GameTrailers Updates:

• Resident Evil 4 Cube Vs. PC
• Video Game Vault: Karnov
• Need for Speed ProStreet announcement trailer
• Dewy’s Adventure trailer
• Manhunt 2 “bad memories”
• Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer developer interview
• Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer “fearsome foursome”
• Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer “clobberin’ time”

GameVideos Updates:

• Need for Speed ProStreet “drift”
• Mario party 8 “at the chomp wash”
• Dewy’s Adventure “controls”
• Super Mario Bros. blooper reel
• Manhunt 2 “perfect weapon”
• Wiimote as an Xbox 360 controller
• Prototype for Pollen Sonata
• Tomb Raider: Anniversary “dev diary 5?
• Punch-Out!! Michael Jackson

GameSpot Update:

• Mushroom Men art
• Tamagotchi Party On! review
• Activision’s results meet record expectations
• The BIGS swings on Wii
• Tamagotchi Party On! videos

IGN Updates:

• Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl screens
• Manhunt 2 footage
• Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition trailer
• Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles trailer (link broken right now)
• Dewy’s Adventure trailer
• The BIGS in-game soundtrack
• EU Big Brain Academy Opens in July
• New York Assembly Restricts Game Sales

Mario Party 8 Wii fact sheet:

Mario Party® 8
Format: Wii™
Launch Date: 05/29/07
ESRB: E (Everyone): Mild Cartoon Violence
Game Type: Party/Board Game
Players: 1-4
Developer: Hudson Soft
Game Information

KEY INFORMATION
The world’s enormously popular party video game is getting a lot crazier in Mario Party 8. Whether you’re shaking up cola cans or lassoing barrels, you and your friends will be drawn into the action like never before using the Wii Remote™.

* Play with motion control: Players row their way through a river race, punch a statue to pieces, steer race cars, mopeds and go-karts and handle a balancing pole while walking a tightrope.

* Play using the Wii Remote as a Pointer: Shoot at Boos in a haunted house, drag and drop toppings in a cake-decorating competition, select the correct answers in game show challenges.

* Play using the Wii Remote’s buttons: Players jump and pummel their way through a football brawl, and hop and run across a field of spinning platforms

* Mario Party 8 also includes dozens of new minigames, six new party boards and many new game modes. In a series first, players can transform their characters into many forms, such as player-smashing boulders and coin-sucking vampires.

* Mario Party 8 also includes “extra-large” minigames like Star Carnival Bowling and Table Menace. One to four players can play Mario Party 8, each with a Wii Remote.

Game storyline: In Mario Party 8, a hyperactive emcee has invited Mario™, Peach and the rest of the crew to his carnival, a perfect setting for the dynamic spectacle of the Wii game play. Mario Party 8 keeps the surprises coming with minigames that draw upon the Wii Remote’s motion, pointing and button control in a variety of ways. Players always know how to jump into the action by watching an animated tutorial that shows how to use the Wii Remote.

How to progress through the game: Following tradition, Mario Party 8 takes the social, strategic game play of board games and adds breaks for quick, action-oriented minigames. In the main mode, players travel across six boards in search of Stars, landing on spaces that are helpful (example: giving coins) or a hindrance (example: sending Bowser in to mess with the player). Several variations for these boards tweak the main goals to enhance game play for solo sessions, two-player games and three- to four-player games.

In addition, Mario Party 8 includes four more minigame-infused kinds of special games, such as Tic-Tac Drop, where players earn the right to put the next mark on the board by winning a minigame.

Characters: Mario Party games are a celebration of all things Mario, so you can play as 14 classic characters, the widest selection yet for the series, including newcomers Hammer Bro and Blooper. You’ll also bump into many old friends and foes that span 20+ years of Mario games.

Special powers/weapons/moves/features: Beyond using the Wii Remote’s motion and pointer control, this eighth game in the Mario Party series goes its own way with two changes:

* Players can transform their character using candy power-ups. Examples: When Peach eats Bowlo Candy, she’ll turn into a Peach-faced ball and bowl over characters to get their coins. When Wario™ eats Vampire Candy, he’ll sprout wings and fly off to suck the coins from all other players.

* A more engaging view of the action puts the player “on the board” with his traveling character, no longer far above the whole board looking down.

More About: Mario Party 8 Wii, Wii

This is an excerpt from the Preview of the Nintendo Wii game DK Bongo Blast by CVG

There are bits of Bongo Blast that are still a mystery, such as who left the tanker-load of bananas lying all over the track, and how they relate to the ‘banana bar’ on the right of the screen. But we do know that four-player split screen is definitely in, and it’ll be a raucous racing punch-up awash with powerups (see right). And Wi-Fi? Surely it’s a no-brainer. Mario Kart DS online was so good that we inadvertently made little squeaking sounds with our mouth, and in the continued mysterious absence of a Mario Kart on Wii, we’d love to see Bongo Blast bring high-speed, barrel-flinging screaming ape battles to those information superhighways.

All this speculation will be moot in a few short weeks: Bongo Blast is pencilled in for Japanese launch on 28 June, and - we suspect - the minimalist translation needed (for “COOL!” to become “OH, SUPER!”) means the UK surely won’t be far behind.

The big hairy monkey of a question is whether Bongo Blast will suffer for having to crowbar its original bongo-slapping idea on to the Wii controllers - and if we’ll be left pining for Mazza, a tarmac racetrack and a pile of red shells as weepily as we are now.

Full Preview

More About: Preview, Nintendo, Wii, DK Bongo Blast

Virtual Console Game Releases For This Week:

• Punch Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points): As young boxer Little Mac, players have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to battle the big guys of the World Video Boxing Association circuit. Take them on one by one, starting with skinny Glass Joe. Battle up through King Hippo and all the way to the WVBA Champion himself. Players use their best jabs, hooks and power uppercuts to knock out opponents, but must pay attention to subtle changes in their body position to dodge jaw-breaking blows. With great graphics, addictive action and a touch of humor, this game will keep players entertained for hours.

• Virtua Fighter 2 (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points): Virtua Fighter was the very first 3-D fighting game in the industry and introduced six unique characters, each with their own martial arts style. In Virtua Fighter 2, the intrepid fighters return to the World Fighting Tournament. Players take to the stage to see who will claim the championship title. Will it be Lau Chan, Kage-Maru, Wolf Hawkfield, Jeffry McWild, Akira Yuki, Jacky Bryant, Sarah Bryant or Pai Chan? The answer lies within. Players immerse themselves in this technically challenging game and see if they have what it takes to be the champion of the second World Fighting Tournament.

• Bonk’s Revenge (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, 600 Wii Points): The “hardheaded” hero is back for more in the second installment of the Bonk series. Taking place in the Monster Kingdom, Bonk the Caveman makes his way toward King Drool III. Bonk’s Revenge is a side-scrolling action game in which players Jump and “Bonk” (head-butt) their enemies while they make their way to the goal at the end of each stage. Double, even triple, attack power by eating the meat that appears in a stage. There are eight different hidden bonus stages, and the Dinosaur Train that appears after players defeat a boss will change depending on how many Smileys they’ve collected. With new actions such as the Triangle Jump and the ability to climb trees, as well as seven variety-packed stages, Bonk’s Revenge will keep players playing over and over.

This is an excerpt from the Review of the Nintendo Wii game The Godfather: Blackhand Edition by AMN

EA has returned to The Godfather and added in a control scheme that nobody should refuse. Being able to physically perform punching, throwing, and choking motions adds a layer of realism seldom seen in games of this genre. Moreover, being able to pull off such moves is surprisingly (and perversely) satisfying. Missions are varied enough to keep the experience from growing stale and being able to unlock new abilities by spending Skill Points keeps the action growing in intensity as the game progresses. Throw in the appearances and voices of the actors from the original film and one has gaming gold. The Godfather: Blackhand Edition is highly recommended to fans of the Grand Theft Auto genre and action/stealth fans alike. Don’t miss this one. It’d be a shame if your Wii missed out on this disc, if you know what I mean.

Full Review 

More About: Review, Nintendo, Wii, The Godfather: Blackhand Edition

New Info about the upcoming game Manhunt 2 : (more…)

More About: Manhunt 2

This is thefact sheet of the upcoming Nintendo Wii game Spiderman 3 (more…)

More About: Nintendo Wii, Spiderman 3

Fight Night Wii? ……. In Consideration (EA Sports producer, Michael Blank)

DHB: The Nintendo Wii just came out. Are you planning on doing a version for that system with its revolutionary controller system?

MB: We’re talking about it right now. We’re contemplating and we definitely feel there are some exciting things we can do with the Fight Night franchise and the Wii. When you play Wii Boxing it is a very simple experience and I think that is what they designed it to be just to let you know that you can throw punches. With Fight Night we have an amazing simulation of Boxing and so we need to take those Wii controls and tailor it to what the Fight Night consumer might want to experience. We are looking at it right now and I am sure you will something some time in the future on the Wii.

Full Interview 

More About: Fight Night Wii, Nintendo Wi

Mario Party® 8
Format: Wii™
Launch Date: Q2
ESRB: E (Everyone): Mild Cartoon Violence
Game Type: Party/Board Game
Players: 1-4
Developer: Hudson Soft
Game Information (more…)

This is an excerpt from the Hands On of the Nintendo Wii Game The Godfather: Blackhand Edition by GameSpot

In The Godfather: Blackhand Edition, you take to the streets as a Corleone soldier and perform a wide array of gestures to virtually choke, punch, slap, and shoot scores of no-good thugs on the streets of New York City. Although the basic story in Blackhand Edition is identical to the previous home console versions of The Godfather, the game plays quite differently thanks to its unique control scheme. And beyond the controls, there’s quite a bit of new content to be found in this version of the game, as well as some significant tweaks to existing gameplay mechanics. We got our hands on a Wii Remote and Nunchuk and took to the streets to see just how differently The Godfather plays on the Wii.

The Blackhand control scheme is a new way for you to control your in-game character using the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk. The combat and shooting aspects of the game have been completely reworked to take advantage of the motion-sensing capabilities of the Wii. When you’re on foot you move around with the analog stick on the Nunchuk and lock on to targets using the Z button. Once locked on, you can pull out a gun and start shooting. The targeting reticle will stay on your target, but you can use the Wii Remote to point at different pressure points, such as knees and arms, so that you can immobilize or disarm your enemy. There is also a free-aim mode where you can run around with the analog stick while aiming with the Wii Remote. We found the targeting system to be easier and more effective than the free-aim mode.

The Blackhand controls have the most influence on the hand-to-hand combat in the game. You can grab an enemy by holding the Z button on the Nunchuk and the B button on the Wii Remote. At this point, you use the two controllers as you would your hands, throwing punches by punching at the screen with the Wii Remote in your hand, slamming enemies against walls by shoving both the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk toward the television screen, and even head-butting enemies by quickly bringing the remote and Nunchuk up toward your head. In our experience the controls worked well, and the gestures felt natural and translated well to the action onscreen. However, using gestures isn’t always as responsive as simply pressing a button, and as fun as the Blackhand controls are, it seems that they could become tiresome after you’ve strangled, shoved, and slapped several hundred enemies.

The Wii Remote is used in more ways than shooting and smacking enemies, though. There are 50 executions in the game, which are special finishing moves that you can perform after you’ve weakened an enemy enough. Using one of a dozen different execution gestures, you can perform these brutal moves. You can snap necks, shoot enemies in the head execution style, and so on using these special gestures that are illustrated with a pop-up diagram in the bottom right corner of the screen. In addition to the executions, you can do things like flick the Wii Remote to open doors, and perform special gestures with the Nunchuk to reload your weapons. To reload a shotgun, you move the Nunchuk up and down to mimic the pump action of the weapon, and to reload a revolver, you flick the Nunchuk as if you’re emptying the cylinder. Ancillary actions like opening doors and reloading weapons seem trivial, but along with the rest of the Blackhand controls, they make the game feel and play completely differently from previous versions.

Full Article

More About: The Godfather: Blackhand Edition