All Wii Features

Get drunk on Mass Effect (Wii)

May 13, 2008

How do you convince a room full of journos that your games are awesome? Well, you could put in the effort and make damn fine games that even the Pope would like - or you can ply them with booze.

Here, EA does go the extra mile, creating themed cocktails for the headliner games shown at last night’s press event. A few of the games didn’t get their own drinks (and they misspelled Battlefield Heroes), but we always ...

Peripheral Visions (Wii)

May 13, 2008

Rejoice! For many years the zany Nintendo peripheral was a diminishing phenomenon. But no longer. Thanks to the Wii, all manner of weird and wonderful accessories are being released again, while the Virtual Console continues to churn up deep feelings of nostalgia for the games and peripherals of ages past. ...

Banned in Europe (Manhunt 2)

May 13, 2008

Sega Superstars Tennis looked like an innocent enough release. How could a game about Sonic, Ulala and NiGHTS ever risk being banned in Europe? Or so you might think. Welcome to the crazy world of gaming politics, where zombies hug you and countries issue blanket bans ...

The Top 7... games that don't deserve nostalgia (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Virtual Console)

May 12, 2008

You know that heartwarming sensation you get while remembering games of yesteryear? The one that makes you ponder, "Why aren't games this good nowadays?" It's a lie. It's a childhood veil that, once lifted, exposes how shitty some of your favorite games were all along. They didn't just sour with age - they were never that fun, you just put up with them because there was no better alternative.

Metroid, for example, is fairly crap by ...

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World (Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World)

May 9, 2008

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World is the sequal/spin-off to the insanely popular Tales of Symphonia, slated for release sometime in 2008 (maybe September). This far out, publisher Namco Bandai is keeping things close to the vest, but after pleading and begging, Dawn producer Tsutomo Gouda gave up a few goods in our exclusive interview.

GamesRadar: Symphonia didn’t have any of the Pokemon vibe and ...

Pokemusings, week 44 (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

May 8, 2008

Way back in October, we went over some techniques for two-on-two battles. We can't stress the enormous difference between singles' and doubles' strategy. They truly require different mindsets, strategies, and moves. Whether you're playing two on two with a friend in Diamond/Pearl or playing against the AI in Pokemon Battle Revolution, doubles battles can be pretty challenging and lots of fun. This week, we're going over some moves that ...

The twenty thousand dollar videogame (Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess)

May 8, 2008

You see it all the time in eBay game listings. "RARE!!!" Of course, this being the internet, it's usually part of the full listing "GEARS OF WAR FOR XBOX 360 – RARE!!!" but occasionally, it's justified. How many truly 'rare' games are worth the effort of tracking down? Here we take a look at the three different types of retro games and let you know whether they're worth the fuss. ...

Has the Wii really improved anything? (Mario Kart Wii)

May 8, 2008

All of Nintendo's main franchises are now out on the Wii, so it's time to take stock. We compare the new versions with their predecessors to weigh up whether motion control has revolutionised anything at all. ...

Pokemusings, week 43 (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

May 1, 2008

Like any worldwide phenomenon, the Pokemon franchise has its fair share of products that are completely unrelated to its core. As proud owners of Plusle and Minun salt-and-pepper shakers, as well as a Pokemon ramen bowl, we've bought into Pokemon consumerism, quite literally. In addition to everyday knickknacks, there are a slew of Pokemon devices that we'll never get the chance to own. This week's Pokemusings looks at some of these Pokemon ...

Can game journos be TV presenters? (Wii)

May 1, 2008

Writers write stuff. TV presenters present stuff. That’s the way it is and that’s the way it should be. But as the internet grows, writers, particularly in the games industry, are called upon to exchange their keyboard for a microphone and their crafted turns of phrase for a forced smile and freeform, top-of-the-head chatter.

Whether it’s down to cost cutting, a scrabbling for advertising revenue or delusions of ...

Every Gamer's Nightmare: Taming the Tangled Cord Beast (Wii)

May 1, 2008

Somewhere deep in your home is a writhing kraken composed of aged controllers and miles of unused cords. It's silently taunting you, daring you to assault its unchecked growth. You keep away for months, even years, scared to plunge into the brambles of ancient AV cables just for the sake of organization. Earlier this week, I dared to venture close and emerged victorious. Treasures were found, objects once ...

Games as graphs (and charts!) (Wii)

Apr 30, 2008

If you’ve ever opened a text book (those things people try to push on you when you’re not playing games), you know that they’re full of words – often large ones. Why can’t someone just condense everything you need to know into a series of bite-sized, uber-convenient nuggets of colorful joy? Well suck this into your eyeball holes, friends, we’ve got GRAPHS AND CHARTS. (See Figure 0-1 for clarification.) ...

The Longest, Hardest Falls in Gaming (Wii)

Apr 25, 2008

If you’ve ever stood on top of something tall, you’ve thought about jumping off it. Luckily, games let us live our fantasies and do the impossible, without suffering any messy consequences. We hope you’ll enjoy our montage of precipitous plunges and terrifying tumbles from throughout gaming history. It’s as close as you can get to skydiving or base jumping without risking life and limb. ...

SmashRadar: 10 things to do before Brawl dies (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)

Apr 25, 2008

Like a piece of gum that’s lost its flavor and causes your jaw to ache more with every labored chew, Super Smash Bros. Brawl fever has cooled. Gamers have moved on to bigger, better things and are eagerly anticipating other Nintendo ventures (Mario Kart Wii, anyone?). But before you shelve Brawl for good, be sure to squeeze the last ounce of fun from this shiny game disc - savor every moment, every movement and every loading ...

Bikes in Gears of War 2? (Okami)

Apr 25, 2008

With yesterday's announcement that Burnout Paradise is to get motorbikes, we thought we'd see what other big-name games would be like with bikes in them. How? With Photoshop, of course ...

Pokemusings, week 42 (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

Apr 24, 2008

There's a ton going on in the Pokemon world! The US Darkrai event has been announced, Pokemon Ranch is out in Japan and inching towards a worldwide release, and the new Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games are out! The last part got us thinking about some of our favorite Pokemon spin-off games. While the mainline RPGs and the console "colosseum" titles have been coming out on a regular basis, Nintendo has thrown some interesting ...

The greatest Sonic game we never got to play (Sonic Unleashed )

Apr 24, 2008

A 16-bit platform game icon reinvented in a multi-gravitational 3D world. Spherical stage effects with a vast sense of scale and gallons of design innovation. Super Mario Galaxy? No, a Sonic The Hedgehog game did all that stuff ten years before the Wii was even launched. So why was it never released? ...

The absolute worst Sonic moments (Sonic the Hedgehog - Virtual Console)

Apr 23, 2008

Ever since Sonic Unleashed was confirmed earlier this month we've been digging up all kinds of Sonic tidbits for you to chew on, from his rise and fall to the best moments the series has produced over the years. Today we're diving into the cringe-worthy missteps Sonic has taken since his inception. The Rise/Fall article spelled out, in detail, how the franchise has slid since 1991, but ...

TV Videogame shows: Have they always sucked ass? (Wii)

Apr 23, 2008

TV shows about videogames have been rubbish since the very dawn of time, no? Well usually, yes. But there are glimmers of hope. Join us on a trawl through television history as we appraise the situation. ...

Top 7... Cutesy Characters We Want to Beat the Crap Out of (Pokemon Battle Revolution)

Apr 21, 2008

Admit it - you’ve thought about choking quite a few videogame characters to death. Whether it’s an annoying sidekick or a particularly tough boss, there’s no denying that the urge to bust somebody in the mush hasn’t seized you. There are a lot of deserving punks we could put into this article - but the most aggravating offenses come from the cutest characters. Those fluffy types just there to make a game more ...