We’ve been doing shows lately that focus a lot more on what we’ve been playing than the weekly news. Some people enjoy that, while others liked the old format. What would you guys like to hear? More news, more weekly games played, or a nice mix of both? Download the show here (oh boy, I love podcasts!)

Excerpt from: 
GoNintendo Podcast Webisode 233

AGOURA HILLS, Calif. - January 29, 2010 - THQ Inc. today announced the official soundtrack for MX vs. ATV™ Reflex™, the latest edition to the multimillion unit-selling franchise, is now available for purchase and download at online retailers worldwide. The soundtrack, helmed by renowned music industry veteran Raymond Herrera (Fear Factory, Arkaea) through his company, 3volution Productions, unites a powerful blend of original, hard hitting creations with the game’s cutting edge features, including intuitive, dual-stick control and real-time terrain deformation. In addition, the soundtrack is compatible with most MP3 players (including with iPod®), iTunes® and Windows Media Player. Recorded at Temple Studios in Chatsworth, Calif., which Herrera co-owns and operates with B-Real (Cypress Hill), the soundtrack came to fruition through collaboration between Herrera, his industry colleagues and the team at THQ’s Rainbow Studios. The end result impressively reflects a variety of heavier music styles, with influences such as Killswitch Engage, Soilwork, Corrosion of Conformity and Fear Factory. Collaborators on the MX vs. ATV Reflex soundtrack included Christian Olde Wolbers (Fear Factory, Arkaea), Jon Howard (Threat Signal/Arkaea), heavy music industry professionals Jeff Kendrick and Mike Spreitzer, as well as emerging hip-hop artist Young De. “The MX vs. ATV Reflex soundtrack is a perfect example of great synergy between the right music and a compelling gameplay experience,” said THQ Vice President of Global Brand Management Brian Coleman. “The overall product is certain to have appeal with a widespread audience of game enthusiasts, off-road fans and mainstream consumers.” “We wanted the soundtrack for MX vs. ATV Reflex to sound like a full-fledged album, and as a long-time fan of Motocross, it was great to help add the realism to this already amazing game and franchise,” said Herrera. “All in all, it was a fun project to work on, and the end result sounds great – especially every time I play the game!” The MX vs. ATV Reflex official soundtrack list is as follows: 1. “Pressure Plate” (3volution featuring Raymond Herrera) 2. “Nac Nac” (3volution featuring Raymond Herrera) 3. “Aftermarket” (Robert Cote) 4. “Holeshot” (3volution featuring Raymond Herrera) 5. “50 Ft. Drop” (3volution featuring Raymond Herrera) 6. “Pilot Jet” (3volution featuring Raymond Herrera) 7. “Terrain” (3volution featuring Raymond Herrera) 8. “Devil’s Swingarm” (Dave Lowmiller) 9. “Wheels In Motion” (Robert Cote) 10. “Scraping the Can” (3volution featuring Raymond Herrera) 11. “Machined From Billet” (Dave Lowmiller) 12. “Silencer” (3volution featuring Raymond Herrera) 13. “Accelerate” (3volution featuring Raymond Herrera) GamesPress

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MX vs. ATV™ Reflex soundtrack now available

Uh-oh…could we be witnessing a changing of the guard? I can’t believe what I’m seeing this week. There have been multiple outlets that are beginning to look at the Nintendo Wii as an actual console that offers up plenty of games to make any core gamer happy. I don’t know what’s causing this change in opinion, but keep it coming! By this time next year, ‘core’ gamers might actually tolerate the Wii! Article here

Original post: 
Nintendo Wii: the ultimate hardcore console?

Throughout the course of every year, we always discuss a handful of games that end up getting banned in various places around the world. I think the big topic of discussion with game bannings had to come in with Manhunt 2, which caused quite a stir over in the UK. While that’s a high-profile rating situation, does it point to the UK having the strictest guidelines? Just what country ends up banning the most games? Article here

Originally posted here: 
Battle of the Banned

A portion of a Siliconera review… …I think The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is an interesting display of how new ideas are conceived and refined, and that’s half the reason I’m glad I picked it up. After playing it, it’s easy to see why this team was enlisted to help the main Zelda team out on Zelda Wii. Full review here

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The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - review

Cort has some hands-on impressions for you guys that I think you’ll be just a tad interested in! Earlier this week, Nintendo invited us to their office near San Francisco to show off their upcoming Pokemon titles for DS, HeartGold and SoulSilver ; two classic games from the franchise remade for both long-time fans and new players alike. I won’t pretend to be any sort of expert, just a gamer who has been more of a spectator all these years…ever since the franchise emerged with Red/Blue (and its associated merchandise) and I was a wee college boy working at my local Toys R Us amid the rabid children and their parents. Many regulars will recognize these games from their previous incarnation about ten years ago, and many of those people consider them among the best in the series. So for those who have seen them before, what’s new? Whistle whilst you work. Purdy colours. Well for starters, neither game really introduces any new pokemon to the series per se, but it does include many from games released over the past decade, including a number of legendaries. I don’t have the specific number handy, but between both HeartGold and SoulSilver , there are 490-something to catch, train, etc. Talk about either a dream or nightmare for obsessive compulsive players like me! The setting remains in the same Johto region, described as being a bit like Kyoto, Japan with its lush vegetation, historic shrines and culture. As remakes, both the music and graphics have been bumped into the present, and although not drastic, the subtleties are very attractive. Gusts of wind blow about, streaming leaves and delicate, visible wisps of air across the screen while weather vanes atop buildings quiver back and forth as they should. All of the art looks quite sharp on the vivid DS screen, with plenty of colour to spare. Checking out some of the touch-screen goodness: the battle screen and some pokeball action. Other new features include the ability to equip two key items at once, which ought to definitely reduce trips to the menus. You can also have ANY pokemon from your collection follow you around, whereas before I believe you were limited to just Pikachu. This comes in handy because as they follow you around, they level up in friendship, which for some pokemon is extremely valuable. Just move your desired poke-friend into the first slot, easily done with simple drag and drop thanks to the DS stylus. Yes, menus have been assigned to the touch screen to help streamline things and get you back into the action, though the traditional d-pad navigation is still intact for those who prefer it. Other tweaks and features added to the menu system will definitely be helpful to fresh and veteran players alike…as one of the former, I can personally attest to having almost no barrier or frustration jumping right into things. The most fascinating new feature for me was the PokeWalker , a pokeball-shaped pedometer that can wirelessly sync with your game and allows you to take one of your pals along during the day. During that time, your real-world walking translates to building up in-game experience, levelling up whichever pokemon you’ve equipped plus earning Watts, but that’s not all. You can also discover new wild pokemon and items, and play a rudimentary game to catch them. Earning Watts will allow you to unlock new routes; the routes affecting what you’ll find out in the wild. So if you’ve set your route to a grassy area, you’ll stumble on grassy-type pokemon, etc. You also have access to two mini-games or you can also connect with PokeWalker-carrying friends, which will earn you each a gift during the exchange. You can hold up to three captured pokemon at a time with the PokeWalker before having to either sync or manage what to keep and what to release. Also of note that there are some safety/backup features in case something happens (you lose the device, lose your pokemon, etc.) so you can always “revert” and pull a lost pokemon back into the game. It works with a simple watch-type battery and thanks to a basic b/w LCD screen and infrared wireless, it has a pretty good lifespan, not unlike a typical TV remote; the one shown during the demo has been going strong since the Japanese release back in September 2009. The darling of the hour, the PokeWalker. I personally found the PokeWalker the most intriguing aspect of the games; it definitely takes the old Pocket Pikachu idea to the next level and is a delightful idea, considering the etymology of the series as Pocket Monsters…now you really can take them with you during the day—in your pocket—and continue the adventure regardless of what else you might be doing, be it work, school, or playing Wii. I may not have been converted to a Pokemon fanatic, but after 15 minutes of hands-on and a run down by a seasoned pro from Nintendo, I’d definitely give these games a try at home. Look for HeartGold and SoulSilver this March 14 in North America. Thanks to Nintendo for giving us the chance to attend and check things out! —cortjezter

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Cort finds himself a Soul(Silver), plus hands-on impressions

StarFox…I have such a deep love for you. I believe Nintendo needs to really kick their asses into gear and start treating the StarFox series with the respect that it deserves. With the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 outings, you really felt like you were playing something special. Nintendo pushed these games in big ways…the first game ushering in the SuperFX chip, and the second helping Nintendo to give birth to the now industry-standard rumble feature. After that, the series really seemed to take a turn for the worst. It’s almost like Nintendo didn’t know what to do with the franchise. The reason the first and second games were popular was because they focused on simple space flight, and high-intensity action. Somewhere along the way, Nintendo got the idea that fans would like to get away from what made them love the games to begin with. On-foot missions and side-stories that involved hardly any flight were introduced, and fans were left wondering what happened to the group of space-fighting furries that they fell in love with! Hey, at least we got Krystal along the way. Unfortunately, the music of the series seemed to take a nosedive as well. In my humble opinion, the original StarFox and StarFox Assault are the only games that feature good music. With that said, I believe those two games to have some of the best music that has graced a Nintendo game. I think I’ve set up my list of songs quite well! Check out GameDaily’s top 5 picks here! StarFox Assault - Mid-Air Battle StarFox Assault is not a game that I enjoy. If it were only the space flight sections, I’d think it was quite good. Unfortunately, that’s not what the game is like. On the positive side of things, at least the soundtrack provided some excellent tunes for the ride! I mean, who didn’t think that StarFox Assault was going to be the ultimate StarFox game when you first turned it on and heard this track?! Star Fox Music - Asteroid, Venom Orbital I can’t think of any other game that involves flight that features a soundtrack that rivals what the original StarFox did. The compositions are absolutely outstanding, and the music perfectly fits the action and pacing of the levels you’re in. This Asteroid track is a great example of that. I could hear this song anywhere else, and it would automatically make me tense up! StarFox - Space Armada This is the type of song that really makes me feel like I’m a part of a game. I feel like I’m part of a team, and we’re getting down to the really nasty fighting. It’s one of those tracks that fills you with determination, as well as hope. Take this song and have it performed by a full orchestra, and you could easily slip this into any sci-fi movie that features space battles. StarFox - Venom Base As I was writing this feature, Mom Brain was sitting in the background. She has never played the original StarFox, but the second this song came on she blurted out, “This song is making me nervous!” I can’t think of any other better way to prove that Nintendo did a fantastic job with this soundtrack. This Venom Base track is supposed to make you freak out a bit! Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Corneria Yes, I’m joining in with my GameDaily chums to snatch one of their tracks. They chose the original Corneria track from the first StarFox, and I’m pilfering the track once again in order to gush about the Super Smash Bros. Brawl/Melee version. I am not kidding…whenever I hear this track, I start to tear up. This is how I imagined the original StarFox sounding. It makes me want a StarFox movie, and helps me to realize just how huge a StarFox fan I am. Check out GameDaily’s top 5 picks here!

Read the rest here: 
GoNintendo and GameDaily’s top 10 favorite StarFox music! (bumped to the front)

Video Games | ScrewAttack | Angry Video Game Nerd: Hydlide XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii Direct link here

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Angry Video Game Nerd: Hydlide

Time for me to slip off to bed. Well, I might play some Dark Void Zero and then call it a night…but either way, bedtime will be coming soon. Hope you all had a great Tuesday, and let’s keep our fingers crossed for an even better Wednesday! See you all in a few, short hours. You know, I think it’s pretty sad how prevalent fan translations are becoming. I believe it’s fantastic seeing fans of particular games working so hard to create language translations for particular games, but I think it’s absolutely appalling to see so many games being left unpublished around the world. Let’s take a look at Fatal Frame IV, for example. I never, ever thought that Fatal Frame IV wouldn’t see an official translation/localization from Nintendo. I’m still absolutely flabbergasted to see that the Big N decided that this game wasn’t good enough for a localization. They’ve even gone so far as to block other companies from picking the title up. Why in the world would Nintendo go so far to keep this game out of our hands, yet have no problem releasing it in Japan? Thankfully, those talents gamers out there are working hard to fix the wrongs that other publishers are committing. We now have a way of playing Fatal Frame IV in English, even though getting it to work is a bit shady. That’s where another issue comes up. Getting these fan translations to work might involved modding your console and breaking warranties, or ever using illegally downloaded games. What is a fan supposed to do to play these games. Buy a Japanese console, and learn a new language?! Of course, we all have so much free time to do that. Things get even weirder when you see that some companies don’t even care about illegal situations with fan translations. Look at the case of Mother 3, one of the most famous fan translations out there. If you’re playing the fan-translation, chances are you’ve done it illegally. The thing is, Nintendo is fully aware of this situation, yet they don’t seem to care. Not even one cease and desist out there. Do they truly not care simply because they have no intentions of localizing? I’m going to play the Fatal Frame IV fan translation. I’m going to import the Japanese version, figure out this homebrew stuff, and get down to enjoying the next chapter in a long-running series. Thanks for absolutely no help or explanation, Nintendo. I really appreciate it.

Excerpt from:
GoNintendo ‘End of Day’ thoughts - How do you feel about fan translations?

I personally apologize for this show. It’s a lot more hectic than most. I think that has something to do with the crew celebrating Lube’s birthday during the recording! Remind me to never let that happen again! Download the show here (a very happy 28th birthday to you, Lube!)

Original post: 
GoNintendo Podcast Webisode 231