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    Ubisoft didn't want to 'water down' Prince of Persia for Wii

    June 9, 2009 - 3:00pm


    With its forgiving gameplay, Ubisoft was clearly trying to make the new Prince of Persia appeal to more casual or mainstream audience. So, IndustryGamers asked producer Ben Mattes, why not bring the game to the ultimate casual console: The Wii?Mattes said that the system just couldn't handle what his team wanted to achieve, saying "the AI of Elika was highly advanced and required a lot of processing power; the world size and dynamic loading, the draw distance, the number of polygons in the characters... If we had done a Wii version, it would have been toned down, probably linear, it wouldn't have been an open-world game, and so it would have been a very different experience. We didn't want to water it down that way."... Plus, they couldn't have charged Wii owners $10 for the "Epilogue" DLC! No, no, we kid.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010: Not just last year's game with a new number

    June 9, 2009 - 2:35pm

    Majesco could have easily coasted through two or three yearly installments of Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum based on the success of the first one. It could have chosen to stick a few new challenges in the same engine, bring Ms. Michaels in to record a few new lines and profit off of its minimal investment. But according to Michaels, Majesco went beyond that for the sequel to the game you probably ... know someone who played."We went with a different developer this time around," the Biggest Loser star told USA Today's Game Hunters blog, "and now it's much easier to get around the interface, it looks much better and if you like, I can now train you, too." Ultimatum 2010 also includes a Spanish-language option and new multiplayer modes. "Other new features include the option to play in English and Spanish, multiplayer competitions and using a training calendar to set various fitness goals (be it weight loss, toning or strengthening). "The biggest thing I'm excited about is the fact it's now a 'game,'" Michaels said. "It feels like an adventure as you're on a remote island and must compete in boot camp-like activities and traverse through dangerous obstacle courses."While we're not going to take statements from the person whose name is on the game at face value, it does sound like Majesco is putting actual effort into this sequel. Whatever you think of this kind of product (we know), at least it's not as much of a cash-in as ... it could be.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Eduardo the Samurai Toaster pops up next week

    June 9, 2009 - 1:30pm

    Semnat Studios has announced that Eduardo the Samurai Toaster, its bizarre run-and-gun starring, well, a samurai toaster, will be available for download in North America on June 15 for 800 Wii Points. "For the price of lunch you could own an awesome single-or-cooperative sidescrolling action game," the press release says. "Support the little guy!" It remains to be seen whether Semnat's abstract running-and-gunning will be as big of an indie sensation as World of Goo, but we've been looking forward to it.Samurai Toaster features four-player drop-in cooperative play, 13 levels, each with backgrounds made using different artistic media, and toasters who are samurai. Along with the announcement, Semnat released new screens, which we've placed in our gallery. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    VC/WiiWare Tuesday: Super Mario Kart and ... streaming game music

    June 9, 2009 - 12:30pm

    We were all set to gush over Super Mario Kart and the promise of some charmingly retro party gaming (for two players at a time, of course, which we suppose is part of the retro charm), but Gust disrupted our plans by releasing something on WiiWare that is weird and ill-advised enough to demand our attention. Game Sound Station is a subscription-based music streaming service available on WiiWare -- almost exclusively for listening to Gust game soundtracks. If you'd like to pay for a week of unlimited Atelier and Ar Tonelico game music, here's your chance!The other WiiWare game, peakvox escape virus, is sort of a Snake crossed with Geometry Wars experience. As a DNA codon, you pick up other DNA around a level to form a chain, carefully navigating your increasingly long chain around enemy viruses. The game has a variety of other modes, including one that turns it into a shooter.Virtual Console:

    WiiWare:

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    Hands-on: Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter (DS)

    June 9, 2009 - 11:30am

    5TH Cell received a lot of attention at E3 for its DS platform adventure Scribblenauts, but that wasn't the only DS game 5TH Cell brought to the show. THQ had a demo station set up running the DS sequel to the company's first DS hit, Drawn to Life. Planet Moon's (different) Wii version of Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter was also on display, but we were unable to spend any time with it.

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    Interview: Vanillaware's Jouji Kamitani on Muramasa

    June 9, 2009 - 11:00am

    Jouji "George" Kamitani is the person most responsible for Vanillaware's signature look. Not only is he the company's president and director of its games, he's also in charge of the art. We were able to pull him away briefly from his busy day of signing Muramasa posters at Ignition's E3 booth to speak about action games on the Wii, selling a very Japanese game in America, and why we won't see the quirky DS title Kumatanchi in North America anytime soon. As a bonus, we were treated to an enthusiastic live demonstration of Kamitani's dream Wii minigame.

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    Green Day coming to Rock Band in some capacity

    June 9, 2009 - 10:30am

    Green Day will have something Rock Band-related out this year, according to statements made by lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong during a KROQ appearance. An audience member asked the band if they were planning on putting songs out for the game, and Armstrong revealed that something was in the works."Yeah, we're doing a whole Green Day Rock Band, uh ..." Armstrong responded, unable to finish his sentence due to a swell of applause. Green Day Rock Band what? Game? Downloadable track pack? Expansion disc? Guitar decal line? Instructional video? Whatever it is, we'll find out about it soon, because it's supposed to be out by the end of the year.The band, having just previously made fun of social networking, went on to discuss how they were too old to play Rock Band well. That's how you connect with your young audience![Via Kotaku, thanks, Chris W.]Source (Part 5 of the "Kevin and Bean's Breakfast with Green Day" recording)Permalink | Email this | Comments

    The Beancat: Nunchuk brings mobility to a bean bag chair

    June 9, 2009 - 3:00am


    If there is one fault we'd have to say most chairs possess nowadays, it's that they're just too darn stationary. Well, they used to be, anyway, as some ingenious gentlemen have come up with a cool chair mod in what they have affectionately dubbed The Beancat, a labor of love that incorporates the Wii's Nunchuk controller into a device that not only controls Mario on-screen, but also keeps you from having to get up when you want to grab a drink from the fridge. The chair itself moves a lot faster than we would have imagined, and looks like it isn't the toughest thing in the world to build, though you should know it isn't the cheapest mod in the world should you be on the lookout for some bean bag-infused thrills of your own. Head past the break to check out some video of it in action, and be sure to hit the source link below if you've got the courage to build one of your own.[Via Engadget]

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    Nintendo sneaks out Monado: Beginning of the World trailer

    June 8, 2009 - 10:00pm

    You remember watching the Nintendo E3 keynote liveblog just last week and seeing the huge reveal of Monado: Beginning of the World, right? And then Ms. Dunaway returned to the stage, clad in JRPG couture, ready to challenge Reggie Fils-Aime to a turn-based battle. It all seemed like a dream. Oh wait ... none of that happened! So what if we just passed out during the keynote and dreamt it all? But we did wake up with that gunblade in our hands, so, maybe not? It remains a mystery. Nintendo did, however, drop a trailer and artwork for the game soon after its presser had concluded which we're presenting to you here. Get your world beginning on, in trailer form, just above.
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    Hands-on: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (Wii)

    June 8, 2009 - 8:30pm

    "I've heard 'Shat-On Memories.' That's a good one," remarks Shattered Memories producer Tomm Hulett, taking the complaints from the so-called "unreasonable" Silent Hill fans in stride. Remaking -- or "re-imagining," rather -- a horror classic is no easy task, least of all when the leading platform's scariest trait is its abundance of minigames. Calling it a re-imagining seems appropriate, with familiar characters and themes returning in unfamiliar ways, but that belies the fact that the upcoming Wii title (PSP and PS2 versions are also en route) is the freshest and riskiest Silent Hill game to come along in years. Conveying an intense, unnerving experience in the din of E3 is like reciting a poem behind an airplane barreling down a runway. The packed show floor, filled with colossal sub-woofers and eccentric excessiveness, couldn't be a less ideal place to play a survival-horror title. And yet, despite the copious distractions and some truly awkward sensor bar placement, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories managed to fool us -- if ever so briefly -- into thinking we were skulking around the world's least hospitable and most perplexing town.

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