Some Wii news from 1up:
It’s both a good and bad day to be a Dragon Age fan. Within hours, EA has announced a new expansion for the game, and unexpectedly delayed downloadable content that was due out today. The Awakening expansion rumor we reported is apparently true, and in this case the speculation was pretty spot-on. Awakening will be coming for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on March 16 for $40. It features a new territory and enemies, and allows you to use your current character or begin with a new Gray Warden character. It will also raise the level cap and introduce some new abilities, so the ability to re-spec your character is available too. Since it takes place after the events of Dragon Age: Origins, the plot seems to revolve around rebuilding and learning more about the Darkspawn.
Unfortunately, this follows right on the heels of a late-night announcement on the BioWare forums. The Return to Ostagar DLC, which was due to come out today for PC and Xbox Live, was delayed at the 11th hour for unknown reasons. “We’re sorry but the planned Return to Ostagar downloadable content scheduled to launch on January 5th has been delayed for all platforms,” wrote BioWare’s Chris Priestly. “We will update you as new information becomes available.” Right now BioWare is being extremely vague on the details, but we’ll let you know when we hear anything.
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Some Wii news from 1up:
Basketball fans who have been requesting an NBA Jam revival are about to get their wish. EA Sports has picked up the classic franchise and will soon announce its official return.
According to ESPN, sources within the publisher have confirmed that the revival will be shipping “exclusively for the Wii,” and that creator Mark Turmell will be involved in some capacity. EA Sports is reportedly bringing in Turmell to consult on NBA Jam as well as work on other upcoming sports games.
The franchise is well-known for its popularity during the 16-bit era, when it was hot in both the arcades and on the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. It was famous not just for its wild brand of 2-on-2 hoops, but for the inclusion of celebrities like Bill Clinton.
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Some Wii news from 1up:
If the box office numbers are any indication, you may be one of the roughly googillion people who have spent three hours in a darkened theater watching Avatar. And you probably didn’t notice that hidden deep in the film was a subtle critique of the sedentary, stereotypical-gamer lifestyle. The New York Times reports that creator James Cameron defended the movie against anti-smoking critics, and in the process revealed the intent behind the message. Actress Sigourney Weaver’s character smokes throughout the film, but only in her human body. “She’s rude, she swears, she drinks, she smokes,” said Cameron, claiming she isn’t meant to be a role model. “From a character perspective, we were showing that Grace doesn’t care about her human body, only her avatar body, which again is a negative comment about people in our real world living too much in their avatars, meaning online and in video games.”
It seems like a fair artistic point, but Cameron runs the risk of alienating a portion of his audience by falling back on tired old stereotypes. To be fair, he mentioned online interactions in general, which implicates services like Facebook and Twitter as well. And if people are spending their time (and money) on his game, we doubt he’d be too quick to say they’re neglecting their bodies.
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WiiNintendo posted:
[Video - IGN]
Gameplay
The game will feature six fields of medicine. Throughout the game, players will have the opportunity to play as a general surgeon, diagnostician, emergency medical technician, orthopedic surgeon, medical examiner, and endoscopy technician.
Characters
- Gabriel Cunningham
A diagnosicist known as the “Master of Deduction”.
- Hank Freebird
A tall and strong Orthopedic Surgeon. A former member of the United States Army’s Special Forces Unit. He grew tired of taking lives and decided to save them by becoming a surgeon.
- Naomi Kimishima
A returning character from “Trauma Center: Second Opinion” and the Medical Examiner of the team. She used to be Caduceus Europe’s surgeon, but it was cut short after she was infected with a somewhat incurable disease. Keeping the past to herself, she now works at the Cumberland Institute of Forensic Medicine. She was hired by the FBI to help solve a series of heinous murders.
- Maria Torres
The team’s paramedic. Her fiery temper and lack of patience caused her to be distance from her co-workers.
- CR-S01
A former death row inmate who acts as the main surgeon. He was sentenced to 250 years in prison for taking part in “The Cumberland Incident,” a biological terror attack that took place at Cumberland College years ago. He suffers amnesia from the attack and cannot remember who he is and if he’s behind the attack. The only thing he remembers is his knowledge of medicine. Seeing his honest grief over the incident, the government gave him the opportunity to work off his sentence by performing complex operations.
- Tomoe Tachibana
A shy surgeon raised in a wealthy japanese family. Dressed in traditional Japanese clothes, she is the team’s Endoscopic Surgeon.
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WiiNintendo posted:
• Use your Wii Remote™ or step on to the Wii Balance Board and use your whole body to get your monkey moving!
• New character, Jam, joins the cast of AiAi, MeeMee, GonGon and Baby for more monkey madness!
• 70 all-new mind-blowing puzzle levels have been created to test your skills.
• Work together with friends in the all-new Co-op Mode and blast away obstacles with the Wii Remote to clear a path for your monkey-rolling teammate on the Wii Balance Board.
• Test your stamina in the new Marathon Mode and try to complete all 7 Worlds in one sitting!
• See how well you can memorize each level…and then attempt them all flipped in Mirror Mode.
• Over 20 addictive multiplayer party games including fan favorites such as Monkey Racing, Red Light Green Light and Monkey Target. Also jump into some fantastic brand-new ones including Sky Diving, Sumo Smash and Firefighter!
• Burn “Monkey Calories” by playing the main game using Wii Balance Board. The more you move your body, the more Monkey Calories you will burn!
• There are dozens of achievements that can be unlocked by collecting bananas and burning Monkey Calories. Can you collect them all?
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WiiNintendo posted:
The game is a mascot kart racing game, very similar to other games in its genre like Mario Kart, Konami Krazy Racers and Crash Team Racing. Characters race through various race circuits themed on different Sega franchises and collect power-ups to boost their speed or hamper their opponents. Additional boost can be earned by successfully executing drift turns, or performing tricks whilst in midair. Like Sumo’s previous Sega game, Sega Superstars Tennis, each character has a special ability (called an “All-Star Move”) unique to them that they may use to their advantage (such as Sonic transforming into Super Sonic and AiAi riding in marbles), which they can obtain if they are running behind in the race.
Vehicles are separated into four different categories: racing, off-road, bike and hovercraft. As the terrain on the tracks will vary, vehicles can be either assisted or hindered by the surfaces they drive upon. For example, racing-type vehicles perform best on hard surfaces such as wood or concrete, but are hampered by soft terrain such as mud, sand or snow. The opposite is true for off-road type vehicles. Hovercraft are not affected by any terrain and are able to perform multiple boosts after a jump, but they are unable to drift and have low acceleration. All of the vehicles also have their own specific engine sounds. How long this lasts depends on their current position.
By playing through the game, players can earn Sega Miles that can be spent in the in-game shop to unlock additional content such as characters, tracks, art and songs.
The game will have customizable multiplayer options for up to four players on split-screen and eight players online, including Free Races and Arena Modes. There will also be a Grand Prix mode and a Mission mode.
Confirmed Characters
* Sonic the Hedgehog
* Miles “Tails” Prower
* Knuckles the Echidna
* Doctor Eggman
* Amy Rose
* Shadow the Hedgehog
* Big the Cat
* AiAi from Super Monkey Ball
* Amigo from Samba de Amigo
* Ryo Hazuki from Shenmue
* Beat from Jet Set Radio
* Alex Kidd from the Alex Kidd series
* Billy Hatcher from Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg
* Zobio and Zobiko, the zombie couple from The House of the Dead EX
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WiiNintendo posted:
Mad Catz® Interactive, Inc. announced the licensed Tatsunoko VS. Capcom Arcade FightStick for the Nintendo Wii expected to ship alongside the US launch of TASUNOKO VS. CAPCOM™: ULTIMATE ALL-STARS in January 2010.
Available for the first time on the Nintendo Wii, the Tatsunoko VS. Capcom Arcade FightStick features a newly developed high-performance Joystick and Action Buttons, alongside striking artwork provided by famous Japanese artist ‘Shinkiro’. Dual-speed Turbo functionality for each button complete with LED Indicators allows gamers to execute moves with lightning speed. The eight-button arcade configuration means that those familiar with arcade fighting games will feel instantly at home. An integrated D-Pad switch allows gamers to alternate between D-Pad and Left or Right Analog Sticks for maximum compatibility, while a locking switch prevents accidental operation of the Home button or Turbo settings, securing uninterrupted play.
Connecting directly to the official or Mad Catz Remotes for Wii, the Tatsunoko VS. Capcom Arcade FightStick does not need to be connected directly to the console, thus providing tether free operation.
The Mad Catz licensed Tatsunoko VS. Capcom Arcade FightStick for the Nintendo Wii video game console is expected to be available across North America mid-to-late January 2010.
[Order for 79$]
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WiiNintendo posted:
Click here to view the embedded video.
Multi-million selling series to make its debut on Wii
Following its recent and highly successful launch in Japan, Capcom, confirmed that Monster Hunter Tri will be released in both Europe and North America for the Wii in early 2010.
Monster Hunter Tri depicts a living, breathing ecosystem where man co-exists with the fantastic beasts that roam both the dry land and the brand new sub-aqua environment – a first for the series.
Living the life of a hunter need never be a solitary experience with the option of split-screen mode where two players can hunt co-operatively or form a team of up to four hunters via the game’s custom online Wi-Fi mode. Even solo players do not have to face Monster Hunter Tri’s challenging quests alone as they will be ably accompanied by Cha-Cha, an AI hunting partner whose skills will prove invaluable. New items, weapons and armour sets will be also available to assist the hunters as they embark on the most epic Monster Hunter adventure to date.
Laurent Fischer, Managing Director, Marketing & PR, Nintendo of Europe, commented
“The popularity of the Monster Hunter franchise in Japan is undeniable and the Day 1 shipment number indicates that the release of Monster Hunter Tri on Wii will be another major hit for the series. We are therefore really excited that Capcom is bringing this title to Europe so the Wii audience here can also experience the thrill of the hunt. “
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WiiNintendo posted:
“I wanted to create a piece that looked like an old animation cel on top of a painted background, just like the old days when they ink and painted on cel acetate. Because of that, I also wanted the style to look like it was from those old 30’s and 40’s Disney and Fleischer cartoons like Steamboat Willie, Popeye, Felix and Betty Boop
[Artist's Site]
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