Nintendophiles 02.11.09

Posted by Theo Fraser on 02.11.2009

Nintendophiles this week covers the speculation that a new Metroid title is on its way, more on Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympics, a 2D return to form for Sonic, a look at the GTA Chinatown Wars multiplayer modes, and MadWorld continues to assert itself as one of the year’s upcoming highlights.







Hello my fellow 411 readers, and welcome to another instalment of Nintendophiles! We've got lots to cover today, so let's get down to business...*raises eyebrow*...if you will.

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New Metroid on the way?
Credit: Cubed3

Gamers are gearing up for the Wii re-releases of Metroid Prime 1 and 2 as part of the New Play Control series. However, if this new teaser is to be believed, there'll be more joy coming out of the Samus Aran camp before too long.

Head over to the official Japanese Metroid site and you'll be confronted by a small boxout at the bottom of the page (once past the intro) with a picture of a Space Pirate and text that reads "Another Side Story – coming soon". Well slap my ass and call me a Weavel, you can count me intrigued!





So what's the deal here then? It's worth noting that the Prime titles are considered ‘side stories', fitting in between Metroid I and II, so could we be seeing a game that bridges the gap to Super Metroid? A further Prime title is possible, but surely news of a fourth Prime title would have leaked earlier than this, and the Prime games were considered to be a strict trilogy, making a fourth entry unlikely. Naturally, the old chestnut of Metroid Dread has reared its ugly head, but at this stage it's becoming a bit of an internet joke.

The Japanese text underneath the English title translates as "Follow Metroid Prime's history from the perspective of the Space Pirates." Which changes everything a little bit, huh? With this in mind, fans across the net are positive that this next instalment in the Metroid series will focus on the Space Pirates, potentially even allowing you to control one of Samus' foes as the protagonist. Personally, I think this is very doubtful; Nintendo don't really like to do the ‘anti-hero' thing. And no, Wario doesn't count, he has a big purple nose and likes garlic. ‘Nuff said.

Keeping an eye on the Metroid.jp site is our best bet right now. I'll be sure to feature any breaking news regarding this potentially awesome revelation as soon as humanely possible!

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Mario & Sonic: Winter Olympics unofficially confirmed
Credit: CVG, The Province

As rumored a couple of weeks ago, Mario & Sonic: 2010 Winter Olympic Games is on its way to the Wii (and likely the DS), and whilst SEGA have yet to officially announce the title, the Director of Licensing for the 2010 Vancouver games Dennis Kim recently spoke about forthcoming Olympic Games projects, and his words were as good as a confirmation as anyone could ask for.


Kim: Last year, 2008, they [SEGA] had a very successful game using Mario and Sonic at the Beijing Games, as well as a multi-sport simulation type of game. That's what's being discussed and planned for Vancouver. We are feeling optimistic about sales because of the Beijing experience.


The original Mario & Sonic has sold over 9 million copies worldwide and was consistently a Top 10 chart entry during the Beijing games.

Vancouver's newspaper, The Province, reports that SEGA will produce a simulation game alongside the Mario & Sonic offering, which again adds validity as the ‘official' Winter Olympics title by SEGA was unveiled late last week (albeit only for the PS3 and 360). SEGA have of course refused to comment on the matter, but I wouldn't have thought they'd leave us in the dark for very much longer. These types of games are usually released in the run up to the event they are based on, so expect to see Mario & Sonic adorning our screens again this Christmas.

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Dum du-dum duuuuuum, dum du duuuuuuuuuum (aka New Indiana Jones Wii screenshots)

OK, so I haven't really got any new details for you here, but LucasArts released a couple of in-game screenshots for the new Wii Indiana Jones title, and I just felt like taking a little look at them really!








Hmmm. It looks fine, but the blatant use of bloom lighting almost highlights the poor textures. And despite being a still screenshot, the animation already appears jaggedy and jarring. I'd normally be quick to defend the shots as being from an early version, but reports indicate that the title is scheduled for a late Spring release. Which doesn't give an awful lot of time for polish! I need to see it properly in motion before I can officially pass judgement, but if it doesn't rapidly improve, it looks like we may be best getting our kicks out of LEGO: Indiana Jones.

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SEGA discuss a 2D return for Sonic
Credit: Eurogamer

More SEGA, more Sonic! Yuji Naka, the man behind the blue hedgehog himself, and Tetsu Katano, a representative from SEGA, recently sat down to discuss the company's future projects and where the Sonic franchise might head next. Naka, no longer in charge of the Sonic outings, noted that he feels Sonic and co. are in capable hands. But with lacklustre reviews for recent Sonic titles, it would seem that the gaming public disagree.

It's a well-regarded fact that Sonic's glory days were in 2D. Of all the Sonic titles from the past decade, the clear highlights have been the 2D Sonic Rush outings on DS, which stuck to the tried-and-tested formula of the blue guy racing through levels at break-neck speeds. This is, after all, what brought Sonic to the dance in the first place. Questioned on whether or not fans would see Sonic return to form in a proper 2D console outing, Katano said that he recognised fans' complaints about the recent 3D titles, and mentioned the possibility of a new 2D/2.5D adventure, saying,


Katano: Obviously we do like to target core users of Sonic games, but it's still under discussion so I can't say a lot about it.


Oh, it's another round of "Avoid the Question!" Seriously, game designers would make the best politicians, I swear. Anyway, I do like a good bit of rumor and speculation, and it seems as if we can chalk up a new ‘old school' Sonic game under the banner of "maybe on its way but its all hush-hush." Stay tuned, peeps!

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More Chinatown Wars multiplayer details
Credit: Nintendo Everything, Joystiq





Co-op multiplayer gameplay modes had already been confirmed for Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on the DS, which launches in the US in just over a month, but no specifics have been detailed as of yet. Slowly but surely, information is coming through in drips and drabs, and thanks to the fliers Rockstar were handing out at last week's Comic Con, we know that the game will offer ‘head-to-head and co-op multiplayer mayhem'. So yes, I'm basically using the word ‘mayhem' as an excuse to talk about Chinatown Wars' multiplayer modes again, but hey, I work with the material I find.

‘Multiplayer mayhem' infers a deathmatch of sorts, so regarding the head-to-head mode we're most likely in store for an all-out kill-everything-in-site mode, the likes of which were featured in GTA IV. Co-op is a little more intriguing, but one would assume this just pairs you with a friend to tackle various missions from the main single-play storyline.

What comes as somewhat of a disappointment is the fact that there will be no Wi-Fi enabled multiplayer. Yes, you'll be able to trade items, chat with friends and access the Rockstar world rankings (‘Rockstar Social Club', as it's officially known), but all gameplay-oriented multiplayer will be carried out via local connections. It's not the end of the world, of course, but considering the hype the Wi-Fi capabilities were given when the title was first announced at E3 last year, it is a bit of a letdown. With gamers hitting the streets of Chinatown on March 17th, expect to hear more on the heavily-guarded multiplayer modes in the coming weeks.

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Latest MadWorld trailer: Comic Con ‘09

Last weekend's Comic Convention was the perfect spot to showcase the year's upcoming games, and SEGA used the occasion to highlight MadWorld, and considering its comic book-style visuals and over-the-top violence, it was a wise choice of location. Below is the official Comic Con '09 trailer, but you'll find plenty of other ‘proper' in-game movies on Youtube and the like. A month away from launch, it's very satisfying to see new concepts, locations and gameplay ideas, proving that there's still an awful lot we don't know about this title. What hasn't change is the simple fact that it looks fantastic. Enjoy...





Big props to Jack for copping a feel of that ass. Mmm yeah.

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The 411 Games Crew

Fact or Fiction: Games, presented by Ramon Aranda.

John De Large turns to the beloved Resident Evil franchise in What I Hate About You.

Joe Roche has another instalment of The Full Circle: 360 News Report, this week featuring news on Halo Wars and GTA in the Old West.

Trace Aber takes a look at the Halo Wars demo in this week's Living LIVE.

Achievement Unlocked by Rod Oracheski dissects the achievements list for WWE Legends of Wrestlemania.

Sticking with the WWE theme, Jordan Williams discusses what can be done to improve the Smackdown vs Raw series in the latest edition of Working Title.

B3yond the Report by Derek Robbins covers the announcement of Dead Rising 2, Sony wanting fans to stop wondering about the PS4 when there's still a lot of life left in the PS3 and more!


Thanks for checking out this week's report! It's still absolutely freezing here in the South West of England, my heating cut out about an hour ago and my hands are turning slightly blue so I think I better sign off now...

Screenshots
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