Derek and I are taking the week off for an underserved vacation, folks. In the meantime, relive the past with our monumental anniversary episode, featuring an awesome mashup of our first 100 shows.
Then stay tuned for next week’s all new episode—there’s a lot we need to talk about it.
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This week’s edition of Nintentunes has heavy dose of RPG, perhaps in anticipation of the arrival of my import copy of Xenoblade. This may also be the reason why a game that has never seen the light of day outside of Japan is featured as well. Charlie Sheen also makes a cameo this week so what are you waiting for? Head past the br… was that the doorbell!?
Do you remember the first time you experienced the N64 Rumble Pak? In 1997 I walked into EB Games to find the manager demonstrating his imported Starfox 64 (due in the States two months later). I joined the line of customers eager to give it a whirl, and soon found myself flying over Corneria and grinning as the controller shook, buzzed and rattled with every hit. The effect was great fun, and the store sold a lot of pre-orders that day.
The Rumble Pak (included with Starfox 64) changed the course of console controller design for both Nintendo and its rivals. Many N64 games supported the add-on, but I only recall three titles in which the rumble effect added a huge amount of impact to the gameplay: Top Gear Rally, 1080 Snowboarding, and–of course–Starfox 64. In each case, the tactile element–wheels on gravel, different snow types, a ship on the verge of destruction–played a major part in the experience and actually gave you constant useful feedback. (more…)
When booting up the Nintendo Wii, it is a given that you won’t be getting HD visuals and huge polygon counts when compared to other gaming machines on the market. These limitations breed innovation, however, and this is shown of magnificently with Rayman Origins for Wii and 3DS.
The hand-drawn art direction that Ubisoft has taken for Rayman Origins looks rather fantastic when running on Nintendo’s little white box. Although the title will also be released on the Xbox 360 and PS3, thanks to what Ubisoft is dubbing the UbiArt Framework, the game should be a sight for sore eyes. The UbiArt Framework allows developers to take advantage of tools that allow their hand-drawn sketches to be easily added to an interactive environment. This gives the artists and designers the freedom to focus on the art rather than the technical side of game development.
I am very much excited for the prospect of playing another New Super Mario Bros.-esque title, especially one that looks as beautiful as Rayman Origins. The game is scheduled for release on November 15 in North America. Now the only remaining problem is deciding whether to pick the title up for 3DS or Wii, and finding time to play it amongst other high profile releases.
Back in June, Nintedo announced that the eShop would receive a free release to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Zelda franchise. That title is Link’s first multiplier adventure The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, the GBA add-on to The Link to the Past. DSi and 3DS owners everywhere can download the game free of charge this September.
The game is not expected to have any stereoscopic 3D support as it is launching under the DSiWare brand, and although it has not been confirmed, don’t count on the title having any online support either. I suppose you can’t complain about free though, can you?
The GBA Four Swords title was not quite as lengthy or evolved as the full retail version released on the Gamcube, but it could certainly make a long bus trip enjoyable. Either that or you may just loose a friendship because your buddy likes nothing better than to throw you in the lava. Over and over.
No concrete date has been established, but the first Thursday of September just happens to be September 1st. Here’s hoping!
I understand this has been floating around message boards for a while, but I still chuckled upon seeing it.
Have a great weekend, everyone.
Right now the internet’s buzzing about Namco Bandai’s upcoming 3DS fighter Tekken 3D Prime Edition. No release date yet, but most talk centers around the company’s decision to include its recent feature film Tekken: Blood Vengeance on the cartridge in full 3D.
As a guy who enjoys Tekken and loves 3D movies (well, good movies that happen to be in 3D), I’m suddenly interested in this title. I’ve been hoping for 3D feature films on 3DS, and it looks like Tekken may very well be the first.
But, readers, I’d like to know your thoughts on this: Has it made the game more attractive to you? Were you planning on buying it anyway? Isn’t it weird seeing Tekken finally coming to Nintendo again? And–a really important point–has anyone here actually seen Tekken: Blood Vengeance? It would certainly help if the movie was actually good.
Of course, it’ll be nice if the game’s great.
Nintendo just announced it today via press release, calling it “the biggest game in the series yet.” I call it one last hoorah for Wii. UPDATE: !!!!
Eurogamer is reporting that the Nintendo Wii is about to get a face lift this holiday season. In what is most likely a cost cutting measure, the new Wii will no longer have Gamecube support and will not have ports for Gamecube controllers and memory cards. The redesigned Wii will be designed to lay flat as apposed to standing up straight (which is already possible with the current Wii) and will include Wii Sports and Wii Play.
No word on a release date for the downgraded updated console or whether it will release outside of Europe. Expect more details about pricing and when the bundle will be available for purchase in the coming weeks.
