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Perfect Dark XBLA Could Get More New Maps, Weapons
The Xbox Live Arcade remake of classic Nintendo 64 shooter Perfect Dark sings on the Xbox 360, mixing the game’s original geometry with high-definition graphics and a silky frame rate without tinkering with the unique controls. And that was the goal, said Kenn Lobb, creative director for Microsoft Game Studios, and executive producer for Perfect…
By Brian Crecente Published February 12, 2010 -
Reviews
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars Review: FanFic Comes to Life
In Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom Ultimate All -Stars, players select from among 26 characters plucked from the universes of Tatsunoko Productions and Capcom to create a tag team to brawl their way through waves of paired-off fighters. Much has been made of the fan-driven nature of this latest entry in the casual-meets-hardcore Versus fighter franchise. It…
By Brian Crecente Published February 11, 2010 -
Something’s Not Quite Right About Nintendo’s Aussie Pirate
So, that story the other day about an Australian man being ordered to pay Nintendo AUD$1.5 million? Yeah, something’s not quite right about it. A day after the news broke, there was a piece in Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald profiling the man in question, 24 year-old Queenslander James Burt. It leads with a pic of…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 11, 2010 -
Pokémon’s Fifth Generation Begins With Zoroark
Scans from the latest CoroCoro Comic out the first new Pokémon of the fifth generation, Zoroark, the monster fox Pokémon and star of the franchise’s 13th animated feature, Phantom Ruler Zoroark. First shown in silhouette during this weekend’s Pokémon Sunday in Japan, CoroCoro Comic magazine scans from across the sea have confirmed the mysterious creature…
By Mike Fahey Published February 10, 2010 -
Ghost Recon: Future Soldiers Coming to the Wii
A version of Ghost Recon: Future Soldiers, confirmed earlier today by Ubisoft, will be coming to Wii, the company announced today. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot confirmed that the upcoming shooter will be coming to all platforms when it hits, including the Wii. The game will be different though, he pointed out. It will be developed…
By Brian Crecente Published February 9, 2010 -
Pikmin? Made For Japanese Schoolgirls
GameCube strategy game Pikmin might have been inspired by Shigeru Miyamoto’s gardening, but do you know why he made the game? “Every once in a while, you want to make something that high school girls can get into,” the famed Nintendo creator said at a recent symposium. The concept behind Pikmin, reports Japanese site 4Gamer,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 9, 2010 -
Report Mentions Nintendo’s New Hardware, Miyamoto’s New Game
From website 4Gamer.net comes the news that Nintendo is developing new hardware, and Shigeru Miyamoto is working on a new Wii Motion Plus game. The news is from a recent symposium in which Miyamoto discussed things like hamsters. 4Gamer does not quote him directly, but does state that Miyamoto revealed he is working on a…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 9, 2010 -
Pirate Ordered To Pay Nintendo $1.5 Million
Nintendo sent out a press release today triumphantly boasting of victory in an Australian court over a man accused of pirating New Super Mario Bros. Wii. And how this single man now owes the mega-rich company $1.5 million. Last November, Nintendo says it was able to “employ the use of sophisticated technological forensics” to catch…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 9, 2010 -
Peter Molyneux: Natal Could Change Interaction Like The Mouse
Peter Molyneux, the guy who designs those Fable games and runs Microsoft’s European studios, sees Project Natal as more than just another motion peripheral. For him, it’s the peripheral is akin to some like the computer mouse. “If you’re thinking that Natal is going to give you another version of an FPS, you’re just not…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 8, 2010 -
What Does A Hamster Have To Do With Super Mario Galaxy?
Screw focus groups. Or corporate brainstorming. Shigeru Miyamoto gets many of his game ideas from real life. Take The Legend of Zelda, which was inspired by Miyamoto’s childhood spent playing outside, or Pikmin, which was inspired by gardening, or Nintendogs, which was inspired by his experience owning a pet. Super Mario Galaxy? A hamster. Miyamoto…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 8, 2010 -
When’s That New Blaster Master Game Available?
That is a good question, my man. How about nowish? Blaster Master Overdrive, announced yesterday, is available via WiiWare beginning Monday. Billed as a “reimagining of the original NES Blaster Master,” Sunsoft’s new game will feature eight stages capped by mutant boss battles, plus upgradable parts for the tank, like a grappling hook and drill.…
By Owen Good Published February 7, 2010 -
Survey: Game Devs Walking Away From Wii, Warming Up To iPhone
Game developers are focusing less on the Wii and more on the iPhone, according to a new survey of more than 800 video game professionals, with development on Apple’s platform nearly doubling over the year prior. That survey of developers from North America “and beyond” was performed by Game Developer Research and consists of video…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 5, 2010 -
Endless Ocean: Blue World Gameplay Is All Wet
Endless Ocean: Blue World may seem like a natural fit for the forthcoming Wii Vitality Sensor, given the relaxing (or terrifying) nature of scuba diving, but the game is due far sooner than Nintendo’s biometrics monitoring add-on. We recently got a hands-on peek at the Wii game, arriving in North America later this month, a…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 4, 2010 -
Metroid Creator Talks Metroid: Other M, WarioWare & More At GDC
Looking forward to Metroid: Other M? Then take note. This year’s Game Developers Conference adds one more must-attend session with the addition of Metroid creator Yoshio Sakamoto‘s rare lecture about his work on WarioWare and the adventures of Samus Aran. Sakamoto will likely talk about the progress and development of Metroid: Other M for the…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 3, 2010 -
This Is Exactly Why I Hate Peripherals
They are gaming’s extras. The add-ons. The bits that are outside the core elements. And I hate them. Well, not all of them. Those who have a solid fighting stick or a solid driving wheel, are able to use those peripherals in game after game, experience after experience. These peripherals work best because they are…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 3, 2010 -
Reviews
Glory of Heracles Review: A Forgetful Adventure
Ancient Greece’s immortal amnesiacs want answers, damn it, and they intend to get them in Nintendo’s role-playing game Glory of Heracles for the Nintendo DS. Nintendo gives North American gamers their first taste of the long-running Glory of Heracles series with the franchise’s DS debut. The traditional, perhaps to a fault, Japanese RPG follows the…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 2, 2010 -
Nintendo vs. Japanese Newspaper, It Continues!
In early January, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata gave an interview with Japan’s second largest newspaper The Asahi Shimbun. The printed article has been a source of dispute. In the original article, the Asashi Shimbun quoted Satoru Iwata as stating the Nintendo DS successor will have “highly detailed graphics, and it will be necessary to have…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 2, 2010 -
The Simpsons Lampoon Nintendo Straightly With The Funtendo Zii
Last night’s episode of Fox’s long-running The Simpsons parodied, I guess, the Nintendo Wii with the introduction of the Funtendo Zii. The Simpsons’ take on Nintendo’s motion controlled hit was far more straightforward than it was skewering. See, the episode “Million Dollar Maybe” pretty much presented the Wii as-is, offering animated versions of the Wii,…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 1, 2010