N-Europe

News: Last No More Heroes On The Wii?

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:04:13 -0500

In an interview with the man himself, Goichi Suda said that this could very well be the last entry of the series on the Wii...

In the latest issue of EDGE, while interviewing Gochi Suda about the upcoming title, No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle, he said that this could very well be the last entry of the series on the Wii, and to expand the series, new hardware was needed.

Goichi Suda:

"I think this is the last NMH that is going to be developed on Wii. To expand NMH to new possibilities, we need a new platform. Wii is a great platform, but we've done everything we can with it now."

Also when speaking about the title, Goichi went on to say that Travis would pilot a robot at somepoint, along with better AI who attack depending on their own weapon class resulting in more unique enemy encounters.

When speaking of the mini-games:

"The reason that I put these elements in is that it's a challenge to make a game, and so I want too make the player feel challenges to even play the game..."

How do you think the No More Heroes can expand? Let us know your thought below.

News: More Mature Goodness From Sega

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:35:12 -0500

Despite slow sales for House of the Dead and MadWorld, Sega is not turning its back on mature games for Wii...

This year has seen Sega challenge gamers to prove the Wii's allegedly "family friendly" image wasn't all the console was about, as the company released both House of the Dead: OVERKILL and MadWorld, which both scored highly here at N-Europe and widely in the gaming press.

Yet the gaming public did not snap up the games as fast as expected, causing both to be cut in price by many retailers - and are now both selling steadily. Gary Dunn, MD of European development for Sega, told GamesIndustry.biz that OVERKILL especially can "bubble away at a lower price point for a long time ... profits come from the lower price point." Dunn continued:

"You have to push boundaries and explore. I think whilst MadWorld commercially didn't sell what we were expecting I wouldn't say it's game over for mature Wii titles from Sega. We're taking a look at the resources we have now. We've got money to invest in development, we're just considering where to invest it next."

Sega continue to bring mature-rated goodness to Wii with High Voltage's The Conduit - expect our full review of that shortly. Which mature franchises would you like to see Sega bring to Wii next? Let us know in the comments section...

Media: Oxygen Announces Hysteria Hospital

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:27:57 -0500

Meet Hysteria Hospital, a new hospital "dash" game for Wii and DS...

Keeping patients happy and organising wards to get people treated as quick as possible - surely the most important tasks of any hospital worker (except in the U.S. where emptying their wallet in the process is also necessary).

Publishers Oxygen have labelled Hysteria Hospital's genre as "dash", meaning time and resource management will be needed to clear beds before the next patient comes along. Developed by Portugese outfit GameInvest, you can see the game in action below:

Comparisons will inevitably be drawn with Theme Hospital, but how do you think it looks? Let us know below...

Media: New Furry Legends Trailer

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:11:12 -0500

Polish WiiWare developers Gamelion Studios have sent along the new trailer for Furry Legends, check it out inside...

Hot off the press comes this new trailer for Furry Legends a platform based puzzler with some great random humour. Watch the new footage below to find out what we mean:

For more information on the game, check out our recent interview with Gamelion to read all about it...

News: BitBoy!! Launching This Friday

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:01:19 -0500

Indie developers Bplus' latest WiiWare title hits the Wii Shop Channel this Friday...

Indie WiiWare developers Bplus have revealed their latest game BitBoy!! will see release for download from this Friday in Europe, for just 600 Points. America will see the title later in July.

The game's art director, Bernd Geiblinger, described the game as a "new arcade adventure that is delivered together with all its never-before-seen prequels from the different videogame eras. From ages 14 to 40, each Bit Generation will spark true retro feelings in all players when they set off in the ultimate pursuit of fruits and highscores." Check out the trailer below:

Look for a new N-Europe interview with the developers in the next few days...

News: Grinder Opts For Free Online

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:01:50 -0500

The monster-slaying, co-op FPS will likely not use Pay to Play, High Voltage Software confirms...

Announced late last month, High Voltage Software impressed Wii owners with The Grinder - a fantastical first person shooter with a heavy foucs on four-player, online co-op. Many comparisons with Valve's critically acclaimed Left 4 Dead ensued, although it might have seemed that the prospect of frantic online co-op was too good to be true.

But this isn't a tragic news piece! The Grinder's art director Matt Corso has gone on record to say the game will be sidestepping Nintendo's Pay to Play initiative - a system designed to intake regular payments from the consumer to enhance the online experience.

�I think the answer to that is most likely not [Pay 2 Play]. Because the Wii servers let players play online for free, The Grinder will take advantage of that. Once you purchase the game you�re free to play online with your friends as much as you like, for as long as you like.�

Now with less financial cost. Well. No more financial cost at any rate...

So while that means The Grinder will almost certainly be sticking to friend codes, at least gamers can enjoy free, unlimited online, not to mention Wii Speak and Wii MotionPlus support.

Would you have been prepared to pay a monthly subscription if it meant a smoother, more robust online experience? Be sure to leave us your comments below...

Rumour: Chinatown Wars Edging 600k

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:45:36 -0500

Unofficial sales figures report Grand Theft Auto on DS to still be chugging along...

Despite very high critical success, many were left surprisingly underwhelmed at Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars' inital commercial performance when it released on DS back in March. Rockstar themselves announced last week that the game would see a port heading to Sony's PSP. However, it may not all be doom and gloom for the franchise on Nintendo's system.

Unconfirmed stats from VG Chartz place the game at a mark close to the 600,000 range worldwide. As you can see below, the numbers suggest a not-totally inconsistent rate of sales in both Europe and North America.

While some may understandably sceptical about figures collected from VG Chartz, it at least gives some indication of how the title continues to perform at the tills.

Have you picked up Chinatown Wars on DS yet? Let us know your views below...

Media: Half-Blood Prince Launch Trailer

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:25:07 -0500

EA unveils the launch trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, check it out inside now...

The penultimate year at Hogwarts finds Harry up against an evil plot to infiltrate the school and kill Dumbledore, while Lord Voldemort continues his rise to power. To combat this growing threat, Harry must look to Voldemort's past to discover a way to finish the Dark Lord once and for all.

EA's version of the upcoming Half-Blood Prince film will allow gamers to explore Hogwarts, take part in classes, wizard duels and Quidditch. The final trailer lies below...

Out this week, will you be adventuring with Harry once more?

News: Square-Enix & Capcom Tease New Titles

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 08:41:52 -0500

Both Square-Enix and Capcom have set up new websites teasing new titles. Can you guess what they might be for?

It's speculation time here at N-Europe on this sunny summer Sunday. Two of our favourite games developers are on the cusp of announcing new games, as evidenced by these two new teaser pages.

Square-Enix have unveiled a new teaser page for an as-yet-unannounced title - check it out at square-enix.co.jp/0706. If you turn your volume way up you can here some old 16-bit sounding music. Can any readers help us out in identifying it? Let us know below if recognise it...

Even more cryptically, if that is possible, Capcom are not to be outdone with their own new teaser site here: capcom.co.jp/1560, which features some creepy sounding music of its own. Is Resident Evil 6 going back to the middle ages? We doubt it, but who knows.

Let us know your speculation for these two new games below - we'll let you know all the scoop when these games are properly unveiled!

News: Pok�mon Heart Gold & Soul Silver Dated

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 10:48:50 -0500

Japanese dates and prices for the upcoming Pok�-remakes and pedometers...

Nintendo have revealed that they won't be charging any more than normal for the upcoming Pok�mon Gold & Silver remakes, which are set to feature spanky new graphics and more areas to explore, as well as the packaged-in pedometer peripheral pictured below (try saying that five times as fast).

The device allows gamers to download their favourite monster to carry around with them and level-up, but won't be costing the Japanese gamer any more than normal. The titles will go on sale September 12th for the normal price of 4,800 yen each.

What noise does a Pok�mon make when sneezing? PikaCHUUUUU...

No Western release dates have yet been mentioned, but judging from previous experience an early 2010 launch is probably the earliest that could be expected - with hopefully a normal price point intact here too. Would you buy the game and pedometer if it cost more? Let us know below...

News: Fragile Confirmed For Europe

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 10:36:19 -0500

Rising Star confirm they're bringing the atmospheric adventure to Europe...

European distributors Rising Star have happily confirmed that post-apocalyptic adventure Fragile will be heading to Europe. Developed by tri-Crescendo of Baten Kaitos fame, the title is on the way to America in December and will reach Europe and Australia quarter one next year.

Eye spy a release date...

Says Rising Star:

Next year, an emotional adventure like no other is coming to Europe and Australia on Nintendo Wii...
Seto may be the last human alive. He buried his grandfather at the end of the summer. Desperately lonely, he decides to search for other survivors on this ruined and dying planet.
But he will have to fight off the demons and ghosts that haunt this forsaken and crumbling world, while piecing together the mystery of mankind's disappearance.

Will you be picking up Fragile: Farwell Ruins of the Moon? Let us know below...

News: Five New WiiWare, VC & DSiWare

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:42:19 -0500

Stuck inside this sunny weekend? Never fear, as this week sees two Virtual Console releases, two new WiiWare titles and a DSiWare game to boot.

Maxis and Hudson's SimEarth: The Living Earth gives gamers the chance to build a world how they wish in this simulation game from the Turbografx era. Available for 800 points, it joins Sega's classic Altered Beast, the arcade version, which means it's available for a little more - 900 points.

WiiWare this week sees the summery release of Hudson's Water Warfare, allowing you to shoot up your friends hippie stylee (no, not with drugs, with water pistols silly). Impressively it features eight-player online play, and is available for 800 points. Yet another Bubble Bobble title rounds off the WiiWare releases this week - Puzzle Bobble Plus, also costs 800 points.

Meanwhile DSi owners can now download Sudoku 50! For Beginners, also from Hudson. It features 50 puzzles for just 200 points.

Looking to the future, it seems July will bring with it another Hanabi Festival for Europe, with more Virtual Consoles titles launching never before released in Europe. Hudson have confirmed both Bomberman '94 and Detana!! Twinbee will be included.

What will you be downloading this week?

Media: Sega Unveil Final Conduit Trailer

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:04:52 -0500

Check out the final trailer for The Conduit right now inside...

Although sadly delayed for a few weeks until July 10th, Sega have released a new and final trailer for the upcoming Wii shooter to keep our appetites securely whetted until that final release date comes around in just two weeks time.

Check it out below:

Will you be picking The Conduit up on launch day? Let us know below...

News: Metroid Prime Trilogy Art & Details

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:43:11 -0500

Nintendo lifts the lid on the Metroid Prime Trilogy...

Gamers will get the chance to replay all three of Samus' Metroid Prime missions this Autumn, as the special Trilogy boxset launches in America and Europe. It'll contain the three games (with the first two enhanced to include achievements, widescreen support and motion controls) all for a very affordable price, and all in this rather snazzy package.

The initial wave of releases will come in a special metal tin with cardboard slipcase, seen in the pictures below. A collector's booklet is also included. To re-iterate, this version will, at least initially, come as standard. Yum.

Confirmed for America, we expect Nintendo of Europe to bring this deal over to our shores as well. If so, would it convince you to buy it? Let us know below...

Comic: N-Comic #3

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:34:13 -0500

Well, at least its useful for one thing...

Drawn by Charles Raymond

News: Tingle Gets DS Sequel Confirmed!

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:13:55 -0500

Tingle turns from a desire for money to a quest seeking love in Color-Changing Tingle's Balloon Trip of Love!

The latest Famitsu has confirmed a sequel to Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland is in the works, again for the DS. The game sees Tingle (originally from the Zelda series) once again taking on his own crazy quest - this time for a wife.

Entitled Color-Changing Tingle's Balloon Trip of Love, the title features new 3D graphics - scans are right below. In celebration apparently, a pack of Tingle-themed DSi apps has now hit the DSi store in Japan - for 500 Points Japanese gamers can get their hands on various bits and bobs, including a themed calculator.

Are you excited to see Tingle back in a new game? Let us know below...

Column: Fire Flower #56

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:49:10 -0500

The Partii is Over

Written by Iun Hockley

"There was a big scramble for everyone in the development community to get their thumb out of their collective backside and desperately throw out whatever they could for the console. And it�s still happening."

50 million consoles sold and still going strong! The Wii is flying off the shelves in these financially difficult times, proving once and for all that Nintendo are back in the race. Could I even go so far as to say that the race is over and Nintendo are the out and out winners in this generation?

Would that be fair? After all, Microsoft and Sony are still manufacturing consoles, though in the case of the latter, it�s more for the subsidised Blu-Ray player than for anything else. In terms of consoles sold, the Wii is by far the out and out winner, but as far as quality software is concerned, it�s probably nowhere near the front.

With sales of Wii Play and Wii Fit still going through the roof, and titles like Mario Kart Wii and Super Mario Galaxy making big splashes in the charts, it�s hard to criticise Nintendo themselves. We�ve had virtually every up-to-date franchise brought to the console in one form or another, and I can guarantee you that most people haven�t managed even a 50% completion ratio on Zelda, Smash Bros. Brawl and Metroid Prime Corruption. Nintendo themselves have done quite a lot to push the console forward in terms of their own quality output.

Metroid, Zelda, Mario, Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Kart... lovely Nintendo goodness on Wii.

The big problem is, the same cannot be said for third party developers. Sure, we can enjoy such excellent titles as HotD: Overkill, Elebits, Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, Kororinpa, Boom Blox and Rayman Raving Rabbids. But the vast majority of the third party titles currently available are just poorly made pointless rehashes and dull yearly updates.

Good gravy, I hate party games! I mean, how often do I get to have a party these days? The next party on my anorexic social calendar is booked for May 2010. And the only reason I�m sure I�ll have time for that is because it�s my own wedding� Even so, I can hardly believe that Mrs Iun is going to be too happy with me playing the Wii on that particular day. Time to cut the cake? Sorry, love, I�ve just got to finish this pointless water-squirting mini game, I�ll be right there.

Nintendo are partly to blame for this state of affairs, but only because their direction is so radically different to that of their rivals. No-one expected the Wii to be anything more than a six month gimmick, therefore no-one was ready when it blew apart the High Street with its money-printing capabilities.

So there was a scramble, a big scramble for everyone in the development community to get their thumb out of their collective backside and desperately throw out whatever they could for the console. And it�s still happening. This situation is self-defeating in its approach: if you turn out a crappy piece of software in an attempt to make a quick buck on the back of the next big thing, you�re dooming yourself to failure.

Picture this: Low-end mobile/flash game developer Fffflart inc, sees the Wii sales figures one day and says to itself �I want a piece of that, let�s shift focus from our low revenue guaranteed income to something slightly riskier. But I don�t want to spend any money and I don�t want it to take longer than three months.� What�s the answer? Tommy Turtles Triple Whammy Party Special! A collection 100 of the most worthless mini games anyone has ever seen. It gets absolutely lambasted in the press, and the shops order about three copies in order to meet underwhelming consumer demand. The developer sits there scratching its head �What did I do wrong? Nothing! The games are fun, it must be Nintendo�s fault! No one can make money on their consoles!� Tommy Turtle ends up touching cloth at the bottom end of the market, and the surprisingly surprised developer complains at the lack of support from the Big N.

Cheggers' Party Quiz... we're still having nightmares...

Thus, Fffflart inc. goes back to making its worthless columns clones for the iPhone and Nintendo gets the reputation of being hard to work with. Snap. In a way, developers can be forgiven for their reticence to adopt the Wii, what with the N64 using the awkward cartridge medium and the GameCube being less than popular last time round, no-one thought that the IR and motion-sensing gameplay would be anything more than a fly-by-night. Good for six months of sales, to be replaced by competitors with bigger and more powerful machines.

But now is not the time to go dishing the blame, if anything, Nintendo is really reaching out to developers using the DVD as a games medium, small but usable internal storage and a multitude of ways to play its games. Successful developers report that Nintendo are nothing less than helpful and reasonable when approached and the Wii is quite an easy machine to work on overall.

Right now we are staring down the right end of several new third-party titles that promise to deliver the goods, games which aren't just cheap party game cash-ins. Games such as The Conduit prove that if effort is made, the Wii can look, play and sell software just as well as any other machine on the market. So what�s the excuse? Laziness, quite frankly. There are far too many companies out there churning out crap, simply to try and make a few pennies here and there.

Well guess what? The Partii is over guys, and you outstayed your welcome. Give us quality or give us nothing, it can only be good for your profits.

Iun Hockley
- N-Europe Staff Writer

News: GTA: Chinatown Wars Heads To PSP

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:34:30 -0500

Rockstar's DS-exclusive Grand Theft Auto is exclusive no longer!

Released back in March exclusively for the DS, Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is now confirmed as crossing over to the PSP this Autumn on both UMD and as a digital download on the PlayStation Network.

The new version of the game will be specifically built for the PSP, with enhanced graphics, animation and all-new story missions. Once again it'll be developed by Rockstar Leeds in consultation with the series creators at Rockstar North.

On the one hand it is a bit of a blow for the DS to lose exclusivity on one of its most high profile adult titles, but on the other can hardly be seen as a surprise move by Rockstar. Sales for the game on DS were below expectations, and a release on PSP will help turn that around.

Did you buy the game on DS? How do you feel about this news? Let us know below...

Media: DiRT 2 Wii Debut Trailer

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:49:27 -0500

Check out the first video of the Wii version of Codemasters' dirty, dirty racer...

Sumo Digital are really pushing the envelope on Wii lately. Not only have the UK-based developer worked on bringing Virtua Tennis 09 to the system (expect a review imminently), but they're also beavering away on Formula 1 2009 and DiRT 2. The latter is a sequel to 2007's critically acclaimed Colin McRae: DiRT - only this one isn't skipping out on the little white box of tricks.

DiRT 2 on Wii features a wide variety of control options ranging from motion to classic analogue sticks, where you can manhandle those beastly vehicles around a core racing campaign, 4-player split screen (local only) and a handful of arcade challanges.

The game is set to release this September.

Media: Tales Of Graces Trailer

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:12:47 -0500

Over three minutes of sumptuous footage from the Tales universe awaits you inside...

With new franchises like Arc Rise Fantasia joining the likes of Final Fantasy, the RPG scene on Wii is exploding. Seasoned fans of the Tales series can join in on the action with Tales of Graces hitting the platform (in Japan, at least) this year. While PS3 is receiving a port of the Xbox 360 title Tales of Vesperia, Graces is an entirely original, mothership title for the franchise.

Introducuing a new battle system with the ability to quick-step enemies, a completely new storyline and a totally seamless overworld, Tales is evolving, and it's happening on Wii.

Tales of Graces is scheduled for a Japanese release this Winter. Keep it locked to N-E as we await a western confirmation...