After playing Wii Sports I am sure I do not need to tell you how exciting it was to think about future games like The BIGS, or Brunswick Pro Bowling, and maybe some day Fight Night and Virtual Tennis coming to the Nintendo Wii platform. To each have their own game, where the developers could take the basic concepts from Wii Sports and then go above and beyond to higher degree of immersion with each individual sport. Unfortunately Brunswick Pro Bowling does not go to much higher.

This is a pretty comprehensive bowling game. You have the quick play option where you and three other people can basically just bowl ten frames. Or you have the career mode. In career mode there are entrance fees and minimum score levels which you must maintain. You can purchase upgrades, different clothes and what not. The graphics look pretty good, but I will be interested to compare them to the PSP and PS2 version of the game. The game play is pretty close to the bowling game in Wii Sports with some small changes. One of those changes is how you position where you will release the ball. In Wii Sports this was done with the directional pad which made it very easy to pick up. In Brunswick Pro Bowling you need to hold down the B button and rotate your Wiimote clockwise to move right and counter clockwise to move left. This is quite cumbersome at first but after a while you do get the hang of it. The other problem is that it is very hard to make minor adjustments to what path you want the ball to take. Adjusting the angle of the roll as well as the approach and throwing the ball are for the most part the same as Wii Sports. The game uses real life looking humans instead of cartoon characters, and these humans actually have legs unlike the Wii Characters.

Aside from the career mode, and the human looking characters there is not much different from Brunswick Pro Bowling to the Bowling in Wii Sports. Bowling fans will definitely get their monies worth. But for the average gamer who just wants to bowl with some friends, Wii Sports is definitely the obvious choice only because you probably already have it and Brunswick Bowling is not substantially different in functionality. Had this game featured online play that would have completely changed my perceptions of this game. The idea of getting to go bowling with a friend or relative who lives far away would be really appealing. Imagine sitting there talking like you were at a real life bowling alley, you take your turn, he takes his turn. Celebrating great frames and engaging in some friend trash talk between the two of you. The only difference would probably be the lack of a cute waitress to bring you your favorite refreshments and snacks.

But the facts are that Brunswick Pro Bowling did not include online play. That being said until you can find it for under $20 it is pretty hard to recommend the game if you already own its equivalent. If you do not have Wii Sports for whatever reason I would definitely recommend renting this game and or buying it for some good fun.

Samus is finally getting some attention from Nintendo and now they are making up for neglecting this lovely lady. Nintendo has pronounced the month of August 2007 the “Month of Metroid”. To start off with the Nintendo Wii has a new Metroid Prime 3: Corruption preview channel. There you can check out some game play videos of the new Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and I have to say this has gotten me super excited about this game. Hopefully Nintendo will see the success this preview channel has and open up a general preview channel for all their box games as well as their download offerings on the Virtual Console. Then through out the month of August the Virtual Console is going to give it up to Samus. To head things off August 13th Metroid for the NES explodes on to the Virtual Console. So crack open the No Doz and pour the coffee because you will need hit this one long and hard because seven days after that Super Metroid will be thrust onto the Virtual Console. Go pick up that big case of Red Bull and play hard because to you will need to get this game done in seven days and that will bring you right up to August 27th, and that is the day that all the other women in your life are going to kiss you good bye because you will belong to Samus and the chances of you coming back any time soon are pretty slim but anyone else in your life can always sit by the phone and hope that your Wii pulls an Xbox 360 and red rings!

Via Press Release

Sounds like Rare is finally back developing for a Nintendo platform. Kotaku is reporting that Viva Piñata is set to appear on the Nintendo DS platform. This crazy game about creating a garden of Piñatas sounds like a perfect match for the Nintendo DS and its many of the wacky other titles. Viva Piñata was a successful title on the Xbox 360 platform.

This then begs the question, why is a Microsoft owned studio developing games for a Nintendo platform? Since Microsoft currently lacks a hand held gaming platform, lending a little support to the Nintendo DS is the perfect move to help kick Sony when they are down. I know allot of gamers would be very happy to see both Microsoft and Nintendo adopt the old theory of “…the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Now if Microsoft and Nintendo could just get together and work out some sort of deal to produce Goldeneye on Xbox LIVE Arcade and the Virtual Console.

Source: Kotaku

As if Nintendo needed something else to brag about the Nintendo DS, but the little clam shell console has reached another mile stone.  Since its launch in November 2005 they have connected 5,000,000 (that’s right do read it to yourself in the Dr. Evil voice, Five “Million”) unique Nintendo DS machines.  And those machines have let users enjoy over 200 million game-play sessions.  The five most popular online games are Animal Crossing: Wild World, Mario Kart DS, Metroid Prime Hunters, Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl.

“Nintendo DS gamers globally use Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection as an easy, fun place to find fellow players, all without paying anything extra for the service,” explains Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. “The milestones represent millions of hours of fun and camaraderie despite miles between players.”

Nintendo DS continues to enjoy record-breaking success. According to new figures from the independent NPD Group, DS was again the top-selling video game system in April, with more than 470,000 units sold in the United States alone. That’s nearly 16,000 per day.

Nintendo DS also finds success beyond the stereotypical young male gamer. According to internal Nintendo demographic tracking studies, in less than 18 months, DS purchases have increased by 42 percent among women, 127 percent among people 30 and older and 212 percent among people 35 and older.

For more information about Nintendo DS, please visit the Nintendo DS Website.
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Via Press Release

All of you puzzle fans and brain trainers out there get ready, another Sudoku game is coming July 2007.  From Telegames the people who brought you Ultimate Card Games, Ultimate Brain Games, Ultimate Winter Games and Ultimate Arcade Games.

Ultimate Puzzle Games: Sudoku Edition will feature:

• Unlimited number of puzzles - virtually infinite number of puzzles, thanks to an internal algorithm that randomly generates puzzles.
• Four grid layouts: 9 by 9, 8 by 8, 6 by 6, and 4 by 4. Uses touch screen and stylus.
• Multiple difficulty selections, including sections for younger players.
• Use erasable pencil marks to help solve the puzzle…without tearing the newspaper!
• Select your choice of background from 10 cool images.
• Compare your best times to solve the puzzles with target solution times.
• On-screen “How to play” instructions and button actions.
• Save the puzzle status and other options for later.
• PC-style menus allow easy and intuitive configuration and navigation.
• Sudoku Solver - manually input any puzzle from any other source and solve the puzzle using your DS and UPG-SE.
• Wirelessly play all head-to-head modes with either one or two game cards.
• Game Share feature - wirelessly download the entire game to another DS for their independent play or for multi-player action. It’s even easier than sharing music files…and it’s FREE!

Additional information can at Telegames Website.

Look for Ultimate Puzzle Games: Sudoku Edition for Nintendo DS in July 2007 for the retail price of $19.99.

Via Press Release

Ubisoft is set to release the sound track to Red Steel. Most of us remember Red Steel for the Nintendo Wii as being the second most anticipated title next to Ledgend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Didier Lord, Executive Director of Ubisoft Music said “We’re really happy to make this possible, especially with Tom’s spectacular work on Red Steel, It’s an important move as it will be Ubisoft’s first soundtrack released on major digital distribution channels – the first of many to come!” For all of you out there who do not speak PR quite as well let me translate. “We are constantly looking for more ways to suck cash out of your wallet.”

Most people who have played the game Red Steel can attest that Tom Salta did a spectacular job in composing the music. In fact the music is one of the only notable features of the game.

To ensure the authenticity of the game’s soundtrack, Salta arranged and recorded traditional live Japanese instrumentation such as Koto, Shamisen, Shakuhachi and Taiko performed by expert Japanese musicians including the specialist percussion group Taikoza. The score also features performances from conservatory-trained Japanese opera singers and renowned violinist Lili Haydn. In order to reflect the diverse and Western-influenced soundtrack of fashionable Tokyo, Salta further embellished the soundtrack with a wide spectrum of music styles – such as orchestral, electronic, rock, hip hop, dance, easy listening, jazz, lounge and Japanese pop – that truly embrace the game’s cinematic story and vibrant locations.

Tom Salta’s other video game credits include the original score for Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. Mr. Salta is currently working on the follow-up to his highly acclaimed debut solo album, 2 Days or Die. For more information on Tom Salta visit his site .

Having played the game Red Steel I would encourage everyone to save some money. Forget the game and just grab the music.

Via Press Release

There is something for everyone coming over the next few months from Nintendo.  Whether you are a player who spent countless hours on your Nintendo NES playing Super Mario Brothers to the Noob that just bought a Nintendo DS and are Training your brain, Nintendo’s summer line has something for you.

If you are one of the few fortunate ones to have scored a Nintendo Wii there are games like Metroid Prime 3 Corruption and Mario Strikers Charged. Nintendo DS owners can challenge their minds with games like Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day and the new picture-based puzzle game, Picross DS.

Wii
July 30 Mario Strikers Charged Nintendo
Aug. 20 Metroid Prime 3 Corruption Nintendo
September Battalion Wars 2 Nintendo
Aug. 14 High School Musical: Sing It! Disney Interactive Studios
Aug. 14 Madden NFL ‘08 EA
August Tiger Woods PGA Tour ‘08 EA
August Space Station Tycoon Namco Bandai
August Brunswick Pro Bowling Crave
August Dave Mirra BMX Challenge Crave
August Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection Crave
September Brothers in Arms Ubisoft
September Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal Warner Bros.
September George of the Jungle Crave
Fall Boogie EA

Nintendo DS
July 30 Picross DS Nintendo
Aug. 20 Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day Nintendo
Sept. 10 DK Jungle Climber Nintendo
Sept. 24 Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol Nintendo
July SimCity EA
July Namco Museum DS Namco Bandai
July Drake & Josh THQ
July Glory Days 2 Eidos
Aug. 14 Madden NFL ‘08 EA
Aug. 14 High School Musical: Makin’ the Cut! Disney Interactive Studios
Aug. 14 Heroes of Mana Square-Enix
August I SPY: Fun House Activision
August Jewel Quest Expedition Activision
August Tiger Woods PGA Tour ‘08 EA
August Worms: Open Warfare 2 THQ
August Luminous Arc Atlus
August Mega Man Star Force: Pegasus Capcom
August Mega Man Star Force: Leo Capcom
August Mega Man Star Force: Dragon Capcom
August Operation: Vietnam Majesco
August Turn It Around Majesco
August The Wild West Majesco
August Fulllmetal Alchemist Trading Card Game Destineer
September Drawn to Life THQ
September Zoey 101 THQ
September Crayola Teasure Adventures Crave
September Nancy Drew and The Deadly Secret of Olde World Park Majesco
September Holly Hobbie & Friends Majesco
September Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations Capcom
September Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck Warner Bros.
September Pet Luv Spa & Resort Tycoon Activision
September Animal Genius Activision
September George of the Jungle Crave
September Jam Sessions Ubisoft
September Professor Brainium Destineer
September Indy 500 Legends Destineer

For more information about Nintendo, visit Nintendo.com.

The three new classic games go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo adds new games to the channel every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:

Donkey Kong Country 2™: Diddy’s Kong Quest™ (SNES®, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points): In the sequel to the immensely popular Donkey Kong Country™, Diddy Kong® gets the spotlight, along with his girlfriend, Dixie Kong™ - a great little monkey with a dangerous ponytail. The action starts on the wreck of King K. Rool’s Gangplank Galleon that has apparently broken up on a reef offshore from the Kremlings’ Island. Diddy and his friends will have to work together to rescue Donkey Kong®, exploring all the hidden areas of the Kremlings’ island: a spooky haunted forest, treacherous swamps, a giant beehive oozing with sticky honey and lava-filled caves, just to name a few.

Streets of Rage™ 2 (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points): To celebrate their defeat of the Syndicate exactly one year before, Blaze, Adam and Axel met for drinks. The next morning, Axel received a frantic phone call from Eddie “Skate” Hunter, Adam’s younger brother, whom he was living with on the edge of the city. Blaze and Axel found Adam and Skate’s house wrecked, and a picture showing Adam chained up at the feet of Mr. X. The city then once again returned to its nightmarish state as criminals ran rampant. Unable to contact their old friend in artillery, Axel and Blaze team up with Skate and Max Thunder to free the city and rescue Adam from the Syndicate. It is up to you to take down Mr. X once and for all.

Blazing Lazers (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, 600 Wii Points): Blazing Lazers is a vertical-scrolling shooter that was praised for surpassing the limitations of the hardware of its time. Players control the extraordinary firepower of their Gunhed Star Fighter to take on the Dark Squadron that has begun its invasion of Earth. Collect power-ups to increase your ship’s battle strength so it can cut through enemies and defeat the bosses in all nine areas. Of course, as part of the “Soldier” series, the game contains a good combination of fast-paced speed with catchy, drum-propelled background music, coupled with the Field Thunder that can be used to destroy enemies in one fell swoop for the ultimate sense of satisfaction. With its fine-tuned difficulty levels, Blazing Lazers is a shooting game that anyone can enjoy.

For more information visit Wii.com

Via Press Release

So I am finally getting around to writing a review of Super Swing Golf for the Nintendo Wii.  There is really not a great deal to say about this game.  But let me summarize the rest of the review.  It is a golf game, you play on the Nintendo Wii.  You hold the Wiimote and swing the Wiimote like you would a golf club.  Actually that is pretty much the whole review.  Hardcore golf fans or Tiger Woods series fans need not play this game.  Parents if you are trying to get your children interested in the game of golf should rent this, it may do the trick.

So if you are still reading means one of two things.  Either you have children who might enjoy this game, or you a raving Nintendo Fanboy who is furious that anyone would dare speak ill of anything on the Nintendo Wii.

One of my first complaints is that the characters are not very customizable.  Being this is all cartoon art, and the developers did not very much of the 9 gigabytes of space on the DVD format I would think they would have been able to give us lots of courses and lots of different character options.  If this is your assumption then you like me would be really wrong.  You get the choice of boy or girl and a few different accessories.

My next complaint comes in the way of the tutorial.  Instead of focusing on how to teach you one aspect of the game, let you practice before moving to another feature of the game.  Super Swing Golf shows you two or three different things then after they are done explaining all these things expect you to remember how to do them all during practice.  Here again if you are use to the good job that Electronic Arts has always done with the Tiger Wood Golf series you will be sadly disappointed with Super Swing Golf.

All you heavy duty golf fans out there are going to love this.  With swinging the Wiimote you always hit the ball straight, that’s right kiss that slice or fade in your stroke good bye because in Super Swing Golf there are only straight shots.  I know all the golfers reading are asking where is this Golf Heaven and how do I get there.  The distance the ball goes is based on at what point in your swing you first press the A button and at what point in your wind up you hit the A button.  Then performs what percentage of the full swing you wanted to use and crack, off goes the perfect straight shot.

Over all Tiger Wood Golf 2007 or even Wii Sports is a much better golf game then this.  And I would highly recommend either of those games over this.  If you are the high end golf crazy definitely check out the Tiger Woods Golf game.  If you have little children and want to spark an interest in Golf with your younger children use Wii Sports golf.

Nintendo DS download program lands at JFK International Airport for peak summer travel season.  As global travelers get ready for an active summer travel season, Delta Air Lines and Nintendo are teaming up to provide customers access to free video game demos for the Nintendo DS™ portable gaming system during their down time at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. Today, on-the-go Nintendo fans of all ages can download interactive demos and sample a variety of new games for free to help pass time as they prepare for their flights.

Through this service, travelers can easily and wirelessly download video game demos at no cost by bringing their portable Nintendo DS video game systems with them when they travel to or through New York-JFK. Travelers stand within a few feet of one of the four DS Download Stations located in Delta Terminals 2 and 3 at JFK and follow the simple download instructions. Within a few seconds, a temporary demo version of a popular Nintendo DS game transmits wirelessly to the Nintendo DS. Game demos available for download include Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day, Elite Beat Agents, Cooking Mama and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend. Demos are updated periodically and will showcase everything from brain training to action games, appealing to baby boomers and seniors, and to teens and kids.

The service also is available in Delta terminals at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

“Delta is excited to partner with Nintendo, makers of some of the most popular video games of all time, to provide yet another innovative entertainment offering to our global travelers,” said Joan Vincenz, Delta’s managing director of Product Marketing. “This program reflects our ongoing commitment to provide a distinctive, enjoyable travel experience – both on the ground and in the air – especially during the busy spring and summer travel season.”

Added George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications: “Partnering with Delta builds on Nintendo’s goal to expand the world of video games to new audiences. Because people typically have a lot of down time, airports are ideal places for people young and old to try out free new game experiences and see what they like.”

This airport technology addition is one of many changes Delta is making to improve the travel experience for customers. Earlier this year, Delta announced that beginning this summer it will offer HBO content and popular programs on select worldwide flights. The new programming will be available through Delta’s new two-class, domestic transcontinental aircraft featuring all-leather seating in both first class and coach. On these refurbished aircraft, every customer has a front row seat to great entertainment with Delta’s state-of-the-art, digital in-flight entertainment – boasting movies, live television, music and games – available on demand at every seat. The airline’s new standard in domestic transcontinental flying will be available to all passengers traveling on select Delta flights over four hours (or more than 1,750 miles), including those from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to cities including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle and others, beginning this month.

As long they are in the giving mood Delta, how about just a little more leg room in coach.  And Nintendo how about some demos on the Wii!

Via Press Release