Wii Round 2: Super Mario Galaxy

This week Digital Gamer is highlighting the next generation of Wii games that really start to show off what Nintendo's little box can do.
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When Nintendo showed off Mario 128 so many years ago, people where left wondering what would result from this tech demo. Now we know that half of it was Pikmin and the other half became Super Mario Galaxy.

A lot has changed since that press conference. The game was moved from the Gamecube to the Wii, it was graphically spruced up, and all need to control the camera was removed. In Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, the player had to babysit the camera the whole way and sometimes it wouldn't work at all. Mario Galaxy's camera never gets in the way because of the lack of walls; the majority of the game takes place out in deep space. However, those who prefer to tweak the camera should be relieved to know that the D-pad can be used to change the perspective and the C button on the Nunchuck centers the camera.

Galaxy lacks any real overworld like previous games in the series. Instead Mario hops and flies to separate planetoids throughout space. Each have their own gravity and physics. Where one may be completely spherical, another may be completely flat. These planetoids range from giant floating apples to a walking robotic fortress to more traditional grassy plains.

Gameplay is the same hop and bop it's always been but, it also couldn't be more fresh and new. A triple jump can be preformed by tapping the jump button when Mario lands until he flips like 3D Marios past. Waving the remote back and forth will make Mario do a spin attack. In addition to jumping and running, Mario has several new powers. One of the more prominent ones is a pointer shaped like a star that appears wherever you point the Wii remote. You can grab things by pointing to them and pressing (A). A series of floating blue stars that Mario can float across are one of the things showcased in mutiple videos. Most enemies can be selected, causing them to freeze in place.

Star gems littered around everywhere can be collected by waving over them. These can then be shot at baddies, switches and basically anything. A second player can even use a second remote to help or hinder the first player, shooting stars, even preventing Mario from moving!

This is definitely the type of newness that many believed was missing from Super Mario Sunshine. This is surly to be one of the best selling Wii games to date. That is until Smash Bros. Brawl comes out...

Wii Round 2: Dewy's Adventure

This week Digital Gamer is highlighting the next generation of Wii games that really start to show off what Nintendo's little box can do.
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Dewy's Adventure is quite an original title. It's about a water droplet trying to restore his land to how it was before it got polluted. Story aside, the real charm is in the gameplay. Anyone who has played Super Monkey Ball should feel right at home. Instead of directly controlling Dewy himself, players tilt the entire world. Move the stage to make him slide around and tilting up quickly will make him hop.

Also because he's made of water, what the temperature is factors into what form he takes. Pushing (+) or (-) on the Remote increases or decreases the temperature. Other forces of nature at your command are:

• Causing earthquakes by quickly shaking the remote left and right thus changing the landscape and
  
• Blowing the wind around by waving the remote up and down.
  

Liquid Form
Keeping the Temperature at a medium level will cause dewy to be in liquid form. Naturally this allows him to get in tighter places with ease. He's easy to control in this form but also weak against enemy attacks. Cannon type plants can suck him up and then shoot him to higher spots.

Solid form
Changing the environment to a cold climate turns dewy to ice, making him hard and heavy. He'll slide more quickly across the ground and can shape himself into a sharp spinning top that makes for a deadly weapon against baddies. And now that the world is colder, lakes that would have swallowed dewy previously can now be simply slid across.

Mist Form
Turning the heat up will evaporate dewy into a misty cloud that will only move with the wind. Thankfully the wind is fully under your control. But dewy is not completely helpless in this form. Since Dewy is now a cloud he can drop lighting bolts on any thing he wants, powering switches or shocking foes.

Anyone looking for something completely different from anything they've ever seen before should check out this soon to be classic.

Wii Round 2: Metroid Prime 3

This week Digital Gamer will highlight the next generation of Wii games that really start to show off what Nintendo's little box can do.

The third entry in the Metroid Prime saga sees Samus getting corrupted by Dark Samus with Phazon. This leads to having the ability to tap into her newfound power, becoming incredibly fast and powerful. However this power comes at a price: it slowly drains her life force as it corrupts her.

For a game series that had less focus on shooting and more on platforming, it's a bit of a surprise to see more attention to combat. This is mainly because of the ingenious new control scheme. Point to somewhere with the Wii remote and Samus will look there, then push the B trigger to shoot. It's hard to imagine FPS any other way. Also, while the Wii Remote controls the right hand, the nun chuck controls the left. Open doors, grapple enemies (with the improved grapple beam), and even lock the camera. Yes, even with the free movement of the gun you can still lock the camera onto enemies and tons of other things.

Those familiar with the previous prime games will remember needing to switch to different beams. In Corruption all the beans are layered, not unlike the 2D Metroids. The different visors have also been revamped. Gone is the X-ray, Echo, Infrared, and Dark visors. New only three remain: Combat, Scan and one to control her ship. It hasn't been revealed all that you can do with the ship but, I do know that it can be summoned to save your progress and check on your corruption level.

Voice acting has never been a big thing in any Metroid game. Characters barely spoke at all and when they did it was all in pages of text. Prime 2 did have voice acting here and there but, it was too far and few between. However, thanks to more disk space and a much deeper plot, Prime 3 has tons and tons of VO. Samus, however, is still mute.

With all the casual games on the the Wii, it's nice to know that Nintendo hasn't forgotten the gamers who have been there from the start.

Assassin's Creed promises to truly shake up the platformer genre

Man I can't wait for this amazing game. The setting, the graphics, and the wide open nature just sounds like so much fun.

For those who don't know, the game takes place in the year 1192 during the third crusade. Basically, The Knights Templar are making war and the original Assassins Clan want it to stop.
You control a Master Assassin, Altair, in his quest to free his country. The Assassins don't want to kill members of the Knights Templar but, it is necessary for them to survive. In a trailer Altair even shows regret for his actions by closing his victims eyes before running from the guards.

The vast cities are full of life from guards to beggars to even the people your hunting.
And they all react accordingly to your actions. The guards don't attack you unless you do something to give them a reason. And if you help people out they will help you in return.
Give to the church and they'll let you blend in with them when your running from the law.
Help the beggars and they will be more likely to block the path of your enemies you're hunting. On the flip side if your rude and pick fights, villagers will be more then happy to turn you in.

Almost everything in three authentic looking cities in the game can be climbed and throughly explored. If you can climb it in real life then more then likely it can be climbed in Assassin's Creed. Due to a unique control setup scaling tall buildings has never been more enjoyable. The face buttons represent your head, free hand, weapon hand, and feet. This mean that obstacles can even be climbed in multiple ways. Press down and then release the "feet" button when approaching a low wall, for instance, and Altair will jump over it. Press the free hand button instead and he'll vault over it. Combat controls in a similar manner.

One of the more exciting things I heard about this game is the promise that what you do has an impact on the future somehow. Hmm... Alternate Endings?

Mystery grenade revealed

Today IGN broke the story about the forth grenade type and also confirmed something everyone hoped would be true...

The Flamethrower joins the party!
After being teased time and time again, first in Halo 1 and then in Halo 2, the flamethrower is now officially confirmed. It's considered a "turret" weapon and as such will force the camera into third person, slowing down whoever uses it considerably. The flames spit out from this monster will stick to anything (Including the bubble shield) and burn away whatever it touches. Flame walls can be used to keep out unwanted visitors from your base. The only weaknesses are that it can only be used in 3 second bursts and is very hard to aim with.

The Firebomb
The forth grenade type is like a mini flamethrower covering everything in flames when it explodes. This is a better option if you want to create a flame wall. Like the flare, when a firebomb goes off a bright blinding light is emitted. With so many different grenade types I wonder if the maximum number of grenades allowed to be held at one time will decrease.

Halo 3 adds tons of new customization options to multiplayer

Have it your way
The Halo games have always been about customizing the experience to your liking. Halo 3 has so much more flexibility that you may never want to go back to Halo 2. New to the mix is the option to modify gravity and player speed. This will surely lead to new hilarious game types. One example is a king of the hill game with 75% gravity and anyone inside the hill area is invincible. The only way to oust the opposing team is to hit them with the Gravity Hammer. In a free for all game, you could rack up the speed to 300%, decrease gravity to 50%, and then have hammers be the only usable weapon. That sounds like fun, don't it?

The new fall fashions
In addition to the newly expanded game type modifications, player armor can now be fully customized. From helmet shape and style to more visible clan markings, two players will never look quite the same. And if what I've heard is correct, instead of choosing different things in a menu your armor changes fluidly as you
win matches and use weapons of certain kinds. Although this is a cosmetic thing, how you look can reflect your skill. For example,
if you use a sniper rifle every chance you get your helmet may change to reflect your affection to long range weaponry. Some styles can only be attained if you are one of the top players. Clan specific armor can also be applied so clans can easily spot each other.

Garry's mod comes to Halo 3
Although not quite at the same level as Garry's Mod, (A Half-Life 2 modification) Forge mode is probably the biggest change to Halo 3 multiplayer. During a time limit players can add or remove items from their favorite map. Add weapons, creates, vehicles, create/move spawn points, ect. The only things not allowed are deleting buildings and other players and modifying terrain. Players can switch out of being a spartan/elite and a floating monitor (The orb like robots normally seen in the single player campaign). This allows players to run in a sand box and just basically do whatever they want. The goal is anything you can think of. From playing Jenga with explosive fusion coils to an RTS take on team slayer. After you're done fiddling around you can then save your changes and share it with everyone online.

Four Player Online Co-Op!
In Halo 1 and 2, co-op was off-line and for two players only. In the next installment up to three of your buds can team up in finishing the fight. Although only two players can be play together on one Xbox 360, you can fill up the rest of the team online or with system link. Halo co-op in the past created a time paradox by having two identical master chiefs. This was never explained. To fix this, bungie has added two new warriors to the Halo universe. The first player will control the Master Chief, Player 2 will play the Arbiter, Player 3 will play has a an elite named N’tho ‘Sraom, and Player 4 controls the third elite that goes by the name Usze ‘Taham. Their back story can be read here.

I can't wait for September 25th.

Bungie reveals new Halo 3 tidbits Part 2

Yesterday I talked about the new weapons and equipment announced in Electronic Gaming Monthly Issue 219. Today I'll outline the new vehicles mentioned in the same issue.

The Hornet
This is the human equivalent of the covenant banshee. A picture of the craft shows two guys hanging off the sides. Although it's only confirmed to be in the campaign mode it is very likely to be in multiplayer as well.

Brute Chopper
This single person motorcycle-like craft fires exploding rounds and boosts similar to a ghost. However, unlike the ghost it's grounded with one wheel (The back floats) and is far more sturdy then the ghost making it ideal for ramming.

The Prowler
The prowler is basically the brute version of the warthog. It has room for a driver, mounted gunner, and two on either side. It's looks like a cross between a turbine engine and a sled.

The Elephant
Where most vehicles move back and forth between bases, the elephant IS the base!
There is enough space on the Indestructible Elephant to hold at least 12 riders, (Inside or on the roof) a single mongoose(An ATV), the Flag for your team, and a mounted turret. It counts as the return point for capturing the enemy flag and even respawns players like a base too. With all this stuff it's not surprising that it moves very, very slowly.

With all the new things in Halo 3. I'm starting to wonder how bungie can fit all this stuff into one 9 Gig disc. Maybe they cut out stuff, maybe this will be the first Xbox 360 game to need to install or decompress pieces on the hard drive in order to run. One thing is for sure, online downloadable content will be a big part of Halo 3.

In my next post I will talk more about the multiplayer features and changes to co-op.

Update: The warthog has a larger transport version that five or six can ride. Instead of a mounted gun another couple of seats are their instead.