Gaming Militia

Latest Banjo Trailer Hits the Net

2008-09-29T13:28:00.000-07:00

Just a few hours ago, Gametrailers posted a trailer for Rare’s latest Nuts & Bolts. Besides the game looking very graphically pretty, Banjo can now be seen with a tuxedo for some reason, as well as faster walking (a complaint I had back during E3, which I hope they fixed for the final version) and King Jingaling. Yet what’s most interesting is at the end, when the duo land upon a castle tower and the dark blue Stop N’ Swop egg is painted on the floor. In typical Rare fashion, the trailer ends before we see the actual effects of Kazooie using her wrench. Yet if interviews are anything to go by, there will be certain points in Nuts & Bolts when the game will detect if you’ve played BK XBLA, and possibly vice versa. Maybe it’s also a matter of where.

Also we would like to announce that the blog will be closing for a short period of time to be revamped.

-Gaming Militia Team

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Banjo Kazooie XBLA Achievements

2008-09-25T20:12:00.000-07:00

The complete Achievement list for upcoming XBLA game Banjo Kazooie:

Get Jiggy - (10G) – Collect 2 Jiggies

Mumbo Jumbo - (10G) – Transformed by Mumbo for the first time

Knock out Nipper - (15G) – Come out on top in a dust-up with Nipper the crab. Watch out, he’s called Nipper for a reason

Free Clanker - (15G) – Liberate Clanker, Gruntilda’s rusty and recalcitrant garbage grinder

Chomp Chomp! - (15G) – They’re red and no less than 30 of them need chomping. Nuff said

Move Master - (15G) – Discover and master all Banjo’s moves… and Kazooie’s… but nobody else’s. Unless you insist

Show me the honey! - (15G) – Collect all 24 of the extra honeycomb pieces. Yes! Every single one! It’s character-building

The Quiz Master - (20G) – Complete Grunty’s Furnace Fun quiz show and win the Star Prize. Been paying attention?

Jinjonatored - (20G) – Fear the Jinjonator. If you’re a witch, that is. The Jinjonator lays the smack down on witches

Jigsaw maker - (20G) – Bet you thought jigsaws were boring! Bottles disagrees, and has seven of them to be solved

Cheating Cheato - (20G) – Bump into Grunty’s disowned spellbook three times as it hops around the place dishing out cheats

Music Maestro - (25G) – There are 900 musical notes out there in the world of Banjo-Kazooie. Real gamers collect them all…

Overall, the list looks like all the other XBLA achievements; easy to complete and do them all in a matter of days (or in this case for me, a matter of hours).

Look forward to the XBLA release this November 11th.

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Changed and Added XBLA Banjo News

2008-09-25T17:31:00.000-07:00

Rather than the originally planned November 14th release date for Nuts and Bolts, it is now going to be the 11th. Along with the changed date of Nuts and Bolts, the original Banjo Kazooie XBLA preorder item will be released on the 11th as well, making it 2+ weeks earlier than the public release of the game.

If you’re curious as to where you can pre-order the game, Rare’s site has you covered:

UK: Amazon, Play.com, Game and Gamestation
USA: Amazon, EBGames, GameStop and GameCrazy
FRANCE: Micromania and Game
SPAIN: Game
ITALY: GameStop
SCANDINAVIA: Game and GameStop

“Other countries known to be running the promotion but with no specific retailer info as yet: CANADA, JAPAN, IRELAND, GERMANY, AUSTRIA, BENELUX, SWITZERLAND, AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND, probably not Uzbekistan or Narnia.“

Last, but certainly not least, IGN has the first video of the Banjo Kazooie XBLA and if that wasn't enough, there is also a youtube video of some lucky guy getting the release of the game before the people that get it before the public.

Sources: Rare News of Banjo XBLA and Rare Press Release with Kazooie and Tooie(2009) for XBLA

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Sites Using The Forum News Program

2008-09-24T16:41:00.000-07:00

This is so you can check out examples:
http://chattopia.net/blog/
http://segacity123.proboards.com/
http://www.supermariopartysite.com/forum/

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Banjo-Tooie Officially Released by Rare XBLA

2008-09-24T15:46:00.000-07:00

Along with the news of Banjo Kazooie's XBLA release date, Rare has officially announced the "already-known-to-be" Banjo Tooie for XBLA.

Look for the title early 2009 for, most likely, the same price as Banjo Kazooie.

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Koei's TGS Line-Up

2008-09-24T15:37:00.000-07:00

Fatal Inertia (PS3, Playable)
Bladestorm (PS3, Playable)
Mahjong Rally (PS3, Playable)
Guardian Devas (PS3, Undecided)
Sengoku Musou Wave (Wii, Video Only)
Sengoku Musou 2 Empire (PS2, Playable)
Romance of 3 Kingdoms 11 (PS2, Playable)
Nobunaga's Ambition Online (PS2 and PC, Undecided)
Sengoku Musou Majong (Nintendo DS and PSP, Playable)
G-One Jockey (PS2, Playable)
From Far Away in the Middle of Space It Dances One Night (Nintendo DS and PSP, Playable)

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Banjo-Kazooie XBLA Gets A Release Date

2008-09-24T12:46:00.001-07:00

A new press release states that the release date will be November 26 for 1200 microsoft points. Also don't forget that if you pre-order Nuts & Bolts you get access to the game for free and two weeks before it is publically released.

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Third Party Releases Are Down On The PSP

2008-09-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

As this graph shows, the PSP has been getting less third party releases since '06. Maybe due to the recent increase in sales that the PSP will get some more releases. I hope since I haven't bought a new game for the PSP since God Of War: Chains Of Olympus.

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Flash Game Of The Day Being Changed

2008-09-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

Instead of having a flash game being posted every day it will now be weekly so we can get higher quality games instead of posting mediocre games.

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Ensemble Was Working On A Halo MMO

2008-09-23T11:15:00.000-07:00

(click to enlarge)

Ensemble Studios, the recently closed down developer of Halo Wars, was working on a Halo MMO that was in development from 2006 to early 2007. It was cancelled in 2007 and had nothing to do with the closure of the studio.

Below is some mock-ups and prototype screenshots:

Gamasutra had the exclusive scoop and reported

Gamasutra has discovered that a now-canceled Halo MMO was in development at the studio, unearthing prototype UI and level screenshots of the Ensemble-developed project.

The prototype art, which was at one point made available on an Ensemble-linked online artist portfolio website, further confirms previous rumors that the studio was working on an MMO based on the Bungie-created sci-fi franchise.

Notable, rumors reported in Game Informer magazine in early 2006 claimed that Bungie and Ensemble were teaming up to make a Halo-themed MMO. And, although it was not clear that it was Halo-specific, websites such as 1UP did point out that Ensemble was hiring for an MMO project as early as April 2006.

The title seems to have been in development in 2006 and some of 2007 -- though it's by no means clear that it was the only MMO-related title in development at the studio at that time.

If Ensemble states anything official, we'll be here to report on it.

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Plot Line For Conker's Other Bad Fur Day Detailed

2008-09-22T20:03:00.001-07:00

“We actually started on a direct sequel which was going to be called ‘Conker’s Other Bad Day‘ which dealt with Conker’s somewhat unsuccessful tenure as King. He spends all the treasury money on beer, parties and hookers. Thrown into prison, Conker is faced with the prospect of execution and the game starts with his escape, ball and chain attached, from the Castles highest tower.”
- Chris Seavor

We accidentally left this out of our original Conker article. Our apologies.

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Xbox 360 Reaches 6 million in Europe

2008-09-22T19:29:00.000-07:00

Microsoft just announced they have hit the 6 Million mark in Europe. This surge in sales is likely due to how the 360 is now the cheapest console in Europe due to the price cuts.

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Rare Releases Nuts and Bolts Achievements List

2008-09-22T18:08:00.000-07:00

If you would like to actually go "Nuts & Bolts" without wanting to know what you need to do to recieve some Achievement points, I would stay away from the following paragraph:

Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts Achievements:

Pointless Collector (10)Take part in the L.O.G. badge collecting challenge at the start of the game in Spiral Mountain

Open Nuts (10)Place the Nutty Acres Game Globe on its plinth in Showdown Town

Next-Next-Gen (10)Place the LOGBOX 720 Game Globe on its plinth in Showdown Town

History Lesson (15)Place the Banjoland Game Globe on its plinth in Showdown Town

Let the Games Begin (15)Place the Jiggosseum Game Globe on its plinth in Showdown Town

Super Banjo Universe (20)Place the Terrarium of Terror Game Globe on its plinth in Showdown Town

My First Bank (10) Bank your first Jiggy in Showdown Town

Little Banker (20)Bank 10 Jiggies in Showdown Town

Big Banker (30)Bank 30 Jiggies in Showdown Town

Shower of Gold (40)Bank 60 Jiggies in Showdown Town

Jiggillionaire! (50)Bank 131 Jiggies in Showdown Town

Pimped Up (20)Complete the Showdown Town Trolley with Parts won from Grunty battles

Witch Hunt (50)Defeat Grunty at the end of the game

My First Trophy (10)Earn a T.T. Trophy from any challenge

Few Trophy Pts (20)Earn 10 T.T. Trophies from any challenges

More Trophy Pts (30)Earn 30 T.T. Trophies from any challenges

A Lot of Trophy Pts (40)Earn 60 T.T. Trophies from any challenges

Be Crateful (15)Find and return two crates to Mumbo’s Motors

Blueprint Buyout (15)Buy a blueprint from Humba in Showdown Town

Roid Rage (15)Train Banjo once in the Showdown Town gym

Start to Free the Showdown Six (15)Free and re-house a Jinjo in Showdown Town

Vigilante (15)Lock up a Minjo in Showdown Town

Bingo! (20)Complete a line on the Bingo card at King Jingaling’s Palace

Stop ‘n’ Swop (0)Return a Stop ‘n’ Swop crate to Mumbo’s Motors

BBQ Beef (20)In Nutty Acres, they like their steak well done

Massive Damage (20)Aim at the 10 legs for massive damage

Test Your Strength (20)Roll up, show the whole of Banjoland how strong you are

Great Balls of Fire (20)Take a heavy ball around the Jiggosseum and get a burning sensation

Ultimate Combo (20)More like a three-hit combo in the Terrarium of Terror

Floater in the Pipe (20)Eeurgh! That’s not going to help the Test-O-Track plumbing

Burn the Witch! (20)Showdown Town witch hunt

Head for Heights (20)Find the best view in Showdown Town

Fuzz Off! (20)POP goes the Weasel!

Paint Your Wagon (10)Paint any part of your vehicle in Mumbo’s Motors

Speedy of the Colossus (25)Build a vehicle with 200 blocks or more and go over a set speed

Minimalist (25)Build a vehicle with five blocks or less and go over a set speed

Whoa Nelly! (25)Travel in a vehicle over a set speed

Loose Change (20)Collect ALL the Showdown Town Loose Change

Arcade Pwner (20)Finish all levels of Klungo’s Arcade game

Sunday League (20)Play in and complete a multiplayer game League

Premier League! (40)Play in and complete a marathon multiplayer game League (Every Race,

Every Sport or Every Race and Sport)

What’s That Smell? (10)Play an Xbox LIVE multiplayer game against a Banjo team member, or somebody who has already done so

Bit of Blue (10)Share a blueprint with another player or Friend over Xbox LIVE, or save 20

blueprints

Paparazzi (10)Take a photo and upload it to Xbox LIVE, or take five photos

Caught on Camera (10)Send a video replay to a Friend over Xbox LIVE, or save five replays

High Fives All Round (10)Be on the winning team in a ranked team game

All My Own Work (20)Win a ranked solo game with a custom vehicle

Too Easy! (10)Win a ranked solo race by reversing over the finish line

Too Easy Too! (20)Win a ranked solo race by running or swimming over the finish line

Are You Trophy Thomas? (40)Win 20 Xbox LIVE ranked multiplayer games in any mode

End Achievements list

The only things that changed from the rumored list was Papparazzi without the "crap", and Super Banjo "in a Universe" rather than Galaxy. Without a doubt, these are probably the best Achievement titles ever.

Source: Rare Site 2.0

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Jump Ultimate Stars Review DS

2008-09-22T17:07:00.000-07:00

Jump Ultimate Stars, for the DS. If you have ever wished that Super Smash Bros. would come to the DS, or if you like any Anima/Manga at all, I would reccommend you read further because a Super Smash Bros. game engine mixed with over 41 Manga characters is about to come your way.

Storyline:
The game's storyline (or attempt of a storyline) has you going through the "JUMP Universe" where you must go to each planet/earth that will be a different manga. So the first planet would be for example One Piece, from there you can move to Naruto or Dragon Ball. I cant remember the exact order in my head, but you must move through each planet and reach the end of the universe to defeat an evil doctor (who is the bad guy in Dr. Slump). But nevermind the crummy storyline, its all about the gaming.

Gameplay:
This game is exactly what I say it is... Take Super Smash Bros, now put it on the DS, add Wifi ability, now replace all the Nintendo Characters with over 300 manga characters, and BLAM! you Got Jump! Ultimate Stars. I believe there is about 40 stages as well, that serves the world of each manga series. Now don't be completely deceived, there is indeed 300 characters, but only about 50-60 are playable, now, that still is a lot of characters, the rest serve as what I can compare to as assist trophies from Super Smash Bros.
Once you make your custom character roster (thats right, customize as many characters as you like as long as you can place them in a 5x5 grid) this means that you can have a max of 4 playable characters (you will see more depth of this in the video provided at the end).

But, after you have your character set, and pick on of the many levels, you play a 4 player battle (or less):

KO:This is where you only have one stock (life) for each character you have in your "deck" during battle, whether you have one Luffy or 3 Dragon Ball Z characters, you goal is to not get killed an elimate all other characters on the screen.

Stock Setting:
Stock is where you must wear down all of your opponents health until they "die" or knock them off of the arena.
Time:
Attack your opponents and KO them as fast as you can to achieve the most points, and be the victor at the end of the time limit.
Star Bull Crap:
Here you must collect 5 stars (or be the one with the most stars) when the time limit runs out, if you die, you loose your star(s) depending on which character gets KO'd. I don't recommend this style, since...well, I don't like it.

GRAPHICS:
The graphics are a pretty good 2-D style gaming, with sprites of your favorite (and most hated) anime/manga characters.

The graphics are better than what you see here, these are just the only images I can find.And this will be obviously shown in the video.

SOUND:
The sound is of a...well, just imagine the first Super Smash Bros. Lots of grunting, item tinks, and of course the signature arena music that portrays that anime. So, nothing painful, and not that much elaborate music, though it is good. Uhh, I will resort to a score here of 8/10

Replay Value:
One of the best replay values out there, I got this game over 2 years ago, and I'm still playing the crap outta it, for two reasons:
1.) You got that SSB element here, of just wanting to play a free-for-all with your hated anime characters (ah, slaying Naruto with a passion with crappy manga characters make me happy...BELIEVE IT!).
2.) WIFI! Even with the spammers and the people that try to run away for a full minute, this game kicks ass, and you will love it, I guarantee it. You will catch up with the people that try to run, and you will (eventually) figure out the spammer and use a certain move (after experience you know how to evade such spams as Super Sayain Trunks coming at you with a sword repetitively, by jumping over and laying a sweep kick).

VERDICT!
Just buy the game, I have yet to find a person to hate on this game, even now (with all the people on the JUS board talking about Brawl Friend Codes), people are still jammin this game out, with tons of planned matches a day (go ahead and look at the JUS board at gamefaqs, you will see nothing but "1vs1 matches or tournaments").
And to help you out on where to get this (since it is never coming out in the US, and if it ain't coming out in the US, it ain't coming out wherever you live) I will save you the trouble of trying to find a reliable site, and send you this link. There is also an English patch out there for those that ABSOLUTELY MUST have to play this in English, just search "Jump Ultimate Stars Patch" in google, and you should get it. I must admit though, actually playing in English, I have learned some "first hand tutorial" things that helped my gaming action online.

The price dropped from when I got it, so you can imagine how much it was then, but I guarantee you will not be upset with this game. And you can expect that the following video review will push up your intrest in this game, if the review hasn't yet.

HuntMac Gameplay:

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Capcom Wants The Money: More Mega Man 9 DLC

2008-09-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

Nintendo Wii Fanboy has found out the rest of the DLC. They state:

Endless Attack, October 6, 300 Wii Points: "Test your skills on a stage without end. Try to break the record for getting the farthest. Results will be displayed in the Rankings. Not compatible with Challenges."
Proto Man Mode, October 6, 200 Wii points: "Play the game as Proto Man. You can use the shield while jumping. Some of Proto Man's abilities may differ from Mega Man's. There is no story for Proto Man. Not compatible with Rankings or Challenges."
Hero Mode, October 20, 100 Wii Points: "Play the game with a more difficult level of enemy distribution. Not compatible with Rankings or Challenges."
Superhero Mode, October 20, 100 Wii Points: "Play the game with a super difficult level of enemy distribution. Not compatible with Rankings or Challenges."
Special Stage, October 20, 100 Wii Points: "Gives you another Time Attack Stage to try, including a new Boss at the end! Results will be displayed in the Rankings. Not compatible with Challenges."

I hate it when developers announce DLC the day the game is released because it could've easily been put into the game at launch.

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New Animal Crossing: City Folk Scans

2008-09-22T16:45:00.000-07:00

Here's the newest scans from GameNyko:

Click the images to enlarge them

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New Staff Member: Huntmac

2008-09-22T16:28:00.000-07:00

I'd like to announce that we have a new staff member, Huntmac. He will specialize in providing video reviews, Rare News and Donkey Kong News.

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We've Been Mentioned On Kombo.com!

2008-09-22T16:01:00.000-07:00

Here is the article.

This is our first time on a major Gaming Site. Thanks to Kombo for actually reading our tips. The article they used was our article on Conker.

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Looking For Staff

2008-09-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

We're currently looking for staff. If you're interested leave a comment below or e-mail me or contact me via AIM.

We're looking for:
~~Artists~~ It's been filled.
Writers

Note: Seeing how the site currently is not trying to make money (it's being operated on spare-time and love for gaming on my behalf) you probably won't get any cash but if you have a Wii I can probably gift some VC games (like one NES game for every 10 posts or something like that) :P. If we ever start putting advertisements on the site then payment would happen.

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Editorials Database

2008-09-22T15:37:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of our Editorials:
A Look Back... Way Way Back At The History of Nintendo
Just One More Try...
The Irony Of Metroid Prime
Nintendo's Reign Of Censorship
Similarities between the NES and N64
7 Reasons Why The PSP Is More Next Gen Than The Wii

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Review Database

2008-09-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

Reviews:
Super Mario Sluggers Review
Diddy Kong Racing DS Review
Jump Ultimate Stars Review DS

Previews:
Pokemon Platinum Import Preview

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What If Brawl Was Like Other Games

2008-09-22T10:40:00.000-07:00

Some hilarious what-if segments featuring gameplay from Mortal Kombat, Metal Gear Solid, Pokemon, Final Fantasy and more!

Please Digg! http://digg.com/nintendo/What_If_Super_Smash_Bros_Brawl_Was_Like_Other_Games

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Flash Game Of The Day: Helicopter

2008-09-22T03:32:00.000-07:00

What's your best score? Post it in the comments!

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Pokemon Platinum Import Preview (update)

2008-09-21T20:17:00.000-07:00

Luigi Lord here playing Pokemon Platinum which was recently released for Japan. My initial thoughts were "Oh whats the point its just gonna be exactly like Pearl and Diamond" and to my surprise there were quite a bit of changes.First noticeable change is that there's snow so apparently its winter time within Sinnoh this game round which I think is a nice touch. Also the way you come by your first Pokemon is way different from what I remember. For some reason your Rival tries to jump into the grass but is stopped by the professor where you then get your pick of Pokemon. I chose Chimchar which is probably not that good for this point in game, considering the first gym is a rock gym, and immediately after that your rival challenges you to a fight which I don't think happens in P/D. As soon as the battle starts your rival does a demented dance and then spams you with growl moves for an epic battle!... How did the battle turn out?... I lost.... Jerks....

Progressing in the game I go check out the pond (where you originally get your first pokemon in P/D) to see whats there only to discover, Dum Dum Dummmm, A TEAM ROCKET MEMBER?... Er... Team Galaxy (I'm still sad that they took out team rocket from the newer games) I only wish I knew what he said. Moving on we continue and talk to the professor get our pokedex then Dawn blocks you from progressing. Now at this point I was stuck for about 2 hours trying to figure out what to do which I then figured out was I needed to talk to my mom before continuing. After getting a journal and a parcel we go happily to the next city facing trainers along the way. After arriving Dawn introduces you to a man, not sure who he is but he has his own music so you know hes special. Getting my new and improved POKEWATCH! (which also has the calculator, clicker, etc) We continue to face who else but our good old rival once again doing his dance.

From that point out I didn't notice any changes, though I have only played up till the first gym battle I am very impressed. Though one thing seems odd to me... I never remember wild pokemon leveling up this fast! In the mines where workers should be working but battle you while finding the gym leader there were some lv 9 onyx in there? Though it has been a while since I played Pearl so it might just be my memory breaking.

Final thoughts so far: A mix of old things kept from pearl and changes. A lot of stuff unanswered due to not being able to read the text so I am highly anticipating the english release and I'm sure all pokemon fans, even those with P/D will want this game.

Note from TT:
We'll have a review once the game is released in America!

Update: I've been contacted by a member that it is actually not Winter in Sinnoh but the storyline revolves around it snowing and being cold despite it being out of season. I won't dive into the details because I don't want to spoil it.

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Gaming Militia's Forum News Program

2008-09-21T16:59:00.000-07:00

Do you have a forum? Do you want your forum to have all the up-to-date Videogame news? Well then here is a great deal. Gaming Militia will post news to your forum for free but there is one small catch. You just have to put the following banner with a link to Gaming Militia on your forum. If you're interested please send an e-mail to tt@supermarioallstars.com or contact me on AIM ( arcticmonkeys33) or leave a comment in the comments section.

The Banner:

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Check Out Our Digg Profile

2008-09-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

We're now on Digg! Check out our profile. Also Digg any stories that you feel should be recognized here.

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This Month's ONM Reviews (Issue 35)

2008-09-21T14:35:00.000-07:00

The latest ONM Issue is out and here are the scores:

Wii

de Blob - 92%
Order Up! - 80%
Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli - 83&
Samba de Amigo - 71%
Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon - 84%
Rock Band - 60%
Madden NFL 09 All-Play - 87%
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 All-Play - 85%
Twin Strike: Operation Thunder - 74%

Wii Virtual Console

Super Mario RPG - 95%
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels - 88%
Chase HQ - 68%
Dig Dug - 62%

WiiWare

MaBoshi: The Three Shape Arcade - 85%
My Aquarium - 21%

DS

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood - 93%
Spore Creatures - 66%
Jewel Quest: Cradle of Rome - 81%
Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials & Tribulations - 85%
Zubo - 84%
Lego Batman - 80%
Dungeon Maker - 70%
Spongebob SquarePants: Drawn to Life - 51%
Pipemania - 82%
Gauntlet - 53%

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Flash Game Of The Day: Baseball

2008-09-21T13:19:00.000-07:00

What's your best score? Post it in the comments!

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New Staff Member: Luigi Lord!

2008-09-21T08:23:00.000-07:00

I'd like to announce that we have a new staff member, Luigi Lord. He will specialize in providing Nintendo DS import reviews, previews and news.

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Indie Games At TGS

2008-09-21T07:59:00.000-07:00

The finalists for the "Sense of Wonder Night 2008" indie game showcase -- to be held as part of next month's Tokyo Game Show -- have been announced.

The event has been promoted as a celebration of creative and experimental gaming, and all 12 of the finalists will be on hand October 10 to present their game.

- Wired.com

Here is the list of the games and their creator:
Camera - Yareyare (Japan)
Genocide Automation - Naoya Sasaki (Japan)
The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom - The Odd Gentlemen (U.S.)
Nano Smiles - Yu Iwai (Japan)
Randy Balma: Municipal Abortionist - Mark Essen (U.S.)
WhiteSpace - Ian Dallas (U.S.)
Depict - Jesus Cuauhtemoc Moreno Ramos (Mexico)
Trash Box - Trash Box Team (Japan)
Moon Stories - Daniel Benmergui (Argentina)
PixelJunk Eden - Q Games (Japan)
Futago To - Omega (Japan)
World Icelansista - Ambition (Japan)

We'll have more coverage on these great indie games when TGS approaches.

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7 Reasons Why The PSP Is More Next Gen Than The Wii

2008-09-21T07:53:00.000-07:00

The following article relies on facts and is not biased in any way or form. Also I would like to say that I do love my Wii and i'm not trying to say that the PSP is better than the Wii or vice versa. Each system has unique virtues that make them both great.

1) DLC
After a game is release you can actually get new levels and characters created by Developers (such as Burnout). Unlike the wii *glares at Smash Bros*

2) Customizable Themes
You can totally customize your menu screen with layouts and custom buttons. It really gives your console a part of customizability and that it's your own.

3) Better Online Play
No Friend Codes and more games utilize online. You'll find tons of clans for games like SOCOM unlike most Wii wifi games.

4) Multimedia Capabilities
The PSP can hold videos, music and photos so it's the complete package to show your friends and family whats happening with your life.

5) Downloadable Demos
Unlike the Wii, the PSP has demos so you can try before you buy. This is a great tool for developers trying to get their unique games into the spotlight. Games like Loco Roco and Patapon have relied on demos to generate sales.

6) More Memory
Since the PSP can read and store from a memory stick you can have custom levels in games and download demos, DLC and more! You can also download images and videos off of the internet unlike the Wii. You can also download PSP games onto your memory stick and play without a UMD.

7) Connectivity With It's Console Bretheren
You can play PS1 and PS3 games with your PSP. A great example is Lair. Also you can download PS1 games onto your PS3 and play them on the go on your PSP.

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Similarities between the NES and N64

2008-09-21T07:48:00.000-07:00

By Special Contributor WillBillXP/Vista-YoshiX

The NES and N64 without a doubt have more similarities than can be counted. They were both console revolutions in gameplay. A new controller was introduced for both of them. The way the concepts for the games worked weren't too different as well. Some of the more obscure similarities are the Disk Drive that could go online and the way Nintendo limited their 3rd parties. In many ways, the N64 was the true successor to the NES, with games that were insanely creative and felt fresh. The two consoles are a lot more closely related than one might think.

We will start with the obvious: The graphics leap. Now this would seem like a difference, seeing how the NES was 2D and the N64 was generally 3D (for every game. In fact, games like Yoshi's Story had to be rendered in a 3D environment on a fixed camera to make it look 2D). However the leap from the previous generations is where the similarity is made. Look at the home consoles of the late 70s and early 80s. Games were in general, (more) pixilated, only had a few colors (sometimes only 1 or 3 :O) and were quite primitive graphics-wise. There were a few Side scrolling titles on the 2600 but not too many. The NES's graphic power allowed smooth-scrolling without a lot of stress on the CPU and allowed many games to leap forward in gameplay. Now let's take a look at the N64's graphic leap situation from the previous era. 3D games on the SNES and the early 32-bit competitors were quite generic, and if there were any textures, they were very pixilated. Take a look at the PC games Wolfenstein 3D and Doom. They feature 3D graphics (well, Wolf 3D technically wasn't true 3D) but are quite ugly looking. Even the early play station games had pixilation and/or draw-distance problems. In fact, just about every game that I can recall had some sort of common 3D error at the time. The N64 however, was sharp, offered absolute pure 3D, no pixilation (if the game was designed right) less slowdown, and better draw-distance. The only thing that the PS and Saturn were superior in was media format. The CDs allowed more space. I think that there is really a very heavy resemblance to the graphics leap in gaming for N64 and NES.

The games are what make up the system. To make a good game, they must be fun, offer a decent challenge, have a few bells and whistles, and perhaps most importantly after fun factor, have to have something innovative about it. Luckily, there were several excellent games on both systems. New concepts were created on them. The NES changed the game with games like Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda. The N64 changed gaming with games such as Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time. This is definitely not a coincidence. Also, you may have noticed that SMB was released at launch for NES and that Zelda was released about 2 years later, and that the case is the same with SM64 and OoT for the N64. They are the true sequels to these spectacular games. However game pattern wasn't the only thing in common. A revolutionary form of gaming was formed with the true 3D graphics. Controlling your character and your viewpoint at the same time was something that had never been done before. All 3D platformers borrow something from Super Mario 64. All 2D platformers borrow something from Super Mario Bros. While I won't get in depth about Zelda (That will be next week's article), I will say that OoT had concepts that influenced an entire generation of adventure gaming. It was far from the first 3D adventure game but the concepts in it made it stand out. The original Zelda wasn't the first 2D adventure game but the concepts in it made it stand out way back in 1987. It doesn't stop at the two main Nintendo franchises, some old school favorites such as Excitebike got updates/sequels. The sports titles that Nintendo released could be considered spiritual successors to those NES classic sport titles. The games, their concepts, the philosophies, and their patterns had a close resemblance to each other.

The controllers for both systems were unique at the time. Every console before the NES had used Joysticks for control. The NES however replaced it with a nice and comfortable D-pad. Every controller for every successful console since then has had a D-pad on it. Even the Wii-mote, which is considered the next leap in console controls, has a D-pad. The N64 has left a similar influence also. It was the first (and still one of the few) controllers where you could hold it in different ways. It had a slot in the back for accepting accessories such as Memory cards and Rumble packs. Most importantly was the Analog stick. While similar technologies existed before this, it was really the first "Real" analog "Thumb-stick." Practical use was made of the 360 degree movement for 3D games. Ever since then, every controller for any successful home console has featured an analog stick on it. Sound familiar at all? Both consoles influenced the future with their innovative controllers.

Less noticeable differences include the Famicom Disk System and how 3rd parties were limited. The 64 DD and FDS were both disk drive add-ons that never made it to the western world. What is even more coincidental is that both of them had online capabilities. The FDS however, was fairly successful in Japan while the 64DD flopped. Oh, and did anyone else notice that the 64DD had "Ura Zelda," a More difficult version of Ocarina of Time (Exem, Super Mario Bros For Super Players anyone?). It was eventually released a few years later as a bonus disk for Wind Waker It reminds me of how SMB2 for Super Players (It was the original tagline, I swear) was eventually released "The Lost Levels" and Ura Zelda was released as "Master Quest." The 3rd parties that I was talking about had some limitations on them in both NES and N64 eras. While the limitations were different, all the reasons gave Nintendo a bad reputation with 3rd parties later on. In the NES Era, Nintendo limited them with strict licensing and censorship (in America. Licensing was just as strict in Japan though.) In the N64 era, Licensing costs due to the cartridges and space limitations for the console limited 3rd party developers. The NES and N64 were not only innovative consoles but gave the 3rd parties a bad relationship with Nintendo for several years. Nintendo has been slowly regaining their support since the Gamecube era.

Two consoles, one 2D, one 3D. One made side scrolling very mainstream; the other made 3D gaming very mainstream. The NES and N64 are related in many ways. Super Mario 64 for example, in the words of Miyamoto is "The sequel to the original Super Mario Bros." Concepts were born on both systems. A revolutionary way to play disrupted the market for good in both eras. The two systems are truly brothers.

Thanks to friend of the site, WillBillXP for submitting this great editorial!

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Proto-Man Is Playable In Mega Man 9!

2008-09-21T07:26:00.000-07:00

Gamesradar is reporting that Proto-Man will be playable in the upcoming game, Mega Man 9. But there is a catch, you will have to pay money for him. He will be DLC and cost $1.99/200 Wii points/160 XBLA points. He will become available the week of October 6th. Gamesradar also explained how Proto-Man plays differently than Mega Man:

Proto Man can deflect most bullets with this shield, but larger blasts will still cause damage and push him back twice as far as Mega Man. Being struck also interrupts his charge shot. All the Rush adaptors change to Proto adaptors as well – Proto Sled, Proto Coil etc.

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PS3 firmware 2.5; Home Due In October

2008-09-20T22:41:00.000-07:00

Joystiq is reporting that the next PS3 Firmware will be released in October and will launch with the public build of Home. The news comes from a leak from a private Sony forum.

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Seavor: "Conker’s Other Bad Day Is Possible"

2008-09-20T22:33:00.000-07:00

The Squirrel with a bad mouth might come back.

Seavor must've had a change of heart from when he said that the Conker character and franchise was dead to him. Now he's said that if Microsoft wants another Conker game he'll gladly do one.

When asked if another Conker game was possible he replied, “If Microsoft asked for another Conker I’d be more than happy to oblige, all things considered.”

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A Bunch Of Captain Rainbow Videos

2008-09-20T21:47:00.000-07:00

Little Mac Gallery

Nick & Rainbow Gallery

Mappo Gallery

Tracy Gallery

Famicom Soldiers Gallery

Drake Redcrest Gallery (my favorite)

Tao Gallery

Ossan Gallery

Birdo Gallery

View The Rest

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Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars First Details

2008-09-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

First Details about GTA:CW from Kotaku:
"The new issue of Nintendo Power contains first official details on Rockstar Games' youth corrupting Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, reported to be a cel-shaded, M-rated 3D journey through Liberty City with an isometric view. According to NeoGAF poster botticus, Chinatown Wars looks to adopt GTA IV's use of a cell phone for portions of the game's UI, with a PDA controlling your "email, contacts, map, music player, GPS, [and] stat-tracking." Those stats can be uploaded via Wi-Fi to the Rockstar Social Club, supposedly, to keep obsessive-compulsive track of your in-game progress.

Gameplay-wise, Chinatown Wars will feature D-pad aiming and auto targeting via the R button, as well as "tasteful" mini-games — no lap dances? The arsenal is said to include a flamethrower and chain gun, and the wanted system looks to be modified to maybe shun GTA IV's "out of sight, out of mind" mechanic for one that requires the player to "disable police cars any way possible."

- True GTA game - sandbox gameplay, open-world environment, gritty crime narrative.
- M-rating
- Isometric camera angle
- Cel-shaded polygons w/ black borders
- good touch-screen implementation - "tasteful" minigames, streamlining interface
- UI based on a PDA - hub for email, contacts, map, music player, GPS, stat-tracking
- stats uploaded to Rockstar Social Club website via Wi-Fi
- finger-sized icons
- missions designed for shorter periods of play, arcade quality
- aiming with control pad, auto targeting with R button
- subtle autosteer
- if you fail a mission, you can jump back to the action sequence
- chain gun, flamethrower
- good portion of Liberty City is modeled in the game (different routes than console games)
- no probems with load times, draw-in or frame rate
- lots of pedestrians, cars, etc on screen
- Wanted system - objective is to disable police cars any way possible
- real-time weather effects, 24-hour day/night cycle
- lots of radio stations to listen to (more instrumentals than vocals)
- 800,000 lines of hand-optimized source code (hey, the people like the info, right?)
- no details yet on multiplayer/Wi-Fi features

Unfortunately, we don't have the new November issue of Nintendo Power on hand to verify these details, nor do we have scans of the magazine at the ready (because that's naughty), so we should consider this rumor for now. We'll be checking in with Rockstar to see if this is all legit while we wait with breathless anticipation for our copy of NIntendo Power to show up."

So basically it's 3D like GTA 2. You can check out all the screenshots over at Kotaku. I'm personally really excited. What about you guys?

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Diddy Kong Racing DS Review

2008-09-20T20:13:00.001-07:00

The only kart racing franchise to sucessfully compete with nintendo's own Mario Kart series was Diddy Kong Racing developed by RARE. Rare has since been bought by Microsoft but still produces games for Nintendos handhelds. They have agreed with Nintendo to port over Diddy Kong Racing to fans delight. Does it hold up? Yes.

What differentiates Diddy Kong Racing from Mario Kart are two things: weapons and vehicles. In DKRDS you can upgrade your different weapons, also you can fly a plane, drive a kart or use a hovercraft. The game uses this all in a great Adventure mode that will find you competing in several different locales.

If you've played the original you should expect about the same game, the graphics have gotten a small overhaul and look slightly better than the original, also the great soundtrack is back. Sadly, Banjo and Conker are not playable this time and are now replaced with Dixie and Tiny Kong. New unlockable characters are: Wizpig and Taj.

There are several different game-modes. You've got the deepest online racing action on the DS, Time Trial modes with TT (sadly its not me :P), and the Adventure. The time trials will take time to beat but if you do complete it you unlock a powerful racer in TT. Also the online is superb.You'll find many different modes that you can play online. From battle type modes to normal races.

The DS specific features are hit or miss. The hits are: Online Play and custom levels. The misses are: The boost you can get by drawing circles on your touch screen at the beginning of the race and the new boss battles that make you use the DS' touch screen. Whoever in RARE thought you should drive with the touch-screen should be shot. Anyways the game is fun and has a lot of replayability in its Adventure and Online modes.

Final Score:

Gameplay - 8
The core game is solid but some of the added stuff is a pain.

Graphics- 8
Very nice graphics for the Nintendo DS

Sound- 8
Some great tunes that will have you humming.

Replay Value- 9
Online, two adventure modes and a ton of other modes will keep you playing.

Overall- 33/40

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Super Mario Sluggers Review

2008-09-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

By Special Contributor Cookieboy17

Namco makes its 1st Mario sports title for the Wii, Super Mario Sluggers, a follow up of Super Mario Baseball from 2005 for the Gamecube. So how'd it do?

Super Mario Sluggers has some new features added to the game from the original. For example, there are 41 playable characters, an improvement from 32 of the original. Also, you can play with more than one of a character's extra color at once (ex: You can play as 2 different colored Yoshis at once). All the news characters are unlocked in story mode.

Also, there are new stadiums. The only returning stadium is Mario Stadium. A few of them are obtained by completing a specific requirement in story mode. Also, when you beat Bowser Jr in story mode, you unlock a nighttime feature, where you can play in stadiums at night. Some stadiums get different gimmicks and the likes. And there are also new minigames to go with the new stadiums, with Bob Omb Derby returning for Mario Stadium. All the mew stadiums have new gimmicks, such as ice in the way or a train in the outfield.

Speaking of outfield, there are 2 new moves you can do in the outfield. One is called the buddy throw, where if you are close to a buddy, you press B to toss it to the buddy and they do a super throw to a base. It only works in the outfield, along with this next move. Which is the Buddy Jump. The Buddy Jump is the stupidest thing...ever. Namco could not think of a more Farked up idea. The Buddy Jump occurs when a homerun style ball comes along. When your next to a buddy, you can press A to do a super jump to catch a homerun. BullShat! What's the point of having my favorites DK and Bowser on my roster if they can't hit homeruns cause of some Shatty moves. Its not automatic catch though, you have to time it right. And everyone has the buddy abilities unlike each character's special ability(s), such as a super dive or a wall climb. Another buddy like feature added was the items. If you have a buddy batting after you, you can throw a ranomly picked item into the outfield. Its mostly Mario Kart items.

Story- 9.5/10
I don't applaud much about this game, but the story mode is fantastic. Its just so cool that they could make such a nice story mode like they did for a baseball game. Doing all that stuff was actually pretty fun. The only thing was, it was too easy. Nothing was a challenge for me. But other than that, great story mode.

Controls- 5/10
Half and Half. Why? Cause thats how they base the controls. If you play with the numchuek, you have more options in all sections: batting, running, fielding, and pitching. When you play with the wiimote sideways or straight, most stuff is automatic. Its a mess.

Gameplay- 7/10
Gameplay is ight. A baseball game is always fun. I'd play a 9 inning game if I'm bored. But that Farking buddy jump and some other stuff like that can really ruin it. Like Kamek's stupid little want or Yoshi's toungue. I'd rather play hardcore baseball. But its overall fun.

Graphics- 8.5/10
The graphics are good for a Wii title. They didn't wow me, but they were good. Though the story reels kinda wowed me. They were good for its time.

Overall- 30/40 OR 7.5/10
A decent game. If your a Mario fan, then you'd probably pick this one up. But if your looking for the cream of the crop, then you'd probably pass this one by.

Thanks to friend of the site, Cookieboy17 for submitting this great review!

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Nintendo's Reign of Censorship

2008-09-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

By Special Contributor WillBillXP/Vista-YoshiX

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_policy
http://www.filibustercartoons.com/Nintendo.php
http://www.encyclopedia-obscura.com/
http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/june03/dumbestmoments/readers/index4.shtml
http://www.lostlevels.org/200407/earth-02.shtml
http://www.themushroomkingdom.net/mariosan.shtml

Before the Grand Theft Auto controversy, before the ESRB (Electronic Software Rating Board), before violence in Videogames issue was addressed in Congress, Nintendo had a solution themselves to preventing controversy: a reign of terror. This was the censorship of Nintendo. It began when the NES was launched in North America, and was only stopped about 5 years ago. A large part of the Kiddy Image came from the infamous policy of NOA. Today on In Depth, I take you through the history of what was ironically, one of the most controversial moves itself. However in order to understand why Nintendo of America established this policy, we must look at some history about the oldest games with explicit material.

Yes, you read that last sentence correctly; there have been violent/explicit videogames for years. In fact, the first true, major controversial game was a 1976 game entitled "Death Race." It was based on the movie of the same name, and was exactly like the movie: Run over Pedestrians to get points. The game is quite out-dated and is laughable today. Running over stick figures with a block-mobile would be E-rated in today's standards. However it was believed to be highly immoral in its time, seeing that you could "Simulate" Hit and Runs. It was a precursor for violent videogames to come. That was not where it stopped. There were other games that caused early controversy also. Have you ever heard of a game called "Gotcha" for the Atari 2600? It was a pornographic game that had these round and pink rubber balls that went over the Joysticks. Think of the nature of Joysticks, Yeeeeah, I think you might know where this is going. A company called Mystic released a series of "Pleasure" games for the Console. Of course, Stick Figures are probably not going to turn even the biggest perverts on. Games such as the ones mentioned above got the Publics attention. They were some of the first controversial games to be released, and they would not be the last. Perhaps these pieces of controversy helped spark Nintendo's interest in Censoring games.

We might wonder why Nintendo censored their games so heavily. There were multiple reasons, but I think that the main reason was to avoid Lawsuits. Perhaps you have heard of the NES's infamous story of how it was released in North America. Videogames were dead, so rather than advertising it as a Videogame system, NOA advertised it as a toy. Look closely at that though; there is a key word in there, "Toy." By marketing the NES as a Children's toy (Hence all the useless but lovable accessories such as ROB and the Power Glove) Nintendo was able to revive the gaming industry in North America. However there was a severe side-effect to this: since it's a Toy, it has to be for everyone, especially kids. I'm sure parents wouldn't want their children to be playing with "naughty" toys, now would they? There would be severe lawsuits and criticisms from senators such as maybe, Joe Lieberman, or worse, angry Parents and Lawyers. Marketing a System as a Toy and releasing it with Adult games would have been a very bad idea. Perhaps this is the main reason that Nintendo established their policy. While Nintendo's strategy worked for a while, it had a very fatal error in it. The children who played NES and SNES as kids grew up. When they grew up and had enough sense to know that there was more than Nintendo, they realized what Nintendo was up to. Mortal Kombat was perhaps one of the worst revelations for Nintendo's unconstitutional acts. From that point on, Nintendo's policy was gradually relaxed. In some ways, Nintendo still censors games to this very day. The policy was established for good and backfired by playing a huge role in Nintendo earning the Kiddy Image.

Despite the policy being ridiculed by fans and game publications, it was actually quite organized and very specific. Below is the exact copy of the policy as of the release of the SNES. Keep in mind that this is very old and does not apply to games today.

"Nintendo of America's priority is to deliver high quality video game entertainment for our customers. When those customers are children, parental involvement in their game playing is recommended. Nintendo is concerned that our products do not contain material that society as a whole deems unacceptable.
Consequently, since 1988 we have consistently tested the content of all games developed for Nintendo systems against our evolving game standards. As our business has matured, we have adapted our guidelines to meet the concerns of the members of our target age group and their parents. Although we realize that definitions of social, cultural and political views are highly subjective, we will continue to provide consumers with entertainment that reflects the acceptable norms of society.
The following Game Content Guidelines are presented for assistance in the development of authorized game paks (i.e., both Nintendo and licensee game paks) by defining the type of content and themes inconsistent with Nintendo's corporate and marketing philosophy. Although exceptions may be made to preserve the content of a game, Nintendo will not approve games for the NES, Game Boy or Super NES systems (i.e., audio-visual work, packaging, and instruction manuals) which:
. include sexually suggestive or explicit content including rape and/or nudity; (1)
. contain language or depiction which specifically denigrates members of either sex; (2)
. depict random, gratuitous, and/or excessive violence; (3)
. depict graphic illustration of death; (4)
. depict domestic violence and/or abuse; (5)
. depict excessive force in a sports game beyond what is inherent in actual contact sports; (6)
. reflect ethnic, religious, nationalistic, or sexual stereotypes of language; this includes symbols that are related to any type of racial, religious, nationalistic, or ethnic group, such as crosses, pentagrams, God, Gods (Roman mythological gods are acceptable), Satan, hell, Buddha (7)
. use profanity or obscenity in any form or incorporate language or gestures that could be offensive by prevailing public standards and tastes (8)
. incorporate or encourage the use of illegal drugs, smoking materials, and/or alcohol (Nintendo does not allow a beer or cigarette ad to be placed on an arena, stadium or playing field wall, or fence in a sports game); (9)
. include subliminal political messages or overt political statements (10)"

As you can see, this policy was more than just as "Change it cause I don't like" type of censorship. It was standard and followed ALL game to appear on NES, SNES, and Gameboy. Nintendo's other licensing policies at the time were generally unfair to unknown publishers. They played favorites and made several enemies with rookies back in the 80s. However there was one single policy that Nintendo did not play favorites with, and that was censorship. Anything, weather it be 1st or 3rd party material, was changed if it violated any of this. Okay, so nothing sounds too offensive, right? Well, perhaps the way Nintendo treated this policy was a bit too serious. Every-Day things such as cathedrals in Earthbound became "Chateaus" because they violated rule number 7. In a similar way, the Red Medical Cross was removed from 1st aid kits in games because it was a cross. In "Secret of Manna," the "Hell Hound" enemy was changed to the ridiculously named "Heck Hound." Religious images, as you can see, were clearly the silliest things to be edited out. Some games, such as the very Dark "Sweet Home" for the NES were never even released on Western Shores because of their graphic content. Maniac Mansion for NES had some dialogue and images removed for the NES release. The WORD blood was removed from Final Fantasy IV. In Punchout, the Russian Boxer "Soda Popkenski" was origonally "Vodka Drunkeski." However these were minor and wasn't where Nintendo got exposed. Changes of silly things such as this weren't really that controversial among publications though, and went un-noticed for quite some time. It was the other parts of the policy that caused controversy. This brings me to two major exposures: Mortal Kombat and Wolfenstein 3D.

Wolfenstein 3D and Mortal Kombat were both completely different games released around the same time, with one thing in common; they were two prime examples that exposed Nintendo's censorship policy. Wolfenstein 3D (commonly abbreviated to Wolf 3D) was censored among the other Ports. In most versions of the game, you storm a Nazi Castle on a mission to foil their evil plans. The game had Swastikas littered all over the castle, and portraits of Hitler were everywhere. The Nazis were considered a racial group and simply had to go. Many publications criticized this version of the game for ruining the theme and making it feel like a completely different game. Along with that, all blood (despite it being fairly cartoonish and mild looking) was removed. Also, the Guard dogs were replaced with Giant Rats. Go figure that last one out. The SNES version of Wolf 3D made Nintendo look like a company for children only that couldn't handle some mild violence. However Wolf 3D is nothing compared to the Mortal Kombat issue. I'm sure most people know of the story behind the toned down fatalities and grey sweat. However the reason this is move is so infamous is because it is what exposed EVERYONE to Nintendo's policy. Sure, there were ridiculous things such as calling a "Bar" a "Café" and changing "Beer" to coffee, or removing the word "Kill" in any game, but these were minor and overlooked compared to Mortal Kombat. The blood looked like sweat, and there wasn't even a hidden cheat code to access it. The gory fatalities that made the game so popular in the arcade were toned down so much that it made the game feel "Wussifed" (Gamespy, 25 dumbest gaming moments). It wasn't long until the "Blood and Gore" Cheat code for the "Inferior" Genesis version was discovered. Despite the Genesis having worse graphics, the fatalities were in it, and that is all that mattered. The irony behind this story was that according to Howard Lincoln (former Nintendo Representative) "Instead of getting a lot of letters back from parents praising our position, we got a huge amount of criticism -- not only by gamers, but even by parents saying that we had set ourselves up to be censors." From this point on, the policy was slowly and gradually relaxed.

Even with the ESRB established, Nintendo continued to censor games, at least from a 1st party standpoint. 3rd parties have generally been more relaxed since then. Doom for example, on SNES, had all the graphic death animations in it (the satanic references were toned down however. This was probably to avoid complaints from Nintendo's own office from religious groups however, and was possibly voluntary). 1st parties continued to be censored though. Look at Super Mario RPG and Earthbound. In Super Mario RPG, Bowser's winning pose had a "certain" offensive gesture that was removed for the US release. Earthbound, like its unreleased predecessor "Mother" (it was un-released due to marketing issues, not censorship) had some heavy changes. More recent examples include Paper Mario, The Thousand Year Door being edited. In the Japanese version of the game, Vivian is a Male that acts like a Woman. All the dialogue and actions (Kissing Mario O_o) were IN that Japanese release. Rather than changing the Dialogue, NOA's localization team simply made Vivian a Female character. The first party changes are simply meant to give certain Games an "E" rating from the ESRB. First Party censorship for winning the E is the only form of Nintendo Censorship that exists today.
The weird thing about the censorship of 3rd parties was that it technically didn't stop until 2003. Handhelds were still censored for a long time. In Mortal Kombat II for Gameboy, the blood was removed. The fatalities were still in that version of the game though. Go figure that one out. Metal Gear Solid: Gaiden had the cigarettes in it removed for the USA release. The GBC version of GTA II was edited and received nothing more than a T rating from the ESRB. The last example was Doom itself. This little portable version of the cult classic was very well preserved on the GBA, perhaps better than some old Home Console versions of the game. However there was one major thing that it left out: The graphic violence. The blood was recolored green, the enemies disappeared from the stage within seconds, and all the demons were changed to Aliens to avoid any satanic references. With that said, Nintendo continued to censor everything on its handhelds. It kept its tradition for almost 20 years. However M rated games on their handhelds such as Max Payne, GTA Advance, and Resident Evil Deadly Silence (a DS game) suggest that Nintendo is no longer interesting in censoring at all.

The rise to emulation in the late 90s showed how laughable the changes in the classic games were. It was an embarrassing revelation, and is probably one of many reasons to why Nintendo has a Zero Tolerance policy on emulation. These discovered changes made the gaming community very mad. It's a good that Nintendo doesn't continue their policy anymore, otherwise, the Internet would explode with angry petitions against it. The lightness of all the nostalgic classics was released in Nintendo's Golden Age. Yet little did all the Children, Parents, and Gamers know that they were secretly living in a Dark Age. Censorship is an ugly thing. The very thing that Nintendo tried to do to avoid controversy and criticism backfired drastically. It is perhaps one of the most ironic stories to grace not just the gaming world, but the world in general.

Thanks to friend of the site, WillBillXP for submitting this great editorial!

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The Irony of Metroid Prime

2008-09-20T19:34:00.000-07:00

By Special Contributor WillBillXP/Vista-YoshiX

Sources include IGN, Gamespot, Gameinformer's review of Metroid Fusion, and opinions from gamers from old message boards.

The year was 2000, and the Gamecube was being unveiled at Spaceworld. There were tech demos and game previews everywhere, and they all showed that the purple box was a powerful little cube. One of these demos was an FMV sequence featuring a super detailed model of Samus running down a highly detailed corridor of a spaceship, and then turning around and blasting an enemy. Along with the realistic Zelda and Mario 128 demos, this was probably one of the biggest highlights for hardcore Nintendo fans at that time. However that didn’t last a year later. Today on In Depth, I will show you the controversy behind making Metroid Prime a “First Person Shooter.”

It seemed that everything for Gamecube would go perfectly. However, in 2001, there was some serious news that disrupted fanboys everywhere. First, it was revealed that the (at the time), un-named Metroid Prime would be a first person shooter. Even worse, it wasn’t being developed in Japan. Rather it was going to be developed by a fledgling Texas Based 2nd party studio called Retro. Fans mocked the game, calling it “Retroid” as an insult. The reactions to “Retroid” were almost as bad as “Celda,” another controversial move that resulted in many boycotting Gamecube. Things were not looking good for Gamecube. People believed that Nintendo had hung themselves and abandoned everything that they had been building upon since the NES days. Nintendo seemed to have gone mad, and many were alienated over nothing and refused to wait and see the final outcome. When the playable demos for Metroid Prime came, there wasn’t a lot of positive feedback either. The demos just seemed to concern others further. The opening mission of the spaceship was what was featured as the main demo. However it suggested that Prime was going for the linear FPS style. People assumed that it was going to be nothing more than some stupid and uninspired Halo clone. The playable demos dismayed, and mislead everyone about what is perhaps the greatest accomplishment in the History of Games.

Even though Gamecube was getting sceptic remarks about its future, its sibling, Gameboy Advance, was doing very well. Fans prayed for Nintendo to stop the development of “Retroid” and make a real Metroid game by Nintendo R&D1. Nintendo didn’t fully stab these people in the back with their news. It was announced in March 2001 that there would be a Metroid game for Gameboy Advance. Then a year later at E3, it could be seen that this was going to be the sequel everyone wanted. At least, that is how it seemed at the time. It had been roughly 8 years since Super Metroid was released, and Samus was going to be back. However there is a lot of Irony to Samus’s comeback. This 2D Metroid game, subtitled fusion was a departure from the series! Instead of focusing on exploring areas and finding weapons to find various ways to complete the game, it focused on a heavy story that didn’t even involve the actual presence of Metroids heavily at all. Rather, the gameplay was very linear, and involved the extermination of parasites called “X.” Samus’s traditional power suit wasn’t even worn by the heroine. Many were disappointed with the outcome of Fusion. Some went even as far as actually hating the game and calling it the weakest in the series. Fusion was generally rated high by the critics but many did feel that it was a little too linear for a Metroid game. The “other” Metroid game, that had been mocked on for so long, was the opposite of Fusion.

Metroid Prime captured what Fusion did not; Nostalgic Gameplay. Retro Studios knew what they were doing, and they did not forget what Metroid was all about; the thrill of exploring massive worlds. Losing all the Power-Ups at the beginning of the game certainly was a big sign that Retro was going to force you to find all of the power-ups. Exploration, moody atmosphere, unique art style, and Metroid Music and sound were taken into heavy thought and employed in the game. Nintendo wasn’t going to let one of their best classic franchises be destroyed. Retro Studios faced proved all the skeptics wrong about the 1st person mode, and they showed that just because a studio is new, doesn’t mean their first games will be bad. In some ways, the skeptics (which were probably just about every Metroid fan in existence) discriminated and pre-judged the game. The end result was something bigger and better than anyone could even possibly imagine. The scope of the game was grandiose, and the atmosphere was taken directly out of Super Metroid. In many ways, Prime was Super Metroid in true 3D. Retro Studios achieved the impossible, and Metroid Prime to this day is considered one of the best games of all time.

A few opinions of Metroid Prime and Fusion

Prime: Yes, Retro studios really did achieve the impossible. The first person view was very misleading. I will admit, Prime was my First Metroid game, and I had trouble getting into it at first. I was very bad at it. However once I got the hang of things, I loved the game to death. The non linear gameplay and massive environments are still impressive in this Next Generation of gaming. Prime was a beautiful accomplishment in every department. It is truly a revolutionary title that has set the bar for Metroid games very high.

Fusion: I found it much easier to get into, as this was my second Metroid game. I think the idea behind fusion was to make something that Newcomers could get into easily. Fans will most likely like it, but Hardcore Metroid fanatics are likely to hate it. Looking back, I can see where many complaints lay in the game. It is a bit short, the missions are linear, and game feels easy compared to other titles in the series. I like it still, but it’s definitely not the best Metroid Game (what were you thinking Game informer!?). Nerveless, it is a solid title that must not be missed or completely overlooked.
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Thanks to friend of the site, WillBillXP for submitting this great editorial!

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A Look Back... Way Way Back At The History of Nintendo

2008-09-20T19:31:00.000-07:00

By Special Contributor WillBillXP/Vista-YoshiX

Unoffical Source 1: http://www.nintendoland.com/home2.htm?history/index.htm
Unoffical Source 2 : http://www.n-sider.com/articleview.php?articleid=45
NOA offical Source : http://www.nintendo.com/corp/history.jsp
NCL source: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n05/index.html (Google translator FTW =P)

There is no doubt that you have heard of Nintendo’s videogame history. I’m sure many of you know Nintendo’s pre-videogame history as well. However for those you don’t, I would like to take you back, WAY back, to a time very long ago, before videogames existed. Heck before television and radios existed. Cars weren’t even common. Welcome to the year 1889. Welcome to, the birth of a company that would eventual rise to dominate the industry of gaming for over ten years.

We will start at the beginning. Yes, Nintendo was established in 1889, and they did something very different from what they did today. They were a playing card company, the first of their type. It started out simply as something that a man named Fusajiro Yamauchi started in his hometown of Kyoto. He began to manufacture these playing cards called Hanafunda, or “flower Cards. They were very different from traditional playing cards. Each deck contained 48 cards with 12 suits rather than just 4. The decks also used symbols rather than numbers (such as wind, rain, a deer, the moon or the chrysanthemum [a plant with brightly colored flowers]). They grew very popular in Kyoto.
Eventually, Yamauchi-San had trouble keeping up with the demand. His shops expanded into other regions and apprentices were trained to help produce the Hanafunda cards. The playing cards began to be used for more than just entertainment. Gamblers tended to start using these playing cards, heck the freaking Yakuza used them in high stake games. The cards grew to tremendous popularity. The company would be called Nintendo, which translates to about “Leave Luck to Heaven.”

Let’s skip forward a few years. In 1907, Nintendo made a deal with Japan Tobacco & Salt Public Corporation to have their cards sold in Cigarette shops. In the same year, a man named Sekiryo Kaneda married Tei Yamauchi, Fuajiro’s daughter. Sekiryo took the Yamauchi surname later on. He would eventually lead the company. Two decades later, Hiroshi Yamauchi was born. A distribution company called Marufuku Co. Ltd was started 20 years later in 1947. The company’s name was changed to this.

In 1949, Sekiryo Yamauchi had a stroke and Hiroshi would become the new president. He sought out to modernize the company, even if it meant firing anyone that went against him and didn’t welcome him as the new leader. He knew he would never gain the respect of the employees that Sekiryo had. And so in 1952, a year after Yamauchi changed the distribution name to Nintendo Playing Cards Co Ltd, plans to modernize the company began. The headquarters was moved to a newer building and the cards were plastic coated to make them more durable. The distribution system was also improved. In 1959, a deal was made with Disney, to put Disney characters on the trading cards. 600,000 packets of cards were sold that year. In 1963, Hiroshi Yamauchi decided to expand the company to more than a trading card company. After some failed ideas (Instant Rice, A Love Hotel, and Taxi service) Yamauchi-San took advantage of the fact that many of the cards were being distributed in toy stores, and so began a “games” department, one that would eventually lead to electronic entertainment many years later.

By 1974, Nintendo had become a successful toy company in Japan. Thanks to the creative mind of the new employer, Gunpei Yokoi, Nintendo’s products had become a hit. When Yokoi-san was hired in 1970, he was asked to “do something good.” He made the ultra-hand, which was an expansion arm-toy. 1.2 million ultra-hands were sold for the holiday season. Then after that the baseball throwing Ultra Machine was introduced, and a periscope called the Ultra Scope shortly after (very original names). But perhaps the quirkiest and most original was the Love Tester. It was a device that tested the “love” through a Boy and a Girl. Okay, it was just the current flowing through them and had nothing to do with the love. However it was highly successful.

Gunpei Yokoi hired Masayuki Uemura and they made the Nintendo Beam gun. It could be considered an early light gun, because you shot targets with solar cells mounted on. These solar cells were used as sensors to detect light coming from these early “light guns.” Over one million Beam guns were sold. This solar cell light gun game was taken further in 1973. After Masayuki Uemura told Gunpei that the light gun system worked with clay shooting, Yokoi-san and Uemura-san had an idea to convert bowling alleys (bowling had become a fad in Japan in 60s and many alleys just stood empty by the 70s) into simulated clay shooting galleries. However a problem took place. The solar cell system malfunctioned when the press with their cameras and flashing lights arrived. Luckily Genyo Takeda, a new Nintendo Employee, saved the day by changing the scores manually that night. Everyone bought it, and Clay Shooting System became a hit.

In 1975, Yamuchi had a dinner with an old friend. At this dinner, Nintendo’s future was changed. It was the end of the beginning, and a start of a new age. Yamauchi’s friend was talking about how microprocessors had become advanced enough to be used for entertainment purposes. This discussion inspired Yamauchi to research this, and he contacted Magnavox and they agreed to license their Odyssey system to Nintendo. Nintendo didn’t have a department for making Microprocessors so they teamed up with Mitsubishi Electronics. Two years later, Nintendo and Mitsubishi created an entirely new system called the Color TV Game 6. This system was designed to play different versions of Tennis. An updated version was released the following year, called the TV Game 15. Nintendo also went on to release a number of arcade games. Later in 1980, Gunpei Yokoi came up with an idea after watching the Calculator Industry boom; the Game and Watch. This product was not only popular in Japan but America too. It was a predecessor to the Gameboy in many ways.

In 1977, the master games designer Shigeru Miyamoto was hired. At first, Yamauchi didn’t hire him. You see, Miyamoto-san wasn’t an engineer; he was more of a cartoon artist. Artists weren’t what Nintendo needed, at least not at the time. However after Miyamoto showed Yamauchi drawings of some toys he thought up of, Yamauchi hired him as Nintendo’s first staff artist. However Nintendo technically didn’t need a staff artist so he was an apprentice at the planning department. Then in 1980, it began. He was asked to redesign an arcade game called Radarscope; a mediocre vertical side shooter that played suspiciously like Space Invaders. However Miyamoto scrapped the title completely, and made a new game. With the guidance of Gunpei Yokoi, Miyamoto-san made Donkey Kong. The rest is history.

Today, Nintendo is still one of the most successful companies in History. The company began as one man’s idea, and expanded into the Videogames industry many years later. They are a company that still strives for originality just as much as they did back then. If their concepts aren’t original, they improve previous items previously made at least. The originality that was in the company still exists today. They took chances and left luck to heaven. Their hard work has paid off. For they are practically living in Heaven with their success right now. Kudos for over 100 years of work Nintendo Corperation.

Thanks to friend of the site, WillBillXP for submitting this great editorial!

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Sony PC Store Update: September 18th

2008-09-20T19:01:00.000-07:00

Here's whats new:
Cube full game($9.99)
PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient full game ($9.99)
NBA 09 demo
NBA 09 trailer

I'll be downloading the NBA 09 demo so expect a preview soon.

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Marvelous' TGS Line-Up

2008-09-20T18:55:00.001-07:00

Wii
• Arc Rise Fantasia
• Rune Factory Frontier
• Oboro Muramasa
• Hitman Reborn! Kindan no Yami no Delta
• Harvest Moon Waku Waku Animal March

DS
• Avalon Code
• Tsuki no Hikari

PSP
• Ikki Tousen: Eloquent Fist

PS2
• Hitman Reborn! Kindan no Yami no Delta
• Junjou Romachika Koi no Doki Doki Daisakusen
• Zero no Tsukaima: Mayogo no Period to Ikusen no Symphony

Rune Factory and Harvest Moon are the big titles here.

Note: Hitman Reborn! is actually an Anime fighter and not the series of games by Eidos

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Square Enix's TGS Line-Up

2008-09-20T18:50:00.000-07:00

Final Fantasy XIII, 2009 Release, Trailer
Final Fantasy Versus XIII, TBA, Trailer
Final Fantasy Agito XIII, TBA, Trailer
Dragon Quest IX, 2008 Release, Trailer
The 3rd Birthday, TBA, Trailer
Chrono Trigger, 11/27/08, Trailer
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Winter 2008, Trailer, Demo
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep 2009 Release, Trailer, Demo
Kingdom Hearts Coded, Winter 2008, Trailer
Valkyrie Profile, 10/30/08, Trailer, Demo
DISSIDIA Final Fantasy, 12/18/08, Trailer, Demo
The Last Remnant, 11/20/08, Undecided
Star Ocean 4, Spring 2009, Undecided
Infinite Undiscovery 9/11/08, Trailer
Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book Winter 2008, Trailer, Demo
Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon DS+, 10/30/08, Trailer, Demo
Valkyrie Profile, 10/30/08, Trailer, Demo

I'm most excited for the hands on of Dissidia, Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book (a sequel to the excellent DS game Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales) and the Kingdom Hearts games for the PSP and DS respectively.

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List of Developers/Publishers Attending TGS

2008-09-20T18:45:00.000-07:00

• Academy of Art University
• ACQUIRE CORPORATION
• ARC SYSTEM WORKS Co., Ltd.
• Beijing Tidemark Consulting Co., Ltd.
• bushiroad
• CANADA GAMES
• Bug-Tracker
• Complex Games Inc.
• D-Box Technologies Inc.
• Deep Fried Entertainment Inc.
• Di-O-Matic, Inc.
• DTI Software Inc.
• Enzyme Testing Labs
• Fugitive Interactive Inc.
• GestureTek Inc.
• Hothead Games, Inc.
• Q8ISMobile Inc.
• Quazal Technologies Inc.
• Sarbakan Game Studio
• Side Effects Software Inc.
• Studio X Labs
• Wave Generation
• Wicked Studios Inc.
• CAPCOM CO., LTD.
• CNET Networks Japan K.K.
• costy
• D3PUBLISHER INC.
• DeNA Co., Ltd.
• ELECTRONIC ARTS K.K.
• ENTERBRAIN, INC.
• FromSoftware, Inc.
• G DATA Software K.K.
• GAMETECH CO., LTD.
• Geisha Tokyo Entertainment, Inc.
• HOLLAND PAVILION
• BGIn
• Control / Het Redactielokaal
• Dutch Game Garden
• Elements Interactive Mobile
• Ex Machina
• Grendel Games
• Khaeon Games
• Netherlands Foreign Trade Agency EVD
• NHL University
• NLGD Foundation
• Province of Fryslan
• Province of Utrecht
• Streamline Studios BV
• Triangle Studios
• Utrecht School of the Arts
• White Bear Holding BV Imma Games
• HUDSON SOFT CO., LTD.
• INTERCHANNEL
• IREM SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INC.
• ITPIA CO., LTD.
• JAPAN e-SPORTS ASSOCIATION PREPARATORY COMMITTEE
• KDDI CORPORATION
• KOEI CO., LTD.
• KONAMI
• Koubou Inazumagumi
• LEVEL-5 Inc.
• Marvelous Entertainment Inc.
• MATCHINGWORLD, Inc.
• Microsoft Co., Ltd.
• MORI GAMES CO., LTD.
• NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc.
• Nikkei Business Publications, Inc.
• NTT DOCOMO, Inc.
• PLANEX COMMUNICATIONS INC.
• PRIME SENSE
• Prometech Software, Inc.
• SEGA CORPORATION
• Silver Star Japan
• SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION
• Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
• SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.
• TAITO CORPORATION
• Taiwan Game Pavilion
• FunTown World Limited
• Gemmy Planet, Inc.
• Goldrock Inc.
• Insrea Game Center Corporation
• Joymaster Inc.
• Lager Network Technologies Inc.
• Mega Net&Tech Co., Ltd.
• M-etel Co., Ltd.
• Winking Entertainment Corporation
• XPEC Entertainment Inc.
• Zeroplus Technology Co., Ltd.
• Taipei Hsien Computer Association
• Taiwan External Trade Development Council
• TATA ELXSI LIMITED
• TECMO, LTD.
• TGL PLANNING INC.
• The Behemoth
• TOMY COMPANY, LTD.
• Transcosmos Inc
• Vuzix Corporation
• Yudo Inc.

Notably missing is Nintendo. But to make up for it Nintendo is hosting their own press conference on October 2nd.

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Nintendo Holding Fall 2008 Press Conference

2008-09-20T18:42:00.000-07:00

According to Kotaku, Nintendo is holding a press conference on October 2nd. Hopefully Nintendo will announce some new software (and hopefully no more hardware since my shelves are full of useless Wii Accesories that are used for one game and then never used again) that will make up for the lackluster showing at E3 and not showing up at Leipzig 08 and the Tokyo Games Show.

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Just One More Try...

2008-09-20T18:38:00.000-07:00

Gaming can be addictive. The most addictive genre, for me, is Rhythm Games. All great rhythm games have the "just one more try" mentality to them. You're sure you can increase your score by 1000 points if you would've kept the combo, so you keep on trying.

One of the finest examples is Guitar Hero. Some songs on Expert have repeating patterns which players will recognize immediately. For example lets look at "Closer" on expert:

As you can see it's a very simple song. Although it is unlikely you can full-combo the song on your first try due to some tricky transitions. You'll be tempted to keep on playing since you know you have what it takes to full-combo it. Once you full-combo a song on expert you get a sense of pride and enjoyment. Then you try to full-combo more difficult songs and this keeps you playing for months.

Another great way of keeping the player playing is having difficulty build up during the game but not to make it unfair to the player. Make the player feel as they screwed up and not that the difficulty is just too high. For example: "Jumping Jack Flash" from Elite Beat Agents.

This is entirely possible to beat (as I have done) with a lot of practice. Every time you die on the last verse makes you angry but you know you can improve. Once you finally beat Jumping Jack Flash after the hundredth or so try, you feel it is your greatest accomplishment as a gamer. It is certainly the hardest game I've ever beat fully.

Since most rhythm games are simple and only require minor gaming knowledge, they all have a pickup and play sensibility. It is easy to get friends and family to start playing and once they play Slow Ride on easy for the first time they will be hooked. I've seen many casual players become fanatical and make their way up to the expert skill level.

This is why Guitar Hero III was the best selling game of 2007 and gave Activision their greatest profit in their history. This is why Elite Beat Agents got critical acclaim and won several game of the year awards. As long as there is great music and creative designers there will always be the next challenge for rhythm gamers.

What game(s) have a similiar effect on you? What game do you play that has the "one more try" mentality? I'd like to hear about it in the comments.