6 million ways to die, choose one! Tenchu 4 video walk-through

Okay, so the video is in all Japanese, but you don’t have to be a genius to see that Aquire is definitely going a completely different route with the overall gameplay style for the aging series. It pretty much looks like a much improved revamp of the gameplay mechanics and looks to offer an experience that set itself apart from the previous titles as well as other hack and slash games out there. Everything from blowing out candles to delivering some serious blows to ones “pacakage”, Tenchu 4 looks to introduce gamers to a slew of ways to take down your opponents all the while keeping your stealthy stride. Whats seen in the video looks really good, painful and funny( swift kick to the nuts is priceless). What also looks pretty tight is the ability to quickly attack an enemy who is drawing a sword thus eliminating the need to have to fight. And there appears to be some form of first person sword combat as well which looks sort of turn based between you and your opponent. Take a look at the around 8 minute video and I think you would agree that it’s safe to say this new entry is doing a good job of trying to revamp the series and the Ninja stealth action in a way that separates itself from the usual hack and slash fair.

No Wii Can’t: The lack of games for Nintendo Wii

No Wii Can’t

What’s going on with the Nintendo Wii? Not since the original Nintendo Entertainment system has the company had a console that could be considered the ultimate Trojan horse. Everyone’s got one. EVERYONE HAS A WII. Which defies all logic because it keeps selling hand over fist. Then why is Nintendo happy not enforcing that they are the ultimate in videogame entertainment?

My partners here at TrueGameHeadz love to refer to Nintendo as printing money. Which quite frankly they can. The Nintendo DS and Wii are runaway financial successes for the company, but at what cost? They have all but squandered an opportunity to introduce “revolutionary” games to match their revolutionary control scheme.

Take a look at the now hundreds of title strong (soft) library of Wii games. You’ll notice what should be quite alarming. They have 6 titles that would be considered above a reviewed 9 rating and two of them are Game Cube ports, 3 of them are simple sequels and only 1 is a true revolutionary experience. Those titles are, Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess (GC), Resident Evil 4 (GC), Metroid Prime 3 (sequel), Super Smash Brothers (sequel), Mario Kart Wii (sequel) and the only revolutionary title Super Mario Galaxy.

If that aint enough for you, they’ve also announced that they aren’t releasing any new games outside of Animal Crossing this year!

But yet the system keeps selling. How do you explain it? The much talked about Virtual Console pre-launch has now come to “full realization”. We have numerous re-thread classics that we can go back and play if we’ve not already experienced on other consoles. But wait! Didn’t you hear about the vaunted Wii Ware lineup of games that would round out the experience? My either.

There are 24 WiiWare titles and can only be described as time wasters. The one with promise Lost Winds was a really nice experience that had people saying screw Lil Big Planet. But for realz has this new offering of games not been a let down?

People are quick to point out that XBOX Live Arcade didn’t have anything worth its salt when it launched. Which was true 3yrs ago! But in it’s formative years it had, Geometry Wars, Cloning Clyde, Small Arms, Assault Heroes, Alien Hominid, Pac Man Championship edition, Prince of Persia Classic (Which is how you should re-release a game) and not to mention the string of hits that has been coming since Jun 07.

While we are on the subject of online connectivity. Let’s talk about Nintendo’s still reluctant commitment to online. I get it that they want people to play with each other in the same living room. But that’s just not feasible in this day and age, where most people have moved to outlying places and just don’t have sleepovers anymore

Why is it that I have to wait 15mins and keep trying over and over to get a fight in Super Smash Bros? Oh yeah that’s right it’s one of the few games online and everyone is playing it at the same time.

I was one of those gamers who got the Wii on day one in 2006, thinking about the promise that this new control scheme would bring. Who knew the pack-in Wii Sports title would be the pinnacle of what it could be? Nintendo continues to frustrate 3rd party developers by with holding things that they would like to use to make better games. First Mii support (remember them) and then most recently the peripheral that allows for greater 1 to 1 support for games such as the upcoming Star Wars Lightsaber Duels.  But I digress.

For a company that has so much history and innovation I for one wish that it would stand up and deliver. I grew up playing memorable games on the NES and sometimes I wish that they would create a new era of games and not rely so heavily on their re-threads. Give me a new lead character; I don’t want another Mario game right now. Give me a new adventurer; I’m tired of saving Zelda. Is that too much to ask?

But when sales start slowing you know what will happen right? No that’s not when we’ll get great new titles. We’ll start getting bundles of old games with… yep you guessed it, Candy Colored Wii’s!

Viva La Revolucion!!! - DaveDaGamer

New House of the Dead announced!

Not to long ago Sega released a port of the classic arcade light gun shooter The House of the Dead 2&3 for the wii. They were great ports and showed that they still held up today with it’s over the top cheesy  dialogue and fun game play. Well Sega looks to take us way back to the early days of Agent G in this new installment of the the series. Entitled House of the Dead: Overkill, players will once again take on the role of Agent G (in his early rookie days) and new comer Detective Washington. What sets this apart from the other series is it’s over the top B-movie look and feel. It’s like those cheesy grind house flicks of the 70’s and im lovin’ every bit of it!. Peep the official press release and trailer below. You’ll def’ chuckle at the cool ass trailer and what has become my new favorite tagline for a videogame…”They’ve come for brains…you’ll give them bullets”.

Unit out…

THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD: OVERKILL BRINGS
PULP HORROR ACTION EXCLUSIVELY TO THE WII

They’ve come for brains, you’ll give them bullets!

SAN FRANCISCO & LEIPZIG (August 19, 2008) – SEGA® of America, Inc. and SEGA® Europe Ltd. today announced The House of the Dead: OVERKILL™, an all-new pulp horror reinvention of the classic SEGA light gun shooter franchise. Created by London-based studio Headstrong Games, The House of the Dead: OVERKILL takes gamers back to the beginning of the classic horror series. Available exclusively on the Wii™ home video game system and announced to coincide with the Games Convention at Leipzig, The House of the Dead: OVERKILL will be presented live by developer Headstrong Games for specially invited members of the press in SEGA’s business center suite.

The House of the Dead: OVERKILL uncovers the ugly, terrifying, bloody secrets behind The House Of The Dead, the daddy of all over-the-top light gun shooters. Staying true to the classic gameplay, the hugely successful SEGA light-gun series is reloaded with a new “grindhouse” look, a distinctive graphic style, retro music and a bold attitude that delivers a refreshing and riveting The House of the Dead experience. The adrenaline pumping action is amplified with new melee moves based on movements using the Wii Remote™, players will fight off zombies that get too close with pistol-whipping and shotgun-butting attacks that will knock jaws off and smash in zombie skulls.

“We wanted to do something really different with The House of the Dead: OVERKILL,” commented Bradley Crooks, Studio Head at Headstrong Games. “With SEGA, we’ve been able to create a fresh look for the franchise. I think you’ll agree it’s like nothing you’ve seen before on Wii.”

“The refreshing new visual style, bold art direction and visceral gameplay of The House Of Dead: OVERKILL truly makes it standout on the Wii,” says Sean Ratcliffe, Vice President of Marketing for SEGA of America, Inc. “SEGA is committed to delivering unique gameplay experiences and The House of the Dead: OVERKILL certainly qualifies as one of our most innovative SEGA games coming to the Wii.”

The House of the Dead: OVERKILL takes place as Special Agent G – the hero of The House Of The Dead series – is given his first assignment fresh out of the AMS academy. Teamed up with hard-boiled Detective Washington, they are sent to investigate stories of mysterious disappearances in small-town Louisiana. Little do they know what blood-soaked mutant depravity awaits them in the streets and swamps of Bayou City…

The House of the Dead: OVERKILL will be released in early 2009, exclusively for the Wii™.

Preview Impressions: Shaun White Snowboading (Wii and 360)

Shaun White looked great onstage at Nintendo’s E3 press conference showing off his upcoming game for the Wii, but just because the red-headed pro snowboarder looked good on stage, doesn’t mean that the game was necessarily good. Fortunately for the gamers out there who love a good snowboarding game (and haven’t had a good one to play for quite some time now) there is a bit of hope in “Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip” for the Wii. I recently had a chance to spend a bit of time with my feet on the Wii version and my hands on the Xbox 360 version, and you might be surprised which one I actually preferred.

I was able to play two different modes of the Wii version of the game; once down the mountain in a timed race, and a couple trick-heavy trips through the half-pipe. All the runs were completed with my feet on the balance board controlling my speed, direction, and balance control. I also had the Wiimote in my hand to control grabs and a trick-triggered power boost.

Ubisoft Montreal is doing their best to make the Wii version more accessible for the whole family, and because of that making my way down the hill was easy, and intuitive - lean forward to go faster, and lean back to slow down. Pulling off tricks was just as easy with a simple shift of weight midair to either the front or the back to perform an assortment of moves, and if you wanted to hot dog it a little more, hold down the A and B buttons to throw in a little extra flare. Fortunately, the controls are a bit forgiving and natural feeling, which means that even on your first run down the mountain you won’t be crashing into the walls (too much). [Read more]

Wii devs….look long and hard at this!

Okay devs, this buds for you. Take a long and hard look at this video from AiLive that pretty much shows how game design with motion control is pretty much limited by your imagination. In this pretty impressive tech demo, we get a glimps at the wonders of 1:1 ratio motion contol now offered by the Wii motion plus add-on. In particular the sword demo in which the demonstrator shows how easily an fps sword game could be handle. Simply put, it looks pretty damn good and the fact that they even use a light saber in the demo is proof enough that everyone wants a Star Wars game in which you wield the famed blade. Thanks to the blessing that is youtube, I present the video for your viewing pleasure!

New Tenchu 4 trailer…ninjas ARE cool!

If there is any thing this new trailer proves is that you’ll feel sorry for the way some of the enemies get killed in the game. I mean damn, it really must have sucked back in the day to get offed by a ninja. Not only wouldn’t you know who killed you, but you also would have died a painful way. It’s good thing this is just a videogame and ninjas don’t really exists anymore today. Come to think of it, maybe the world would be a better place if ninjas were around to take care of all the knuckleheads! Enjoy the vid.

Wii motion plus explained…

Confused as to what the new addition to wii-mote actually does? Well the fine folks over at Inven Sense have put together a pretty informative video which shows off the technology behind the tech. The video does a decent if rather boring job of breaking down all the workings of the new add on as well as bring to light some of the Wii-motes shortcomings. As it stands now, Nintendo is currently making the decision to incorporate the tech into wii-motes as opposed to selling it as an add on. Check out the video and try not to fall asleep!

Watch me!

Wario Land : Shake it! direct feed gameplay footage!

Now who says 2-d is dead! Anyone who thinks so should take a look at gameplay footage from the recently released(in japan), Wario Land: Shake it! The game sports some slick hand drawn backgrounds with traditional hand drawn animated characters(by Production IG of Ninja Scroll fame). The controls for the game are played with the wii-mote held old school style. The motions come into play whenever you grab an object, you can shake the remote which causes Wario to shake what ever he is holding. You also have the ability to tilt the controller while holding an object to direct where you toss it. It’s relatively simple stuff, but adds a little flavor to the classic gameplay. Peep the video and don’t fret as the game will launch here in the US in September!

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Fatal Frame 4 has the scares intact!

Fresh and crispy new trailer from the new entry into the horror series that is guaranteed to scare the sh!t out of you! And this one looks to be no exception. Enjoy!

Dead Rising….rising on the Wii!

Chalk this up as news outside of everything E3. The first official next-gen success, Dead Rising is making it’s way onto the Wii as revealed in the latest issue of Famitsu magazine. So far the games looks to be a port of the 360 version with the addition of wii-mote and nunchuk enabled controls. From the screen shots in the scans, the controls look to be identical to what was created for Resident Evil 4 Wii edition. And seeing how that title easily broke the coveted million benchmark on the Wii faster than it did when released on the Game Cube, Capcom obviously took note and decided to bring it’s next zombie success over to the Wii.

I for one thought the game was pretty good for an Xbox 360 launch title and a new zombie game from Capcom. But the one thing that turned me off was it’s broken save system. It made the game un playable at times and kept me from going back. Hopefully Capcom took note of that as the community flooded them with complaints of the save system. There is a screen of the save menu located in the scan and hopefully that means they are addressing that previous issue. Also from the looks,it does a fine job of keeping up with it’s next-gen brother even though the game is about 2 years old.

For those who aren’t familiar with the Dead Rising, you play as a freelance photographer sent to a town in nowhere middle America and end up being trapped inside a mall surrounded by zombies ala John Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. The game included a pretty good level up system in which you read magazine to acquire different skills and improve your stats. Also a big mechanic in the game was the fact that you could use literally anything as a weapon. From flower pots to frisbees. If you saw it, you could use it.

Anyone that’s a fan of the survival horror genre or zombies in general would have a blast with this game and it makes a welcomed edition to the Wii’s mature library. As always, we’ll have more info on the game as it is released here in the states. In the meantime, enjoy the scans!

E3 2008 - It is indeed a MADWORLD (new trailer)

Well, I think, one thing is pretty evident from this trailer, MADWORLD game is VIOLENT AS HELL! We all thought No More Heroes took violence to a new level right? Sorry Travis, but a new bar is about to be set! After seeing Nintendo’s “casual” focus of the press conference, this game stood out like a hot girl in a dive bar. This time around the trailer sheds more light on the game and puts things into perspective. As speculated before, MadWorld’s premise seems that of a sick and twisted game in the vein of the old Arnie flick, “The Running Man” in which a contestant must win by not dying pace is set! Thankfully, unlike that old flick, our hero looks to be equipped with some bad ass weapons (arm chainsaw anyone?) and the ability to use the environment to dispose of attackers.

MadWorld will be the debut title from the newly formed studio, Platinum Games which is composed of ex Capcom vets. I think it’s safe to say the title is in good hands. From it’s over the top violence and unique black and white graphical style, this is shaping up to be something just a bit more than the usual senseless violent games out already on the market. If they can nail down a story that is crazy yet awesome as No More Heroes, these guy will have a sure fire cult hit on their hands and will make a great new entry into Wii’s mature title library. I hope we can all look forward to more games that take a unique and some what twisted approach to gameplay and visuals.

E3 2008 - The Conduit video walk through….

Fresh off of E3 comes new gameplay video of The Conduit. After seeing this footage, I’d like to know why Nintendo chose not to show this during their E3 stage press conference. Either way, this game is looking pretty damn good and proof that the little white console that could, can indeed spit out some pretty visuals that dosen’t involve cartoons and bright colors. Take a look at what High Voltage studios hopes will be the difinitivie fps experience on the Wii. I know I can’t wait to experience it as it looks like a cool throwback to the Rare gem, Perfect Dark!

Nintendo Unveils a New Add-on for the Wiimote

Nintendo’s upcoming Wii MotionPlus accessory for the revolutionary Wii Remote controller again redefines game control. The MotionPlus will allow you to more quickly, and accurately, reflect motion in a 3-D space. The Wii MotionPlus accessory attaches to the end of the Wii Remote, and, combined with the accelerometer and the sensor bar, allows for more comprehensive tracking of a player’s arm position and orientation.  This provides players with an unmatched level of precision and immersion. Every slight movement players make with their wrist or arm is rendered identically in real time on the screen, providing a true 1:1 response in their game play. The Wii MotionPlus accessory reconfirms Nintendo’s commitment to making games intuitive and accessible for everyone. Nintendo will reveal more details about the Wii MotionPlus accessory and other topics Tuesday morning at its E3 media briefing.

Activision to Start Releasing WII 1st Exclusives

The new consumer initiative will see a number of WII 1ST titles hit stores in time for the holiday season, including Little League World Series 2008, Rapala Fishing Frenzy and Dancing with the Stars: Get Your Dance On.

All of the games included in the new range, which will be supported by a national television and print advertising campaign launching this fall, will feature Wee 1ST branding on the front of boxes and at retail locations.

“The Wii is introducing new audiences to gaming,” said Dave Oxford of Activision Publishing.

“Clearly, the Wii’s accessible controls are changing how the audience plays games and how we look at game design. This initiative is designed to showcase games that take full advantage of the Wii’s capabilities.”

Activision said its move to expand its Wii portfolio has been in the works for more than a year, and that further titles to fall under the Wee 1ST brand will be announced in the coming weeks.

In a similar move, EA Sports recently unveiled its All-Play brand of titles being developed specifically for Nintendo’s mass-market friendly system.

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