Nintendophiles 05.14.08
Posted by Theo Fraser on 05.14.2008
Guitar Hero IV is headed to the Wii, and we’ve got the very first details! Find out why this could potentially out-rock Rock Band inside! Plus, more on a Skies of Arcadia sequel, an atmospheric Alone in the Dark trailer, and the Wii version of Top Spin 3 is detailed in comparison to its next-gen counterparts. Don’t miss Nintendophiles in its all-new Wednesday timeslot!
Welcome, one and all, to the very first edition of Nintendophiles in its brand spanking new Wednesday timeslot. I'd normally celebrate this occasion much more feverishly, but I was a silly little boy today and inadvertently got myself incredibly sunburnt. That'll teach me to fall asleep outside during the hottest hours of the day. As such, I'm in a fair amount of pain right now, and with every stretch of my arm towards the keyboard, my nerves go into overload. So I'll keep this introduction brief! On with the show...
Guitar Hero IV strikes a few new chords
Credit: Game Informer, Shack News, IGN
A short while ago, we found out that Guitar Hero IV is Wii-bound (although, to be honest, it shouldn't come as much of a shocker seeing as how well the third instalment fared on Nintendo's console), and now, through the latest edition of Game Informer magazine, Activision have revealed a few tasty morsels of information regarding the highly anticipated sequel. Rock Band may have taken the crown for this genre, but by the sound of things Harmonix won't have an easy stay at the top.
Comparisons with Rock Band were always going to be made, and it's no surprise that the series has taken the ‘full band' approach, adding in a percussion element to the proceedings. Vocal work doesn't appear to have made the cut, but you'll now have the choice of playing the drums alongside the standard guitar melodies we've come to expect.
The drumming aspect sounds particularly intriguing, as you'll be given a bass drum pedal and three circular pads (all of which are pressure-sensitive), but also two cymbal pads, which are utilised to activate the series' trademark Star Power. Even better is the revelation that the drum career mode will allow you to "freestyle" during encores, allowing you to get creative and letting experts show off in truly impressive fashion.
A deep character creation system has been implemented this time round, and sounds very detailed. Probably not quite on the level of Smackdown vs Raw's CAW mode, but it's there, and there's a lot for you to customise, from the reaction animations of your character to the personalization of your instrument, right down to the type of wood grain used for your set of drums. But that's not the most exciting feature of the user-created content; that honor goes to the all-new music creation tool, entitled Studio Mode. Yes, for the very first time you'll be able to create your own tracks and even upload them onto the net for others to strum along to. Selecting Studio Mode takes you to a scrolling grid, much like a blank fret board that you'd see in the main game, and you'll be able to add in rhythm, lead, melody, bass and drums, adding in various effects in post-production to make it seem more professional. This has the potential to be a really ground-breaking portion of the game, as those of you clever enough to tab out existing songs would mean that you wouldn't have to worry about what the final track list ends up being or additional downloadable content, as you could simply reproduce the track, albeit stripped of vocals. Man, I am so creating a rock version of the Zelda theme tune!
A track list has yet to be revealed, as Activision are still working out all the legal issues, but Van Halen, The Eagles, Linkin Park and Sublime are all names that have agreed to let their music feature in the game. Not a bad start at all.
Of course, at this stage we don't know how much of this will translate to the Wii. We also have no idea of any Wii-specific gameplay, although the drumming portion just SCREAMS to be bashed out with two Wii remotes. I'm dubious as to whether or not the music creation tool will make it to the Wii version, as I could easily see storage issues being used as a reason for why it doesn't make the cut. With this current information appearing in the upcoming edition of Game Informer, I'd expect Activision to give a full press release during the course of the next month. Hopefully that will clear up some of these unanswered questions.
Skies of Arcadia sequel to be shown at TGS?
Credit: SEGA ON
Gamecube fans didn't have a whole lot to shout about when it came to quality RPGs, the bulk of which could probably be counted on one hand. But ask any fan what their favorite Gamecube RPG was, and a high percentage are likely to respond with Skies of Arcadia Legends. Of course, this in itself was a port from the Dreamcast, which again is considered very highly and is often thought to be one of the console's finest titles. So with this in mind, it's a safe bet to say that there are more than a few fans of Vyse the Sky Pirate and co., and a sequel would no doubt go down a storm. Rumors of a sequel's existence have been floating around for quite some time, and this past week another can of gas was thrown onto the fire when popular German SEGA site SEGA ON revealed an interesting tidbit.
According to the site, a "reliable SEGA insider" has stated that the sequel will be officially unveiled as early as this year's Tokyo Game Show and is being planned with the Wii in mind. Having said that, talks are on-going about a Playstation 3 version. Which is a bit confusing. Fair enough if it were to be a multiplatform title, appearing on all three major consoles, but to specifically focus on the Wii and PS3 is an odd move. Clearly, they would end up being drastically different games. That's admittedly a bit of a mystery, but SEGA ON have proven to be reliable in the past, so we shouldn't discount this tip-off.
On a similarly-related note, Skies of Arcadia 2 was rumored to be shown in some form at the ‘SEGA Gamer's Day 2008' event, which still has no official date but is scheduled to take place any time now. Literally. The middle of May was the general time period given, so we could be seeing something at any moment. Keep checking 411 Games for all the latest and breaking news; we've got it covered!
Another lacklustre Wii port: Top Spin 3
Credit: Cubed3
In 2K Sport's most recent conference call, the upcoming multiplatform tennis title Top Spin 3 was discussed in a fair amount of depth, paying particular attention to the Wii version and the differences we'd see in comparison to the ‘next-gen' 360 and PS3 iterations. Unfortunately, it appears as though Wii users will once again get the short end of the stick.
Across the board, gameplay is supposed to be simple yet realistic, although the Wii version was noted as having ‘more simple gameplay' with added mini-games and motion control. *Raises an eyebrow in disdain*. The emphasis in terms of gameplay is on aiming, position and momentum of shots, and to be fair that could work well with the motion control, if implemented effectively.
Lead producer Anthony DeLuca went on to give the usual spiel about updated visual enhancements and new sound effects etc; i.e. typical press release fare. The title will include signature player styles, unique animations and movements, which is a nice touch as it will make the character selection process that much more central to the proceedings. Rafael Nadal is exclusive to the PS3 version apparently, but whether he is unlockable later on in the game in other versions or not is unknown; likewise is whether or not the 360 and Wii will receive any exclusive players as well.
Then we have the final kicker, and it's a phrase we're quickly becoming accustomed to using when mentioning third-party multiplatform titles. For the Wii, there will be no online play. *Sigh*. So that rules out downloadable content then.
It's a shame to see something that could potentially be a really massive hit on the Wii go to waste, especially as the Wii is clearly crying out for a decent tennis sim. The Wii version shouldn't be an afterthought; if anything, it should be given priority over the others. Every single Wii owner knows that tennis WORKS on the Wii thanks to Wii Sports; now we want to be able to play it properly. Top Spin 3 may very well still be a good game, but 2K Games are definitely missing the boat on this one.
Alone in the Dark cinematic trailer
Alone in the Dark (the "5" has apparently been dropped from the name) is scheduled for release on the Wii next month, alongside a 360, PC and PS2 version (the PS3 edition isn't scheduled until later on in the year) and Atari have unveiled a new trailer for the game, setting the tone of the piece and clueing fans in on what's going on.
It should be noted that the majority of the footage below is primarily taken from the Xbox 360 version, but there are clearly segments from the Wii edition. All cinematic sequences are obviously 360-related, but look out for some in-game sequences with a distinctly lower resolution. That'll be Wii footage then...
I hope all you Wii owners have been enjoying the delights of the WiiWare service, which launched just a few days ago on Monday. LostWinds definitely looks to be the pick of the bunch, and its tremendous news to hear that a sequel is on its way! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find someone to rub me down with after-sun lotion. Preferably female and bikini-clad, but at this stage I'm not too picky. Nintendophiles will be back in 7 days, so I hope to see you then!
I believe vocals will be included, they just won't be included in the creat-a-song feature.
It sounds awesome, the only potential problem I see is that if the instruments are not compatible with Rock Band, it will be tough to sell when people already own a full set of instruments and don't want to shell out another $200 for a 2nd set that only works on one game. We'll see
Posted By: Chris (Guest) on May 14, 2008 at 12:46 PM
