A Nice Surprise!

Christmas day, we drove up to Santa Barbara to be with my family and exchange gifts. We had already spent Christmas Eve with my wife's fam, and I scored some great gifts, but none game related...

So, my brother Brian, who is a gamer, got me something unexpected and also really fun! I opened up his gift to find *drumroll, please* Rampage: Total Destruction for Wii!

Now, I hadn't planned on purchasing Rampage, as it was poorly reviewed (across the board) and my play impressions of the Gamecube version were not good. I am, however, a gracious gift receiver and thanked my brother sincerely for the gift.

The next day, I popped it in, to give it the old college try, and was very pleasantly surprised! While the visuals are nothing to jump up and down over, and the gameplay is very straightforward (it is Rampage, after all), I found myself truly enjoying the silly fun it offered! The addition of motion controls to a crazy arcade brawler of this kind breathes new life into it! I especially like swinging the remote downward to smash both fists into the ground... very satisfying.

Add the fact that the game offers multiplayer for four, over 40 selectable monsters (I like the shark/man) and both the original Rampage and Rampage: World Tour to play, and you've got a pretty cool little package, albeit not "triple A" material.

Again, no depth whatsoever, but who's looking for it? If you can find this one used or on sale, and you just want some mindless goofiness, give it a shot!

Wii: The Goodness Keeps On Coming!

I was away yesterday, enjoying the Happiest Place On Earth... I wondered, somewhere between Tomorrowland and Frontierland, what a Nintendo theme park would be like. Not the "Nintendo Amusement Park" some folks have seen on the net, but a true, Nintendo sponsored park, with all the quality and trappings that the Big N could bring...

I digress. Some great things have come to pass concerning Wii this week, as well as on the DS. I don't have time to write about them in detail, so here's a quick list:

1. Wii forecast channel can affect gameplay; first example? Madden NFL 2007. I guess the folks at EA Tiburon knew this was coming, so they set up Madden to use real weather info in their game, if you prefer! Nice! I wonder what this could mean for games like Animal Crossing....

2. Rumors of Metroid and Mario delays for Wii are apparently unfounded, as NOA president Reggie Fils Aime stated that Metroid Prime 3 would still be released in early 07 and Mario by the end of 07.

3. Rumor has it that we may get a free treat from Nintendo on Christmas day. No one knows exactly what, but speculation is that Super Mario Bros. will be available on the Virtual Console.

4. EGM is reporting a rumor (grain of salt) that Namco/Bandai will be bringing new Katamari Damacy games to all next gen platforms, including a unique version for Wii! If you've never played Katamari Damacy, you owe yourself a shot at this quirky, fun title. I got hooked back when I owned a PS2, and I've always regretted that the game didn't come for Cube...

5. Square Enix continues to show love to Nintendo; Dragonquest IX will appear ONLY on Nintendo DS. This, alongside the Wii exclusive Dragonquest Swords and DS exclusive It's A Wonderful World (not to mention the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles games for both), would seem to indicate that the third party tide is turning...

6. With the Forecast channel out already, what else can we look forward to in the way of Wii extras? Well, the Opera web browser trial is hitting in just two days, Dec. 22nd! The full version will apparently be available in March, for free until June and for a mere $5 afterward.

Lotsa good stuff! Yahoo!

Weather or not to Wii...

THE BLUE LIGHT IS ON! THE BLUE LIGHT IS ON!

I awoke this morning and walked out into my living room to find the delightful pulsating blue LED light on my Wii glowing... This means I have a message, so I powered up and went to the message board, and, as I suspected, Nintendo informed me that I could perform a system update to receive... (drumroll, please)

THE FORECAST CHANNEL!

That's right, the marvelous Wii Forecast channel is now up and running, just in time for our family trip to Disneyland! I'd write more about it, but we have to get on the road and ride Pirates of the Carribean at least 3 times...

A Pleasant Diversion

I'm not a huge online gamer. That is to say, I'm not very into online games (not that I'm not a giant, obese, fat player of online games. I mean, I'm NOT a fat, obese gamer, but the point is, that is not what I was referring... nevermind).

Despite my lack of fondness for online games, I do occasionally stumble across something that captures my attention like nothing else has before it, and once in a while it is an online game!

Meet flOw. I know it's been around for a while, so forgive me if you've seen it, but I have only recently discovered the joy of playing this little school project, and it is sublime. flOw casts you as a strange creature, swimming in what could be an ocean, or just as easily the atmospheres of an alien planet. You simply move the mouse to direct the creature, and you eat other creatures to grow. You descend to deeper levels by eating the red marker, or ascend by eating the blue one. As you descend, sometimes you encounter other creatures that also try to eat you...

Anyhow, it's definitely worth a try. Click the link on my sidebar to give flOw a whirl...

The Triple "R" Threat

Once again, I find myself LOVING a game that has received mixed reviews from many members of the press! Rayman Raving Rabbids might be quirky, shallow and (more significantly, it seems) not a platformer, but it is FUN!

Seriously, I didn't think anything was going to supercede Wii Sports in terms of getting me up off of the couch and making me move, but RRR did it. If you don't know, Raving Rabbids is essentially a mini-game collection, loosely built around a simple Gladiator style story. Rayman is captured by the Rabbids (bunnies), who have plotted world domination for a long time, and he is forced to participate in all kinds of weird contests a la Gladiator.

You find Rayman locked in a cell at the games' beginning, and you can choose to go out and participate in the challenges by approaching the cell door. Each arena level has four challenges, represented by gates, and one giant gate that leads to a "boss" challenge and the next arena level. Only three of the regular challenges need be completed to advance, but succeeding at all four will win you new costumes and music tracks, which can be played in your cell.

Some of the challenges get repeated, like the point and shoot game (remeniscent of Time Crisis or Area 51, but funny) or the dancing game, but they are altered enough to keep things interesting. The shooting game, for example, changes venues, from an old west town to a tropical beach resort, there are several different environments to play in.

The best thing about this game, I would say, is the unique uses of the wiimote and the HILARIOUS behavior of the Rabbids. There is a multiplayer mode, which mostly involves turn-based play through the challenges (there are a few that are simultaneous multiplayer), offering versus, score co-op and timed co-op.

If you enjoy a game that is just plain old fun and especially if you have new gamers or kids in the house, pick this one up!

Steeling Third

I have posted concerning two of my game purchases at Wii launch, but what of the third? What of Ubisoft's controversial FPS, Red Steel?

Truth be told, I wavered a bit during the months leading up to Wii Day where this one is concerned. Early images, videos and reports made me thirsty for this title, because of the sheer level of style and also many control innovations brought to the game.

Then, the Game Developers Conference and E3 hit last Spring, and the press pretty much panned (sorry for the aliteration) the game, citing poor controls and somewhat sketchy graphics. I removed Red Steel from my pre-order list, but some lingering hope remained, as Ubisoft promised that they were still tweaking the controls.

As launch day drew near, reports of a near-final build came out, and the press renewed my hope that Red Steel would be a worthwhile purchase. Ubisoft had indeed re-worked the control scheme, to better represent sword movement and to offer three levels of aim sensetivity. I promptly put the $5 deposit back down to own the game at launch.

Now that I own the game and am playing through it, I am happy to report that I feel my hope was justified. I know that some members of the media have continued to decry this game as 'broken' and 'unfinished', but I just cannot agree. Even some of my friends, who tried the game out without a purchase, told me they were disappointed, but I have truly found it enjoyable, engaging and well-designed, for the most part.

Here is the breakdown:

1. Style - Red Steel is oozing style. The visual presentation of the game, from the menus to the in-game graphics, speak Japanese Action Movie. Ubisoft stated early on that they would set out to make this game from the viewpoint of the "Gaijin", the outsider, as they view Japanese culture, and I think they have succeeded. The whole concept of the Yakuza is foreign to us Westerners, and this is well illustrated by the story. Although there isn't tremendous depth in the plot or the characters, this is an action game, not an RPG, so I have no complaints. The greatest use of style, I think, is in the environments. While not the most interactive or destructible, many of the areas you encounter are beautifully designed and make excellent use of lighting, texture and color.


2. Play - Though there have been gripes about the control scheme in Red Steel, I have to give Ubisoft props; they took a huge risk and developed an original game for Wii launch, using a control scheme that is new and untested by the masses. That is no small feat, and the benefits are already evident, as they are releasing their second Wii FPS this week, Far Cry: Vengeance. Early reports are that Vengeance improves dramatically on Red Steel's controls, so as an excersize in development, Red Steel is already a success. Most players will need a few minutes playtime to get adjusted to Red Steel's controls. Sometimes the aim will go a bit buggy, and your character will spin in place if you accidentally aim off screen. This is an oversight, but not so vast that it detracts from the game experience. Aside from this, I find the FPS control to be very responsive and sensetive. The sword control, however, needs a bit more work. When fighting a Yakuza, I have no trouble at all parrying attacks with my short sword (unlike many members of the press, apparently), but I did have trouble early on with the long sword. I did check out an option to change the sword control from long strokes to short ones, and I have done much better since.


3. Versus - On Thanksgiving I had the chance to try 4 player versus out, as my brother had brought two more Wiimote/Nunchuck combos with him. The verdict was a bit divided, as the other guys playing had never laid hands on Red Steel before. Some were aiming wildly all over the place, others were struggling with strafing and turning. We played several matches, and when everyone was finally getting used to the control, it started to get fun. I read one comment in a review that the multiplayer is reminiscent of Goldeneye 64, and I have to agree, except without the bad framerate, and no bots. There are fun character choices, decent level design and just overall mayhem. The thing that stands out the most to me is "Killer" mode. This is the unique mode in Red Steel where your remote rings like a phone and you receive a unique objective. I didn't know that everyone's remote would ring, and that it would continue several times throughout the match! This makes for a pretty cool new way to play, although I think it does need some work.

So, there you have it; Red Steel isn't my favorite game on Wii, but I still recommend it to anyone who wants a decent FPS with a fun multiplayer mode. Controls are somewhat on the rough side, but I can forgive that in a first-gen launch title. I think FPS will only get better from here on out...