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by Published on May 25th, 2007 22:39
Via Tech Digest
Today's a momentous day for owners of Nintendo's Wii console – it's finally getting its first online game. Mario Strikers Charged Football is the game, and as you'd guess, it mixes traditional footy with all manner of Mario Kart-esque power-ups.
Players can go online via Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connection service and battle it out head-to-head, earning points to send them soaring up (or plummeting down) the online rankings system. I've spent the morning testing it out for WiiWii, and here's the Day One verdict: it's genius. Read on to find out why.
First off, the game. It's not exactly a serious soccer simulation in the Pro Evolution Soccer or FIFA mould, but even po-faced fans of those games should quickly lose their reservations and fall in love with Mario's loony take on the beautiful game.
It uses the Wii's Wiimote and nunchuk controllers to play, and despite fears that the result would be confusing compared to playing footy games using traditional joypads, Mario Strikers Charged Football pulls it off.
Strategy consists of basically passing the ball as fast as you can before you get flattened by a sliding tackle or giant mushroom, while Nintendo's stable of Mario Kart characters are all present, with their own stats and special moves.
Most fun are the megashots, triggered by holding down the shoot button with your captain in the opponent's half – the result is a barrage of balls exploding towards your opponent's goal, with you scoring once for each that goes in. If only Peter Crouch could do this sort of thing.
Anyway, it's great fun played alone, but the Wi-Fi Connection multiplayer mode is a triumph. You can play friendly matches against your registered friends, or Ranked matches to score points in the online rankings. In the latter's case, you'll be automatically matched up with an opponent – and judging by this morning's play, it takes less than 10 seconds to do it. Marvellous.
In-game, there is no noticeable lag, so it feels just like playing the solo mode. Well, apart from the tactics, as they seem noticeably different – less time to trigger megashots for example, and opponents who ping the ball around the pitch at speed much faster than the computer-controlled opponents in the solo mode.
The greatest praise for Mario Strikers Charged Football online? It just works, beautifully and simply. And while I could quibble about missing features – no option to strap on a headset and shout at opponents for example – as a first showing of what the Wii is capable of over the network, it's superb. Assuming you own a Wii and don't despise football, this is an essential purchase. See you online. ...by Published on May 25th, 2007 22:29
Via M&C Gaming
This week sees NES classic Super Mario Bros. 2 hop onto the Virtual Console. In this 1989 classic, Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad go for a picnic which doesn’t quite go to plan when they end up in the mysterious land of Subcon. Obliged to save it from the curse of filthy frog tyrant, Wart, players must use each of the four main characters and their own special ability to battle through seven worlds and free the land from Wart’s evil grasp! Super Mario Bros. 2 is available to download now for just 500 Wii Points!
If you feel like something a little more turbo-charged this week then get ready for Mach Rider. Set in 2112, Earth has been invaded by evil quad bikers who are bent on destroying everything. Players must assume the role of Mach Rider, the world’s last hope, and travel from area to area destroying any quad bikers they encounter. Mach Rider, which was originally released on the NES in 1987, also features a level design mode enabling players to create their own courses. Unique to the Virtual Console version, players can save these creations to enjoy over and over again. Mach Rider is available now for 500 Wii Points.
Finally this week is Blazing Lazers, originally released in 1989 for the Turbografx. This vertical scrolling shoot ‘em up achieved critical acclaim when it was first released. Now it’s available on Virtual Console featuring nine levels of non-stop shooting action in the darkest depths of space. Players can choose from four weapon types including bullets, waves and rings, each of which can be upgraded making them even more deadly. Blazing Lazers blasts its way onto the Virtual Console for 600 Wii Points. ...by Published on May 25th, 2007 22:15
Via All Headline News
Irvine, CA (AHN) - Target Technology has filed a lawsuit against Sony, alleging the entertainment company's Blu-ray disc format infringed a patent lowering the cost of optical discs. The lawsuit, filed in Southern Indiana U.S. District Court, requests a permanent injunction and damages.
Blu-ray discs are used by Sony's PS3 and high-definition DVDs. The Target patent enables the reflective layer of optical discs to use silver-based alloys rather than more expensive gold. The silver-based material is also more corrosive-resistant, according to Cnet's GameSpot.
The lawsuit doesn't say whether all or just some Blu-ray discs infringed the patent. Target was granted the patent in March 2006 after it was filed in 2004.
Sony declined comment, Cnet reported Friday. ...by Published on May 25th, 2007 22:10
2 new demos have also been released for the 2 Airport Hero games released in Japan. The names of the games are:
Boku wa Koukuu Kanseikan: Airport Hero NaHa
Boku wa Koukuu Kanseikan: Airport Hero New Chitose
Buy Boku wa Koukuu Kanseikan: Airport Hero NaHa
Buy Boku wa Koukuu Kanseikan: Airport Hero New Chitose
Heres a review posted on play asia:
This is one of the most addictive PSP games I've played in a long while. Being an aviation buff, there are very few options in regards to English language video games in this genre. Although the main language of this game is Japanese, there is enough English to figure out whats going on after a couple of trial and error test runs. The game play and graphics are marvelous. The colors are remarkably bright, and the effects of the sun sparkling off of the blue water while watching a plane arrive at the airpiort is amazing. A fun puzzle-like game for all ages. Also, be sure to check out the 2 other versions of this game representing different airports (Narita & Chitose)!
Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ...by Published on May 25th, 2007 21:41
But, if you're in the market for Microsoft's console, this one's a no-brainer
Via MSNBC
Microsoft's latest gaming console offering is a study in the adage that beauty is only skin deep.
The Xbox 360 Elite ($479.99) is essentially an Xbox 360 painted black with chromed-out accents, a larger hard drive and a high-definition HDMI out port.
The console's larger hard drive is a nice addition to Microsoft's console. The drive, a whopping 120 gigabytes bigger than the previous Xbox 360 and twice the size of the drive inside the PlayStation 3, is quickly becoming a requirement for anyone who makes use of the Xbox 360's video download service.
But Microsoft has already launched a replacement drive for those who wanted to level up their storage capacity — it hit stores at the same time as the Elite 360, and cost $179.99. So if all you're after is more storage, it makes much more sense to just upgrade the drive — not the whole system.
That leaves the HDMI-out option — and the PS3-like exterior — as the only reasons to buy the Elite. HDMI is a video output that gives you a crisper high-definition image quality through a single cable that you plug into most modern televisions. What’s puzzling about this feature is that Microsoft spent the better part of last year reassuring Xbox 360 owners that they didn’t necessarily need HDMI out to fully appreciate high-definition video. What gives?
The graphics of Xbox 360 games do seem slightly — ever so slightly — better when viewed through an HDMI cable, but the changes aren’t noticeable unless you really look closely.
There's also the added benefit of only needing to use one cable when connecting your console. In general, that HDMI-out lets you use the console's high-def output with more modern televisions than the less-supported VGA cables the standard Xbox 360 comes with. Unfortunately, Microsoft opted not to use the latest version of HDMI, which means that if you opt to buy the add-on HD-DVD drive for the console (at $199) you won't be able to watch those movies in many of the best audio formats, such as DTS-HD or Dolby True HD.
Besides the new port, the guts of the Elite remain unchanged, which means you still get access to the console's robust line-up of excellent video games, the ability to rent movies, purchase arcade games and television shows online and everything else that makes the Xbox 360 one of the best consoles on the market.
The bad news? All of the problems that have plagued the Xbox 360 since its first iteration are still an issue with the Elite. The console still has the occasional overheating incident – and the noisy fan that attempts to cool things off. And the Elite version of the Xbox 360 still has that godawful, mammoth power supply that's more than a third the size of the console itself.
While most of the issues the Elite suffers center around Microsoft's decision to not fix problems that cropped up in their last version, the Elite does bring one fairly unique issue to the table, though it is more annoying than crippling. If you already own an Xbox 360 and elect to buy this second version, you're going to have some trouble transferring the content you purchased via Xbox Live to the Elite's larger hard drive.
Microsoft decided to hamstring any video game or video you purchased on their Xbox Live Arcade service by forcing you to sign onto your account to access them. In other words, after transferring the games and television shows you purchased from your old hard drive to your new one, you will no longer be able to play or watch them without first connecting to the Internet and logging into your account.
This has nothing to do with technology – Microsoft made this decision as an attempt to limit piracy. And Microsoft does not allow you to transfer any of the movies you may have rented through their Live service to a new hard drive — you have to watch them on your old hard drive first.
Microsoft does make a free "migration kit" available to previous Xbox 360 owners who buy an Elite. The cable includes instructions for the fairly simple process of moving your data from your old console's drive to your new one. The process takes less than 30 minutes and leaves the old drive wiped clean. But it’s an extra step that adds to the “con” list when considering the Elite. ...by Published on May 25th, 2007 21:18
Another Commercial game demo and its the game Legend of Heroes demo, heres some info about the game.
Be ready to embark on a brand new journey to the world of The Legend of Heroes! The creators of the legendary "Ys," "Brandish," and "Sorcerian" series brings this brand new adventure to the palm of your hand on PlayStation®Portable system!
Be Forte, a young musician who sets off on an adventure to discover a long forgotten song of mysterious power left behind by a legendary composer. In this world full of new adventures, you will be able to form a group of wandering musicians, acquire pets that assist you in battle, and interact with over 100 different beautifully illustrated characters.
Venture between the vast terrain of the nefarious Numeros Empire and a haunting parallel world that exist beyond. The fate of the two worlds rests upon your shoulders!
Buy Legend of Heroes
Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ...by Published on May 25th, 2007 21:03
Another game demo released and its the puzzle game PQ Intelligent License 2
Heres a descrption of the first game to give you some feel as to what this games about:
Find out how adept you are at solving logic problems in P.Q., an addictive new puzzle game. Your speed and accuracy will determine your PQ score. Upload your score to the online ranking site and see how smart you really are! All gameplay takes place on a grid. You must get your character to the exit. Puzzles include: Boxes; Create a clear path on the grid to access the exit. Boxes placed in the path can be pushed or pulled but not carried. Stairs; Move the boxes to create a series of stairs to access the upper level. Escalators; Figure out which set of escalators will take you to the next platform until you reach the exit. Lasers; Move the boxes on the grid to block the laser beam and move toward the exit without crossing a beam.
Buy PQ Intelligent License 2
Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ...by Published on May 25th, 2007 20:56
Via Nintendo evolution
Wii is going to beat the competition because powerful chips and graphics have yet to motivate PS3 and Xbox 360 sales, according to Nintendo Of America's George Harrison. Fun trumps all.
"We’re starting to see in the performance of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 that that’s not necessarily motivating the market the way it used to," he explained in an interview with Bloomberg. "So we’re going to start work on future technology only when we believe it’s necessary."
Harrison went on to say that Nintendo will reach its goal of selling 35 million Wii units by 2011 or 2012. The company is boosting production in China in order to keep up with the overwhelming demand for the next-gen console.
"Demand is much greater than we anticipated," he said. "A year ago no one thought we would be in this position."
Is there anything more inspiring than a comeback story? ...by Published on May 25th, 2007 20:54
Great news today is the day of Commercial game demos, heres the first its Gurumin:
In a town called "Tis", amazingly, there is not a single child in here. The first friends that Palin made when she just moved to this town are actually a kind of monster called "Obake" that only children can see! After they became good friends, Palin got to know of her friends being captured by evil demons, the "Phantom". In order to save her friends and attack evil, she uses the legendary drill and embarked on her adventure and solved puzzles in ruins, caves, forests and other stages!
Buy Gurumin
Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ...by Published on May 25th, 2007 20:51
Via PSPextreme
If you live in Japan and you're a GTA fan, you're frequently frustrated. Why? Because for whatever reason, it takes a while for certain installments to get over there, and the PSP hit, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is no exception. The game is finally set for release on July 26 in Japan...and no, we're not talking about the sequel.
This is two years late; GTA: LCS released in the U.S. way back in 2005, but we suppose late is better than never. Capcom is always the publisher for the GTA titles over in Japan, and they apparently don't have the games high on their priority list. That's very weird, though, considering the Grand Theft Auto series is plenty popular over there. Let's hope Japanese gamers will be getting Grand Theft Auto IV a little sooner; waiting until 2009 would be downright unacceptable. ...- Search DCEmu
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