Kotaku
It looks like Ubisoft's first game for the Wii's WiiWare channel will be a shoot-em up called Protöthea, a finalist at the Independent Games Festival developed by Sabarasa and Digital Builders.
It looks like Ubisoft's first game for the Wii's WiiWare channel will be a shoot-em up called Protöthea, a finalist at the Independent Games Festival developed by Sabarasa and Digital Builders."Ubisoft is excited to bring Protöthea exclusively to the platform and we feel it's a must-have WiiWare title,” shared James Regan, vice president of third party operations, Ubisoft. "Protöthea really reminds me of some of the best arcade games, with the Wii Remote as an added dimension. It's just a flurry of fast-paced action that anyone can simply pick up and enjoy.”
In the game players control a "last-generation" spaceship with the Remote and Nunchuk as they try to destroy asteroid Maqno 01 and stop the plans of The Core. The game includes multiple missions, eight different air-to-air weapons, two bombs, as well as a special power that slows time.
Hit the jump for a second vid of the game and fact sheet.
Protöthea™
Product Description
Protöthea™ is a top-down vertical scrolling shooter game putting players in complete control of a last-generation spaceship, with the challenge to destroy an asteroid called “Maqno 01” and sabotage the plans of the political faction called “The Core.”
Ubisoft’s WiiWare™ exclusive launch title introduces new concepts to a beloved classic game style while mixing genres and utilizing the full capabilities of the Wii™ system, from graphics to controls.
Players of all ages and experience will easily jump right in and guide their ship through multiple missions on futuristic planets in a complete 3D world featuring non-stop action.
Key Features
Pick Up and Play
Protöthea takes full advantage of the Nintendo Wii Remote™ and Nunchuck giving players total control of their ship via an easy-to-play and extremely intuitive control scheme.
Graphical Prowess
The game takes place in a complete 3D world packed with graphically rich environments, non-stop action featuring explosions and cool special effects.
Enemy AI
Unlike traditional scrolling shooters where enemy paths and maneuvers were predictable, the enemy AI in Protöthea is dynamic and changes based on the player’s actions.
Complete Arsenal of Weapons
A wide range of eight different air-to-air weapons and two different air-to-ground bombs give players a variety of options at their fingertips as they can use any given weapon they’ve obtained at any given time; the slow-down special power gives the spaceship the ability to decelerate time and avoid enemy fire while rapidly moving and attacking enemies.
Storyline and Missions
Protöthea boasts four unique planets where players will battle through ten levels and two difficulty settings to destroy the plans of “The Core,” a faction that plans to use the minerals extracted from the Maqno asteroid to build an army of bio-machines with the objective to control the Free Planets Federation – yeah, totally evil, right?
Product Specifications:
Developers: Sabarasa & Digital Builders
Publisher: Ubisoft
Release Date: May 2008
Category: Action Shooter
Rating: “E” for Everyone
Price: 1,000 Wii Points
Web site: www.ubisoft.com
Comments
teehee! "last-generation" spaceship....go on someones going to say it....go on!
I could really dig this control scheme...I assume that you control where on the screen your ship is with the analog stick and the direction you fire with wii-mote reticule.
I'm not a schmup fan, but I could give this a try.
Technically it's not Wii-exclusive. It was released for the PC a few years back.
@LedRush: check out Geometry wars, it controls the same and is all the better for it!
"Shump" LOL!
"Ubisoft Brings Protöthea Shump to WiiWare"
What's a shump? Is that like a 'Shemp'? :D
I wish I could play these - still can't even beat Lords of Thunder (and I actually owned it for the TurboDuo back in the day - used to listen to it in my Discman).
I wonder if the "special power that slows time" automatically kicks in whenever there are too many ships/shots/explosions on screen ;)
@trickfred: It's supposed to be "Shmup", an abbreviation for "shoot-em-up
@trickfred: Shump - sorta a mash-up of 'shoot em up'. Shorthand for vertical and horizontal shooters like Life force, Darius, Xevious, Omega 5, Ikaruga etc.
@djblack70: LOL, that's hilarious, and would be even more so if that's the reason it happens. Special ability to slow frame-rate, lol.
After gorging myself on games like Ikaruga and Touhou, I find games like this where the enemy isn't shooting hundreds and hundreds of bullets at you to be kind of uninteresting.
Sweet, I love those little bombs that fall slowly into the screen... why do they call it a "top-down vertical scrolling shooter game" when the 2nd video is quite clearly a "left-right horizontal shooter"?
@trickfred: Gah, I hope it's not a Shemp. The least-funny Stooge (until Curly Joe, at least) is not my idea of a good time!
@the-hypnotoad: Hehehe. Makes me laugh. It's SHMUP SHoot 'eM UP, Not SHUMP. He was mocking the mispelling in the title, which isn't very funny, but you telling him the definition of a mispelling is hilarious, at least in my book.
@the-hypnotoad: Isn't it "shmup"? As in SHoot eM UP? That's what I always thought....
@Ghede: Do'h!
Does it have any multiplayer?
so…
How about some videos of the gameplay without the slow motion effect…
As a hardcore shmup fan this looks like an overly simplistic attempt at the genre. I say give us all the Cave shmups that haven't been ported dammit!!
@Danin: Yeah.. Ikaruga and Geometry Wars FTW. If anything it would be nice if WiiWare had Radiant Silvergun.
¡Viva la pampa!, ¡Argentina FTW!
i think i dated protothea shump in high school. she had a nice control scheme too.
Wow that looks really horrible. Again, like BitKid, i'm a huge shmup gamer. This looks like someone trying but not getting it.
Also, as a musician, i am appalled. Yech.
"Protöthea™ is a top-down vertical scrolling shooter game" except in the second video where it poses as a "top-down horizontal scrolling shooter game"
I don't understand ... where are the bullets? You said this was a shmup, right?
Slightly underwhelmed by that. Not enough enemies or bullets flying around. The screen scrolled so slowly also. And the music? Um. Yeah.
This could be good if they tweak it a bit. I'm excited for playing a shoot 'em up with the Wii Remote but sadly the game itself isn't making me too excited.
I like shmups, but those videos make the game look um... kinda boring.
It looks like crap. 'nuff said.
The game seems a little slow... Maybe Gradius, R-Type, Ikaruga, and a host of bullet hell games (that I suck at) ruined shmups for me.
Nice! Id pay 500 points for it, but never 1000. Try again, Ubi.
it looks alright, but the one sound effect for explosions playing over and over annoyed me
@Ghede: @Hoppasaurus:
Yeah, I read it too fast to pick up the subtle ribbing in his post, just thought someone not familiar with the lingo needed a hand. Glad I could provide some hump-day yucks though!
There are much better vids on youtube plus you can play a demo of the pc version from [www.download.com]
The wii version has added content such as more levels so the ten dollars is worth it.
@I_Hate_This_Place & the-hypnotoad:
(Yeah, I knew that. :D )
@DorkimusPrime:
Yay, someone with a sense of humour. :D
It better have gamecube or classic controller support
Any one remember the old games Tyrian and Raptor: Call of the Shadows? I'd love for those games to appear on a console some day. I actually remember reading about Tyrian coming to GBA, but apparently it got canned..
@badoor: Think that defeats the purpose.
This looks like it would get frustrating to control. The developers must have thought that people would be getting hit a lot and changed the typically insta-kill shump mechanics to a health bar.
I love Shmups. I mean, since I got home, I've played Gate of Thunder on VC, Darius Gaiden on my Saturn, and Raiden on my TurboGrafx-16.
But this one just doesn't look that fun to me. It moves a bit too slow, and reminds me of the bubble stages in Super Mario Galaxy. I don't like those stages.
Just not interested.
It looks interesting.
@badoor: It probably won't, as they seem to use the Wiimote to aim.
I'm not a fan of mouse shooters. The Wiimote is being used as a mouse, so it's a no for me.
@shimage: Haha, I was thinking the same thing.
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