'Simon says' style game play. Is this not a Wii game just begging to happen? It'd be the ultimate "look-like-a-tit-and-love-it" game. Rather surprisingly, no one has yet tapped into the potential of dance and rhythm games on the Wii (although Konami do have a DDR planned for it). No longer will you need to buy dance mats or press buttons, when you could just dance for real in front of your telly with nothing more than a Wii remote.


Imagine the game with visuals like this artwork above. How sweet would that be? It wouldn't be impossible, just look at Monkey Ball on the Wii.


What's more, a new chapter of one of Sega's main unique and under used franchise is exactly what the market needs right now. The Dreamcast was Sega at their creative peak, and they really need to start using some of the franchises created during that time more. You have a lot more properties under your belt than Sonic and Monkey ball you know, use them!

2: JET SET RADIO

While this may not seem obvious right now to many, I've thought about an entire control system for this, using both the Remote ad Nun-chuck. The Nun-chuck analogue would be used to move your character, and flicking it upwards would make you jump. Once you land on a rail, the remote could be titled left and right to keep your character in balance. The A button on the remote would be a new punch button, that will help you slow down the police.

But the real fun would come from how you spray graffiti. When making small graffiti while grinding, you simply use the B trigger if they are at your right, and the Z button on the Nun-chuck if to your left. When you approach a wall where you want to make a big graffiti, both the remote and Nun-Chuck become left and right spray cans. That's right, two cans at the same time. Instead of the Dreamcast games' analogue rotating, patterns and shapes will be displayed on the screen which you have to create using either the left or right cans, or both at the same time. I've even made a mock up above.

The Wii is capable of better graphics than an X-Box, so a leap in graphics from JSRF would be no problem. We don't want realism though, Jet Set Radio (like a lot of the games in this chart) is all about style. Forget the futuristic anime style of JSRF, go back to the more cartoon-y style of the Dreamcast original, then take that cartoony-ness up to a new level. How about making everything bouncier, like an old Betty Boop cartoon? This is probably just a cartoon fanatic talking here, but I would really like to see more games really attempt to be cartoon-y, like Florigan Bros and Wind Waker, and Jet Set Radio could be a good place to start. While the other systems are trying to push for the most life like graphics, the Wii could be all about artistic style.

Speaking of which, this may be just me, but I wanna see a game use the ...

via cvg
Hopefully you've got plenty of games in your 'to do' tray because over the next few weeks there's going to be slim pickings. After the deluge that greeted the PS3 launch weekend (some 63 titles) we are now down to just six.

Yep, just six major releases. So don't blame us that Prince of Persia: Rival Swords on Wii is the standout title, there's really not much to sift through. At least we can all look forward to the magnificent God of War II that is most definitely scheduled in for April 13.

The complete list of games released in the UK this week (06/04/07):

Guitar Hero II, 360, Activision

Freakout: Extreme Freeride, PS2, JoWood

Prince of Persia: Rival Swords, Wii, Ubisoft

Rayman Raving Rabbids, 360, Ubisoft

Dragon Ball Z Shin Budokai Platinum, PSP, Atari

The Red Star, PS2, Take 2

The Sims 2: Celebration Stuff, PC, EA ...

New release of the Nes and Master System emulator from Zaphod:


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via joystiq

Nintendo of Canada is raffling off six hand painted Wiis by Canadian artists. Why does Nintendo of Canada get all the cool contests? The last cool thing Nintendo of America ever did was the Dragon Warrior giveaway with Nintendo Power back in the day. Yeah, we just brought up some old-school stuff there!

To win such an artistic Wii you must be a citizen of Canada and a member of their My Nintendo club -- oh, and you have to be over 13 years old. Winners will be announced on or around May 9. The Wii certainly lends itself to some artistic reinterpretation. Although painting your Wii would probably void any warranty

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via joystiq

Praise be to the Circuit City's and Wal-Mart's of the world as Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360 has arrived a few, scant days early on Mount Joystiq. What? You actually go to a game store to buy your games? You should probably stop doing that. After shredding it up like only nerds with tiny, plastic toy guitars can, we actually took a look at the instruction manual, curious as to any information regarding the mystery port found at the base of the X-Plorer.

The gods of rock shined upon us as it is now clearly labeled the Effects Pedal port, as seen above. Opposite the page is an explanation of all the buttons and gadgets found on the guitar, including an explanation of the Effects Pedal port. How dost thou rocketh mighty ports of pedals?

...

via joystiq

With the Wii's focus on controls, how does a franchise like SSX handle the transition? Snowboarding -- and Wii-only SSX Blur -- lacks a direct relation to the Wii's motion sensitivity, but the game still translates to hand movements. The steering mechanic, which relies on Nunchuk twists, fits well; it even seems like it had always been a part of SSX.

The tricks, however, are mixed; simple remote flicks feel like a gimmick, while drawing shapes for Ubertricks only works some of the time. Overall, the controls work well enough to keep me playing, but I sometimes stop in frustration after consecutive, unrecognized moves.

As far as graphics, sound, and other review standards, those all hold up in Blur, but aren't my focus in this analysis. (Look up scored reviews for other opinions.) Instead, I'll further explain how Blur translates a thumbstick-and-button game into a tilt-and-flail experience.

I've been playing Blur since its release, unlocking all of the runs and many of the game's extra features. The steering controls feel natural; I just gently roll the Nunchuk to turn and push the thumbstick for a little extra movement. Blur lets users change the balance between the thumbstick and motion controls from being even to turning one up all the way and the other off. I ticked the default up slightly, emphasizing the motion while reducing the thumbstick.

Unlike basic steering, the tricks feel more detached from the game. Players flick the Remote in different directions to flip or twist. However, I often feel like I'm swinging the WIi Remote randomly for these basic moves; Remote flailing may be the successor to button mashing.

The precise Ubertricks -- which require drawing certain shapes with just the Remote or both controllers together -- sometimes work well and sometimes don't. I like the challenge of drawing hearts and loops in the air because it feels like an accomplishment when performed properly. (People who don't like drawing hearts in the air might as well eat kittens.) These shapes are far from the random flailing sense of normal flips and spins.

But even after many hours with the game, the Ubertrick recognition still feels too loose. Sometimes, I can't do a single trick after many successive attempts. Thankfully, Blur lets players practice these finicky tricks whenever paused, so I can re-learn them even in the middle of a run. Other times, the game credits me for a different Ubertrick that has similar shapes as the one I'm trying to perform. Maybe it thinks I'm close enough, and it wants to keep encouraging my spastic gestures.

Blur's gesture recognition is usually close, but it has enough disparity between my motions and its response to sometimes be frustrating. I still have fun playing Blur -- the physicality of the Wii complements action sports -- but it's a game I recommend with caveats. Hopefully the gesture recognition will be tuned in future games and isn't a hardware limitation of the Wii. ...

via joystiq

This one is a cute April Fool's Day joke, despite Turbine announcing it on Friday, they did give it a dateline of April 1. What Turbine says is that in their upcoming Lord of the Rings Online, you'll meet the Sméorufolc, a version of hobbit who wear caps of white wool. They also have a passion for mushrooms and eating them altered their skin color to blue. Yes, they are Middle-earth Smurfs. The "press release" looks to be full of subtle anagrams and generally playful nonsense. Only a few more hours till Blizzard, a company known for their April Fool's Day jokes, steps up to the plate. What will it be?

On the other end of the cute spectrum, a confirmation of Metal Gear Solid 4 on the Xbox 360. We still can't tell if this was intended as a joke, but VG Resource Center says they have confirmation of MGS4 on the Xbox 360. VGRC claims they have an email from Konami stating, "Yes, in fact, we are working on putting Metal Gear Solid 4 on the Xbox 360 and PC, which should both come out roughly 6 months after the PS3 release. However, we've been working with Microsoft so the 360 and PC versions will both take advantage of Xbox Live and Games for Windows Live, with such features as achievements and the ability for 360 and PC owners to play against each other in multiplayer. I'd love to give you some more details, but this is already pushing it. We are making the big announcement July 11th at this year's E3, so you'll just have to wait until then. Sorry!"

So, the source at Konami acknowledged the game, announced another platform, said it would have Live capabilities, says the big announcement won't be till July 11, puts it all in a perfect quote and then apologizes that they can't give away any more information? Damn, you already gave away the whole cow, what are you apologizing for? We don't need anything else!

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