via IGN


Danger may not be your middle name, but you'll find plenty of it in this week's additions to the Wii; Shop Channel. Two classic side-scrolling action titles invite players to blast and battle their way to a thrilling climax. In a spaceship or an assault suit, it'll take all the grit and gusto you can muster to survive these perilous, heart-pumping adventures.

Nintendo adds new games to the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii; owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points; to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week's new games are:

Fantasy Zone (Sega Master System, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): Take command of the spaceship Opa-Opa and blast your way through various fantastical levels as you try to take out all the enemy bases in each stage. Once you've destroyed the bases, you'll have to beat the stage boss in order to move on to the next level. By using your guns and bombs wisely, you'll be able to take down your enemies and explore each of the crazy environments in this side-scroller. You can also buy upgraded weapons for your ship by accessing the shop. Various Sega games through the years have referenced the Opa-Opa-now you can play the game that started it all.

Mega Turrican (Sega Genesis, 1 player, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older-Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points): The Machine has enslaved the galaxy under its tyrannical rule. As Bren McGuire, the last survivor of the United Freedom Forces, it is your duty to destroy the evil forces of the Machine that have devastated the galaxy. Fight through countless hordes of enemies using everything at your disposal. Use the weapons and power-ups of your Turrican Assault Suit, including the incredible Plasma Rope, to fight back the tide of oncoming enemies and find the health and power-ups that will keep you alive. Fifteen levels of chaos and destruction stand between you and freedom. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Nibris's Sadness has been kicking around for so long, when it was originally unveiled Nintendo's Wii was still known under its codename Revolution.

But it ain't dead - yet - and the developer's released the very first in-game screenshot. And yes, that really is black and white. Your eyes aren't deceiving you. Nibris has said in the past that the game is a tribute to pre-World War I cinema...

Sadness is a psychological thriller/horror game in which players "will need to confront their greatest fears and protect themselves in hopes of not getting trapped inside the main character's nightmare", according to latest details.

The developer promises that the game has eight different endings depending on your actions during the event, and adds that the Wii Remote and Nunchuck "control the main character's hands so players feel as though they are in the psychological thriller."

No release date yet for Sadness, but it's definitely scoring high on our weird-o-meter.


Screenshot ...

via Kotaku


For those who are looking to drop some of your extra dollars—raining from the trees and flooding your gutters—on DLC, enjoy this week's Rock Band update. The Classic Rock pack includes:


Also of note, Harmonix reports that PlayStation 3 owners should get these new tracks this Thursday when the Sony's store comes back online, along with any other back tracks that have been missing from their store. ...

via IGN


With its April 24 Japanese release date approaching fast, Sega has apparently deemed the time right to share copies of Senjou no Valkyria (Valkyria Chronicles in Western markets) with the Japanese press. Impress Watch got an early taste of the game and delivered a lengthy hands-on impressions piece that managed to deliver, amongst the gameplay details, one piece of news.

According to the site, Valkyria offer players the option for a hard disk install. The install takes up 3,336 MB and apparently cuts down load times from the 15 second waits players would otherwise have to sit through when opting to play directly from disc.

As with last month's Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan install, this install is strictly optional, so those who can't find enough space on their hard disk will still be able to play. ...

via Eurogamer


Nintendo has told Eurogamer that it has had no reports of problems with Mario Kart Wii discs.

It was speaking after those with Japanese versions of the game reported trouble loading content and numerous crashes.

Similar issues were reported following the release of Super Mario Bros. Brawl. Some Wii owners had to get their lens cleaned so the game's rare dual-layered disc format could be read.

However, Nintendo has confirmed that this isn't causing problems here, as Mario Kart Wii is only available on a single-layered disc.

Mario Kart Wii was released in Europe last Friday and is worth every penny. Pop over to our Mario Kart Wii review to find out why. ...

via Eurogamer


Rising Star plans to release Super Swing Golf for the Wii here on 27th June.

This is a sequel to Panga! Golf With Style from last year; it rather unhelpfully takes the name of the US original, in case you were already confused.

Super Swing Golf is an adaptation a fantasy golf MMO set in a bright and colourful world where you can put inappropriate clothes on anime-style girls.

The sequel adds a multiplayer Party mode featuring games like Darts and Longest Drive for you and up to three friends, as well as plenty more costumes to unlock and weird caddies to employ. ...

Via:N4G.com
By:Eoco

If you haven’t played COD4 yet (if not, why not?), then this post contains minor spoilers.

Recently I have found myself becoming increasingly bored with video games. Often I will find myself firing up my console, and just not wanting to play any of my games. Now the reason is not that all the games released are low quality, in fact it’s far from it. It is the simple fact that all the games released in the past year (except a few, more on those later) lack a certain quality. It is this unique aspect of a game that separates it from other games. Now this ‘quality’ is not graphics or sound or whatever, it is something quite different, but I can’t pinpoint what it is. Hmm…this is quite hard to explain…

.

Let me give you an example. Take Call of Duty 4. Now everybody agrees that COD4 is technically a good game. It has good graphics and sound, the online and perk system is great, now while these certainly contribute to it, these are not the things that make the game special. There are two levels in the game, where you do practically nothing. They’re almost like cutscenes, but from a first person perspective. However, despite this, these are my two favourite levels in the game. The first of these levels is where you see yourself (President Yasir Al-Fulani) assassinated. You are shoved into a car and driven through a city, before being shot in the head. It wont come through in text, but when your watching it, it is so absorbing - you feel much more sympathetic towards the character, and feel much more against the killer. The second level is when you wake up after a nuclear weapon has been activated. You crawl out from your crashed helicopter, only to find a destroyed city, with debris flying everywhere. Amazing.


Technical aspects and how fun the game is definitely contribute to whether the game memorable or not, but there is also something else.

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Despite what I’ve said, I don’t think the ‘quality’ that is missing from so many games is the ability to emotionally involve a player. No, that’s not it. It’s just that most of the recently released video games aren’t special. Take Rainbow 6 Vegas 2 for example. It’s an ok game, but there’s nothing special about it. Again, Burnout Paradise, it pretty fun, but it’s not special, I’m not going to remember it as one of my favourite games of all time. So many games that are released now are just so uninspiring. That’s it! Uninspiring. See if you can think of a game released in the past year, that you can honestly say is inspiring, or really special. If I had to, I’d probably go with Call of Duty 4 and maybe Bully: Scholarship Edition. The only game that I can say has truly inspired me if Portal. Three games isn’t a lot. I’ve bought all the big releases this year and some small ones, but I’m still bored. There is only one reason I can think of - that gaming has become a bit stagnant lately. There were very few new franchises or series launched, and most of the big hits were sequels (Call of Duty 4, Halo 3 etc.), if you look on the horizon all I can see is more sequels like MGS4, GTA4, Fallout 3. These will all be great quality games, and I’m sure everyone will enjoy them. I mean, games can still be a hell of a lot of fun, even if they aren’t inspiring - I know I’ve enjoyed laying a lot of games this past year. Now before you all think I’m crazy I know I’m not alone in this view. I’ve spoken to a couple of people on Xbox Live that agree with me and I’m sure there must be others. Don’t get me wrong, I love gaming and I’ve really enjoyed a lot of the games this year, but just feel they could have been better. I read about games, buy games, write about games, but recently I really am loosing faith in them. Strange. Come on video game industry, show us something amazing! Maybe this year will reignite my passion for my hobby.

.

Note: I know this all sounds a bit weird: ‘How can a guy have lots of fun playing games, but still be disappointed with them?’. Well before you all yell ‘hypocrisy!’, just because a game isn’t special or inspiring, doesn’t mean it isn’t a hell of a lot of fun. ...

via Eurogamer


Sony has explained to Eurogamer that Lair will only be getting one downloadable content pack this Thursday.

It had previously said there would be two packs (one paid-for, one free), but the second is actually a title update that will be applied when you run the game while online.

When you do, you will get the option to use analog controls, a targeting reticule, vibration support, PSP remote play support, 180/dash controls mapped to buttons. In addition the client-side leaderboard will get fixed.

The Diabolical Dragons Pack, on the other hand, adds a Poison Dragon and Wind Dragon to the mix. The former is big, strong, and slow, while the latter is small, fast, and fiddly. There are also some fresh music tracks in the concert hall.

However, there is still no word on how much it will all cost. ...

via Games Industry


Mario Kart Wii has overtaken Gran Turismo 5: Prologue in the UK according to Chart Track All Formats Chart data for the week ending April 12.

Not only has the game debuted atop the charts, but it has become the 8th biggest launch week ever in the UK - even bigger than all the five other Mario Wii titles combined.

Mario, in fact, features in four Top 40 titles, including Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games in the third position. Sony's Gran Turismo 5: Prologue drops to second place after spending two weeks at the top.

Sales of Condemned 2, which dropped from fifth to sixth place, were down 20 per cent. Another recent release - Viking: Battle for Asgard - fell out of the Top Ten from number seven to sixteen.

The Top Ten titles in the UK for the week ending April 12 were:

1. Mario Kart Wii
2. Gran Turismo 5: Prologue
3. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
4. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
5. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2
6. Condemned 2
7. Wii Play
8. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
9. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
10. Carnival: Funfair Games ...