Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Atari's latest attempt to restart the Alone in the Dark franchise may have been disappointing at $50, but we can't help but wonder how much less disappointing it is as a $10 game. The lowered expectations that come with the price may be just the thing! If you only had enough interest in the game to justify spending that amount, chances are you've rented it already. If not, today's Amazon Deal of the Day may interest you. For today only, they've dropped the price of the Wii (and PS2) Alone in the Dark to $9.98.

If cheap Atlus games are your thing, and if you have yet to hear about this, Amazon also currently has a bunch of Atlus games on sale for $19.96, including Dokapon Kingdom, Trauma Center: New Blood, and Baroque on the Wii.

When your game's alone
With no publisher
Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters! Atari!

For a while, the merging of Activision and Blizzard looked like it might spell a grisly end for the Ghostbusters game, but now HERO OF THE PEOPLE Atari has stepped in to save the day, confirming previous assurances from Dan Akroyd and Variety. Once caught in development limbo, Ghostbusters is now due to release in 2009, and will feature the film's original main cast and a storyline penned by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. We never imagined ourselves saying this, but let's all raise a glass to Phil Harrison.


[Via press release]

When Dan Aykroyd speaks, we all should listen. Variety is also claiming that Atari picked up the Ghostbusters game and will in fact be pushing it out onto store shelves. We're not sure if the game is still Wii-bound, but the article does mention Red Fly Studios, who, aside from Mushroom Men, were working on the PS2 and Wii ports of the game.

So what's the big stink about a Ghostbusters game? Well, it's bringing all of the original talent back together for the voice work and is being written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, serving as the sequel to Ghostbusters II. If that isn't enough to get you excited, check your pulse. You might be dead.


[Via Gamasutra]

Dan Aykroyd appeared on Dallas radio station 105.3 KLLI this morning, discussing the Ghosbusters game. According to him (and he would know, after all), Atari has picked up the game, rescuing it from the limbo it was in for quite some time. As great as that is to hear, he also had some bad news: the game is still "a year away."

Of course, this may not apply to the Wii version. Atari may only want to put out the game on the Xbox 360 and PS3 or something.

[Via Videogamer]

Sadly, we only had one copy of Alone in the Dark to giveaway. The lucky person who was able to nab it? Why, that's none other than:

• Fin Diesel

Better luck next time to all of you that entered. And, to everyone, thanks for reading!

We're giving away one copy of Alone in the Dark to a lucky reader. What do you have to make sure that lucky reader is you? It's super easy!

Head on over to the original contest post for our latest giveaway by clicking that highlighted text there. Time is running out, as the giveaway ends this Sunday night. So head on over and get all of the details already!

Were you curious about Atari's latest Alone in the Dark game? Well, here's your chance to check it out. And, for free! We're giving one lucky reader a copy of the game (valued at $50). How can you take a stab at getting this for yourself?

Well, simply leave a comment between now and Sunday, August 10th at 11:59pm ET and you're entered. What should be in your comment? Well, why don't you tell us what you're most afraid of. Cool? Okay then!

Of course, there are some stipulations. For one, you have to be at least 18 years of age or older. Second, you have to be a current and legal resident of the United States or Canada (excluding Quebec). Third, you've got to read the official rules.

Best of luck to you all and thanks for reading!

Commercials that show people having fun while playing the Wii are a dime a dozen, so this Active Life: Outdoor Challenge trailer doesn't score any points with us in terms of creativity. We also think the narrator sounds as excited for the game as she would about an enema (fake enthusiasm is fake), but that's neither here nor there. Yet the game itself -- dare we say it -- looks pretty interesting.

Don't take "interesting" to mean "good," but we can't help but be intrigued by some of the activities and the use of the mat. Granted, the last thing we need is yet another peripheral in our households, which will probably be enough to keep us away from Active Life. If Nintendo doesn't have its Wii Fit stock act together by the fall, though, we wonder if people will turn to Active Life instead. Granted, this game won't have even half of the hype that surrounded Wii Fit, but the situation does present an opportunity for Namco Bandai. Who knows, families might even buy into the whole "working out together" angle.

On the other hand, there's yet another obstacle in the way of Active Life. It looks to us at least that if you're going to go with a game with a mat, DDR would probably offer a better workout. But what do you lovely readers think? Does Active Life: Outdoor Challenge have a place in the current gaming market?

Hey, don't feel too bad. Just because you haven't heard of Active Life: Outdoor Challenge is no reason to shed those tears. Wii Fit is great and all, but you need something more. Something to do with a big island of fun, apparently. With a bunch of games and a new mat, it's pretty obvious that peripheral-crazy Wii gamers will dig this latest installment into no holds barred gaming fun.

It's your fun-loving responsibility to check out the new official gallery with the latest and greatest in Active Life images. Hit the link below for river-rafting, see-saws, and a traditional mine cart ride. Despite the notable lack of Short Round on this ride, the characters are stumpy enough to be somewhat passable.


[Via press release]

While most readers of Wii Fanboy don't have to face this kind of problem, there are many nations throughout the world that force gamers to resort to the gray market to pick up their system of choice. Take India, for example, the second most populated country in the world.

Sony and Microsoft have distributors in the country, but the Wii doesn't. However, that may change soon enough, after Milestone Interactive tests out the market for Wii software. We're not entirely confident in Milestone's approach, though. For one, it hardly seems smart to base results on game sales when the console itself hasn't even officially released yet. On the other hand, since that's just how things are in India (and they're not likely to change anytime soon), we can understand Milestone's rush to get the ball rolling.

Here comes the other, less excusable problem: the game Milestone chose to distribute is Alone in the Dark Wii. Not even critics are playing the Wii version of Alone in the Dark, so is it fair to assess the Wii's chances based on Atari's survival horror title? Also, because Indian gamers import their Wiis, we wonder if the region of the disc will have any effect on sales.

At least this is a step in the right direction, but now that supply for the Wii is starting to meet demand globally, we hope Nintendo branches out into some of the areas it currently neglects.



[Thanks, Vijay!]

How do we know you aren't playing Alone in the Dark? Because nobody is playing Alone in the Dark. Seriously, we can't find any reviews for the Wii version anywhere. So, with that, we wonder what exactly are you playing? There's plenty of new games to choose from this week.

What are you playing?

This week, Atari's big title hits retail shelves. Will it be the scary and wonderful title they've been promoting it to be? Only time will tell. It's certainly not alone, this week, as the Wii gets several new releases. Let's check them out!

• Alone in the Dark
• Top Spin 3
• Rock Band (apparently its release last week was false, despite just about everyone listing it for release)
• Wall-E
• Big Beach Sports
• Cocoto Kart Racer
• Myth Makers: Trixie in Toyland

Say what you will about Alone in the Dark's limited Wii features, but using the Wii's controls to bludgeon someone with a chair looks all kinds of fun.

With that off our chests, this trailer did a good job of making us crave Atari's survival-horror title. While we can't help but be skeptical when developers implement an abundance of motion controls (only because games become more tedious than fun if things get too complicated), we're looking forward to seeing if Alone in the Dark hits the mark. Since we just rhymed, you know we're not lying.



[Via GoNintendo]

We already have an idea of what the Wii controls in Alone in the Dark will be like, but how about the rest of the game? We knew there'd be a few things scaled down from the 360, PS3, and PC versions, but what? MTV Multiplayer's Patrick Klepek has the dish on that, and we're not too disappointed with what's been left out.

First and most obviously, the Wii version's graphics won't be as pretty. Aside from that, though, some of the environments had to be changed, and according to Klepek, some new levels were constructed for Alone in the Dark Wii. (We assume that means there are new levels remodeled on the old levels, not that there are new levels.) For example, Central Park is a large, open world on the HD systems, whereas it's not on the Wii. With changes in the environments also came slight changes in the story, but we're not sure how significant these alterations are.

You can also expect some gameplay elements to disappear, like dynamic fire. Things can still light on fire, but not, uh, dynamically.

Losing the open world scenarios is what hurts the most, but the other changes don't seem too bad. Are these cuts enough to scare you away from the Wii version, or is it all just sausage to you?

Atari has dished out some new screens from upcoming title Alone in the Dark. Most of the shots feature protagonist Edward Carnby navigating dark and spooky environments. We even get a glimpse of old Ed's car, as he speeds around the abandoned streets bordering Central Park. Personally, we like a good scare every now and then. What about you?

You can check out the new images in our gallery below.