WNR: 21st March 2010

hey everyone! welcome to the new WNR! I apologize for missing a week, but I was so fed up with work that I didn't have time to finish a game or work on the report, so I postponed everything to today ^.^; anyway, I just bought Fragile Dreams and Nights: Journey into dreams, both look like fun games ^^ I'll review one of them for the next week, for now enjoy this WNR!

VC RELEASES:

USA
-Final Fantasy 2 (SNES)
-Castlevania: Rondo of blood (Turbografx16)

EU
-Ironclad (NeoGeo)
-Lode Runner (NES)
-Castlevania: Rondo of blood (Turbografx16)
-Milon's secret castle (NES)

WIIWARE RELEASES

USA
-Dracula: Undead awakening (arcade)
-Max and the magic marker (platform)
-Rage of the Gladiator (arcade)
-Triple shot sports (light gun game)

EU
-Military Madness: Nectaris (strategy)
-Muscle March (crazy game)

GAME RELEASES

USA
16th of March:
-Fragile Dreams: Farewell ruins of the moon
-GTI Club supermini festa!

23rd of March:
-Red Steel 2
-Rooms: the main building
-How to train your dragon

EU
19th of March:
-Calling
-Fragile Dreams: Farewell ruins of the moon
-Rabbids party collection

24th of March:
-Red Steel 2

26th of March:
-Rune Factory Frontier
-Racket sports party
-Dragon Trainer

NEWS

New details and screens for Sonic 4: Episode 1 have been released (2d platform):
http://www.nintendoeverything.com/35306/

- “Fans will be very pleased with the cast in episode 2.”
- Episode 1
is a prologue
- There will be moves such as Spin Dash, Rolling
Attack, homing attack, unknown move
- Izuka on homing attack: “I
wanted the user to enjoy an easy-to-play feeling by the attack sequence
that this [homing attack] allows, and find the fun routes in the air.”
- Classic special stages returning
- Classic gameplay, speed
-
No 3D, CG pre-redner
- Gamers who beat the game with all emeralds
will see a cliffhanger for episode 2, otherwise they’ll see a “try
again” ending
- Izuka: “If Sonic 4’s return to form is the Sonic
experience you have been waiting 16 years for, then we strongly
encourage you to try this.”

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The boxart for Sin and Punishment: Star successor has been released (shoot'em up):
http://www.nintendoeverything.com/34737/

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Sam and Max: Beyond time and space has been announced for wii! here are the first screens:
http://www.nintendoeverything.com/34760/

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New screens for Fragile Dreams: Farewell ruins of the moon have been released (adventure game):
http://www.nintendoeverything.com/34766/

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New artworks and details for The Last Story have been released (RPG):
http://www.nintendoeverything.com/34816/
http://www.nintendoeverything.com/35253/

- Ruri Island surrounded by mountain ranges
- The island can only
be accessed through a port
- Island ruler has certain ambitions,
seeks magic as a way to rise to power
- Ruri is prosperous in spite
of the fact that the whole empire is poor and decayed
- Town
wealth probably related to magic, attracts monsters
- Fate of the
island will soon change forever
- Metal resources are scarce in the
world of The Last Story
- Sakaguchi limiting amount of sci-fi
influence on the world setting in the game
- Sakaguchi would like
players to enjoy the smooth experience of exploring Ruri Island
-
Ruri Island bathed in sunlight
- Not confirmed, but the whole game
might take place on Ruri Island
- Sakaguchi wants people to feel like they’re really in Ruli City
-
Residents of the city will have changing reactions, objects fly in the
wind, there will be “desperate escapes”
- Team visited small towns
in France/Italy for research, influenced the game
- Ruli City is the
base of your adventures
- City is expansive
- Producer said if
you walk a lot you’ll probably get lost
- Not many dead ends, many
narrow roadways
- “There’s a reason for this type of setting.
Please, walk around Ruli City aimlessly to experience that reason.”

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New screens for Dive: Medes islands' secret have been released (2d adventure game):
http://www.nintendoeverything.com/34953/

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a game based on Doctor Who has been announced for wii. Here are the first details:

- Game is early on in development
- Wil be based on Matt Smith’s new
Doctor
- Daleks, Cybermen, Silurians, other baddies will be in the
game
“This has been in the pipeline for years. We’re delighted to
have finally nailed down a deal. We went with Nintendo as they have huge
appeal for families and Doctor Who is very much a family brand. The Wii
console is key for us as it’s something families play together.” –
insider
- “The video game was quite actively developed, but it’s
difficult to nail as the Doctor doesn’t blow things up. He’s not Batman,
who goes around smacking people in the head.” – Former Doctor David
Tennant

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A new scan for Xenoblade has been released (RPG):
http://www.nintendoeverything.com/35027/

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A couple of videos for Tournament of Legends have been released (Fighting game):
http://www.nintendoeverything.com/35030/

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An european date for Samurai Warriors 3 has been confirmed: May 28! sign it up!

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New screens and a video for Military Madness: Nectaris have been released (strategy):
http://www.nintendoeverything.com/35232/

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a new video for Bit.Trip Runner has been released (action/platform):
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/debut-trailer-bit-trip-runner/62790

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a new video for Bass's DLC of Megaman 10 has been released (2d platform/action game):
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/japanese-bass-mega-man-10/62832

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new videos for Calling has been released (survival horror):
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/launch-trailer-calling/62904
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/alternate-language-calling/63256
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/alternate-language-calling/63257

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a new video for Dracula: Undead awakening has been released (arcade):
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/wiiware-gameplay-dracula-undead/62924

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a new video for Max and the magic marker has been released (2d platform):
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/wiiware-tire-max-the/62999

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a new video for NBA Jam has been released (arcade/basketball game):
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-debut-nba-jam/63072

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new videos for Red Steel 2 have been released (action/FPS):
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/enemies-vignette-red-steel-2/63301
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-customizable-red-steel-2/63275

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A first video for Prince of Persia: The forgotten sands have nee released (action/adventure game):
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/wii-version-prince-of/63346

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WII GAME OF THE WEEK: Megaman 10
genre: 2d platform/action
publisher: Capcom



this is the first time for me reviewing a wiiware game :3 but I'd say that the wiiware service got a lot of good games worth being reviewed in my opinion ^^ anyway, Megaman 10 was one of the games of this year I really wanted, so as soon as I could get wii points I spent them on this little gem of a game:3 so let's analyze the game in depth, shall we ? :3

Megaman 10 is another retro revival of the popular blue bomber, following what Megaman 9 did and giving the game an 8-bit look, programmed as if it was developed for the NES. The game obviously works out like an old one. You have 8 Robot Masters to defeat, in order to unlock the last levels and defeat the last boss.

the graphics are oldschool obviously, using the old NES engine and sprites, even if in the cutscenes megaman is able to actually make facial expressions and more poses. The game is a NES game under every aspect of its look. It's a beautiful pixelfest. The enemies, the levels and the bosses, everything proves how an old 8-bit engine can still give us so much fun and also have a sort of "style" embedded in it.

You can clearly tell the developers had loads of fun designing the levels, the traps and the enemies/bosses, everything looks just so..well...right ^^ there's no other way to describe it, this is a tribute to the NES, perhaps even better than Megaman 9 creativity-wise.

The gameplay is still the same...run, jump and shoot...those tree actions make the game. The fact that you can also choose between Megaman and Protoman at the start of the game also gives a sort of variety to the action. While megaman is sturdier than protoman, the red robot haves a few more moves than the blue bomber, like the slide, the shield to bump projectiles away and the charged beam. It's like the game asks you if you want to play like in Megaman 1 or Megaman 4 (when megaman got his charge beam). Of course, both robots can absorb the powers of the bosses they defeat. The weapons are various, some of them being slightly modified versions of previous ones (like Pumpman's ability being similar to Woodman's or Nitroman's wheel cutter being a sort of different version of Metalman's Metal blades). Each level got its own traps and dangers, making up for quite the varied level design and the boss battles are fun and also quite challenging in some cases (knowing a robot master's weakness can help a lot though, especially if you're a megaman expert).

The game is overall quite challenging and for people who doesn't like challenges there's the easy mode wich will also cover the spikes in the level (known to kill you in one hit in the entire megaman series).

Megaman 10 proves how an old gameplay can still work in the current generation, also proving that high definition isn't everything.

The story, well...everyone knowwhat might happen X3 it isn't anything of special, as with all the megaman games, with a few exceptions. Of course, defeating the last boss is always epic! :3

the soundtrack is another strong point of the game...epic 8-bit goodness in its full shape. You'll probably find quite a few fave tunes in the game, as I did :3

overall the game works pretty well...it's frenetic, oldschool, challenging and fun...no real problems and flaws, really...if you liked 8-bit megaman games you'll probably like this one. This would also be a nice reason for new gamers to see how it was gaming years ago and learn how even old games can still be fun, addicting and can even look good

the game is not really long...a few days and it can be cleared if you're an expert gamer and play with both characters. I did clear the game in three days. myself, but I heard of people being unable to beat certain bosses, so it really depends by your skills with the game, really ^^

if you have a few wii points to spend I recommend this game and all of its previous chapters on both wiiware and VC!

here's a few screens:
http://www.gamekyo.com/Webmasters/Images/31editeurs20100115_190426_2_big.jpg
http://www.gamekyo.com/Webmasters/Images/31editeurs20100115_190427_8_big.jpg
http://www.gamekyo.com/Webmasters/Images/31editeurs20100115_190428_14_big.jpg
http://www.gamekyo.com/Webmasters/Images/31editeurs20100115_190428_13_big.jpg

and a video:
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/japanese-debut-mega-man-10/60331

that's all for this week! see ya next time! have a good wii gaming time!