Nintendophiles 06.25.08

Posted by Theo Fraser on 06.25.2008

A new Star Wars game comes exclusively to the Wii and DS, and this time it’s ALL about lightsaber battles! Plus, Call of Duty: World at War is promised to be the best looking Wii game yet, the Guitar Hero: Aerosmith track listing is revealed, and Nibris look to (finally) pull back the curtain on Sadness. This week's Nintendophiles has got you covered!




I had a fantastic weekend up in Coventry, attending Pro Wrestling NOAH's European Navigation 2008. It was such an awesome night of wrestling, I highly encourage you to check out the eventual DVD release of the show. KENTA & Taiji Ishimori defended their GHC Junior Heavyweight tag team titles against the team of Bryan Danielson and Eddie Edwards, and what we witnessed was an outstanding contest that is surely a match of the year candidate in my eyes. Also, seeing Kobashi and Misawa chopping the living hell out of each other in the main event was just unreal and a great spectacle to witness live.

But that's enough wrestling talk for now; we have *NU GAMEZ* to talk about!!! So let's get straight to the lowdown on the new Star Wars titles to hit Nintendo platforms!



Exclusive to Wii and DS, it's the Star Wars lightsaber game we've been waiting for!
Credit: IGN, Gamesradar

Sort of. Months ago it was revealed that LucasArts were working on a lightsaber game for the Wii, which led to massive disappointment when the controls for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed were discovered to be far from what we had imagined. However, it would now seem that LucasArts' lightsaber game was a completely separate entity to The Force Unleashed. The Wii receives Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Lightsaber Duels, whilst the DS gets Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Jedi Alliance.





The animated movie, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, is scheduled for release this Summer, and later on in the year we'll see the releases of the Wii and DS tie-ins. In keeping with the animated nature of the movie and upcoming TV series, the Clone Wars video games will be cel-shaded. For a start, this ensures that they'll properly tie in with the movie, but it also cleverly gets around any graphical issues that may have occurred had LucasArts attempted to recreate a ‘realistic' visual style. Cel-shading works tremendously on the Wii, and as you'll see from the trailer below, LucasArts are clearly trying to fully utilise the Wii's capabilities. Of course, the one capability that everyone is likely most interested in right now is its motion-sensitive remote, and this is where Lightsaber Duels looks to impress.

It's still not the 1:1 ratio that people were hoping for, but according to preliminary info, your ‘general movement' will be mimicked on screen. Basically, it won't simulate every last detail of your motion, but swinging the remote left-to-right, corner to corner, for example, would translate to a parallel lightsaber slash. If enough gestures are programmed in to be recognised, this could be the closest we've ever got to a real-life lightsaber duel. It's an exciting prospect, no doubt.

Naturally, a multiplayer mode is promised, and with plenty of characters on offer, you'll be able to recreate your favorite battles from the movie/TV series. Getting that final finishing blow on your best mate is bound to be a great feeling, right up there with knocking them out with a Red Shell in Mario Kart and smashing them off the stage in Smash Bros, so if the gameplay turns out well, I can see myself booting this up for multiplayer sessions for years to come.

Moving on to Jedi Alliance, the focus is more story-driven and adventure-heavy, rather than straight-up duelling. The title is fully stylus driven, although we are currently unsure if it will employ the same combat system as the DS version of Force Unleashed, with different lightsaber slashes selectable on the touch screen, joined into combos by dragging the stylus across two or more of the selection areas. We do know, however, that gameplay involves a mixture of lightsaber duels, action sequences (possibly quick time events?), and various mini-games, leading up to an eventual six-way showdown with the game's big baddie, Count Dooku.

For the DS game, you'll have the choice of 6 characters, and you'll need two for each mission (one for you, one for the AI as a teammate, unless you're playing co-operatively, in which case a buddy can drop in and help you out at any time). Jedi on offer include Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Anakin Skywalker (post-annoying childhood, pre-emo dark side phase), Ahsoka Tano (from the TV series), Plo Koon and Kit Fisto. Each character has their own special moves, and depending on who your partner is at the time, you'll be able to pull off various unique double-teams. Double-lightsaber decapitation, anyone?

I'm already pretty sold on these two titles, assuming they deliver everything that has been promised here. It's great that Nintendo owners have a third-party exclusive of their own to get excited about, and judging by what we've seen here, it's a safe bet we'll get something at least half decent. To check out the Wii version in motion (both cinematics and in-game gameplay), check out the video below. As I mentioned earlier, the movie reaches US shores this Summer, so look for the games to follow in the Winter.







Call of Duty: World At War - "will look better than any Wii game on the market"
Credit: Videogamer, Cubed3

The fifth console iteration of Call of Duty is headed to the Wii, and developer Treyarch are adamant that the title will not be shoddy, simplified port but an adaptation that resembles its next-gen counterparts as closely as possible. Treyarch are dedicating a special team to handle the Wii version, who will apparently ensure that "for all intents and purposes it's the same game" in comparison to the Xbox 360 and PS3 titles.

So what do we know so far about World at War in regards to its appearance on Nintendo's home console? For a start, it's been confirmed that it will utilise a ported version of the engine found in CoD4: Modern Warfare. Whilst graphically it won't be able to harness the same power found in the PS3 or 360, we can hope to see extensive particle effects and a great physics engine to make the war as realistic as possible. We also know that multiplayer modes will be supported, including some kind of co-operative play, although whether or not this infers online play remains to be seen. Also, in a great extra for Wii owners, the title will be compatible with the Wii Zapper. Good stuff! The only other morsel of information was from Treyarch's senior producer, who proceeded to get the hype bandwagon going, saying:


Senior producer Noah Heller: It's going to look better than any Wii game I've ever seen on the market.


The usual marketing guff, or a tantalising taste of what we're in store for? Expect the Wii version to debut at E3.




Guitar Hero: Aerosmith track listing revealed
Credit: CVG





Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is released on Wii next week, and whilst it's likely only going to appeal to you if you're an avid Aerosmith fan, it's pleasing to see that there are plenty of other tracks by different artists on there to bulk out the listing and give some much-needed variety to the game. The tracks are reportedly either by bands that inspired Aerosmith, bands that played with Aerosmith, or simply bands that Aerosmith themselves admire. Take a look below and see what made the cut. Songs are arranged according to tier of difficulty.

• "All the Young Dudes" by Mott the Hoople (cover)


• Draw the Line" by Aerosmith


• "Dream Police" by Cheap Trick


• "Make It" by Aerosmith (re-recorded)


• "Uncle Salty" by Aerosmith



• "First Taste of Success" (Max's Kansas City)


• "All Day and All of the Night" by The Kinks (cover)


• "I Hate Myself for Loving You" by Joan Jett


• "Movin' Out" by Aerosmith (re-recorded)


• "No Surprize" by Aerosmith


• "Sweet Emotion" by Aerosmith



• "Complete Control" by The Clash


• "Livin' on the Edge" by Aerosmith


• "Love in an Elevator" by Aerosmith


• "Personality Crisis" by New York Dolls (cover)


• "Rag Doll" by Aerosmith



• "Bright Light Fright" by Aerosmith


• "King of Rock" by Run-D.M.C.


• "Nobody's Fault" by Aerosmith


• "She Sells Sanctuary" by The Cult


• "Walk This Way" by Run-D.M.C. featuring Aerosmith



• "Always on the Run" by Lenny Kravitz


• "Back in the Saddle" by Aerosmith


• "Beyond Beautiful" by Aerosmith


• "Dream On" by Aerosmith (re-recorded)


• "Hard to Handle" by The Black Crowes (cover)



• "Cat Scratch Fever" by Ted Nugent


• "Mama Kin" by Aerosmith (re-recorded)


• "Sex Type Thing" by Stone Temple Pilots


• "Toys In The Attic" by Aerosmith


• "Train Kept A Rollin" by Aerosmith


• "Guitar Battle vs Joe Perry" by Joe Perry


BONUS TRACKS:


• "Combination" by Aerosmith


• "Kings and Queens" by Aerosmith


• "Let The Music Do The Talking" by Aerosmith


• "Mercy" by Joe Perry


• "Pandora's Box" by Aerosmith


• "Pink" by Aerosmith


• "Rats In The Cellar" by Aerosmith


• "Shakin' My Cage" by Joe Perry


• "Talk Talkin" by Joe Perry


• "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith

That's probably all the Aerosmith you could ever want (unless you're a power ballads fan and lamenting the lack of "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing"), and a some nice little extras in there as well. And in case you're thinking "I've never heard of a song called Guitar Battle vs Joe Perry", that's actually the final ‘boss' of the game as you square up against Aerosmith's Joe Perry himself (well, in digital form at least), in an intense ... uh ‘strum off'.

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith doesn't present any drastic alterations to the series, but if you've enjoyed previous iterations and have a craving to take Steve Tyler and co. from rookies to legends, then you can't go wrong forking out the cash for this latest entry.




Could Nibris be properly unveiling Sadness next week?
Credit: WiiCast, Cubed3

Long time readers will know how much of a proponent I am for Nibris' upcoming survival/horror Sadness, and will be well aware of the title's turbulent development period. The most recent update came earlier in the year, when it was revealed that the game was indeed still in production (after reports hinted at its cancellation), but since then we've seen absolutely nothing. However, that looks set to change, as Nibris is currently undergoing a complete overhaul of their website, which apparently will include an update on their eagerly anticipated Wii title. Nibris' business partner, Fox Studios, were the ones to break the news in an interview earlier this week.


Will: Adam, Thanks for being able to talk to me about Sadness. I think the biggest question my readers have for you is ‘Is Sadness real? And if so have you seen any progress made on the game?'

Adam: Sure, Will. Obviously there's only so much I can say. I can tell you for sure that the project is real, they're actively developing it. There's no publisher for the game yet and as such it's impossible for us to say when the game is going to be released. Basically, that's the official statement. Nibris is doing an overhaul to their official site now. Next week they're supposed to launch it and there will be some added information and a couple screenshots.


The screenshots aspect of the update is what particularly gets my juices flowing, as up until now we haven't seen a single official shot from the game. Yes, a few months back screen was leaked to the net, but it was never officially sanctioned by Nibris. And if Nibris are ready to finally show screens in just 7 days, then perhaps they're ready to show off a fully-fledged demo at this year's E3? Entirely wishful thinking, but Jiminy Christmas I sure hope they are. We've waited long enough, doncha think?




The 411 Games Crew

John Curry explores why the upcoming THQ UFC title will likely be a failure in this week's The Checkpoint.

Mark Salmela predicts Sony's E3 showing in this week's B3yond the Report, plus news on all the big PS3 titles from Final Fantasy XIII to Resident Evil 5 to Call of Duty 5!

Working Title looks at the Half-Year Game Awards for 2008. Check it out for Jordan Williams' picks!

The Full Circle contains a tonne of EA news, thoughts on the Gears of War movie getting a director, and talk of the next generation of consoles. Joe Roche has all that and more for you inside!

Vincent Chiucchi talks about why people aren't happy with Tecmo, the latest news on the E3 and E for All front, MGS5 being a prequel, and much more in the latest edition of The Select and Start News Report.


Super Smash Bros. Brawl finally sees a European release this Friday, which means my weekend will consist entirely of me sitting in front of my Wii. I might have to invest in a bedpan. Anyway, I'll be getting my Wii back online in a day or two, so hopefully I'll see some of you online for a spot of Karting and Brawling. Aside from that, I'll be back in 7 days for another instalment of Nintendophiles, your one-stop shop for all things Nintendo! See you then.

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