Nintendophiles 11.29.07
Posted by Theo Fraser on 11.29.2007
Could the Unreal Engine 3 really be brought to the Wii? Someone seems to think so! Elsewhere, the Everybody’s Nintendo Channel debuts in Japan, the first trailer for Namco’s upcoming RPG ‘Fragile’ is released, Nintendo makes a bunch of new patents, and Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 starts to take shape on the Wii. Check it all out in this week’s Nintendophiles!
Good day to you all, and welcome to another instalment of your favourite (read: only) Nintendo-dedicated column on 411mania! After a couple of slow news weeks, it's back to all the craziness you've come to expect from Nintendophiles, and I've got quite a bit to get through, so we'll dive straight in!
But first, I'm feeling kinda generous today, so you know what? I'm going to give you all a little secret! A Super Mario Galaxy secret! Want to know how to perform a homing Butt-stomp ("Yes!" I hear you cry)? Simply jump in the air, shake the remote to perform a mid-air spin, and THEN press the Z button on the nunchuk to home in on nearby enemies, automatically squishing them into the ground. Good stuff eh? Don't say I never give you anything!
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008: New details
Credit: Gamesmaster
After a decent Nintendo debut on the DS, the Pro Evolution Soccer series comes to the Wii with Pro Evolution Soccer 2008. And it's a radical departure from previous efforts.
The Wii version has been built from an engine similar to the PS2 version, meaning the basics such as Player AI will remain intact. That's good news by the way, as the PS2 PES games have been stellar. Where the Wii version differs drastically is in the actual gameplay. This is a totally different game of soccer than you've ever played before.
In most soccer games, dribbling the ball is controlled with the analogue stick. Not here. Instead, you'll hold down the A button and point with the Wii remote where you'd like to dribble to. Similarly, passing the ball can be done by holding the B button and pointing to the area of the pitch you'd like to pass to, be it a nearby player or an empty area, where another teammate can run on to collect the ball.
Of course, there's more to Pro Evo games than just passing and dribbling. Off the ball controls can be handled by pointing at a player, pressing the A button and then physically drawing an arrow in the direction you want the player to run. It sounds like the gameplay will have a new strategic element not seen in previous titles, and it's too early to tell if this will truly work or not. It's an ambitious job by Konami, and they should be commended for taking this brave new approach.
The only aspect of play that seems a little unsatisfactory at the moment is shooting, which is a pretty crucial aspect of the game, I think you'll agree! At the moment, shooting is performed by simply shaking the nunchuk, and everything else (the speed, angle and accuracy of the shot) is determined automatically for you. Considering the rest of the game seems to offer us quite a deep and complex system of play, this is rather unsatisfactory. The game isn't due out till Spring next year (in Europe at least, possibly later in the US), so there's time for this to change. Let's hope so, as that could really let the side down. Apart from that aspect, it's shaping up to be something quite different for soccer fans, and that's by no means a bad thing. I'll be watching this one very closely for any developments and will be sure to let you all know about them. Let's hope we start to see some preview copies passed around soon.
Everybody's Nintendo Channel launches in Japan
Credit: CVG, IGN
Japanese Wii owners received an early Christmas present from Nintendo this week, as the ‘Everybody's Nintendo Channel' launched, giving users access to game trailers and DS demo downloads in one of the service's best updates to date.
Upon booting up, the channel jumps straight into a video, presumably the ‘Video of the Week'. Currently, this video involves Shigeru Miyamoto hyping the imminent launch of Wii Fit in Japan. A good way to kick off the channel.
You'll then be able to go on from there and view trailers of other already-released Wii and DS games, so those hours spent trawling through Youtube clips will be a thing of the past! Trailers for upcoming games are also available; for example, right now Japanese RPG fans can watch a brand new trailer for Tales of Innocence on the DS. All videos are streamed and streaming is said to be very reliable so far, with no issues encountered in the way of lag or anything like that. Quality isn't brilliant; the audio in particular has low fidelity, but as this is Version 1.0 of the channel, I'd expect this kind of thing to be remedied in a future update.
It's not all about videos, however, and the reason why most people will likely visit the channel is due to it acting as your very own personal DS Download Station. Yes, free DS demos will be available and are incredibly easy to download; even your Granny could do it. Simply follow the on-screen instructions to download the game to the Wii, and then boot up your DS, where the ‘Download and Play' screen will pick it up. Easy peasy!
The titles on offer at the moment aren't all that exciting, as Nintendo have chosen to demo some of the Touch Generation games, including the two Brain Age titles. Expect a bigger update in the New Year, when hopefully Nintendo will give us demos for upcoming games, which would be terrific.
No word on when the Western world will see the new channel, but Nintendo like to maintain the element of surprise, so we're unlikely to get any warning. I'd imagine they'd like to get it up and running worldwide before Christmas, so hopefully that little blue light on your Wii disc slot will be flashing one morning in the coming weeks. This is a great addition to the Wii's online service, and I can't wait to get to grips with it myself.
Nintendo file new patents
Credit: Gamefront
The news broke just yesterday that Nintendo have filed a bunch of new patents for various games and projects, showing us some of Nintendo's plans for the next couple of months. The names are in Japanese, but various words and phrases stick out, so we can just about work it out. Let's take a look!
Eternal Chronicle
Dr. Mario & Zaikin Bokumetsu
Dr. Mario & GermBuster
No-Hoshi Kirby Ultra Super Deluxe
Marubô Shikaku
Mii Shokunin
Balance Nenrei
Balance Mii
Undô Chokin
Pokemon Bokujô Channel
I'll admit I got my panties in a twist upon seeing Eternal Chronicle, as for some reason my mind jumped to conclusions and I instantly saw it as being a sequel to Eternal Darkness. But alas, it's not. Upon doing further research, Eternal Chronicle is actually a Japanese RPG set for the DS. It's obviously very early in development, as I haven't heard anything else about it, although I did find a screenshot for those interested.
So what else do we have? I'd imagine the Dr Mario titles are for the WiiWare service, as Nintendo mentioned that particular franchise when the service was first announced. The two ‘Balance' games are likely to do with the Balance Board (man, I should have been a detective, my sleuthing skills are off the charts!), although it's hard to tell if these are new projects or simply just official names for what we've seen of the Board already. Kirby Ultra Super Deluxe is the upcoming DS remake of the 1996 SNES title, Kirby Super Star, with 3D cutscenes, updated graphics and new gameplay mechanics. Should be pretty good actually. The final thing to note is the patent for Pokemon Bokujô Channel. Depending on what is meant by "Channel", this could be really great or really terrible. Personally, I'm hoping that this is in reference to a new Wii Channel, dedicated solely to Pokemon. Perhaps you can upload your Pokemon from Diamond/Pearl straight to the channel, and can exchange them via the Connect24 service to other Pokemaniacs on your Friend List. This would be far more efficient than having to boot up Pokemon Battle Revolution every time you want to perform the same task.
So yes, that would be pretty cool. BUT, if you cast your mind back to 2003, you might remember a title called Pokemon Channel that was released on the Gamecube. And it was atrociously average. It was basically an interactive TV show...except there was actually very little interaction! Not a high point for the Pokemon series. I'm praying that isn't what is being referred to here, although I guess with improvements it could be a reasonably worthwhile addition to the WiiWare channel for younger gamers. I'll keep my ears and eyes open for more on this in the coming weeks.
First official trailer for "Fragile", plus brand new details emerge!
Credit: Cubed3
Last week saw the announcement of a brand new RPG from Namco Bandai, and this week the company have released the first trailer for the game (in Japanese, but it's better than nothing!) as well as a slew of new info, thanks to a Namco Bandai press release and the opening of the game's official website, which can be found here. Its well worth checking it out, as the music is wonderful and really sets the tone for the game.
In the last Nintendophiles, I briefly mentioned the basic synopsis for the game, and now a little more has been revealed thanks to the recent press release. As I said last week, Fragile is set in the near future, where humans are practically extinct, and the apocalypse is nigh. Your quest is to find the remaining survivors and try to find out why everything is dying, as there is no obvious reason why the human race is all but gone. The protagonist of the adventure, Seto, will travel the world, exploring deserted towns and battling evil spirits that are evidently linked to the problem. Along the way, you'll meet a cast of supporting characters, including a ‘mysterious heroine' who will lend a helping hand.
Again, last week I mentioned the gameplay mechanics involving the Wii remote taking on the form of a torch and a metal detector, and we can now confirm that combat is also controlled by the Wii remote, with a quick swing of either the nunchuk or remote itself, depending on what you find more comfortable. As I surmised last week, Seto will carry a stick which he uses to defend himself, and it's this stick that you'll command with the Wii-mote.
That's all the new information we know at the moment, but take a moment to check out the trailer below.
Some people might not like it, but I'm a fan of the artistic style. The backgrounds have got some nice detail to them, and it's good to see that this early on in development. Seto looks a little too "early Gamecube" for my liking, but again, Namco are about 30% into development, so there's plenty of time for improvements. And Namco gave me Tales of Symphonia, so no complaints here, I have total faith in them! With a release pencilled in for next year, I'd expect our next look at Fragile to be early January. Stay tuned...
Unreal Engine 3 currently in the process of being tested out on Wii
Credit: CVG
This came as quite a surprise to me! According to Epic Vice President Mark Rein, tests are currently being undertaken to see if the Unreal Engine 3 can be squeezed onto Wii hardware. If it works...this is MAJOR news.
For those not in the know, the Unreal Engine 3 is the engine that has most recently been used for Gears of War and, naturally, Unreal Tournament III, two games that look simply astounding. It's a sophisticated bit of kit, that's for sure.
Imagine THAT...on your Wii!
Epic aren't heading up the tests themselves, however. The engine has been licensed to an ‘unnamed 3rd party', who are trying to cram the technology onto Nintendo's latest home console. No word on how they are getting on thus far. But now comes the interesting bit...
The Unreal Engine 2 has already been used on the Wii, and again had nothing to do with Epic. On this particular occasion, the task fell to Ubisoft, who ported the engine to the Wii, using it for Red Steel. Awkward control system aside, for a launch title, it looked pretty darn good in places. Now then, let's take a moment to look at the facts. We know that Ubisoft are working on Red Steel 2. We know that Ubisoft have ported Epic technology to the Wii before. We know that they are interested/experienced with the Unreal engine. Are you seeing what I'm seeing here? Maybe...just maaaaaybe Ubisoft are trying to get the Unreal Engine 3 on the Wii in the hopes of utilising it for the Red Steel sequel. Obviously, it'll never look as good as the games using the same engine on more powerful consoles, but still, it'll be a drastic improvement over what we see currently. I don't want to get anyone's hopes up, as it's a longshot that it will actually work, but hey, it's nearly Christmas. Call it my Christmas Wish.
Right, well I'm off to watch ROH Manhattan Mayhem II now, featuring the MOTYC between Bryan Danielson and Takeshi Morishima. Can it possibly top the encounter between Danielson and McGuinness at Driven? I'm about to find out! Oh, and go watch ROH Man Up on PPV this weekend. I'll bet my entire collection of Nintendo memorabilia you won't regret it!
