A review and preview from C3… Just Dance 2 - preview Samurai Warriors 3 - review

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C3 - review, preview

“The great thing about Twitter is we can provide real-time information to our fans and receive real-time feedback, as well. The former Prime Minister of Japan [Yukio Hatoyama] was tweeting a lot, so that inspired me and Wada-san to start tweeting. I want to use Twitter as an opportunity to have conversations and provide information for fans. I never get a break from it, so I wonder when the fad will die down so I can stop writing so much.” - Shinji Hashimoto Both Hashimoto and Kojima have been using Twitter for some time, and they’re teasing another collaboration. It seems like the collaboration is unrelated to Nintendo, but we’ll keep an eye out just incase. Link

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Shinji Hashimoto discusses the importance of Twitter for game devs

Cort has a nice little review for you tonight. When I say little, I really mean big. You can always depend on Cort for a review that’s more thought-out and better put together than anything I can write! His work usually makes up for my lack of grace when working on the site. With that said, stop reading this crap and get onto his review! I’ll see you all in a few, short hours. —RMC About a month ago, Max & the Magic Marker finally made its debut on the WiiWare service here in North America, just a month and a half after its release in Europe, where it was born. After having a chance to check it out during a private appointment and meet a couple of the Press Play guys, I was already sold on the idea and did my share to help get the word out . So how many of you put down your share of points to try it out? I don’t want to duplicate too much of my impressions article , so I’ll summarise the game thus: it’s a side-scrolling game that requires the Wii remote to draw creative solutions to puzzles into the game with a virtual marker. Starring a small boy named Max, the game takes place inside the worlds of his drawings, so scenes of pirate ships, robots, and sunny rows of houses feel right at home. The Nib Obtained: Download code provided courtesy of Press Play Time Played: ~6.5 hours Completion: Finished main story, ~95% of the total collectable items, all modes unlocked. Difficulty: starts easy, but ramps up to medium fairly quickly. Getting the last 5-10% of collectible items is hard! The Ink Max & the Magic Marker actually packs quite a bit of game into its three worlds and fifteen levels. The very basic objective is to get from point A to point B, but along the way are three secondary objectives per level: collecting light orbs, collecting special hidden black orbs, and speed. Luckily each can be completed independently of one another, because it is highly unlikely you’ll ever be able to nab 100% of the orb collections in a level and still beat a pre-set speed run in the same go. If you simply cruise straight through, you can probably get through all the levels in an hour or two. My OCD had me wanting to 100% each level before moving onto the next, often ballooning the completion time from a speedy 3 minutes up to 35. That strategy worked for about two weeks until I realised this review may never happen unless I do my best after a couple tries and then move on. Sufficed to say, some of the final collectable items in a few of the levels are very well hidden or super difficult to nab…or both. Some of the special black orbs are especially cleverly concealed. That actually accomplishes two things: a decent replay quotient and a range of difficulty for a broad variety of players. Not the most effective way to avoid bottomless pits. As a platformer, the controls work well, as they must. Running can be a little awkward, requiring you to press sort-of down/diagonally on the analogue stick if you want to exceed the standard walking (and some levels require full-stride!). Why it couldn’t just use the analogue input to determine how far you were tilting the stick and react accordingly is a peculiar development decision. Jumping is accurate and the level designs mix things up enough that simply hopping between ledges or crossing chasms doesn’t feel overly repetitive. However, drawing some of the solutions to access those ledges does get a little repetitive; making ramps, stairs, boxes, etc. can get a little boring by the end of the fifteenth level, but that repetition is often balanced by a sense of curiosity and satisfaction as you explore each area. To be fair, as a game of creativity, boredom and repetition is actually my fault more than the game’s. And that brings us to the drawing. IR functionality controls the chunky marker on the screen, both to lay down the bright orange ink or reclaim it into the reservoir for reuse. For the most part it works and your circles, squares, and lines look correct, but don’t expect to be winning any handwriting ribbons because the accuracy of your hand at such a distance is similar to dialling a phone using a broomstick by its bristly hilt. I can only imagine how perfect this game would work with something like a DS stylus. It works well enough overall on Wii, though one nitpick about erasing all drawn ink at once with a press of B+waggle: while I appreciate the nod to Etch-a-Sketch, it requires too much effort to perform in my opinion; you have to shake long and hard to register this gesture. Pausing so you don’t have to think–or draw–fast to survive. Luckily, your Picasso-esque art doesn’t have to interact with the physics engine in real time thanks to a time-freezing feature that lets you draw and redraw things as you like on a children’s deconstructed representation of things at the moment of pause without gravity or other things interfering. The game simply would not be playable in spots without this, and you’ll likely use it many, many times…if not for the normal puzzle solving, then as a way to stop time and draw in a safety net to thwart otherwise imminent demise. If Max has simply fallen into a situation that you can’t resolve with your marker, thanks to a generous allotment of checkpoints chances are you won’t need to redo much. The frequency of these checkpoints does a couple things: first, combined with the unlimited lives, it encourages experimentation by taking the focus off of conserving remaining continues. Second, it reduces puzzle fatigue by not forcing you to solve the same areas ad nauseam . Both of these are important accessibility factors for players of age or skill across the spectrum. Unfortunately, for all their usefulness, the checkpoints also introduce a minor gripe. Crossing one causes the villain to magically pop on screen and drain your precious marker of all its ink, forcing you continually do a lot of extra collecting just to reach the goal. Aside from a couple specific instances, this feels like an unnecessary burden meant to arbitrarily extend the difficulty/game length. I’d rather prefer puzzles to get increasingly harder by the end of the level that require all the collected ink than to be high and dry a half dozen times. I haven’t mastered it yet, but I was able to “game” the whole ink-losing-at-checkpoints thing multiple times and keep some ink into the next level section. Bug or feature? Look on it as you will. It’s a special manufacture dialing wand. On a more subjective note, the visual style is bright, crisp, and friendly on the eyes making it appropriate for all ages. This art direction decision may cause some people to dismiss the game at a sheer glance, but it is entirely appropriate in context; shame on those people, for they are wrong. Likewise the audio is fun; kind of quirky with a very European-sounding, unique combination of instruments courtesy of Danish hip-hop group, Analogik. The game also has a few unlockable modes, although they’re mostly for fun. Spoiler alert: some of the extra modes include a pre-filled marker that makes collecting ink in levels a trivial time expenditure; a fun superhero costume that lets you run faster and jump much higher, making most levels a total cinch; and a sandbox mode similar to the one in World of Goo …doesn’t seem to be much of a point other than testing out constructions or seeing how high you can get your citrus haired buddy. All of these are essentially a novelty; clearing a stage with Super Max or the filled marker will illicit a shameful message and your accomplishments ignored. It would have been great to have some extra special bonus stages or hidden goodies in existing levels only accessible by using these unlockable features. The Scribble I had to nitpick Max & the Magic Marker because it just does so much right, and that is why I love it. It is a pretty unique title that makes perfect use of the Wii remote; something so many games aspire to but wind up falling short. It’s not perfect, but the whole package is so darn charming it is certainly worth your while. You might think it short—I wish there was more, but hey, this is WiiWare—but while I got through most of it in a half dozen hours, it’s polishing off the last little bit that will easily chalk up several more hours, a very decent value, especially if having to stop, scratch your head, and actually think about the game is up your alley. In my head I can’t help but draw so many parallels with another game I loved: Zack & Wiki ; a Wii remote-specific game with puzzle elements, a young protagonist and art style, even a compound title that sort of rhymes between the two titles. Fortunately for Max, its price of entry is much lower and its WiiWare distribution makes it widely and conveniently accessible. The only thing it needs is awareness. Do I need to draw you a clearer picture, maybe in a nice shade of orange marker? Seriously, go check it out now…they even have a demo if all my prattling hasn’t convinced you. —cortjezter

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GoNintendo EoD Thoughts: Max & The Magic Marker Review according to cort

Time for me to shuffle off to bed. I had a great night off, and it seems like you guys had a great time with Deux. Now that my house-hunting issues are settled, I can rest a little easier, and get back to having a permanent smile on my face! That is, right after I get some sleep. See you guys in a few, short hours! I don’t know, is it too early to be claiming a Rinry video as her best work yet? If not, then I have to give this latest feature my biggest nod of approval! As you guys know, I’m a huge fan of boxart. I often talk about how important I believe boxart to be, and how not enough people pay tribute to the hard work that goes into these creations. Little did I know that Rinry was working on a video about this very subject! She takes us through the history of boxart, and shows us just how important it is. We also get to see some of the best…and worst boxarts from the past 30 years. That’s enough chatter from me. Time to let you guys enjoy the video! Please make sure to share your thoughts with Rinry in the comments below! Direct link here

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GoNintendo ‘End of Day’ thoughts - Rinry takes us through the history of video game boxart

Don’t you get tired of hearing the same PR spin on every game announcement? The press releases are filled with tons of buzz-words…terms that won’t stick with the industry for more than a few months. Then when you try to get a developer interview, they spout the same type of nonsensical rhetoric. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to hear game developers speak to us like we are people, instead of mindless consumers? Article here

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Ditch The Script — The Art Of Developer PR

I’ve noticed an up-tick in traffic lately. I’m guessing this has a little something to do with E3 coming up! I’d just like to send out a warm ‘Hello!’ to all those that are visiting the site, but don’t come around all that often. Thanks very much for stopping by. I hope we can offer you plenty of reasons to stick around! Of course, I have to tip my hat to the regular readers of GoNintendo as well. It’s always a pleasure to see you guys hanging around! The pleasure is all mine. And with that note, I am off to bed! I’ll see you guys in just a few, short hours. We made it to Friday, gang! Get ready for some rest and relaxation! Yesterday, as I showed you guys, was my first chance to check out Personal Trainer: Walking. I set the game and pedometer up, and then tried the software out while making a quick trip out to the mall. Hopefully that post helped explain the basic idea of Personal Trainer: Walking. Today I actually got to try out the pedometer/software alongside the daily walk I started doing this past Monday. As promised, I took pictures of the walk to prove that I really did head out and about, pedometer in pocket. Here’s where it all begins… Top of the hill and around the first bend.

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GoNintendo ‘End of Day’ thoughts - My first real day with Personal Trainer: Walking

This is not a confirmation of functionality, but Capcom is considering it… “We are taking a look at Wii MotionPlus right now. We have some ideas of what we’d like to do with it. At the very least, we know how we could enhance the core combat system that is well-designed around the regular Wii motion right now and we’re looking at some things that we could unlock that would be specifically designed around Wii MotionPlus.” - Daryl Allison, Senior Producer over at Capcom Doesn’t sound like it could hurt to include the functionality, so why not go for it?! Link

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Capcom elaborates on what Wii MotionPlus integration for Spyborgs could mean

Nintendo Wii - Japanese Wii no Ma Channel Walkthrough WarioWare Myself - Japanese Banhammer Creation Gameplay

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GameTrailers updates

Just letting you guys know, we’ll be doing a Friday podcast at around 6:00 PM EST. Hope to see you guys in the IRC/watching the show live! On that note, I’m off to bed. I’ll catch you all in a few, short hours. Namco Bandai took me/us under their wing this past Tuesday night to both announce and show off quite a few games. While none of them support the Nintendo handhelds, their Wii support was pretty strong, covering quite a few bases around the system’s demographics with five retail titles. I’ll keep the pagination to a minimum, as well as my lame one-sided banter. Hope you enjoy.. feel free to ask any questions in the comments; I’ll do my best to answer what I can! —cortjezter Klonoa The Munchables We Cheer 2 The Food Network: Cook or Be Cooked Active Life: Extreme Challenge Klonoa I’ve always been a huge fan of platformers, although the third dimension hasn’t always been kind to the genre, and in some ways has probably a major component of its decline. That’s why Klonoa ’s approach always felt very appropriate, using rails and intersecting two-dimensional planes to make clever use of the third dimension’s depth. I got to play Klonoa in its Japanese form at Namco Bandai’s TGS booth (proof) when it had the subtitle “Door to Phantomile”, a name which was smartly truncated for its US release because it’s for all practical purposes a ground-up remake of the original Playstation game of the same name. What’s new is that the game has been completely rebuilt with all new enhanced visual elements which really dazzle on the Wii hardware, unlockables such as the Reverse Level mode which contain super-difficult, expert player bonus levels, and more. The game also includes the original Phantomile language present from the original PSone version. Feed me, Seymour! The first hands on experience at TGS included one of the first levels (mountain) and its boss fight, complete with narrative in Japanese. This time, I went hands on with one of the later levels (jungle/treetop) and the English story. The Wii motion controls are responsive and intuitive, but if that’s not your bag, snag your Gamecube, Classic or simple Wiimote NES-style controller for a more traditional experience. I never got to play much of the original PSone version for comparison, but taking control of Klonoa on screen feels a bit floaty, arguably appropriate for a hand-tastic ear-winged Animaniac . Not enough to ruin the experience by any means, but landing jumps on small ledges does get a little tricky; I couldn’t imagine things working at all without the rails. It’s a beautiful game with a lot to offer players of all experience levels; releases next week here in the US, so check it out!

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GoNintendo ‘EoD Thoughts’: Cort’s Namco Bandai Editor’s Day impressions

Cort’s got quite the treat for you today. We have the pleasure of seeing a ’second opinion’ on Rhythm Heaven, and Cort comes to a bit of a different conclusion than I did. Please don’t attack him in the comments too badly! You enjoy his article while I slip off to bed. See you all in a few, short hours. —RMC Thanks, RMC. So the other day RMC posted his review of Rhythm Heaven for the DS, presumably the copy from Iwata’s post-keynote GDC ‘09 giveaway extravaganza. I also grabbed one on my way out, totally jazzed because money is tight for me since moving to Cali, and I’d otherwise have no chance to get my hands on it. The gist of his review: excellent . I’ve had some time to dig in, and while I can agree it’s a great concept and game have a pretty different perspective on the it overall. Don’t worry, I’m not going to bash it or sensationalise coverage for page views, because aside from this freebie handout, I get zilch from Nintendo or compensation from this site, so there’s really no incentive other than being completely honest, which you deserve regardless. Anyway, as I was saying, being one of the lucky jerks who scored a gift copy from the post-keynote stampede, I couldn’t wait to crack it open, give it a whirl and share my experience. That was why Iwata wanted to give them out, so we could evangelise the game and help it be as successful as the Japanese release. So here’s my evangelism: From the moment I popped this wafer into the backside of my DS, my mouth was climbing Mt. Smirk and my eyes beaming with delight. The bleeps, bloops, chirps and sprites are as a whole more than the sum of their parts. It’s such a charming game. The first couple levels cemented that delight by exploring a wild new universe revolving around rhythm; each level a solar system of 4 levels with a mashup remix at its centre. The remix is a brilliant concept and elegant solution for a “boss” in a game like this. The only catch is that for most levels (but expecially the remixes) it’s a bit like racecar driving: you will never excel at a track the first time. It’s only after you’ve run a few laps to memorise its details and anticipate certain parts like so much Jedi foresight that earning Superb or Perfect medals will be within reach. Speaking of which, it took me about 8-10 attempts to score my medal on the first remix. Being the OCD gamer that I am, that meant simply passing with an OK wouldn’t suffice. That only took me two tries, so the actual skill difficulty is completely acceptable. But what happened immediately after that remix completely changed me, and my opinion of the game. It’s also where my opinion and RMC will differ on one major point: controls. As anyone who’s played the game will know, the first game after that remix is Ping Pong . What can only be described as Rhythm Hell is the experience I had. Why? After a solid 60 tries, I was nowhere near accomplishing even a passing OK rating. So stepping back and pausing for a few days to contemplate the culprit, it came down to one realisation: the “flick”, while admittedly easy to learn, is simply insufficient and for all practical purposes in a rhythm game like this, fundamentally broken as-is. Let me explain. Every ounce of this game relies on extremely precise timing. So much so that it actually amplifies the imperfections of the human body. Rhythm is a concept of science, based on numbers and math; things machines and software can do with great precision, but that we can only approximate with our faulty internal mechanisms. Compound that with a mechanic like the flick which is very vague: press, hold, and slide the stylus in an unspecified direction for an unspecified distance at an unspecified speed. Doesn’t quite add up to the definition of accuracy if you ask me. So we’re left with a game expecting robotic exactness from a wholly imperfect source using an equally imprecise method. Love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. Kill me now.

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GoNintendo ‘EoD Thoughts’ - Cort’s Rhythm Heaven (DS) Second Opinion coverage