Posts Tagged ‘Wii’
The curious case of the missing Wii U games
Author: Brandon Zimmerman
The curious case of the missing out on Wii U games
This is the current Wii/Wii U section offered at my local shop. As you can see, the Wii U games are rather haphazardly thrown in with the Wii games with no regard for organization. There are a total amount of 11 Wii U games offered, with only one of them …
Read more on Wii U Daily
Nintendo ' s Wii U Advertising Grabs The Panic Button – Kotaku
If time travel is invented anytime soon, offering us the chance to atone for past mistakes, I like to think the first individual in line will be the guy who signed off on the name “Wii U”instead of “Wii 2″or “New Nintendo Console That ' s Not The Wii OK Guys”.
Read more on Kotaku
Still Hope for Friend & Me Wii U Version
New indie job from Sunbreak Games, Friend & Me, has actually met its Kickstarter target and has actually expressed ongoing interest in a Wii U variation. Pal & Me is a lovable 2D platformer that invokes untainted childhood dreams and memories with by finding a …
Check out more on Cubed3
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Should Wii U owners demand more GamePad-friendly ports?
Author: Brian McKinnell
Should Wii U owners demand more GamePad-friendly ports?
A recent article on Destructoid brought up a good point about developers who don't plan to port multiplatform titles to Nintendo's Wii U console because they can't figure out ways to make the games special enough for the GamePad controller. Consider it …
Read more on VentureBeat
Tomb Raider Won't Hit Wii U, Would Be Too Different
Tomb Raider creative director Noah Hughes has explained why Lara's next adventure won't be headed to Wii U. In an interview with True Gaming, Hughes said that the experience would be too different from what the team has created on other platforms.
Read more on IGN
Wii U Virtual Console Trial Campaign Release Schedule Revealed
Last week, Nintendo revealed they were celebrating the 30th anniversary of Famicom by kicking off the Wii U Virtual Console Trial Campaign and dropping "Balloon Fight" in the Wii U eShop. Each month Nintendo will release another classic game with a …
Read more on MTV.com (blog)
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What Do You Think Of The Nintendo Wii U? [You Told Us]
Author: Tiffany Shoman
Exactly what Do You Consider The Nintendo Wii U? [You Informed United states]
The Wii U is now out in the wild, having been released in North America on Nov. 18, concerning Europe and Australia on Nov. 30, and finally Japan on Dec. 8. This is the first of the next-gen systems, with Sony and Microsoft anticipated to jump on the bandwagon and …
Review more on Company Insider
Wii U: The utmost UK midnight launch guide
The Wii U launches in Europe on Friday and lots of eager game-lovers are presently scouring the net for bargains, info on launch events, and testimonials of games. To guarantee you ' re knowledgeable prior to making your purchase we ' ve created a convenient …
Read more on Computerandvideogames.com
Wii U Game Evaluation Round-Up
The Wii U might have simply turned a week old, however that doesn ' t mean there ' s a scarcity of games to be played. Nintendo ' s first complete HD console has plenty to provide. Sure, there are ports of games that have been out for months, however there ' s enough unique …
Check out more on Pittsburgh Post Gazette
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[support alert] I am trying to watch movies from netflix via my wii,…
Author: Sriram Reddy
…however, the screen goes from wonderful and bright to very dark and dim, then after a while back to bright again. Is this a connection problem or a cable problem? Can anyone help me?
gdgt – new in gadgets
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Neither Pen Nor Pencil: Write Endlessly In Metal
Author: Tech Blogger
One of the pleasures of writing in pencil is the friction of two solid materials in contact. One of the delights of writing in pen is that you can write continuously without having to stop to sharpen your stylus. Writing in metal, while expensive, provides some of the benefits of both while exhibiting its own unique beauty.
These two (that’s right, two) different metal pen manufacturers come to us by way of champ design blog Dornob. Both models work on the same principle: a tiny amount of metal alloy transfers from the pen to the page. Unlike pencil, it can’t be smudged with your hand, and unlike ink, it doesn’t need to dry. The amount of alloy for each stroke is so tiny that the pens are expected to last a lifetime without needing to be refilled or replaced. You can sharpen the tips for a finer point with a little sandpaper.
Each company takes a slightly different approach. The Inkless Metal Pen by Vat19 goes with a full stainless-steel barrel. Their marketing department, as you can see from the video above, also has a sharp, playful, dudely sense of humor. (The word “awesome” gets thrown around a lot, and there’s a Scrooge McDuck reference.)
Grand Illusions goes a little more highbrow with their Metal Pens. They have two short versions (including one that can be worn as a keychain) and a Beta Pen which comes with a full-length extension in either black or silver metal or cherry-stained wood.
Grand Illusions also appends a short history on writing in silverpoint: “In the Medieval period, artists and scribes often used a metal stylus in order to draw on a specially prepared paper surface. Generally known as Metalpoint, or Silverpoint when the stylus was made of silver, artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Dürer and Rembrandt all used this technique.” My friends, this is music to my early-modern-loving ears. (Luckily, you don’t have to rub your paper with pumice to get these 21st-century pens to make an impression.
The alloy in the Vat19 pen (at least) has trace amounts of lead, so it’s not so good for kids. Both are targeted for designers, lefties (who often have to deal with smearing or smudging ink/graphite as they trace their hand across the page), and geeks who like even their handwriting to be all shiny. (Note: the writing isn’t actually very shiny, more kind of a matte titanium, but you can pretend).
Images via Vat19 and Grand Illusions. Story via Dornob.
See Also:
- Continuous Pencil Means No More Stubs
- Sharpie Reinvents Pen with Liquid Pencil
- The Hidden Link Between E-Readers and Sheep (It's Not What You …
- Drawdio: A Pencil That Lets You Draw Music
- Livescribe Updates its Digital Smart Pen With the Echo
- UDraw Pen and Tablet for Wii
- German Multi-Tool Pen Engineered to Outlast its Owner
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Neither Pen Nor Pencil: Write Endlessly In Metal
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Neither Pen Nor Pencil: Write Endlessly In Metal
Author: Dave Adams
One of the pleasures of writing in pencil is the friction of two solid materials in contact. One of the delights of writing in pen is that you can write continuously without having to stop to sharpen your stylus. Writing in metal, while expensive, provides some of the benefits of both while exhibiting its own unique beauty.
These two (that’s right, two) different metal pen manufacturers come to us by way of champ design blog Dornob. Both models work on the same principle: a tiny amount of metal alloy transfers from the pen to the page. Unlike pencil, it can’t be smudged with your hand, and unlike ink, it doesn’t need to dry. The amount of alloy for each stroke is so tiny that the pens are expected to last a lifetime without needing to be refilled or replaced. You can sharpen the tips for a finer point with a little sandpaper.
Each company takes a slightly different approach. The Inkless Metal Pen by Vat19 goes with a full stainless-steel barrel. Their marketing department, as you can see from the video above, also has a sharp, playful, dudely sense of humor. (The word “awesome” gets thrown around a lot, and there’s a Scrooge McDuck reference.)
Grand Illusions goes a little more highbrow with their Metal Pens. They have two short versions (including one that can be worn as a keychain) and a Beta Pen which comes with a full-length extension in either black or silver metal or cherry-stained wood.
Grand Illusions also appends a short history on writing in silverpoint: “In the Medieval period, artists and scribes often used a metal stylus in order to draw on a specially prepared paper surface. Generally known as Metalpoint, or Silverpoint when the stylus was made of silver, artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Dürer and Rembrandt all used this technique.” My friends, this is music to my early-modern-loving ears. (Luckily, you don’t have to rub your paper with pumice to get these 21st-century pens to make an impression.
The alloy in the Vat19 pen (at least) has trace amounts of lead, so it’s not so good for kids. Both are targeted for designers, lefties (who often have to deal with smearing or smudging ink/graphite as they trace their hand across the page), and geeks who like even their handwriting to be all shiny. (Note: the writing isn’t actually very shiny, more kind of a matte titanium, but you can pretend).
Images via Vat19 and Grand Illusions. Story via Dornob.
See Also:
- Continuous Pencil Means No More Stubs
- Sharpie Reinvents Pen with Liquid Pencil
- The Hidden Link Between E-Readers and Sheep (It's Not What You …
- Drawdio: A Pencil That Lets You Draw Music
- Livescribe Updates its Digital Smart Pen With the Echo
- UDraw Pen and Tablet for Wii
- German Multi-Tool Pen Engineered to Outlast its Owner
Originally posted here:
Neither Pen Nor Pencil: Write Endlessly In Metal
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Continuous Pencil Means No More Stubs
Author: Tech Blogger
Like the solid feel of a hardwood pencil but hate writing with a tiny stub? This modular continuous pencil is for you!
At first glance, I thought that the Continuous Pencil was just a stubby with a wooden holder. But no — each pencil can hold the stub of the previous pencil. You just Lego the new one right in, work the old stub to the end, then shave it down to start over again.
For some folks, it might be cumbersome to break out a penknife to start up a new pencil, but once you’ve hand-sharpened your lead, it’s the only way to fly. Designers, architects, and illustrators who either don’t like or can’t use mechanical pencils will love this.
The photo slideshow above actually features TWO different pencil designs that solve the stub problem: the Continuous Pencil and the 1+1 Pencil, both via Gadget Lab favorites Yanko Design.
See Also:
- Sharpie Reinvents Pen with Liquid Pencil
- The Pencil iPad Stand: Smart Enough to Impress a New Yorker …
- The Pencil Bench: An Eraser Tipped Bed of Nails
- Drawdio: A Pencil That Lets You Draw Music
- Eight Cylinders of Pencil-Sharpening Action, And a Pizza Cutter …
- Livescribe Echo Smartpen
- UDraw Pen and Tablet for Wii
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Continuous Pencil Means No More Stubs
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Tags: Continuous, Design, designer tools, Image, iPad, Music, pencil-bench, pencils, pizza-cutter, Smart, Tablet, Video, Wii | 
No Comments »Wii Party Gets Physical
Author: Charity Woods
Wii Party
We often talk about the balance been real (as in physical) games and electronic entertainment in our household. The Wii has helped blur this divide somewhat, but there is still no getting away from the fact that most of the action is on the screen.
Having enjoyed Wii Play, Wii Fit and Wii Sports in our family room I’ve been excited to read about new ideas Nintendo have in store for us with Wii Party.
Although there are a bunch of minigames much like you would find in any Wii game, there are a few House Party games that I think we will be making most use of. These games get players to physically interact with the Wii Remote and the space they are playing in. The game unfolds in the room rather than on the screen. And I really like this idea.
Hide ‘n Hunt: One player hides the Wii-motes in the room. The others are invited back to race to find them from the sounds made by the Wii-mote speakers.
Animal Tracker: players listen for the animal sounds coming out of the Wii-motes and grab the one matching the picture.
Time Bomb: The players pretend the Wii-mote is a bomb and must pass it around without shaking it.
Word Bomb: Each player has up to 10 seconds to say a word from a given category. If the player doesn’t say a relevant word and press the A Button in time, then the bomb explodes and it will be game over.
Buddy Quiz: One player chooses to be the ‘Buddy’ and then has to answer questions. The rest of the players then have to predict how many they will answer.
What’s most excited me though is how this combines our family’s passion for board games and videogames into one neat package. It will be a real challenger for our after dinner entertainment as well as after school treat for the kids.
With the game already selling very well in Japan, I can’t wait until 3rd October when I can get my hands on Wii Party myself.
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Wii Party Gets Physical
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Tags: animal-tracker, family, Game, House, japan, party games, players-pretend, Space, Sports, Video, video-games, Wii |
No Comments »Metroid: Other M Is a Flawed Masterpiece — Spoiler-Free Review
Author: Stefanie Jenkins
It’s hard to talk about the forthcoming Nintendo/Tecmo release Metroid: Other M without reflecting back on the history of the franchise. While this latest chapter isn’t afraid to switch up the age-old Metroid formula both by giving long-silent protagonist Samus a true voice and by focusing the storytelling more clearly on her own unique history, it is very much a love letter to the many adventures we have shared with our iconic heroine in ages past.
Metroid: Other M goes out of its way to mine the best that the franchise has to offer, especially with regard to its much touted marriage of the classic 2D series- and Metroid Prime-style controls. Because of this alone the title has easily been at the top of my wish list during this, the annual summer video game doldrums. Having spent ample time with the retail build of the title, however, I seem to find many of my expectations exceeded, but not without some noticeable disappointments.
The plot of the game unfolds at a time after the destruction of Zebes and the supposed extinction of the Metroids. Following the events of Super Metroid, our blonde bounty hunter picks up a distress signal commonly known as the “Baby’s Cry” that appears to be emanating from an abandoned space station known as the “Bottle Ship.” The game goes to great lengths to drive home the personal significance of this pseudo-military jargon as it further reveals, upon meeting a squad of Galactic Federation soldiers, that Samus herself was once a member of the Federation Army.
As fate would have it, this squad includes both Higgs, an old military friend who refers to Samus as “Princess,” and Malkovich, her former commanding officer. The tension between Samus and her old CO opens the door for the first in a series of cut-scene flashbacks in which she reveals much about her time with the Army and hints at her reasons for leaving that structure and camaraderie for the life of a solitary bounty hunter. This powers the narrative of this full-blown space opera as we delve deeper into Samus’s past while simultaneously attempting to unravel the mysteries of the Bottle Ship. What follows is an exhilarating adventure that pushes the series to new heights, but also shows some unfortunate seams.
Both the cut-scenes and the in-game graphics are beautiful, and I won’t damn with faint praise by using the old it-looks-good-for-a-Wii-game routine. Metroid: Other M finally reminds you that the Wii, underpowered as it may be, is a current generation system. Likewise, the title’s use of music, sound effects and voice acting is nearly perfect. I say nearly because, while the plot and dialog are allowed an extra helping of melodrama due to the game’s very Japanese writing style, the delivery of principle voice actress Jessica Martin could be described as a bit grating.
While I’ve heard rumblings from the fan community concerning the fact that Martin approaches the role with a younger and softer intonation than anticipated, my major complaint is the flat, stoic nature of her delivery. I understand that this was an intentional decision made for the sake of the plot and in keeping with the characterization of Samus as a disassociated loner, but it’s not the only time the producers of Metroid: Other M make noticeable sacrifices in the name of their artistic vision.
As I said, my primary interest in Metroid: Other M had more to do with its unique control scheme than even the considerable strength of the property itself. Using a variation of the horizontal controller/vertical controller system honed in the development of Super Paper Mario, Metroid: Other M uses the elegant simplicity of the Wii remote to great effect. The principle gameplay is handled by holding the remote sideways like the classic NES controller. Despite a bit of anxiety concerning using such a distinctly two-dimensional controller style in an obviously three-dimensional environment, the system truly works beautifully.
Navigating the height, length and breadth of the world that unfolds as Samus explores, powers up and retreads the various game zones is handled flawlessly. The title also side-steps a related sticking point, combat, in a number of exciting ways. First, it uses an auto-targeting feature to make sure the bulk of your blasts meet their mark on the all-too familiar enemies, and, second, it uses a series of innovative button press events to spice things up. Tapping the d-pad before an enemy’s attack connects executes the “Sense Move” function, which allows Samus to glide effortlessly out of harm’s way. Likewise, Metroid: Other M adds a pair of similarly executed offensive moves allowing you to use simple button presses to waylay downed enemies or jump on the backs of this game’s equivalent of the classic Hoppers to deliver… well, massive damage.
At practically any time during regular gameplay you can also point the Wii remote directly at the screen to shift to first-person mode. With the help of her trusty in-helmet HUD, this mode affords Samus the opportunity to scan items and fire missiles. Again, this control scheme works incredibly well and the transition from FPS to side-scroller and back is effortless. There are, however, occasions when this first-person mode can be a bit of a drag.
Sometimes you will find yourself ripped from the action and pulled into a sienna-tinted first-person perspective. At this point the game expects you to examine your surroundings, and scan a certain object or item to activate the next cut-scene. Sadly, this is sometimes easier said than done. Whether it was a Galactic Federation logo on a downed enemy or a distant slime trail, I spent much of the early game haphazardly scoping my surroundings just hoping to luck across the right area of the environment so I could perform my scan and get back to the action. This belabored first-person perspective is bad, but the occasional shift to the over-the-shoulder third-person view is far worse.
As you delve deeper into a sordid tale of space politics and bio-weapons, Metroid: Other M even manages to take on the slightest hint of survival horror. This is due less to the onslaught of ravenous enemies – which are present, of course, but you have the ammo to deal with them – and more to do with what I have come to think of as “investigation mode.” In this mode of play, the camera shifts behind Samus’s shoulders (Resident Evil-style), and she is forced to clumsily stomp around cramped rooms and empty hallways.
It represents the worst kind of “walking tank” controls, and it does nothing more than make the player long for the tight response of the primary control scheme. It is yet another unfortunate example of the lengths the game goes to in a foolhardy effort to propel the plot. Yes, I understand that it is important that suspense build between events and that exploring a derelict space craft is a great way to do it (just ask the guys behind Dead Space), but the regular running and jumping and shooting is so damn tight in Metroid: Other M that these interstitial periods can’t help but feel like letdowns.
It’s really a good thing that the bulk of the game’s controls are so highly polished, because Metroid: Other M is hard. Brutally so at times. As you work your way through familiar locales fighting freshly-skinned but familiar enemies to discover familiar power-ups (bombs, missiles, energy tanks, suit upgrades, etc.), it’s hard not to realize how genuinely unfamiliar the level of difficulty truly is. In the absence of even the vaguest of hyperbole, I have to say that this is the most difficult game I have ever played on the Wii. Though I suppose it does bear mentioning that outlandish difficulty is the very hallmark of a Team Ninja production.
Between swarms of enemies, regularly scripted mini-boss battles, environmental hazards and that good, old fashioned jump-puzzle mechanic, the game can be downright vicious. In its defense, navigation booths, the game’s save points, are properly spaced, and additional in-mission restart points prevent you from having to re-traverse already conquered terrain in almost every instance. The game even goes so far as to include a “concentration” feature that’s sole purpose is to allow Samus to regain a modicum of energy and restore her missile supply after having her butt handed to her in a tough fight. It is a feature that provides much needed succor throughout the gaming experience, but, sadly, leaves Samus completely open to attack in the process.
In spite of the above enumerated concessions you will get frustrated by Metroid: Other M. You will swear and scowl when trying to access that just-out-of-reach power-up. You will be confounded while pondering exactly what sort of parkour hoodoo one needs to execute involving Morph Ball, bombs and wall-jumps to reach that particular ledge. And, if you’re anything like me, you will die. A lot.
Unlike many third-party Wii titles I’ve reviewed in the recent past, Metroid: Other M completely understands the audience to which it is slanted. However, said audience is a tad narrow. Longtime fans of the series will likely appreciate the story, the fact that the enigmatic Samus becomes slightly less so, but might be put off by the game’s difficulty. Likewise, teens – as this is a T-rated title – who may feel their gaming palate a bit too refined for many of the system’s other landmark titles will dig the hardcore challenge, but might not care to penetrate the distinctly eastern style of oddly convoluted storytelling. And so I am left with no other option but to give a highly qualified recommendation to Metroid: Other M.
At its best the game combines all that is great about the Metroid franchise with shades of other acclaimed series – like the sweeping, almost too-lifelike worlds of Mass Effect and the sense of impending doom so often associated with the Resident Evil series. At its worst it is a quick, cheap death or, worse yet, a sluggish, sometimes tortuous crawl toward whatever comes next. If you are willing to deal with the pain of the latter, then you will be amply rewarded by the genuine glory of the former. If, however, you’re not willing to take a few lumps for the sake of the ride, perhaps your money is better spent on other endeavors.
WIRED: Beautiful graphics, great use of music and ambient sound, fantastic core control mechanic, amazing action and in-game suspense, genuinely supplements series canon with a truly original story, irrefutably brings hardcore gaming to the Wii.
TIRED: Strange writing with even stranger dialog, poor secondary control mechanic, occasionally frustrating level of difficulty.
Review materials provided by Nintendo
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Metroid: Other M Is a Flawed Masterpiece — Spoiler-Free Review
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UDraw Pen and Tablet for Wii
Author: William Miller
A Wacom-style graphics tablet for the Wii? It’s a fantastic idea, and if THQ, the maker of the uDraw, can make it work as well as a Wacom, it could have a winning peripheral.
The tablet, officially a “GameTablet”, has a slot onto which you slide the Wiimote, and this allows it to communicate with the console and also powers the tablet. The pen is tethered (a good thing, otherwise the kids would lose it in five seconds), and lets you draw on a 9 x 7-inch panel.
The uDraw will cost $70 and will ship with a game called uDraw Studio, a painting app which also uses some of the Wiimote’s buttons as controls: hit the minus-button to undo a brush-stroke, for example. It all looks worthily educational, and has the bonus that you won’t have to clutter the beautiful door of your SMEG refrigerator with the paper detritus of your kids’ scribbling sessions.
THQ has some more titles on the way already. A draw-along platformer called “Dood’s Big Adventure” (which sounds awful) and a version of Pictionary, which could be a genius move from THQ.
The uDraw will ship at the end of this year, almost certainly in time for Christmas. The games will follow, for $30 apiece, in 2011.
uDraw [Wonderful World of uDraw via Yahoo]
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UDraw Pen and Tablet for Wii
