Reviews

Finally, some one who thinks the same way I do! I wanted to post the whole thing here instead of linking to it. Taken from 1up:

With the election season creeping up alongside the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, it’s inevitable that we’ll see (even more) politicians, pundits, and authors decrying video games as a cause — nay, the source — of all social evils. But not all authors jump on the bandwagon, and a new book takes research on the topic of game violence in a radically different direction.

Game Couch has an interview with Dr. Cheryl K. Olson, the co-author of Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games. Based on data from a joint research study from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, the book asserts that many studies on the topic of game violence have been skewed by various factors, including smaller sample sets, lower time playing, bias against media violence, and conducting the studies around games that the children didn’t choose for themselves.

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“We’re asking retailers to be responsible,” Emily Noble, president of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, said Monday. “Yes, they can sell it and make a buck out of this, …
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Check It Out HERE 

Wii:

Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed – C+ D+ C+ No More Heroes – B A- B- Obscure: The Aftermath – D+ D D+ (Shame of the Month)

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IGN: What kind of setup will consumers have when they boot up Wii Ware? Are there going to be features games that Nintendo spotlights, or can you still gift …
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Wii: Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors: 7.75, 8 Winter Sports: The Ultimate Challenge: 6.5 No More Heroes: 6, 6 Samurai Warriors: Katana: 6 Sonic …
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Out of reviews and playing four of these games, I have to say that only 2 of these games where really any fun/good. Being controversial dosn’t necessary mean …
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Not sure why this is showing up now, but thanks to the people over at neogaf for putting this together.

Summary Complete:

Smash Bros.:

-Pikmin are multiple throw items.
-Matt has been trying to force himself into using the wii-mote only option. Fran a more core smash player, found he could do everything he needed to do with the option, though he still prefers to use the GC.
-Better than Galaxy/Metroid?? Matt: No, not for him. It is a really damn fine great fighter, but it does have some issues that need to be acknowledged.
-They haven’t decided who will review it, perhaps multiple people since its so huge

SSE:

-Matt on SSE: Its not entirely polished, its a good single player mode but it does have its flaws
–Some loading screens have ten second loads.
-Bozon “There may be a different ending i still gotta get”
-Bozon “It did start to get more fun, at about the 50% mark when you’re no longer playing to unlock characters and the evil presence really makes its mark and you want to start it”
-When it comes to review, even though we don’t love the single player much, we realize its a multiplayer oriented game so it won’t be doc’d a lot of points for what is essentially a side mode, they then go on to list the vast amounts of other side modes

MoH:Heroes Australia:

-No explanation provided for why there was no online
–PR said it was a misprint on the box.

BoomBlox:

-We like it, fun Jenga-style game for the Wii, feels like it was designed for the Wii.
-Bozon originally thought it would be a mid 7.0’s game before going over to EA thinking it would be kinda meh, apparently after the EA visit he’s enthused about the game.
-Matt’s biggest let down was that in the level editor when you start to make huge levels, there could be some slow down, they hope its fixed prior to release.
-“Its one of those games that’ll get a score, but really its a fun game to play with the family”

Okami:

-No advertising blowout, no TV commercials
-No New Content, but the controls are feeling better and it looks better.

Julian (Factor 5 President) Interview:

(Paraphrased responses but very accurate)

Q — Will this game push the Wii Hardware?
A — We want to push the hardware, for us its easy to push the hardware. A lot of it is exploiting the uniqueness of the Wii. On the graphical side of course we are going to try to out due everything else on the platform, like we did with the GC star wars games, but of course the emphasis is on the controls. He personally really loves the pointing device. Pointing stuff is probably the biggest innovation they are working on right now.

-Matt and Bozon talk a little about how some games over-use the waggle just to waggle(No specifics) then talk about PES and their innovative use of the IR.

Q — Are you going to use the nun-chuck controller?
A — I can’t comment yet, you try to design every game for the Wii to avoid the nun-chuck, but for some games the nun-chuck is a very viable option. When trying to go casual, the first barrier to over come is the ability to not have to use the nun-chuck.

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Check It HERE

Previews: Apollo Justice, Brain Assist, Dinosour King, Dungeon Explorer: Warriors of Ancient Arts, Eco-Creatures: Save the Forest, The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return, Insecticide, Mushroom Men, Robo-Revolt: Robocalypse Now, Sega Superstars Tennis, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Super Dodgeball Brawlers, SSBB, WWII Aces

Alone in the Dark

– Edward Carnby – mysteriously transported to NYC
– Technique – momentarily clear your vision
– First/third person perspectives
– Switch to third person for action-oriented gameplay
– “Episodic” feel to the game
– Different control schemes which depends on context/actions
– Items available through Edward’s pocket, not inventory screen -> can combine items
– Puzzles present
– Can drive some cars – hot-wire mini-game occasionally

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Physical education teacher Don Prorok’s convinced his school to buy seven Wii’s with 28 controllers, also purchasing Wii Sports. He made the decision after playing on his brothers …
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 Check out more screens, the impressions and video HERE

News/Information: 

• Miyamoto shot down a Retro developed Twisted Metal clone because it had guns on cars
• Red Steel 2 apparently being handed to another developer because it’s not …
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