Nintendophiles 05.01.08

Posted by Theo Fraser on 05.01.2008

The tracks of Guitar Hero: On Tour are revealed, Disaster: Day of Crisis plot info, the next Raving Rabbids project, why Sonic Unleashed on the Wii has a different development team, and a look at Square Enix’s brand new horror adventure DS IP. That’s all inside the latest edition of Nintendophiles!




PAL gamers received some tremendous news late last week, as an official release date for Super Smash Bros. Brawl was FINALLY announced; June 27th. Yeah, that's still a heck of a wait, but at least we have an actual date to look forward to, and can start properly counting the days down. Trust me, I will be!




More Disaster: Day of Crisis details uncovered
Credit: Nintendo World, Cubed3

As Disaster: Day of Crisis' July Japanese release date nears, information regarding the title is starting to leak, albeit in drips and drabs. This week, further storyline details were divulged, and it is sounding more and more like a 24 plotline by the minute. No bad thing in my book (as long as we're talking 24 Seasons 1-5, of course).

Fans who have been following the game's progress are well aware by now that players take on the role of Ray, a former member of an elite rescue task force. What has recently been revealed is that Ray lost his friend and co-worker Steve a year prior to the game's events. How, we're not sure as of yet, but I'd imagine it's linked to either the natural disasters that play a large role in the title, or the terrorists who form your main adversaries for the course of the adventure.

What's so significant about Steve? Steve leaves behind him his sister Lisa, who has been captured by the terrorist forces, leaving Ray no choice but to set out on a rescue mission (bet that rescue task force work comes in handy, eh?). Along the way, Ray will have to contend with natural disasters such as tsunamis, volcanoes, earthquakes and hurricanes, not to mention having to foil the terrorists' plans to launch a nuclear missile, AND constantly being on the lookout for Lisa. Jack Bauer's days seem positively tame compared to this!

Finally a small note was made on the control scheme, and while all the specifics have not been revealed, it was pointed out that Ray will be controlled with the nunchuk's analogue stick, whilst the remote's B trigger button will act as a pointer, allowing you to use various equipped items. Clearly, the game will utilise pointer-sensitivity, but we have no confirmation as to whether or not it will employ motion-sensitive gameplay.

OK, well I don't know about you, but I've heard enough about the story now. I want to see some proper in-game action, please! Monolith Soft reps, get on it!




Square Enix bring horror adventure title to Nintendo DS
Credit: Famitsu

Put away your Thundaga spells and Haste Rings; Square Enix are taking a break from the RPG world for their next Nintendo DS project, currently titled Nanashi no Game in Japan and has yet to receive an English translation (that is, of course, assuming that the game is indeed headed to Western shores).





Nanashi is being described as a first-person ‘horror adventure', which immediately helps it stand out from the crowd as there is currently very little else on the market like this on the DS. The DS is swivelled round 90 degrees and held like a book, allowing the 3D world to be spread across both screens. Similarities with Hotel Dusk were bound to be made (and were, almost instantaneously as soon as the first screenshots were put up), and it's no surprise, as it plays in a very similar fashion, despite having differing visual styles. Everything appears to be stylus-driven, which is great as trying to press the face buttons when holding the handheld vertically can be particularly troublesome.

Now that we know it's a horror adventure title, the natural question at this point is, "What's the story?" The plot clearly takes cues from The Ring, but by the sound of it has the potential to include some nifty little "game-within-a-game" scenarios. Basically, your character's close friend mysteriously goes missing from school one day. Searching their bedroom, you discover that they had recently purchased a new video game, which has the appearance of a 2D RPG, but in actually fact hides something much more sinister underneath. Those who play the game supposedly die in horrible fashion 7 days later. No, the videogame in question isn't Superman 64, but nice try.

So it all sounds reasonably promising at this stage. Development must be in the final stages, as the title is due out in Japan this coming July, so here's hoping we see a lot more of this in the coming weeks. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 proved that this type of gameplay can work really well, and if the story is half as good (and being developed by Square Enix, why wouldn't it be?), this has all the makings of a classic for mature gamers.




Guitar Hero: On Tour tracks unveiled
Credit: Nintendo Power

The Guitar Hero titles have always been heralded as having a pretty solid lineup of tracks, and the latest edition of Nintendo Power magazine has revealed the list for the upcoming DS iteration, Guitar Hero: On Tour, scheduled for a Stateside release on June 22nd. With Rock Band having such a deep and varied collection of songs, you'd expect Activision to pull out all the stops for the latest in the highly regarded GH franchise. There's still some strong stuff in there, but compared to previous track listings, it's a little lacklustre, especially considering the fact it touts just 15 tracks. Take a look...

• All Star - Smash Mouth


• All The Small Things - Blink 182


• Are You Gona Be My Girl - Jet


• Breed - Nirvana


• China Grove - The Doobie Brothers


• Do What You Want - OK Go


• Heaven - Los Lonely Boys


• Helicopter - Bloc Party


• Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Pat Benatar


• Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield


• Rock and Roll All Nite - KISS (cover by Line 6)


• Spiderwebs - No Doubt


• This Love - Maroon 5


• We're Not Gonna Take It - Twisted Sister


• What I Want – Daughtry

Wii Sonic Unleashed headed by different development team
Credit: Nintendo Power

When screenshots for Sonic Unleashed were first revealed, no distinction was made between the Wii version and the rest of the next-gen versions. And despite how good Nintendo got Super Mario Galaxy to look, there was simply no way in my mind that SEGA would be able to get Sonic looking THAT good on Nintendo's home console. With the announcement that Sonic Unleashed on the Wii is being headed by a different development team using a drastically different game engine, it appears that my suspicions were correct.

Do not despair, however! The team in charge are called Dimps, who were the folks responsible for the excellent Sonic Rush titles. Sure, the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions get the proper Sonic Team, but when you compare Rush to Sonic Team's last effort, Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), well...you do the math.

For Wii Unleashed, we can expect different levels, gameplay extras (no doubt Wii remote functionality), and a heavy focus on 2D gameplay. One could moan about the 2D gameplay, but I'm willing to bet money that it plays TONS better than its 3D next-gen counterpart. It's hard to tell when all we have is a brief summary of what to expect, so hopefully we can at least get a peek at the first screens in the coming weeks.




Raving Rabbids Teaser Trailer: Now Featuring Balance Board!

Earlier in the week, Ubisoft released a brand new teaser trailer for the latest in the Raving Rabbids series, which, as you will see, suggests that the title will put the Wii's Balance Board to use. The original Raving Rabbids game made great use of the Wii remote, so anticipation levels are naturally high to see what the team have in store for the Board.







The 411 Games Crew

With the next Fatal Frame title coming to the Wii, you'll definitely want to catch up on why the series is so highly regarded. John Curry takes you through the high points of the franchise in this week's Checkpoint.

Grand Theft Auto IV has been released, but that doesn't mean it's all quiet in the Sony camp. Mark Salmela has everything from the Metal Gear Solid Online beta going live, to the latest weekly Playstation Store updates, only in the latest edition of B3yond the Report.

Joe Roche's Full Circle: 360 News Report focuses on a few Take Two stories, due to the GTA IV release on Xbox 360, plus more on Burnout: Paradise, Lost Odyssey DLC and much more.

The PC Centric Extravaganza is brought to you by Chris Evans, where it is revealed that casual gaming is GOOD for you and reduces stress! One to show the parents, then. Plus, Portal, The Witcher, Codemasters, and an interesting look at Stalin vs Martians. Check it out!

Tommy Coloma brings you the Negative Edge News Report, this week featuring news on the death of Phantasy Star Online and why Microsoft rejected Portal. Crazy fools that they are!


I've got a few essays looming right now, but can I really be bothered to crack on with them? Or can I squeeze in a touch more Mario Kart playtime? Who am I kidding, there's always time for Mario Kart! See you guys next week, take care!

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