Nintendo Download - 7/13/09

Looks like six games a week is Nintendo's new standard. I'm not complaining!

Nintendo DSiWare
Brain Challenge - 800 Nintendo DSi Points (Gameloft, Players: 1, E)

WiiWare
Bit Boy!! - 600 Wii Points (Bplus, Players: 1-2, E)

Incoming! - 500 Wii Points (JV Games Inc., Players: 1-2, E)

Ant Nation - 700 Wii Points (Konami Digital Entertainment, Players: 1, E 10 +)

Virtual Console
Secret Command - 600 Wii Points (SEGA Master System, SEGA, Players: 1-2, E 10+)

Pulseman - 900 Wii Points (SEGA Genesis, GAME FREAK, Players: 1, E)

If you're wondering why this week's Virtual Console prices are more pricey than usual, it's because they're both import titles. In fact, Pulseman was only released in North America via that old Sega Channel... ah, crazy concepts of the 90s.

MadWorld review

Sega and Platinum Games release their first title together, and it's a stylized, bloody, Wii exclusive. Does Platinum Games' first release play as well as it looks, or is this a failed attempt at reaching out to the hardcore crowd on the Wii? (or at least what's left of it)



Story
When a game is hyped for its visuals and gore, the story of the game apparently has to take a backseat. Not that it bothers me, as I've purchased other games like Hotel Dusk: Room 215, No More Heroes, and Prince of Persia, based on style alone; and those turned out to be some of my favorite games. None the less, the story of MadWorld starts out pretty simple, but develops into something else as you reach the game's conclusion.

Varrigan City has been exposed to a deadly gas, put out by an organization as a way of killing off the poor and entertaining the rich. However, people can receive an antidote to the deadly gas by ... killing other people, as part of a new televised game show, Death Watch. You plays as Jack Cayman, a mysterious man who enters the contest, but his intentions are unknown. At first, the story felt pretty generic, but the cut-scenes unravel a mystery that I wasn't quite expecting, so there was certainly something to keep me motivated to play, and in the end I guess that is what counts.

Gameplay
MadWorld at it's core, is a "beat'em up" akin to Final Fight or Double Dragon; you have you levels, each divided into closed off sections that won't open until you kill everyone on screen, a classic formula, and one unbroken by any sort of platforming or exploring. The game's first level is essentially a tutorial, you have freedom to do what you want, but you can't progress unless you do what the game tells you, which is kind of annoying when you just want to replay that stage later and are still forced to follow the guidelines. After that though, the world is yours.

As with beat'em ups, the object is not only to kill everyone on screen, but also to get the best score. Sure, you could just punch a guy to his death, but why not up your score by tossing a tire on the guy, shoving a lamp post through his face, setting him on fire, and placing him upon a spike? That's pretty much how ridiculous you can get when it comes to killing your enemies, but it doesn't even stop there. Many environments have specific things for you to get more points with; for instance in one level there's a fountain and five spikes; place an enemy upon each spike, and you'll get a bonus for making a blood fountain. However, some levels change up the pace, like this cool motorcycle level, which is a nice distraction from the other levels; and there's anther level that is just a sumo match, I like those side levels.

Other bonuses come from Bloodbath Challenges, which play out like mini-games, and allow you to do things like golf with heads, throw enemies onto a giant dart board, and see how many enemies you can shred through a giant turbine. And after playing each Bloodbath Challenge in the single player mode, a 2-person multiplayer version is unlocked. However, the multiplayer is not online, and there is no co-op mode, leaderboards, or any online features. And if an online-less game sounded short, you'll be sad to hear that the single player mode doesn't last very long, but most people should find fun replaying the levels, not to mention with a new difficulty and new weapons after you beat the game.

Control-wise, the game is pretty easy to get used to. It's a Wii remote and Nunchuck combo; with the Nunchuck's along used to move, C button to center the camera and lock-on to enemies, and Z to jump, with motion to back flip. The Wii remote's A button is used for standard attack, while B brings out your chainsaw, the D-pad changes weapons (when available), a motion allows you to thrust or throw an uppercut. At points in boss battles, you will be required to waggle, or move according to on screen directions, it doesn't feel tacked, thankfully, and adds to the interactivity of the intense fights.

Graphics
If you thought games this generation lacked color, then MadWorld takes that to it's advantage, as the game stays strictly black and white (though there are some gray tones every so often) and hints it with bright red blood and yellow effects. It's a style unique in the world of gaming, but it certainly gives off a feel like it was inspired by Frank Miller's comic series, Sin City, which also is black and white with red and yellow touches. Some people may find the style hard to look at, but in motion it works quite well. Though, there is some confusion in parts with too much line, or the when lighting isn't quite right, but it's a rare occurrence.

Should mention, because the screenshots provided by Sega can't really express it, this game is bloody. You could compare it to the spraying blood of No More Heroes, but I think the blood just stand out better in MadWorld because of the game's unique style. At the same time, because of the game's style, it makes it hard to take the game's violence as seriously as you would Grand Theft Auto. In fact, the ridiculous nature of the game will probably make you laugh more than it will make you cringe. Also, the game is always presented in widescreen, no matter your television; just figured I should mention that.

Sound
While not the most notable aspect of the game, it certainly has it's pluses. The voice over during cut-scenes works well, even if there's a lack of lip-sync thanks to the comic book design given to the scenes. During gameplay, however, the sound kind of gets messy. This is due to the fact that you have the sound effects of the actual gameplay, which varies from guys screaming, to blood gushes, etc., and then you have the background hip-hop music, and to top that off you have commentary from Greg Proops (Who's Line is it Anyway?) and John DiMaggio (Bender in Futurama, Marcus Fenix in Gears of War). Though I will give the game some credit, the tunes are nice to fight to, and the commentary is actually pretty funny due to great casting as well as great writing. I just wish they weren't always on top of each other.

Final Thoughts
MadWorld is certainly a great first step for Sega and, more specifically, Platinum Games, and will leave a lot to be expected from their next titles: Bayonetta and Infinite Line. Not only is MadWorld one of the Wii's first great beat'em ups (may be its only one actually), but it certainly will be one of the more memorable ones of the genre thanks to it's style and gameplay. But if beat'em ups aren't your thing (or violence for that matter) then it's probably hard to recommended the game to you, even if the violence is more comical than anything. Personally, if I was looking for a similar game to MadWorld, it would probably be No More Heroes, and in a way, I'd probably recommend that to anyone first.

Overall Score: 8.8/10


Not cool, Jack! That's our mascot!!

Flickr Update: MadWorld

Hey there readers, I just picked up Sega and Platinum Games' first title, MadWorld, for Nintendo Wii. And in such, here's some pictures for you to see:


Yeah, I went ahead and personalized this one with a picture of MadWorld's Jack chainsawing our very own Viewbear. Just a personal touch! Should have a review of the game sometime this week.

The Conduit gets a publisher

And it's SEGA. The much hyped, graphically powered, Wii exclusive first-person shooter, The Conduit, finally has a publisher. The game, developed by High Voltage Software has gained some critical praise for not only its highly detailed graphics, something virtually unheard of on Wii, but for it great FPS control scheme, similar to that of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Until now the game had been without a publisher, mainly because High Voltage wanted to build a powerful product of their own, long before any publishers came in to pull strings.

Full announcement at Sega.com

I'm pretty pleased with High Voltage's decision; if it was even theirs. For Wii it seems if you want a game to sell really well, you have to be published by Nintendo. At the same time however, companies like Sega, Capcom, and Ubisoft have some pretty decent sales on the system. For me, Sega just makes sense .. in a way, for such a big critical title, it seems like the game should go to Nintendo's new best friend. At the same time, I dislike Ubisoft, and when they decided to publish No More Heroes, it bothered me, so I'm glad I won't have to deal with that again. As for say Capcom, the title just doesnt seem to fit with their style, same goes for Square-Enix. And forget companies like THQ, because if the game was in their hands it would never sell; sorry, it's true.

But back to Sega. Good for them, if the final product is as good as critics make it sound; not to mention the game will be supporting both WiiSpeak and Wii MotionPlus, one of the select few titles to do so. But remember Sega also has another critical Wii hit in works, Platinum Games' MadWorld. And aside from Wii, there's Bayonetta, also from Platinum Games; and new Sonic titles Sonic Unleashed and Sonic and the Black Knight. At this point, it seems Sega's best bet is to move on from Sonic, because it's the titles without him that seem to be getting the most praise, only time will tell.

GC 08 - House of the Dead: Overkill

Yesterday at Leipzig, Sega announced a new House of the Dead game, entitled Overkill, exclusively for the Wii being developed by Headstrong, formerly Kuju most recognized for creating Battalion Wars.

The game is built from the ground up specifically for the Wii, so all the assets are new and look pretty smooth. The game will take place in a small town and seems to mostly involve some carnival, and follows the characters G, fresh out of the academy, and some police man named only Washington. Obviously, co-op is a no brainer, and a variety of weapons will be at your disposal, but there will only be a handful, and not say, 20-30.

The team is very adamant about making a great title, so I would expect good things from them. They are trying to do the best with the franchise as they can, and I'm sure it'll turn out well. Look for the game in 2009, and check the trailer below.

GC 08 - New Mad World Trailer

The new trailer shows off some more implements of destruction and fighting styles, including regular hand-to-hand combat and combat while wielding two swords. From what I can tell, there will be a ton of different ways to dismember your foes, so the variety should be really cool and keep the gameplay from getting boring.

I'm not too sure about the comic book exclamations, like "Vroom" and "Pow" and all that, but it worked for XIII I reckon, so it shouldn't get too annoying.

Game looks good though and I can't wait to play it. Check the trailer below.

Sonic Unleashed new trailer

This trailer for Sonic Unleashed differs from the previous ones it that it uses no in-game footage or CG. The video, for the most part, is strictly live action. It's meant to give us a better idea of "Were-Sonic", and remind us that the game does take place on Earth, enjoy.

Also it seems we have a new tentative release date for, Holiday 2008.

Phantasy Star Portable

Over at NeoGAF a poster has found a 4 minute trailer for Phantasy Star Portable, for psp. Not much I can gather since it's all in Japanese, but it looks to stay true to the Ep1&2 formula, so I'm happy. Looks to be a solid entry in the series and I will defidently follow the game for any future details.

Phantasy Star Portable Trailer


NeoGAF

Warning: MILD LYRICS

So SEGA just released a new trailer for the upcoming Wii version of Samba de Amigo. But for what ever reason they decided to put a very LARGE warning in the ESRB logo, you can't miss it. Otherwise it's a very stylized trailer full of CG and no gameplay, enjoy!

Sonic Chronicles website

I seem to be the only one that cares but I really want to see what BioWare can do with the Sonic franchise. Check out the site which is set up like the game itself.

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood website

Sonic Unleashed gameplay footage

Via IGN, this footage is from the Xbox 360 build of the game, though I'd like to assume the PS3 version is off from this at all (as that's the version it'll pick up if this turns out good). All I can really saw is wow, I don't think I've ever been as excited for a sonic game in quite awhile, even the music is catchy for once, instead of that mostly annoying, wailing 80's rock. Enjoy!



I'm still very curious to see the Wii version, as it's supposed to be completely different from the rest. And I'm sure no one will care for the PS2 edition. Also, check out the end of the video, seems as if a logo for the title has been created.

iPhone 3G is go!

The conference may have finished, and Apple's website is already relaunched with all interesting facts on the new iPhone. You can check it out here. Once there be sure to look at the Features page for all the new things you'll be able to find on it. Also make sure you you look at the App Store page for footage of Super Monkey Ball in action with motion controls to boot! (it's a short vid, small, and no sound, but you'll get a good idea of how it looks and works)

All this new stuff seems quite interesting, especially the Apps (and more so the gaming) aspect of the iPhone and eventually the iPod Touch. Though I don't truly think its gaming market could over take DS or even the PSP, I'd be very curious to see how serious both Apple and 3rd parties get about iPhone gaming. Considering the Mac gaming community hasn't moved since 1995 I don't think there's much to worry about, but maybe this is finally the right step ahead.

iPhone/Touch Games

Today marks the beginning Worldwide Developers Conference this year, and with it, the keynote, which has some game developers talking about their games.

Games will be available directly from the iPhone/Touch via the App Store, which comes with the 2.0 firmware update which will be available early July. The firmware update is free for the iPhone, but unfortunately, will cost Touch users $9.95.

Sega was the first developer shown, with Super Monkey Ball, which will feature accelerometer control in 110 stages spanning 5 worlds. The game will be available at launch of the App Store for $9.99, which is a very decent price.

Pangea Software showed off two games, Enigmo and Cro-Mag Rally. Enigmo is a physics-based puzzle game, while Cro-Mag Rally is a racing game featuring tilt control. Both games are also available at launch and for $9.99.

There is another game, called Krull, by Digital Legends Entertainment, which features good graphics and some warrior…I don't know…it should be out this September.

I’m sure there a ton of other developers working on games for the iPhone/Touch, such as EA, but nothing was specifically mentioned, yet.

I'm pretty excited about some games, and I hope they keep getting support, although I'm not too sure. The "jailbroken" Touch is nice, with all the free apps and games, but something a bit more substantial will be good, especially seeing as how you don't have to carry around carts or UMDs like the DS and PSP. However, in no way will the iPhone/Touch games be better or take over the DS and PSP market. Not a chance in hell.

Two New Reviews Over at VFH

Aight, I gots Bully: Scholarship Edition and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, so check em out.

Also, I'm planning on writing a Lego Indiana Jones review soon, perhaps today, so keep your eyes open for that.
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UPDATE (3/22/10) VFH Classic is dead:

Bully: Scholarship Edition
So, this is my first mini-review. Essentially, it's the same as a review, but with less information and a little less formal. Expect mini-reviews for older games, as opposed to full reviews for newly released games. Also, it's quite possible that once I get into the review, it'll be just as long as a full review, so yeah. Enjoy.

The first thing I noticed with Bully, is the fact that it is basically Grand Theft Auto for kids; is the best way to describe it. You play as this kid who is thrown into a new school. You meet new people and partake in both missions and classes.

First Bayonetta Trailer

On the subject of Sega and Platinum Games, here's the second project in the works. Bayonetta is from the brain behind Devil May Cry, and the trailer surely shows it.



Guns on the heel? That's new, we'll get to see more when this releases later on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

First MadWorld Trailer

Not really a trailer, as its short, but it should get you excited for Sega' and Platinum Games' (formerly SEEDS, formerly Clover Studio) one of three new projects. This one, MadWorld, will be heading to the Wii.



Yeah, you might be saying... "This is on the Wii?!", you better believe it!! Personally i just find it really great to see that Clover..er ..Seeds.. er.... Platinum Games has retained their style, and hopefully this can give both them and even Sega a good name!

House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return Impressions/Review

So, I got House of the Dead 2,3 Return the other day at Circuit City because it was on sale for $20. A steal I thought to myself. Got home, played it, pretty not bad, after I realized how the calibrator worked. It has one for the IR shooting, and it works very, very well, so that shooting in spot-on, and you can even choose one of a handful of cool reticules.


If you don't know what House of the Dead is: it is a light-gun arcade game that features shooting up zombies of all forms in HofD2 with a pistol and in HofD3 with a shotgun. You are on a rails and don't have any ability to move yourself of course, however, there are branching paths which you either directly choose yourself or go to depending on events you either accomplish or fail to accomplish.


There are two main menu chooses, House of the Dead 2 and House of the Dead 3, each which sport a few special features. House of the Dead 2 comes with the arcade port, "original" version, training mode, and boss mode. House of the Dead 3 comes with the arcade port, ??? which I haven't unlocked yet, and time trial.

The "original" version in HofD2 is the same as the arcade version, although it allows you to use special power-ups. At the beginning, you can choose two...or three...power-ups from the ones you have previously collected throughout the mode. These include extra space in your ammo clip so you don't have to reload so often, extra continues, more damage per bullet, a shotgun, and others that will make the game easier for you.

The training mode is pretty cool, including 10 different mini-games that you unlock as you go. Each of these includes 5 different difficulties which you also unlock by beating the easier one. These are all fun, but each lasts 30 seconds or less, so you wont be spending TOO much time with them, but they are a nice distraction and welcomed inclusion.


Each HofD game features co-op multiplayer, which like the arcade games, where you simply need to press 'A' on another controller to join. The game features the use of the Wii Zapper, but really, the only button you press in the game is the 'B' button to shoot, so you can just use the Wiimote if you like. (You point off-screen to reload). Also, each game features a nice options menu, which lets you configure, to an extent, how many lives you start with and how many continues you get, along with the difficulty of the game and what color the blood is. I have seen thus far, that the more you play, the more you unlock. After playing through the arcade mode a few times, you get more and more lives to use, starting with 3 to the possibility of using at least 5.


There are a lot of cool things in House of the Dead 2,3 Return, but it is basically just HofD2 and 3 ported to the Wii. If you liked the arcade versions, then you won't be disappointed, especially if you have a friend to play with, but don't expect too much more. None of the graphics or voice-acting have been changed, and in HofD2...the voice acting is pretty much terrible. It would have been nice if HofD1 or 4 were including as well, but no such luck, nor is there an online-leaderboard or online multiplayer. Still, it is what it is, and for $30, you may just want to pick this one up.

Overall score - 7/10

New Sonic Unleashed Trailer

So apparently, Sonic transforms into a wolf-like beast, and this is used as a transition from speedy segments into combat ones. Doesn't sound like too bad of an idea to me, as that will make the segments well defined and won't confuse the gamer into wondering if he/she is supposed to be going super fast or attack some enemies. I think it might break it up nicely....or horribly...but probably it can be done fairly well.

I'm just hoping somebody can revive the series into something good.

Sonic Unleashed is REAL!

That was one hell of a leak the last two weeks Sega.. but alas maybe Sonic will be good in 3D once again...

Official Site (Not much to see)