E3 2011: Kirby Wii (Wii) Preview
Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 06.13.2011
Hands On: Kirby is back for another new brand new adventure, and this time he's got some friends to come along to help. Jeffrey Harris checks in with his preview of Kirby Wii.
One title that got me totally excited at the Nintendo booth this year at E3 was Kirby Wii. Now I enjoyed Epic Yarn, but what I really wanted was a classic Kirby game on a next generation console, and finally we are getting it . . . where Kirby isn't a bunch of yarn. Kirby Wii is the truly classic Kirby game I've been waiting for years. I'm a huge fan of the Kirby series from HAL Laboratories, Inc. and it looks like they are finally delivering the Kirby game I've really wanted to see.
This new adventure game is up to 4 players. So that means this is a Kirby game with multiplayer co-op action. I got to demo the game with fellow writers Mark Salmela and James Lewis. So besides Kirby, you can also play as King Dedede, Waddle Dee, and of course . . . Meta Knight! Fantastic. Kirby can still devour and copy enemies onscreen and retain their abilities. The controls are classic Kirby controls and we played the game with the Wii-mote held sideways. You still get to use the motion controls of the Wii-mote when Kirby does his vacuum ability on some extra large blocks and objects. Each character has their own special abilities and techniques that can be used in play. Additional players can drop in and out at any time for the co-op multiplayer feature of the game.
Besides his regular abilities, Kirby now has some jazzed up super-abilities as well. There are some instances where Kirby can get a special item that gives him a super power-up. So he will get a giant sword he can clear the screen with. He can also attain a special fire attack that does similar heaping amounts of damage. The graphics and level design look great and it looks like a nice enhanced console version of the Wii. After playing through the stage, we also get the chance to fight one of the classic Kirby enemies and bosses, the large apple tree. Team-up and co-op works great for this game and you can also give your teammates rides on each other's back.
The game will encourage players to collect Point Stars and Ability Stars. Kirby Wii looks great so far and it is currently set for a Fall release later this year. It will be released of course on the Nintendo Wii console.
