GTA: Chinatown Wars

– Craig got to play it last week
– Showed him early part of the game
– Craig had certain expectations, he’s pretty psyched
– A lot of emphasis placed on touchscreen “side-things”
– Will need your stylus in your hand
– One minigame has you shoving trash aside looking for drugs
– Game engine runs on top screen, bottom screen is where the story happens + touch screen minigame
– Fixed perspective angle
– Never cuts away from action on the top-screen – will still see action on top screen during minigames
– Not hiding from being M-rated
– You’re a drug dealer – buy and sell drugs, dialoge all f-bombs and s word, there is violence
– Blood stays on the road when you run over someone
– Bozon’s excited for the game
– Engine itself runs really smooth – Craig didn’t see frame rate falter – 30 FPS
– No voice-overs, subtitles in cut-scenes – there’s only environmental voice – radio stations are instrumental (probably due to limitations of the cartridge)
– Can listen to radio while walking around
– Not too much humor in the first 5 missions
– Surveillance cameras are hidden packages in the city – if you destroy one of the cameras it can affect the price of what you can get for drugs
– Comes out March 17
– Game is ambitious, it’s a full-fledged GTA experience – Taken seriously at Rockstar
– Bozon thinks he might get more play out of Chinatown Wars than GTAIV
– Huge focus on online – next month we’ll know more about online

Marble Saga: Kororinpa

– Only specific levels use the Balance Board
– Sequel to Kororinpa Marble Mania
– Craig thinks its fun
– Like a Marble Madness clone
– Marble can be a panda head
– For Wii Balance Board stuff there are 30 original mazes just for the peripheral
– Can make own levels and send them to friends or send them to Hudson (who will send them to everyone)
– Comes out March 17

MadWorld

– Craig also played MadWorld
– It’s really awesome
– Beat-em-up, takes place behind you
– Kind of like a game show, be as brutal as you can
– Controls work very well – motion stuff is supplemental
– A button is punch/grab, B button is chainsaw
– Idea behind mandarts is trying to hit guys into the bulls eye – keeps track of how many times you do it, etc.
– If you pick up money and throw it, bad guys will be attracted to it
– No WiiConnect24 stuff – There are leaderboards but nothing you can upload
– A lot of stat tracking going on in the background
– Game has a great style – People say they can’t see what’s happening in screenshots – When it’s in motion, you can see everything contrasting
– Craig thinks it’s a great game

– SEGA laid off 30 people this morning

Klonoa

– Looks like it’s going to be awesome
– Everything looks a little smoother
– Added some Wii functionality if you want to use it
– Bozon hopes it plays really well

New Play Control! Pikmin

– IGN Nintendo Team has the game
– Selling it at $30
– Should be $20
– Matt says once you try these new controls you’ll be a complete believer
– Matt can’t wait for Pikmin 3 now
– Game itself fantastic in its own right
– Plays so well with the Wiimote – Pointer really works well – Game faster and more precise
– Screen not stretched in widescreen
– Matt thinks it looks better than a lot of Wii games
– Changed a lot of the game progression in DK Jungle Beat

NPD numbers

– Nintendo won by a longshot
– DS became first system to sell over 3 million units in a month
– Expectations were that Wii would sell over 3 million, supply may have limited its numbers
– 10th best-selling game was Mario Kart DS
– Wii Music has sold almost 900,000 copies

Deadly Creatures

– Matt has final reviewable build
– Has made his way through 8 of 10 chapters
– Has come together, better than he thought it would be
– Final game has a few small bugs – camera will get caught, etc.
– Atmosphere is awesome
– Matt is liking it, will be a good game for people

High Voltage Software Hot Rod Show

– Bozon not digging it so much
– Camera should have been behind the truck
– Not smooth when you make rounds
– Ideas work, just doesn’t play so slick
– Almost a bit too simple
– 5 racers, 6 tracks
– At 1000 Wii points it seems overpriced
– Feels like a little afterthought game

Legacy of Ys: Books I & II

– Moves extremely fast
– Never really no where you’re going
– Old-school RPG
– Will have hands on this week

– Will have an interview with guys at Jupiter up soon (World Ends with You)

Big Bang Mini

– Very good shooter
– You’ll like it if you enjoyed Space Invaders Extreme
– Touch controlled shooter

Winter

– Wasn’t just made up
– Screens, developers interview, video up
– Fun, cool project that never got the chance to come out
– Was made almost 2 years and looks better in some respects than just about every other Wii game out there – technically looking really good, especially for 2 years ago
– Some of the outside areas look good, sometimes looks rough
– Battle with the wolf looks good
– First time they saw the game they were playing Escape from Bug Island

Renegade Kid interview

– Moon is second game as Renegade Kid
– They are Nintendo-enthusiasts – DS is a great platform
– Difficult to work within the constrains of the DS cartridge
– Dementium helped to create Moon
– Drawn inspiration from Goldeneye for N64 – big landmark in FPS gaming – Wanted to get replayability into Moon, Doom 3, next-gen games like BioShock, etc.
– Lack of single-player because wanted to make single-player great – multiplayer would have diverted their focus – They are interested in Wi-Fi
– They pay attention to the other FPS on DS
– There’s still more that Renegade Kid can do with the DS
– Have not announced what their next game is
– Would like to make more DS games
– Renegade Kid interested in Scribblenauts – has a fascinating concept

Reader questions

– Lack of Japanese Wii games? Premature to say that Fatal Frame IV, Disaster, Captain Rainbow, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom – It’s a case-by-case basis – Will probably see all of the Nintendo games coming to the US – Fatal Frame is coming, it’s just a matter of time, maybe Disaster. Probably no Captain Rainbow.
– All of the Disgaea games are self-contained. Should start with the original game if you haven’t played the series.
– Next Nintendo console at E3? No, not with the Wii sales as they are
– Game looking forward to in Feb? House of the Dead: Overkill, Deadly Creatures
– Take on potential new Zelda game hype train (countdown)? Marvelous, SEGA both have countdowns – Matt jokes about Zelda Harvest Moon
– Final version of Dead Rising Wii? Will get it this week, will start previewing it soon – It’s Dead Rising light – Serious downgrade from 360
– New KORG? KORG DS-10 sold around 110,000 copies – Maybe will do a DS downloadable one for DSi – haven’t heard anything
– Convince Nintendo to localize Soma Bringer? Matt thinks it will probably happen – It’s a quality RPG
– Cool with DSi pricing? A little overpriced – $149.99 is where it should be – losing GBA slot but getting more stuff – shouldn’t be $50 more
– Excited about Arc Rise Fantasia? Daemon played it at TGS, liked it – Standard RPG
– Any idea when we’ll see/hear more about Spyborgs? Will have a big push for it – will be completely transformed (at least very different-looking)
– Expectations of Renegade Kid’s Wii project? Pretty much focused on the DS right now – Still dabbling in Wii, but for now just think of what they have going on for the DS
– Any word of Metroid Dread exiting? Existed at one point – Plug was pulled
– No organized riot to bring Professor Layton 2 to the US? Second one needs a lot of localization, might require budget of full game – might not be cost-effective – some very specific Japanese puzzles

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