news via mercurynews

EASE OF PLAY FOR NOVICE GAMERS VALIDATES NINTENDO'S CLAIMS
By Mike Antonucci
Mercury News
Nintendo's Wii will be out in stores tomorrow.
NINTENDO
Nintendo's Wii will be out in stores tomorrow.

* Nintendo Wii: The games

Nintendo's heralded new game machine, the Wii, must pass one test above all others:

It has to prove that its much-vaunted ease of use makes it possible for anyone -- absolutely anyone -- to play video games.

The Wii (pronounced ``we'') goes on sale Sunday and features a one-hand, motion-sensing controller. Swinging and gesturing with it is all that's required to play some games.

There also will be plenty of complex games that use the controller in sophisticated ways. But the essence of the Wii is its ability to appeal to novices as well as veteran gamers.

And by novices, we mean totally raw newbies. Handing the Wii controller to someone who regards it as alien technology is the experiment of the moment for Wii reviewers. That's what I did almost immediately after Nintendo provided a Wii I could hook up at home.

I used a family member as my test subject. Any further identification would be cruel, although I have to note that I considered the person to represent an enormous challenge for the Wii. I thought this person might be so far out on the non-gamer end of the population that no controller -- no matter how magical -- would be able to compensate for a lack of, er, aptitude.

I was wrong.

My tester -- who was an exceptionally good sport about agreeing to this experience -- was able to immediately play a full game of tennis. We're talking about the Wii Sports brand of tennis, which boils down to just swinging the controller with the motions of a racket. You need a sense of timing, but the game is extremely forgiving of poor physical coordination. Getting a serve in is all but automatic.

And that's to the Wii's credit. Because the fun was ample, even though the game was anything but sophisticated or realistic.

Based on my own sampling of the tennis game -- and, no brag, I'm reasonably coordinated -- it takes some effort and ingenuity to win consistently. The game is ideal for casual family competition (which means buying extra controllers for the multi-player modes), but the computer controlled opponents are definitely not pushovers in the single-player mode.

Other newbie-inviting sports games include baseball, bowling and golf. They come with the console, no additional purchase required.

As for other launch games, which do require shelling out additional bucks, the two most prominent are Nintendo's ``The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess,'' an adventure fantasy, and Activision's ``Call of Duty 3,'' a World War II shooter. Also highly anticipated: Ubisoft's ``Red Steel,'' which uses the controller as a sword.

``Zelda'' requires an enormous commitment of time I didn't have right now. But based on many factors, including the ``Zelda'' series pedigree, it's almost certainly a four-star game. I don't yet have the Wii version of ``Call of Duty 3'' or ``Red Steel.''

Two games were available that I could sample extensively:

• ``Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz'' (Sega, available at launch). This features monkeys inside balls, which you roll through twisting, sloping courses. I'm simplifying, but trust me, for many adults and children this will be a sensational party game, in part because of the directional waving you have to do with the controller.

Unfortunately, the game highlights how retro -- and not in a good way -- the Wii's graphics can be. Fair warning: I've never played any curving-spinning-undulating ``Monkey Ball'' game without getting dizzy and almost nauseated within five minutes.

• ``Excite Truck'' (Nintendo, available at launch). Although this game has elicited months of raves in preview sessions, it's still surprising how good it is. Playing it at length creates a near addiction.

It's the kind of arcade-style racing game that makes crashing part of the strategy, as well as going airborne at nutty speeds. You hold the controller in a horizontal position with two hands -- a steering bar instead of a steering wheel.

That works so well that it instantly raises a question that probably will become famously repeated among Wii owners: Why didn't anyone do this with a game controller before now? ...

news via mercurynews

EASE OF PLAY FOR NOVICE GAMERS VALIDATES NINTENDO'S CLAIMS
By Mike Antonucci
Mercury News
Nintendo's Wii will be out in stores tomorrow.
NINTENDO
Nintendo's Wii will be out in stores tomorrow.

* Nintendo Wii: The games

Nintendo's heralded new game machine, the Wii, must pass one test above all others:

It has to prove that its much-vaunted ease of use makes it possible for anyone -- absolutely anyone -- to play video games.

The Wii (pronounced ``we'') goes on sale Sunday and features a one-hand, motion-sensing controller. Swinging and gesturing with it is all that's required to play some games.

There also will be plenty of complex games that use the controller in sophisticated ways. But the essence of the Wii is its ability to appeal to novices as well as veteran gamers.

And by novices, we mean totally raw newbies. Handing the Wii controller to someone who regards it as alien technology is the experiment of the moment for Wii reviewers. That's what I did almost immediately after Nintendo provided a Wii I could hook up at home.

I used a family member as my test subject. Any further identification would be cruel, although I have to note that I considered the person to represent an enormous challenge for the Wii. I thought this person might be so far out on the non-gamer end of the population that no controller -- no matter how magical -- would be able to compensate for a lack of, er, aptitude.

I was wrong.

My tester -- who was an exceptionally good sport about agreeing to this experience -- was able to immediately play a full game of tennis. We're talking about the Wii Sports brand of tennis, which boils down to just swinging the controller with the motions of a racket. You need a sense of timing, but the game is extremely forgiving of poor physical coordination. Getting a serve in is all but automatic.

And that's to the Wii's credit. Because the fun was ample, even though the game was anything but sophisticated or realistic.

Based on my own sampling of the tennis game -- and, no brag, I'm reasonably coordinated -- it takes some effort and ingenuity to win consistently. The game is ideal for casual family competition (which means buying extra controllers for the multi-player modes), but the computer controlled opponents are definitely not pushovers in the single-player mode.

Other newbie-inviting sports games include baseball, bowling and golf. They come with the console, no additional purchase required.

As for other launch games, which do require shelling out additional bucks, the two most prominent are Nintendo's ``The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess,'' an adventure fantasy, and Activision's ``Call of Duty 3,'' a World War II shooter. Also highly anticipated: Ubisoft's ``Red Steel,'' which uses the controller as a sword.

``Zelda'' requires an enormous commitment of time I didn't have right now. But based on many factors, including the ``Zelda'' series pedigree, it's almost certainly a four-star game. I don't yet have the Wii version of ``Call of Duty 3'' or ``Red Steel.''

Two games were available that I could sample extensively:

• ``Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz'' (Sega, available at launch). This features monkeys inside balls, which you roll through twisting, sloping courses. I'm simplifying, but trust me, for many adults and children this will be a sensational party game, in part because of the directional waving you have to do with the controller.

Unfortunately, the game highlights how retro -- and not in a good way -- the Wii's graphics can be. Fair warning: I've never played any curving-spinning-undulating ``Monkey Ball'' game without getting dizzy and almost nauseated within five minutes.

• ``Excite Truck'' (Nintendo, available at launch). Although this game has elicited months of raves in preview sessions, it's still surprising how good it is. Playing it at length creates a near addiction.

It's the kind of arcade-style racing game that makes crashing part of the strategy, as well as going airborne at nutty speeds. You hold the controller in a horizontal position with two hands -- a steering bar instead of a steering wheel.

That works so well that it instantly raises a question that probably will become famously repeated among Wii owners: Why didn't anyone do this with a game controller before now? ...

news via mercurynews

EASE OF PLAY FOR NOVICE GAMERS VALIDATES NINTENDO'S CLAIMS
By Mike Antonucci
Mercury News
Nintendo's Wii will be out in stores tomorrow.
NINTENDO
Nintendo's Wii will be out in stores tomorrow.

* Nintendo Wii: The games

Nintendo's heralded new game machine, the Wii, must pass one test above all others:

It has to prove that its much-vaunted ease of use makes it possible for anyone -- absolutely anyone -- to play video games.

The Wii (pronounced ``we'') goes on sale Sunday and features a one-hand, motion-sensing controller. Swinging and gesturing with it is all that's required to play some games.

There also will be plenty of complex games that use the controller in sophisticated ways. But the essence of the Wii is its ability to appeal to novices as well as veteran gamers.

And by novices, we mean totally raw newbies. Handing the Wii controller to someone who regards it as alien technology is the experiment of the moment for Wii reviewers. That's what I did almost immediately after Nintendo provided a Wii I could hook up at home.

I used a family member as my test subject. Any further identification would be cruel, although I have to note that I considered the person to represent an enormous challenge for the Wii. I thought this person might be so far out on the non-gamer end of the population that no controller -- no matter how magical -- would be able to compensate for a lack of, er, aptitude.

I was wrong.

My tester -- who was an exceptionally good sport about agreeing to this experience -- was able to immediately play a full game of tennis. We're talking about the Wii Sports brand of tennis, which boils down to just swinging the controller with the motions of a racket. You need a sense of timing, but the game is extremely forgiving of poor physical coordination. Getting a serve in is all but automatic.

And that's to the Wii's credit. Because the fun was ample, even though the game was anything but sophisticated or realistic.

Based on my own sampling of the tennis game -- and, no brag, I'm reasonably coordinated -- it takes some effort and ingenuity to win consistently. The game is ideal for casual family competition (which means buying extra controllers for the multi-player modes), but the computer controlled opponents are definitely not pushovers in the single-player mode.

Other newbie-inviting sports games include baseball, bowling and golf. They come with the console, no additional purchase required.

As for other launch games, which do require shelling out additional bucks, the two most prominent are Nintendo's ``The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess,'' an adventure fantasy, and Activision's ``Call of Duty 3,'' a World War II shooter. Also highly anticipated: Ubisoft's ``Red Steel,'' which uses the controller as a sword.

``Zelda'' requires an enormous commitment of time I didn't have right now. But based on many factors, including the ``Zelda'' series pedigree, it's almost certainly a four-star game. I don't yet have the Wii version of ``Call of Duty 3'' or ``Red Steel.''

Two games were available that I could sample extensively:

• ``Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz'' (Sega, available at launch). This features monkeys inside balls, which you roll through twisting, sloping courses. I'm simplifying, but trust me, for many adults and children this will be a sensational party game, in part because of the directional waving you have to do with the controller.

Unfortunately, the game highlights how retro -- and not in a good way -- the Wii's graphics can be. Fair warning: I've never played any curving-spinning-undulating ``Monkey Ball'' game without getting dizzy and almost nauseated within five minutes.

• ``Excite Truck'' (Nintendo, available at launch). Although this game has elicited months of raves in preview sessions, it's still surprising how good it is. Playing it at length creates a near addiction.

It's the kind of arcade-style racing game that makes crashing part of the strategy, as well as going airborne at nutty speeds. You hold the controller in a horizontal position with two hands -- a steering bar instead of a steering wheel.

That works so well that it instantly raises a question that probably will become famously repeated among Wii owners: Why didn't anyone do this with a game controller before now? ...

First off a thank you to all those who help post news, help and moderate the sites and forums, without you all DCEmu wouldnt be what it is today.

We are now entering the most exciting time in years with the Next Gen battle field erupting with the release of the Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii along with the Xbox 360. Games from all 3 consoles will be amazing.

DCEmu employs a great News submitting system which is as easy as a forum post, infact it is a forum post, which means if your a coder or you want a review posting or you want to post/submit news for your favourite console you can.

So if you have any Gaming or Hardware reviews for any consoles or any Hacking/ Homebrew news etc then let us know via our Submit News forum.

Thanks again to all those who help this Network. ...

news via shacknews



Some have wondered whether Wii's backwards compatibility supports the Game Boy to GameCube link cable. We tested the connectivity functionality in Square Enix's Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles and determined that, yes, it does. There did not appear to be any problems, and it should work in any connectivity-compatible game.

Yes, you can fit up to four Wavebirds on a Wii. Though the Wii's GameCube port plate looks different than GameCube's, the dimensions between the ports are the same, so anything that plugs into the Cube controller ports will plug into the Wii. Note that you will only be able to play GameCube games with an actual GameCube controller, so if you're planning on ditching your Cube when you pick up a Wii, keep at least one controller around. Accessories that plug into the memory card slots, such as Odama's microphone, also work. The Game Boy Player, however, will not, since that is specifically designed for the Cube's form factor.

If you keep a lot of GameCube peripherals plugged into the system, you may want to remove the hinged flaps that cover up that section of the machine. The Wii is actually designed for those to be easily removable. If you keep the system lying horizontally rather than vertically, you will be required to remove those if you want it to remain flat while the flaps are open.

GameCube games run in whatever output settings they originally supported, so if they supported widescreen on GameCube, they will support widescreen on Wii; if they didn't, they won't. Simple as that.

Heat and sound emissions

The Wii is very quiet. When it is not reading from a disc, any sound it makes is almost imperceptible unless you're right up there listening to it. When it is reading from a disc, there's a standard light operational whirring, but it is very minor. As far as heat, there is surprisingly little even during gameplay. You can feel some warmth around the back of the machine but it too is very minor.

SD card and flash memory functionality

Several questions were asked regarding what can be saved to SD cards. Unfortunately, many answers to these questions are not yet known. According to the manual, you can put game save data and Virtual Console games on your SD cards, and we already know that SD cards are used to to view pictures and movies, listen to MP3s, and load custom soundtracks into games (currently, only Excite Truck supports this). However, with the online network not going live until launch, we have not been able to test putting Virtual Console games on SD cards, and the system currently only seems to support saving games to the system's internal memory. Since the manual indicates greater SD card functionality, those options may be coming in the system's first update, coming at launch. This should eliminate the problem of running out of space on the internal 512MB of memory (although, to be honest, that should be plenty for a lot of people considering how small legacy games are). Nintendo has stated that though Virtual Console games can be stored on SD cards, they will be tied to the console on which they were purchased.

As far as saving GameCube games to the internal memory or to SD cards, this does not appear to be possible. The system actually goes into a separate backwards compability mode to run GameCube games, so it does not have access to SD card and flash memory. Those options may potentially be added in a software update at some point in the future, but that is speculative.

Nintendo DS connectivity

Though Nintendo has promised extensive connectivity between Nintendo DS and Wii, there does not currently seem to be any way to broadcast a wi-fi signal from a Wii to a DS that allows the DS to go online. That particular funtion is also not something Nintendo has ever specifically mentioned, so while it may be coming, we have no indication as such. What is more likely, and has indeed been stated as an idea on Nintendo's part, would be things like downloading demos and other content to a DS from a Wii system. Obviously, specific games will also have their own connectivity features; in the upcoming online Pokemon game for Wii, you are able to battle using Pokemon transferred from the Diamond and Pearl versions of the game on DS.

The end ...

news via shacknews



Some have wondered whether Wii's backwards compatibility supports the Game Boy to GameCube link cable. We tested the connectivity functionality in Square Enix's Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles and determined that, yes, it does. There did not appear to be any problems, and it should work in any connectivity-compatible game.

Yes, you can fit up to four Wavebirds on a Wii. Though the Wii's GameCube port plate looks different than GameCube's, the dimensions between the ports are the same, so anything that plugs into the Cube controller ports will plug into the Wii. Note that you will only be able to play GameCube games with an actual GameCube controller, so if you're planning on ditching your Cube when you pick up a Wii, keep at least one controller around. Accessories that plug into the memory card slots, such as Odama's microphone, also work. The Game Boy Player, however, will not, since that is specifically designed for the Cube's form factor.

If you keep a lot of GameCube peripherals plugged into the system, you may want to remove the hinged flaps that cover up that section of the machine. The Wii is actually designed for those to be easily removable. If you keep the system lying horizontally rather than vertically, you will be required to remove those if you want it to remain flat while the flaps are open.

GameCube games run in whatever output settings they originally supported, so if they supported widescreen on GameCube, they will support widescreen on Wii; if they didn't, they won't. Simple as that.

Heat and sound emissions

The Wii is very quiet. When it is not reading from a disc, any sound it makes is almost imperceptible unless you're right up there listening to it. When it is reading from a disc, there's a standard light operational whirring, but it is very minor. As far as heat, there is surprisingly little even during gameplay. You can feel some warmth around the back of the machine but it too is very minor.

SD card and flash memory functionality

Several questions were asked regarding what can be saved to SD cards. Unfortunately, many answers to these questions are not yet known. According to the manual, you can put game save data and Virtual Console games on your SD cards, and we already know that SD cards are used to to view pictures and movies, listen to MP3s, and load custom soundtracks into games (currently, only Excite Truck supports this). However, with the online network not going live until launch, we have not been able to test putting Virtual Console games on SD cards, and the system currently only seems to support saving games to the system's internal memory. Since the manual indicates greater SD card functionality, those options may be coming in the system's first update, coming at launch. This should eliminate the problem of running out of space on the internal 512MB of memory (although, to be honest, that should be plenty for a lot of people considering how small legacy games are). Nintendo has stated that though Virtual Console games can be stored on SD cards, they will be tied to the console on which they were purchased.

As far as saving GameCube games to the internal memory or to SD cards, this does not appear to be possible. The system actually goes into a separate backwards compability mode to run GameCube games, so it does not have access to SD card and flash memory. Those options may potentially be added in a software update at some point in the future, but that is speculative.

Nintendo DS connectivity

Though Nintendo has promised extensive connectivity between Nintendo DS and Wii, there does not currently seem to be any way to broadcast a wi-fi signal from a Wii to a DS that allows the DS to go online. That particular funtion is also not something Nintendo has ever specifically mentioned, so while it may be coming, we have no indication as such. What is more likely, and has indeed been stated as an idea on Nintendo's part, would be things like downloading demos and other content to a DS from a Wii system. Obviously, specific games will also have their own connectivity features; in the upcoming online Pokemon game for Wii, you are able to battle using Pokemon transferred from the Diamond and Pearl versions of the game on DS.

The end ...

news via shacknews



Some have wondered whether Wii's backwards compatibility supports the Game Boy to GameCube link cable. We tested the connectivity functionality in Square Enix's Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles and determined that, yes, it does. There did not appear to be any problems, and it should work in any connectivity-compatible game.

Yes, you can fit up to four Wavebirds on a Wii. Though the Wii's GameCube port plate looks different than GameCube's, the dimensions between the ports are the same, so anything that plugs into the Cube controller ports will plug into the Wii. Note that you will only be able to play GameCube games with an actual GameCube controller, so if you're planning on ditching your Cube when you pick up a Wii, keep at least one controller around. Accessories that plug into the memory card slots, such as Odama's microphone, also work. The Game Boy Player, however, will not, since that is specifically designed for the Cube's form factor.

If you keep a lot of GameCube peripherals plugged into the system, you may want to remove the hinged flaps that cover up that section of the machine. The Wii is actually designed for those to be easily removable. If you keep the system lying horizontally rather than vertically, you will be required to remove those if you want it to remain flat while the flaps are open.

GameCube games run in whatever output settings they originally supported, so if they supported widescreen on GameCube, they will support widescreen on Wii; if they didn't, they won't. Simple as that.

Heat and sound emissions

The Wii is very quiet. When it is not reading from a disc, any sound it makes is almost imperceptible unless you're right up there listening to it. When it is reading from a disc, there's a standard light operational whirring, but it is very minor. As far as heat, there is surprisingly little even during gameplay. You can feel some warmth around the back of the machine but it too is very minor.

SD card and flash memory functionality

Several questions were asked regarding what can be saved to SD cards. Unfortunately, many answers to these questions are not yet known. According to the manual, you can put game save data and Virtual Console games on your SD cards, and we already know that SD cards are used to to view pictures and movies, listen to MP3s, and load custom soundtracks into games (currently, only Excite Truck supports this). However, with the online network not going live until launch, we have not been able to test putting Virtual Console games on SD cards, and the system currently only seems to support saving games to the system's internal memory. Since the manual indicates greater SD card functionality, those options may be coming in the system's first update, coming at launch. This should eliminate the problem of running out of space on the internal 512MB of memory (although, to be honest, that should be plenty for a lot of people considering how small legacy games are). Nintendo has stated that though Virtual Console games can be stored on SD cards, they will be tied to the console on which they were purchased.

As far as saving GameCube games to the internal memory or to SD cards, this does not appear to be possible. The system actually goes into a separate backwards compability mode to run GameCube games, so it does not have access to SD card and flash memory. Those options may potentially be added in a software update at some point in the future, but that is speculative.

Nintendo DS connectivity

Though Nintendo has promised extensive connectivity between Nintendo DS and Wii, there does not currently seem to be any way to broadcast a wi-fi signal from a Wii to a DS that allows the DS to go online. That particular funtion is also not something Nintendo has ever specifically mentioned, so while it may be coming, we have no indication as such. What is more likely, and has indeed been stated as an idea on Nintendo's part, would be things like downloading demos and other content to a DS from a Wii system. Obviously, specific games will also have their own connectivity features; in the upcoming online Pokemon game for Wii, you are able to battle using Pokemon transferred from the Diamond and Pearl versions of the game on DS.

The end ...

PlayStation 2 emulator for PC. Some problems were fixed, that's why it's a fast release.

PCSX2 0.9.2 R2 - Files Pack

PCSX2 0.9.2 R2 - Installer Pack

This fixes an assortment of issues found briefly after 0.9.2's original launch. It is strongly advised that people get this build of 0.9.2 over the initial release.

* Compatibility regression with Vampire Night resolved.
* Final Fantasy X now works for most regions.
* Fixes Crash when using config>patches
* Frame Limiting is now more accurate.
* Improved zeroGS, Disgaea 2 menus are now solid.
* P.E.Op.S SPU2 updated to include threaded mode (usefull for video recording).
* Screen Saver / Power Saving now disabled when running PCSX2. ...

Birdman1 has just released the version 11 of his font pack series. In this release he has made another folder that contains images for most of the fonts. This release has improved file sizes and more.

Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ...