With IGN closing shop for the week thanks to Thanksgiving. IGN went ahead and put together their Wiikly review. With only a half week there still a lot of things talked about.

Summary

Galaxy sales
– 500k first week in the USA – Matt thinks it’s pretty phenomenal – biggest opening of any Wii game to date and shows people are still interested in traditional games on Wii.
– A LOT of games don’t get 500k in their entire worldwide lifespan.
– In local retailers Matt keeps seeing lots of people buying Galaxy, so he would be shocked if it didn’t have long legs through the holiday season.
– Matt and Mark are both baffled by the lukewarm reception of Galaxy by Japan. Matt attributes the low sales to a change in the market – games that performed well in the past are not doing as well these days, while games like Wii Sports and Wii Play are the main focusses in the market. There is a noticeable momentum shift.
– Matt thinks it is a travesty, along with the sales of Twilight Princess.

Photo channel dropped Mp3 support
– To appeal to the Itunes crowd.
– However, can only play songs that have been burned in AACC.
– It’s not a huge deal, but it’s a weird format change. Matt doesn’t know why they have to remove it – why can’t they just add it?

1 Year Wii Anniversary
– 365 days yet still can’t find the system + worldwide market leader – very impressive.
– They had 19 games rated 8.0 or over, and given that they are pretty harsh, it’s a pretty impressive amount.
– With publishers like Ubisoft promising to step-up, the future on Wii is looking pretty bright.

Geometry Wars Galaxies
– Gave it 8.0
– Pretty hot game – good fun.
– Like the 360 version but a crapload more. Not really different, but just expanded substantially.
– Even though it’s better with the CC, you can still play it with the remote. It still works, but when things get hectic you may become confused and disorientated. Matt attributes the lack of HD to this, as well as the fact that in 2 player the camera pans out rather than focusses on your ship.
– If you always wanted to play Geometry Wars, now is your chance.

Ghost Squad
– Gave it 7.5
– Gameplay wise, it’s probably the most solid on-rails shooter (control-wise and responsiveness). UC trumps it in terms of story and feel – you feel like you’re getting a true package.
– Feels like a game stuck in 2004 – average visuals, no widescreen, etc. Doesn’t feel like a new game.
– Got a good price tag.
– Feels like arcade game with added Wii functionality. It works pretty well.

Link’s Crossbow Training
– Gave it 7.0
– A good that is shallow but over quickly.
– Feels like a demo, but given the price, this is understandable.
– It’s good fun, looks good, and plays well. Has that Zelda feel.
– Unfortunately doesn’t feature simultaneous play. Also wishes it was longer.

Wii Zapper
– Works fine and is has a decent build.
– It’s not a light-gun, so it doesn’t really change anything – it’s just an aesthetic change.
– Also has too soft a trigger button.
– Accuracy tends to be better without it.
– His nephew was instantly attracted to the Zapper, played 1 round with it and then wanted to get rid of it.

Need For Speed: Pro Street
– Gave it 6.2
– Score is higher than it should be because it is a multi-platform game, so the Wii version likely wasn’t played much.
– The game feels slow and sluggish.
– The visual presentation is pretty awful – doesn’t look like they tried at all. Also took out the oversteer.

Wii developers
– Matt is in contact with developers that did good work with Nintendo consoles on Wii.
– Going to start a new feature, in which Matt asks questions like “why hasn’t any developer tried [this] on Wii?” and various developers provide their insight.
-Matt thinks it should be a pretty cool series.

Legend of Spyro
– Gave it a very low 3.6
– Matt and Mark didn’t review it, but they did play it and they think it deserved a better score.
– About the game visual-wise as the Gamecube game. Pretty good presentation and production values.
– Control is fine for what it was – nothing stand-out but nothing bad.

Deer hunting
– Gave it 6.4 – higher than the 360 version.
– Neither Mark or Matt played it.
– Using IR is apparently better than using the analogue stick, hence the higher score.

Trauma Centre: New Blood
– Gave it 8.5
– Matt and Mark noticed some low scores around the internet and disagree.
– If you play it on easy, then no one should have a problem with the game.
– The normal is hard, and the hard version is incredibly difficult.
– Overall it’s a really good game, and the challenge isn’t because the game is broken, it’s just an element on the franchise.
– Both can’t believe some sites rated it lower than Second Opinion.

Reader questions
– Because of the good sales of RE4: Wii Edition and the likely good sales of Umbrella Chronicles, Matt expects another Resident Evil game to come to the system. Nothing confirmed so far.

– Both would be surprised if we didn’t see another Zelda title on DS.

– Fight Night Wii on EA – they both don’t know if anything is happening there, but they are hopeful that the game doesn’t turn out like the current boxing games on Wii. Matt thinks boxing games may never live up to their potential on Wii, and also beieves the lack of ‘contact’ may always render boxing games on Wii as mediocre.

– Both are thinking of doing a Wii Fit feature where they eat well for a month and use Wii Fit every day and measure how much weight they lose.

– Bozon doesn’t know how to pronounce ‘impediment.’

– Matt really hates Wii Sports Boxing.

– Bozon’s looking forward to stuff like Pikmin, Star Fox, etc on Wii for next year. Matt is also looking forward to stuff like Animal Crossing and Mario Kart Wii. Both expect more demo-like and ‘Wii Sports’ type games on Wii next year.

– They are quite impressed by the lineup for WiiWare so far – there’s some good content there so far. They are hoping for some really original games on the channel. Both think Geometry Wars Galaxies would’ve been a perfect fit. Bozon would love to see some re-made classics.

– Matt has heard some rumours about N64 games making the upgraded jump to WiiWare, including Mortal Kombat. Matt is going to get some calls going to get some more official documentation on WiiWare. Matt knows of some games, particularly arcade stuff from Japan, that should make its way to WiiWare.

– Bozon has started to really get into Mario Galaxy and he absolutely loves it. If you own a Wii and don’t own it yet, then shame on you.

– Bozon thinks we may actually see Pikmin come to Wii before Animal Crossing. Animal Crossing may need some more time because it’s supposed to be a big online title for Wii. Both hope they revolutionise that series on Wii, but get the feeling Nintendo may not even get near the potential that Animal Crossing has on Wii.

– Both have lost faith in the Starfox series, but are hopefully the Wii will help turn the franchise around.

– Bozon thinks Mario Kart will come out in the latter part of Q2 2008. There’s no reason to release another game near Brawl, because that game will sell amazingly and demolish anything close to it.

– Both are impressed with Mass Effect – feels like KOTOR with better combat. Starts off a bit slow, and is a bit buggy and sluggish (if Galaxy had these problems, they would bring it down to a max of 8.5), but they are amazed by the world Bioware have created.

– Both think GOTY will come down to Bioshock or Mario Galaxy, but you never know because different people have different tastes (and the IGN Xbox team is in love with Mass Effect). Call of Duty 4 will also be a contender.

– Wave Race Wii – haven’t heard anything so far, which is a bit odd because one would think Nintendo would lean on the franchise given the nature of the controls. The lukewarm reception of the Gamecube version may be playing a part in this.

– Both expect Wii to a receive another traditional Mario game sometimes in its lifetime. It’s still pretty early and Galaxy is selling great, so it should do well.

– Hype rating for 2008 out of 10 (Matt/Bozon)
Brawl: 10/10
No More Heroes: 8/7
Fragile: 8/8
Disaster: 7/7
Monster Hunter 3: 5/8
King’s Story: 8/9
Animal Crossing: 9/9
Tales of Symphonia: 7/8
Mario Kart Wii: 9/9
Okami: 8/7.5
Mushroom Men: 6/6
Wii Fit: 9/7.5
de Blob: 7/7
Rygar: 3/5
Red Steel 2: 8/8
WiiWare: 9/9
Unveiling of Treasure’s Wii Project: 9/10
Unveiling of Retro’s Wii Project: 10/10

– Rumour of Super Mario RPG 2: There is lots happening between Square and Nintendo right now, so this is not far-fetched.

– Rumour of Golden Sun Wii – rumour keeps persisting, so it probably will end up happening.

– Brothers in Arms Wii – they still aren’t sure what the game is going to be, but it seems it will be named ‘Road to Hill 30’. Have a lot to live up to given the arrival of MOH Heroes 2,which has the best FPS controls on Wii. Ubisoft don’t deny the existence of Unreal 3 on Wii, but Matt and Mark doubt the framerate will hold up if this is the case.

– Hoping to get some NiGHTS footage up sometime soon, likely tomorrow. SEGA is demoing the game today in San Fransisco.

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