Coming Attractions 09.20.08: A Super Star Returns!

Posted by Drew Robbins on 09.20.2008

Two Nintendo stars make their return to store shelves with Wario Land Shake It! and Kirby Super Star Ultra. The Wii gets even more games with the release of de Blob and Samba de Amigo, so it is a Nintendo-centric week in this edition of Coming Attractions.

It's time to enter…the Garden of Madness, yes that is right, another week of Coming Attractions, everyone's "favorite" look at the week's upcoming releases. From what I've seen, this is a good, no, great week to own a Nintendo console. Those of you waiting for good Wii exclusives can finally rest as not one, but TWO platformers hit store shelves. There is a god, and apparently he shares gaming tastes with me.

- So I played a little bit more of Warhammer before officially condemning it as a waste of my time. For starters, I find its generic fantasy environment especially dull. I'm not saying WoW was really original but, jeezy creezy, those High Elves look like they were ripped right out of Dungeons and Dragons. The gameplay is certainly different than WoW, but I'm not sure in a good way. You can't rely on auto-attacks, because it takes several seconds for your character to start swinging. Battles are too slow like this, killing another player in WAR takes 3 minutes. Just like in FPS games where you don't want to shoot at the same thing for two minutes, I don't want to spend three minutes clicking on the exact same person. The biggest problem with WAR is the queue times, which are nothing short of ridiculous. If I want to play a game for an hour, I don't want to have to wait 30 minutes, and then only get to play 30 minutes. I know somebody is going to suggest switching servers, but no, I don't want to, because the guild I want to play with is on this server with giant queues. Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous.

- I reinstalled the original Halo while I had nothing else to do this week, and I must say that I'm quite disappointed. Why do I have to empty an entire magazine into one covenant? Why doesn't the covenant die when I land a headshot with something that isn't a sniper rifle? Why does the level design suck so much? Talk about things that haven't aged particularly well, I stopped playing after the first two levels. Call me crazy, but my ideal shooter doesn't involve shooting 200 rounds into one covenant. I think I'll stick to Team Fortress 2 to my shooting…or Call of Duty 4, which I'm considering a purchase of. What do you think, Robbins's Eggs? To buy or not to buy?



Coming Attractions – Week 11

This is an extremely good week for Wii and DS owners. Wario makes his comeback and Kirby gets a well-deserved remake. Other systems? I hope you like Lego Batman.

de Blob (Wii) - de Blob is something that newer Nintendo systems aren't used to having, a worthwhile third-party exclusive. Not only that, it is a platformer! I fail to see how this could be any better. In de Blob, you control a Blob (not THE Blob) tasked with painting a twisted black-and-white world. Now painting the whole city with a paint brush would probably take a long time, and nobody would really enjoy a paintbrush game…well nobody outside of Tom Sawyer's dimwitted friends. Luckily, your Blob oozes pain wherever he goes, so there is no need to use a brush. Sometimes when you jump to a platform the whole thing will change, and other times the paint will just leave behind an unattractive trail on the black-and-white environment. The visuals in this game look very stylish, which is almost enough reason to buy it right there. de Blob supposedly takes 10 hours to finish, which is a pretty good amount of time when you compare it to other games of recent years. 10 hours of stylish platforming sounds pretty good to me, and if it doesn't sound very good to you well…I think that says something about you.

My Opinion: Thumbs Up I'm a sucker for platforming, and a sucker for stylish games. Mix those two and you are making magic!


-Gonna paint this city, gonna paint it good...

Samba de Amigo (Wii) - When I think innovation, I don't think of the Wii, I think of the Dreamcast. Sega put everything they had into that machine to pump out some of the most original exclusives of all time. One of said exclusives was a rhythm game featuring a Latina monkey who shook maracas to a collection of samba-inspired songs. There isn't one word in that sentence that doesn't scream "awesome." The game came packaged with a special maraca set of controllers, which used a censor to detect movements. Of course, the Wii avoids that "problem" sense it already has motion controls. From what I've heard, the controls are decent, but they could use some refining. Sometimes the Wii won't recognize which of the six directions you shook the dual-wielded Wii-motes in, which is certainly a problem for a rhythm game. Other than some occasional problems though, this is looking like a pretty good translation of the Dreamcast classic. An important part of any rhythm game is the music, of course, and Samba de Amigo certainly has an interesting line-up. It isn't very often that you see "Livin' la Vida Loca" or "Mambo No. 5" in a rhythm game, this soundtrack reminds me of Donkey Konga. Samba also features downloadable tracks (for a fee), which is good news for Wii owners. Maybe we'll see similar features in Rock Band 2? Please?

My Opinion: Thumbs Up - Every time I see a rhythm game with a bizarre soundtrack and at the same time lacks the Guitar Hero or Rock Band moniker, I get really excited. Elite Beat Agents and Donkey Konga are two of my favorites of all time, and they certainly had soundtracks that could be viewed as "out there."


- I'm sure I speak for most when I say that I wouldn't mind seeing some more Dreamcast classics hit the Wii.

Lego Batman (EVERYTHING) - Another Lego venture outside of the Star Wars world reaches every system you can imagine with the release of Lego Batman. A few months ago we saw how they fared outside of that Star Wars universe with Lego Indiana Jones, and I can safely say that they did a pretty good job. In fact, I enjoyed that one quite a bit more than the original Lego Star Wars. It didn't feel like a childish beat-em-up anymore, it felt like an adventure…much like an Indiana Jones game should. With this new edition being a Batman game, I think it is safe to say that this will be a return to the beat-em-up style. Nobody wants to just run across the rooftops as Batman, they want to beat the heck out of the Joker. I'd love to talk about which Batman movies this game traverses through, but I'm not 100% sure this is the normal set up for a Lego game. While I know it doesn't focus on the Dark Knight, I can't say for sure that it doesn't focus on the old Batman movies. Maybe they based it on the cartoon? It would be interesting to see a Lego game that was just one flowing story instead of a trilogy. My only beef with this game is the release date. Do you remember when Lego Indy was released? It was only a few months back, when the new Indiana Jones movie was released. This game looks fun, but are you really in the mood for another Lego game this soon? Considering how they all feel pretty similar, a bigger break between the two would have been a good idea.
My Opinion: Ehhh (rental) - Lego Batman will probably take no more than 4 hours to complete, and I've never found these games to have a ton of replay value. The game makes for a great rental, though.


- Much like in Lego Indy, the second player gets the shaft.

Wario Land: Shake It! (Wii) - Wario Land has disappeared for quite a while, with its last installment on the Gambeboy Advance being released several years back. Since then, Wario has become a mini-game star, a master of disguise (ugh), and even made his long-awaited debut in a Smash Bros. game. Now Wario is ready to return to the 2-Dimensional realm of Wario Land, with Wario Land: Shake It! for the Wii. The most noticeable feature of this game is the art style, which has a very nice look to it. Everything looks like it is from an animated cartoon, which is such great contrast to most of the graphics in games these days. Everything around it has become gray and brown, but Wario Land remains a colorful throwback to the days of old. Graphics can do quite a bit for a game, but the gameplay still needs to be good, which is certainly the case here. Wario games have always been loved for the vast differences in controlling him and his rival, Mario. Mario is a quick and high jumper, while Wario is more of a lumbering powerhouse. Though Wario's jump may not be as dangerous as Mario's, he does use his elbow to bash things in, making it easier to smash through an oncoming mob of enemies.

The title of this game is Wario Land: Shake It, which probably scares a few of you. The visions of a great game being ruined by shoddy motion controls probably haunt you, but fret not, as the motion controls don't look like they impede too much on your game time. Motion controls are mostly used for (you guessed it) shaking things, such as money bags. As long as I don't have to use motion to elbow ram, I'm ok with whatever Nintendo tacks them onto. Hopefully this game maintains that great balance of motion and normal controls like with Mario Galaxy.
My Opinion: Two Thumbs Up - Wario is a beast; this game looks awesome, and will hopefully boost the morale of the down-in-the-dumps Nintendo fans who haven't shut up since E3.


- Waggle learning its place, as a small distraction.

This Week's #1 Pick

Kirby Super Star Ultra (DS) - Finally, the Kirby has come BACK to the Nintendo DS! This time no gimmicks, no Squeak Squad, just good old Kirby, the way it was meant to be played. That isn't to say I hated those other two DS games (I loved Canvas Curse), but Kirby Super Star was just so much better. Super Star wasn't just one game, it was six of them. It was like the ultimate six-course meal. Start out light with some Spring Breeze and Dyna Blade, and then crap gets real and you have to take on the Great Cave Offensive as well as the Revenge of Meta Knight. It all wraps up with Milkyway Wishes, and then the dessert of the package, Arena. How many hours of my youth were spent playing co-op mode through the boss battles in the Arena mode?

This game was my childhood. I remember going down to the rental stores and renting this game at least once a month. If it wasn't there I would get upset, because how could I go a month without taking down Meta Knight on the Halberd? Who was going to take on Dedede in a dessert-filled race? These things were necessary for my gaming habits back in the day. I loved this game, and the day that I got it for Christmas was one of the happiest of my youth. Some people get addicted to MMOs, but I got addicted to Kirby. When my friends would come over that was the time to pull out the SNES controllers and take down Dyna Blade, or to see who could make the biggest hole in the Dream Land star.

Kirby Super Star Ultra supposedly adds more modes to the mix, which just feels like nice fluff. All I need is the Revenge of Meta Knight and a few hours of free time, and I'm set. Kirby is just a part of the recent refurbished SNES movement on the DS. I don't see why this movement didn't start earlier…the idea just seems so obvious. If you release something like Chrono Trigger, Kirby Super Star, or even Earthbound on a modern day system, you are bound to make truckloads of money. So many people can't play these games (legally) due to their rarity, and the desire to play them builds up as the praise heaps onto them.
My Opinion: THOUSANDS of thumbs up - Heck yeah, Kirby Super Star Ultra.



A New Challenger Approaches...



Update - As I was washing my hands of this latest edition, Capcom dropped a bomb...a blue bomber, that is. Mega Man 9 comes out next Monday on the Virtual Console.

My Opinion - Buy it. End of story.

Quick Previews

Baja: Edge of Control (Multi) - ATV games…again?
My Opinion: Thumbs down - Made by the same people who made MX vs. ATV Untamed. They really need to tame those guys…

Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (Multi) - Oh, a WW2 game.
My Opinion: Thumbs Up - I don't know much about this series, but I've heard that it is a lot better than other WW2 shooters, not named Call of Duty.

My Japanese Coach (DS) - Oh boy…
My Opinion: ??? - I'd hardly call this a game, more of a class. If you ever wanted to learn Japanese…here you go!

Warriors Orochi 2 (360) - A game by Koei, kings of rehash?!
My Opinion: Thumbs Down - They really have perfected the identical rehash.

Buzz Quiz TV (PS3) - Don't know much about this...
My Opinion: Ehhh - I guess you can make your own quizzes? Mark Salmela said something about making a 411 quiz. Who is the biggest stud on the staff? The answer should be obvious…stop looking the other way, look over here!

Namco Classic Fighter Collection - Woah, woah. Tekken 4, Tekken Tag, and SCII for $30?
My Opinion: Thumbs Up - Tekken Tag was awesome, and SCII is still the best Soul Calibur. Tekken 4 is the only sub-par game in this batch.

Civilization IV: Colonization - An expansion to Civ IV, woo.
My Opinion: Thumbs Up - More content added on to a quality RTS. Not a bad deal at all.

Console War Scoreboard

This week, the lead remains, but the DS starts its *epic* comeback. *Update* - Thanks to Mega Man, a point will be added to all three major consoles. I did it for Rock Band so...why not?

Xbox 360 6
PS3 4
PC 3
Wii 3
DS 2
PS2 2
PSP 0

I swear to you, the PSP will have one #1 pick by the end of this year. Pick up the pace PSP, you don't want to be a running joke in my column, do you?!

Yesterday's Attractions

Ehh, skipping it this week…don't really feel like writing up a small review for Wario Land or something like that. Kind of rushing this column because I've been writing a lot this week, and I don't feel like writing too much today.

Reader's Feedback

Not too much of this today because my column was bumped from the sidebar for…a Bioshock trailer? Only a few responses, most related to how I'm on drugs for liking Uncharted (I'm not).

Mark Salmela questions placing Uncharted over MGS4…

"My instinct never got me in any trouble before, right? *Takes a second to reflect on the Disgaea 3 incident.* Yep, it has never steered me wrong."

Really? My gut instinct with RPG's is to always drop the load in the toilet before constipation strikes...

In all seriousness, I'm glad you liked Uncharted, but placing it above MGS4 is ludicrous. I mean Sully is awesome... but that awesome? Snake and Salms do not approve...

My opinion is probably "going against the grain" on the Uncharted thing, so I'm willing to accept that everyone thinks I'm insane for it.

David begins the drug theory…

*raises eyebrow*

Were you under the influence of some hallucinogenic drugs when you played Uncharted? Did you have an out-of-body experience? Honestly, what the hell were you on?

Seriously, I thought Uncharted was good, even great, but it could not stand up to FIVE games that Solid Snake headlined. So, I regretfully disagree with your opinion.

Uncharted was fortunate that I even enjoyed it. I HATE Tomb Raider, especially its clones, and Uncharted was fortunate not to fill me with ANGER. :-D

Not drugs that I know of, unless tea is a drug. I know it is a pretentious drink, but I enjoy thinking I'm better than everyone else. Don't think it is a drug, though. Tomb Raider was lousy until Legends, which was pure win.

Matt P. hates the Space Stage.

The space stage makes me cry :(

Creature stage was awesome, as was the cell and civilisation stages.

I hope they make and expansion focusing on giving the seperate stages more length.

Space stage is boring, definitely not my type of thing. Considering that I waited five years for the game, the fact that I moved on from it so quickly makes me upset.

The 411

The Exploding Barrel Podcast by Mike and AJ Minotti. No podcast because of power outages. My power was out for 3 hours when Ike hit Illinois, I guess Ohio got hit a lot worse.

The 10th Hour by Derek Robbins. Most Important franchises of today is the list this week, with Halo topping it. You may not like it, but I don't think he liked talking about it.

The Full Circle by Joe Roche. He rants about how TNA is a bad game, but a potentially good franchise down the road. Now I'm getting less excited to receive my copy…

The Hall of Shame by Vincent Chiuchhi. Deal or no Deal is bad enough as a show, but as a game? Dear lord, please stop the pain!!

B3yond the Report by Derek Robbins. I really like the NBA 2K series, it is one of the only sports games I've purchased more than one year of.

Achievement Unlocked by Rod Oracheski. He talks about annoying people who play online only for achievements, and talks about the Little Big Planet trophies announcement. I'm losing excitement for LBP, thanks to Spore's ultimate letdown.

Working Title by …Toddo? Yep, 411 commenter Toddo gives his thoughts on cliffhangers in games. I don't mind Halo's cliff hanger because Halo's story was already so bad that it didn't matter to me.

The PC Centric Extravaganza by Chris Evans. This man is addicted to Football Manager…something I would hardly even call a game. That is one of those genres I definitely don't get.

The Checkpoint by John Curry. Time to rock out with Guitar Hero's soundtrack, which actually looks pretty decent. Interesting to see that Bon Jovi is double-dipping in rhythm games. All I need now is Living on a Prayer in EBA 2…which will totally happen.

That is all for this week, leave feedback below or email me at [e-mail].